COURSE CURRICULUM

The Music BA program at Brunel University is designed to develop students’ skills across composition, performance, musicology, and sound production while allowing for a personalized pathway through optional modules. In the first year, students gain foundational skills in performing within ensembles, composing across genres, understanding harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic structures, developing professional teamwork and project management skills, and learning the principles of studio production and the historical contexts of musical genres. In the second year, the course builds on these foundations with advanced studies in twentieth-century harmony, jazz, and blues, alongside professional development in communication, leadership, and career preparation. Students further explore the relationship between technology and music, develop orchestration and arrangement skills, and have opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and advanced studio production, including software and hardware applications. In the final year, students undertake a professional independent project, which can include a portfolio of compositions, a performance, or a combination of work, demonstrating their individual interests and creative development. Optional modules provide opportunities to produce advanced composition portfolios, lead and perform in ensembles, refine technical and instrumental skills, stage sonic art, and examine music within broader cultural and socio-political contexts, equipping graduates with the practical and analytical expertise needed for careers in contemporary music-making and production.