BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production

The first Creative Industries module will introduce you to the strategies and tools to set you on the right path toward pursuing a successful career. Whether focused on a particular career goal or considering several future possibilities, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a future creative industry professional.

The way we communicate directly affects how other people interpret and understand our ideas and concepts. Our use of language also influences how our skills and abilities are perceived and is often a deciding factor for others when deciding to collaborate with us.

This module will allow you to develop your understanding of the terminology used in the field of music production and give you the ability to communicate creative and artistic ideas as well as the technical specifications and details of digital and analogue audio equipment that are required to realise them as a tangible product.

Audio Fundamentals is tightly integrated with Audio Capture Methods & Equipment and the online digital portfolio that you will create and develop over the semester will count towards assessment learning outcomes in both modules.

Hearing is through the ears, but listening is through the mind.

This module is designed to develop critical communication and listening skills for music producers working with professional practical musicians. You will develop critical listening skills, expand your musical vocabulary referring to both traditional music theory and modern music production terminology, and develop music production techniques. You will develop your area of specialism including basic composition and arranging, along with music production skills.

This module will look at recording audio practically for the modern engineer. It will complement the theories studied in Audio Fundamentals. We will focus on modern engineering essentials and apply them to any setup from large format consoles to bedroom studios. We will focus on gain staging, use of analogue and digital equipment, Mic placement and techniques and running a recording session.

In this module, you will further develop your investigative skills, exploring relevant underlying concepts and principles and interpreting these within the context of your area of study. You will explore the nature of creativity, the wider context of the industry and practice reflective techniques.

You will also evaluate sources and consider issues such as potential biases and cultural diversity. This evaluation will contribute to developing an enhanced awareness of your creative identity and greater insight into the topics that inspire and motivate you. In addition, you will improve your understanding of how your area of interest intersects with the wider creative industry.

Using academic enquiry, you will develop a reflective journal to evaluate your strengths and areas for self-development in relation to your studies, careers and personal aspirations. This investigative work will help establish a connection between the skills you have identified concerning specific careers and areas of the industry, enhancing your understanding of what is required to be a successful professional practitioner.

Over the course of this module, you will develop an understanding of the skills and knowledge needed to operate as a Freelance Practitioner within the Music Industry. As the Music Industry is always developing and changing, our approach of operating within it must change with the times. This module will provide you gain an in-depth look at how artists are now achieving success without the help of Music Business Institutions and why this has led to these institutions adapting their business models to accommodate this change.

The module follows on from the Creative Industries and you by focusing on the music production specific hard skills you will need to be a successful practitioner in your chosen field of study, exploring and choosing the modules that will help you develop the technical aptitude involved in realising your ambitions.

Successful production output is dependent on the ability of the producer to switch seamlessly between a granular view and a largescale holistic take of the overall work and its aims. It requires setting time frames & deadlines, estimate equipment needs, source and produce required material and overall be able to conceptualize a project and adapt creativity, ethos and technicality into one cohesive creation.

To do so we need to develop workflows and roadmaps to help us keep continuous track on where we are, and where the project is, in relation to its goal.

Approaches to Production & Workflow is a module where you will develop such skills and allow you to make use of all your learning from the previous modules in this year. Over this term you’ll be developing online components that reflect common workflows in the music production industry, approaches to project conception and management, digital and analogue productivity tools and the integration of critical listening skills, creativity and artistic mindsets in an audio project. For example, Steve Albini’s philosophy and approach to a production differ massively from Deadmau5, which differs again from Ben Burt, these philosophies and approaches result in a hugely different sonic footprint from each other and are indicative of the idioms in which these practitioners thrive.

This module will require you to explore the art and techniques of mixing multiple sources of audio, acoustic recorded or electronically generated/synthesised, into one cohesive sounding ‘mix’. The skills developed in this module will allow you to mix multi-track recorded compositions, multi-mic’d live performances and soundtracks for visual media.

You will identify areas of the original audio that require improvements, such as sonic quality, arrangement or performance. You will consider the tools and techniques related to level balance, spatial image and frequency balance, and the application of creativity within the norms of your chosen field of work.

The creative arts have the power to bring people together, unite communities, support mental wellbeing, raise awareness of social issues and above all, bring joy to many people around the world. In Creative Industries & You 2, you will discover how you can turn your passion and talent into a collaborative project with a positive impact on society. Employing research and networking skills, you will develop a greater understanding of a charity, cause or campaign. In teams of students from all courses, you‘ll select a cause and identify a way to support its key objectives, either by raising awareness, raising funds or contributing as volunteers. You will be introduced to your college's partner charities but you are also able to find your own, or work independently of an existing organisation.

Through this collaborative project, you’ll develop essential interpersonal and communication skills, experimenting with various digital tools for enterprise. You’ll reflect on your own values, applying theories of human psychology to explore how to get the best out of yourself and each other. Building on your industry research skills, you will assess your target audience and define clear SMART targets for your project that will enable you to execute an element of the strategy and evaluate its success. In teams, you will spend time working on your project both in class and in your own time, developing effective collaborative working methods.

You’ll record your project activity in your Personal and Professional Development Plan, reflecting on how you have developed and changed over the course of your first year and a half at BIMM. Working with your Personal Adviser you will identify objectives, opportunities and actions that will help you stay on the path to success for the second half of your journey towards becoming a Creative Industries Professional.

This module provides a historical exploration into the history of audio technology and production. Alongside this journey, you will take a researched-based approach to discover the ground-breaking technologies, engineers and producers that have shaped and created some of the most original music of the 20th and 21st century.

Through this examination, you will apply research and understanding to emulate the style of production with which you decide to explore.

This will enable you to gain the historical relevance of how music has been created using such technologies, looking at the emerging technologies, methodologies and restrictions, giving you a more informed and broader perspective of the recording industry and how it has evolved.

After decades of technological advancement, the position of the Studio Engineer within current music production could not be more valuable. The smooth running of each studio session requires in-depth knowledge of all studio technology (analogue, digital and software) combined with the ability to choose the correct technical approach and deliver professional results efficiently.

This module will present the role of the modern Studio Engineer within the industry and discuss in detail the technology involved. Focus will be on teaching current engineering practices, applied to a variety of typical commercial scenarios, and understanding the relationship between technology and professional studio practice.

This module continues the exploratory work you began in Context & Culture of the Creative Industries. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument via your medium of choice.

The concepts you encounter will actively critique claims to authenticity and originality; themes you will encounter frequently throughout your career as a Creative Professional. You will debate artistic production, the motivations for it, and the problems of creative autonomy.

You will investigate relevant contemporary cultural issues and theories relating to society, race, gender, technology, and the environment to develop your contextual understanding of how these relate to your own creative practice, professional values, and sense of personal agency.

You will be encouraged to meet with your Personal Adviser in a 1:1 tutorial to help you reflect on the strengths and areas for development identified in your PPDP in the first year, tracking your academic progress and setting new actions that will support you to achieve your best work. The research methods and study habits you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice.

This module facilitates understanding of our listening environments and the interpretation of sound through the complexities of both physical and psychological influences. For successful music productions and live sound events, we require acoustically suitable environments alongside an understanding of how our brains interpret sound.

You will learn about the mechanics of acoustics, human hearing and the psychology of audio perception in order to manipulate audio creatively and effectively. You will study topics such as frequency, reverberation and standing waves. This module gives you the skills to design appropriate acoustic treatments utilising industry-standard software and hardware for acoustic analysis.

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

This module will focus on successfully answering a creative brief in a wide range of possible industry areas. You will experience real-world case studies and complete practical exercises in areas such as moving image, production libraries, video games, theatre, interactive exhibitions, and music production. The aim is to provide you with the skills needed to explore your own creative voice within the artistic constraints of professional-client commissions.

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

This module is the final step in your journey and will support you as you look to enter your chosen field as a creative professional. Drawing on evidence from throughout your time here. you will critically self-evaluate your personal learning journey and industry engagements to date. You will explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to support, challenge and test your assumptions, to determine your readiness for work in the creative industries. You will have the opportunity to discuss this with your peers and learn from your collective experiences in both small degree path groups and large mixed discipline sessions.

With this position in mind, you will then be challenged to create and consolidate creative assets to give you the edge over the competition in your chosen field. Specialist workshops will be offered throughout the module, informed and delivered by our wide-reaching connections and specialist lecturers in the creative industries. This culminates in the creation of a portfolio which tells the story of your personal and professional journey so far, communicating your unique professional identity and future career plans in the creative industries.