BA (Hons) MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN

Overview

Mode	Duration	Start date	Application code	Application method
ModeFull-time	Duration3 Years	Start dateSeptember	Application codeW215	Application method UCAS

International students

The course is not currently open to international students.

International (non Home) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.

Home/EU applicants

Mode	Duration	Start date	Application code	Application method
Mode Full-time	Duration 3 Years	Start date September	Application code W215	Application method UCAS

Accommodation

Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.

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Finance

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This course prepares you to work as a music and sound design specialist within the dynamic environment of the creative industries. You’ll graduate with a portfolio of work that highlights your expertise, providing you with a competitive advantage in the world of work.

There will be an inter-disciplinary first semester where you will work collaboratively on real world projects with students studying media production, game design & development, and photography & imaging to enhance your digital media production skills and to develop your ability to work effectively in a team and on project planning. In the second semester of your first year you will then focus fully on music and sound design gaining specialist skills, but still with opportunities to collaborate with students on other creative technology courses in subsequent years of study.

Your practice will be underpinned by a critical exploration of how music and sound resonate through culture and influences our perception of media artefacts. This will help you to articulate the intentions of your work through independent thinking and a deeper understanding of related concepts.

Methods of assessment for course overall: 100% coursework.

Level 4

• Remix. Remake. Recycle. 
  This module introduces you to a range of approaches to contextual research and academic critique in relation to contemporary practice in the Creative Industries. By exploring key themes across a range of creative disciplines, you will gain perspective and insight into current debates within the creative sector. By extending your frame of reference, you will gain a better understanding of how to contextualise your own creative practice through the lens of history.
• Sound and Vision
  One half of this module will focus on developing your visual literacy, so that you can better interpret the meaning or intent behind images. In the other half of this module, you will focus on developing an understanding of the impact sound has on how we perceive events and experiences. Taken together, these explorations will provide you with critical knowledge and understanding that you can apply to the production of your own audio-visual projects, using cameras, recording devices, and audio-visual editing software.
• Creative Agency
  A creative agency consists of a team of experts with different areas of expertise working together to deliver a project in response to a design brief. In this module, students will work together to deliver creative solutions to a range of creative design briefs. In so doing, you will get a taste of how effective collaboration happens between specialist disciplines within the Creative Industries.
• Sample and Sequence
  This module will introduce you to the key musical concepts of pitch, timbre, rhythm, and genre. You will learn different techniques to edit, process and arrange samples from pre-recorded multi-track arrangements. In doing so, you will gain confidence in working with musical material using digital audio workstation software. The module offers you the opportunity to engage with music production and express your ideas in terms of music, genre, and creative context.
• Sound Recording
  This module will enable you to experiment with recording processes, and explore different types of microphone characteristics. Student will develop an understanding of how sound is recorded, the impact of acoustics on the recording, and how to edit and clean up sounds using a digital audio workstation. As part of the production process, you will be asked to document your work in a portfolio with detailed notes for each recording session.
• Studio Composition
  This module with focus on developing understanding of musical arrangement and composition principles using a digital audio workstation within a studio environment. You will learn the fundamentals of creating music, and explore key concepts relating to tonality, timbre, and arrangement, as well as conventions that relate to film scoring and game music composition. Throughout the module, you will be introduced to the history of creative techniques for recording and composing sound that have been developed in sound studios.

Level 5

• Studio Production
  This module is designed to give an in depth understanding of studio production techniques, and builds on the introductory studio work in your first year. The module will enable you to experience different roles from engineering, to performing and producing within a studio environment. It forms an essential part of the course in preparing you for the rest of the practical modules in your second year  and for your major project in your final year.
• Music Image Text
  Int his module you are supported in further developing your analytical, research and writing skills by exploring connections between music, sound, performance, the moving image, and technology  The module will help you to contextualise your production work, and to develop study skills towards your final year Research Project.
• Creative Music Technologies
  This module is designed to give you the skills and understanding to craft your own sounds from scratch. You will experience working with music production and performance technologies such as modular synthesis, audio programming and explore how to use them within your own creative practices. You will be introduced to new and emerging music technologies, and develop a critical understanding of how these fit within creative ecosystems.
• Sound Design
  This module provides you an opportunity to develop your sound design in either film or games. The module will build on the knowledge acquired during the Sound Recording module in your first year, and introduce you to sound design and post-production roles and processes. You will learn to combine recording, layering and processing, to design sounds for specific characters, spaces or objects.
• Professional Development and Employability
  This module offers you an opportunity to engage with your professional practice and career expectations in a variety of ways, by offering a flexible approach to exploring the multitude of routes into employment or self-employment within the Creative Industries. You will have the opportunity to further your career ambitions through identifiable activities such as work placements, entrepreneurial activity, business planning, creative collaboration, self-promotion, and industry engagement through organised events such as conferences, festivals or design competitions.
• Interdisciplinary Practice
  In this module you are encouraged to diversify your core skillset by engaging in either collaborative or independent investigation within the broader Creative Industries. You will be offered the opportunity to choose from a selection of topics for practical exploration that intersect with your own specialist discipline. In this sense the teaching, learning and investigation is geared towards the production of an interdisciplinary practical output, either independently or as a collaborative endeavour, dependant on the nature of the topic being explored.

Level 6

• Pilot Major Project
  This module develops your individual practice within your specialist area. Research into historic and contemporary theory and practice will enable you to develop a critical framework in which to consider your final year project. The emphasis will be on developing working methods to curate and complete a self-directed project within a specialist area of practice, and to communicate this through a fully formed proposal.
• Music and Sound Design Major Project
  This module will provide you with the platform to showcase your abilities and skills through a sustained, self-directed body of work in your chosen discipline. The first part of the module focuses on the development of research and practical skills as a foundation for your final major project. You will then manage your own learning under the guidance of your supervisor. The module is designed to allow you to immerse yourself into a particular area of interest, allowing you the chance to shape your future career through a major piece of authentic work.
• Research Project
  The final year Research Project module gives you the opportunity to conduct original research in an area of particular interest. It allows you to engage more critically with theories, topics and methods encountered on your course. You will manage your own learning under the guidance of an academic supervisor. The module is organized around lectures, seminars, and one-to-one supervisions. The Research Project form and structure is developed in consultation with your supervisor, who you will meet regularly for 1:1 tutorials.
• Professional Practice and Portfolio
  The module has been designed to assist you with the transition from university to employment. The focus will be on identifying current opportunities in your sector, through a combination of research, guest lecturers and visits to production facilities. By the end of this module, you are expected to have completed a portfolio of work that you can show to potential employers.

The modules were the right mix of theory and practical experience which was a crucial part of my decision. The chance to learn from well-respected lecturers was also really important, as was using facilities I would be expected to understand in the industry.

Nate Gallardo, BA (Hons) Sound Design (2013)

Facilities

You’ll cover music production, film sound, game audio and studio practice.
Your practical work will be supported by a dedicated teaching team with extensive experience across a range disciplines in music and sound production and you’ll have access to cutting-edge studio facilities, editing suites and sound recording equipment. The main software used on the course include:

• Ableton Live
• Avid Pro Tools (Avid accredited)
• Max/MSP
• Unity & Fmod
• VCV Rack

Facilities

You’ll cover music production, film sound, game audio and studio practice.
Your practical work will be supported by a dedicated teaching team with extensive experience across a range disciplines in music and sound production and you’ll have access to cutting-edge studio facilities, editing suites and sound recording equipment. The main software used on the course include:

• Ableton Live
• Avid Pro Tools (Avid accredited)
• Max/MSP
• Unity & Fmod
• VCV Rack