Music and Technology BA (Hons)

The Music and Technology programme allows you to specialise in the vocational areas of recording and production, electronic music, sound design and composition for film and video gaming.

Choosing this subject as a Single Honours

At the same time as focusing on music technology, you will also select half of your modules from our degrees in Music and/or Popular Music. This means you can also study classical or popular music performance, classical or popular music composition, the music industry, and/or select from the wide range of historical and theoretical options.

Programme in detail

The programme not only focuses on technical areas, such as sound recording and music production, but also allows you to explore the creative applications of music technology. You will underpin your technology practice with specialist theoretical, historical and contextual modules and have the option to develop your performance skills in either popular or classical music.

In Years Two and Three, in addition to core modules, you focus in detail on the areas that interest you most.

Department Key Facts

Number of first year students

56 Year One undergraduates in 2016

UK league tables

We were the 1st Department of Music to introduce dedicated, specialist popular music studies and research

National Student Survey

86% are satisfied overall with their programme (National Student Survey 2016)

Research performance

Ranked 10th in the UK for 4* and 3* research in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014

Why this subject?

Enhance your learning with technology and audio-visual media

We offer a distinctive provision in the study of music in audio-visual media, including film and videogame music. This can be practical, oriented towards composition and technology, with dedicated AV composition resources; or theoretical, focusing on the critical study and analysis of music in different types of AV media.

Take advantage of composition and song-writing opportunities

Traditional, electro-acoustic, and audio-visual composition, as well as popular composition/ song-writing, are all represented in the Department, celebrated most recently in the Open Circuit festival – a weeklong series of new music concerts and workshops that brought together world-leading performers and artists to perform new pieces by our staff and students.

Develop your confidence through performance

Although performance is not compulsory, if you wish to pursue this route then, in addition to providing your individual tuition, we provide workshops and other forms of support to enhance your development as a performer. Among the many ensembles, the Department of Music runs a symphony orchestra, a university choir, and a chamber choir, while the University’s Music Society runs a wind orchestra, a brass band and a jazz band. We run a weekly professional lunchtime concert series, and our partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra affords opportunities for participating in composition and performance workshops with professional players. In addition, the Department is home to numerous pop and rock groups, covering many styles, and many of our students perform at local venues and open-mic nights. You will be encouraged to engage with performance activity even if you’re not taking performance as a formal part of your study.

Benefit from studying in a well-established Department

The Institute of Popular Music (IPM) is a research centre within the Department of Music, and one of the very first places to offer university-level provision in popular music. Founded in 1988, it remains at the forefront of popular music studies internationally. With the establishment of our innovative new Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology (ICCat) we are a Department at the cutting edge of the 21st century, exploring new possibilities for technology-enhanced composition.

Learn from music analysis and psychology experts

Several members of staff are dedicated to the study of music through the analysis of scores and performances, but also investigate music from psychological, cognitive and emotional perspectives. We offer a critical approach that encourages you to develop your own unique ways of analysing music from a broad range of repertoires and invites you to explore many new possibilities for appreciating the sonic experience of music.

Thrive in an environment that is leading, innovating and vocational

Our approach to the study of music is one of the most forward-looking in the country, not only engaging equally with all types of music, but also bringing together students from all kinds of musical backgrounds. While we are a serious academic department, we also place a major emphasis on delivering modules that support vocation and employment.