BA (Hons) Music Performance

Year overview

Your final year! Your own artistry!

Honours is where your work becomes properly your own. You'll develop your practice as a performer, songwriter and producer, perform publicly, and take on an independent project in an area you choose, graduating with a body of work that shows exactly what kind of artist you are.

You'll sharpen the things audiences feel: stagecraft, musicianship, ensemble work and interpretation, and the ability to hold a room. You'll also work alongside our Sound Production students, recording and producing your music the way it happens in the industry.

Whether you see yourself performing live, working as a session musician, writing songs, teaching or researching, this year is built around where you want to take your music next.

Entry

Successful completion of our BA Music Performance course.

Studied elsewhere? If you hold an ordinary degree in music performance or a closely related subject from another institution, we'd be happy to hear from you.

Not there yet? Our pathway runs from HNC and HND through to BA and Honours, so you can start at the level that suits you.

Learn

How you'll learn
The year is built around three strands that reflect how the contemporary music industries actually work.

Performance and collaboration
You'll rehearse, collaborate and showcase your work regularly in professional-standard spaces, with public performances that build your stagecraft, your confidence and your reputation.

Electroacoustic performance and production
You'll work with sound and technology as part of your performance practice, from processing and live electronics to production techniques that extend what you can do on stage and in the studio.

Music industries and cultural research
You'll examine how the industry really operates, from business structures and revenue to the cultural forces shaping what gets made and heard. These are the research skills behind your Honours project, and the commercial awareness behind a sustainable career.

Learn from working musicians
You'll be taught by our own lecturers and visiting professionals active in the industry, building connections as well as experience. In music, who knows your work often matters as much as how good it is.

In term two you'll also study at our Motherwell Campus, working alongside musicians across the department.