DEGREE GUIDE

Music

What do Music degrees involve?

Music degrees teach you to understand, create, and perform music across different styles and contexts. You will explore areas such as music theory and analysis, harmony and aural skills, composition and orchestration, performance and interpretation, music history and musicology, ethnomusicology and popular music studies, with some programmes offering supportive modules in music technology and notation software. These courses help you develop disciplined practice habits, critical listening, research and writing, collaboration, and confident communication. Learning typically includes one-to-one lessons on your instrument or voice, ensemble work (choir, orchestra, bands), workshops and masterclasses, seminars and lectures, and assessments through recitals, composition portfolios, and a dissertation. Many degrees also offer options like conducting, improvisation, community music, entrepreneurship, or placements with UK arts organisations. With this blend of creative and academic study, you’ll graduate ready for roles in performance and composition, education, arts management and curation, music publishing, recording and production support, and the wider creative and cultural sectors.

Example
Modules

Music Theory and Aural Skills: Develop your understanding of notation, harmony, rhythm and musical structure, while training your ear to recognise intervals, chords and melodic patterns.

Music History and Analysis: Explore key musical styles, composers and movements from the medieval period to the present day, analysing how music reflects social and cultural change.

Composition and Songwriting: Learn techniques for writing original music. You’ll explore melody, harmony, structure and instrumentation across genres from classical to pop.

Common Degree Names

💼 Placement years or professional practice modules are available at many universities, especially in education, arts management, or performance.
🌍 Study abroad is widely offered through music or arts exchanges.

BA (Hons) Music
BMus (Hons) Music
BA (Hons) Music and Popular Music
BA (Hons) Music and Music Technology
BA (Hons) Music and Sound Production

Music is offered as a BA or BMus. BA degrees often include academic and cultural studies of music; BMus degrees are more performance-focused and conservatoire-style.

A music practice room with an upright piano and open sheet music, a metronome, headphones, an audio interface, a laptop running notation software and handwritten manuscript paper, illustrating the performance, composition and technology skills developed in Music degrees.

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Music degrees vary widely – from academic Music/Musicology to Performance, Composition, Songwriting/Popular Music, Music Technology/Production, and Jazz. Entry requirements depend on your pathway, focusing on musical ability alongside academic skills.

Subjects that strengthen your application:

Music – ideal for academic Music or classical performance/composition routes
Music Technology – useful for production, audio, and electronic composition pathways
English Language or English Literature – helpful for analysis and written work
Drama/Theatre Studies or a Modern Language – valuable for performance or contextual study

✨ Requirements differ by pathway: Performance and composition courses expect practical skill and usually require an audition or portfolio; academic Music courses look for strong listening, analysis, and writing skills – see Other Requirements.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Music, Music Technology, or Performing Arts
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside relevant A-Level subjects
T-Levels in Media, Broadcast and Production (for Music Technology/Production courses only)
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with Music at Higher Level among your IB subjects (minimum two, ideally three), alongside your Career-Related Study; a Performing Arts or Music pathway would be directly relevant

Many courses expect music theory knowledge (often around Grade 5 level) and practical ability appropriate to the pathway. Always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths at grade 4/C or above, or equivalents such as National 5s or MYP

📘 GCSE Music or equivalent can be helpful, but it isn’t essential if you have strong practical experience or take Music at a higher level.

🎤 Audition / Performance or Portfolio
These are common for performance, composition, songwriting and music tech routes. You may be asked to provide:

A live or recorded audition (vocal/instrumental)
A composition portfolio or production showreel (scores, DAW sessions, mixed tracks)
Musicianship evidence (sight-reading/aural skills where relevant)

🎓 Theory/Practical Standards
Many courses (especially classical/jazz performance) expect music theory knowledge (often around ABRSM/Trinity Grade 5 Theory or equivalent skills) and a practical level appropriate to the pathway. Exact expectations vary by course.

💬 Interviews
Often included, usually an informal discussion about your training, listening interests, repertoire, and goals.

🔍 Work Experience

You don't need formal work experience to apply for Music. If you're looking for ways to grow beyond your regular practice, performing in as many contexts as possible, joining ensembles or bands, composing or producing your own work, and teaching or mentoring younger musicians all push you to develop. Volunteering at music events, festivals, or community music projects also gives you useful perspective on how music works beyond the practice room.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What draws you to music - and how has your musical journey developed? Reflect on your experience as a musician: the instruments you play, the styles you've explored, the ensembles or bands you've been part of, or the music you've composed or produced. Think about the artists, composers, or genres that inspire you and how they've shaped your own musical development. Whether you're focused on performance, composition, or production, admissions tutors want to see your passion for music-making and understanding of yourself as a developing musician - what excites you, what you've experimented with, and where you want to grow.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in Music, Popular Music or Music Technology

Many universities offer a foundation year if you don't have the required subjects or grades. This helps you develop your performance, composition or production skills before applying for the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Music, Performing Arts or Creative Arts)

Widely accepted by universities offering Music degrees. Choose a pathway that matches your focus — performance, composition or production — and aim for Merits and Distinctions in your graded units. An audition or portfolio may also be required.

💼 Level 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships such as Live Event Technician or Broadcast Production Assistant carry UCAS tariff points from 2026 and can support a university application, particularly for Music Technology or Music Production courses at universities with flexible admissions policies.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

Start Your Journey → £3 a month

Full access to all self-discovery tools and guides. Cancel anytime.

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

Context sentence

Heading 6

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

Heading 6

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

custom skills note goes here

Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Music degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Music: Performance, composition and music technology sit at the heart of the degree. You'll develop your instrument or voice through one-to-one tuition and ensemble work, explore composition, and shape sound in studios using digital audio tools and electroacoustic techniques.

Different Cultures, Languages & Beliefs: Ethnomusicology features in most BA Music programmes. You'll explore how music works in cultures across the globe, from Persian classical traditions to West African drumming, and what each tradition reveals about belief, ritual, and identity.

The Past & How It Shapes Us: Music history and musicology are central to the degree. You'll trace Western art music from medieval times to the present, study the cultural contexts of musical change, and examine how listening itself has shifted across the centuries.

Students who thrive in a Music degree are often motivated by

Precision and Thoroughness

You feel satisfied when work is done accurately and completely. Whether it's getting calculations exactly right, spotting errors others miss, or making sure every detail is correct, the pursuit of precision gives you a sense of accomplishment. Sloppy or "good enough" work frustrates you, and you take pride in getting things right first time.

Curiosity and Learning

You're energised by the activity of learning itself: diving into a subject you've never explored, watching documentaries, taking apart how something works, or constantly asking "why?" The process of learning gives you energy, not just the outcome. You don't just want the answer; you want to understand how things connect, why they matter, and what's underneath the surface explanation.

Sharing Your Work with Others

You take pride in showing what you've created to others, whether that's exhibiting artwork, demonstrating an invention, publishing writing, or presenting project results. The moment when someone else experiences or responds to your work gives you a buzz. You create with an audience in mind, even if that audience is small.

Performing and Presenting

You love being in the spotlight, whether that's on a stage, in front of a camera, or giving a presentation to a room full of people. The energy of a live audience or the focus of all eyes on you doesn't make you nervous; it makes you come alive. You thrive on the immediate connection between performer and audience, and you miss it when it's gone.

Personal Expression

You're energised by making work that's recognisably yours: putting your perspective, experiences, or imagination into something you create. Whether that's art, writing, design, music, film, or any creative output, you get the most from the work when your own voice or vision is showing through, not when you're producing something indistinguishable from anyone else's. Creative work that lets you leave your mark feels more satisfying than work that's purely technical, however skilled.

Analysing and Investigating

You're energised by making sense of information, looking for evidence, spotting patterns, and piecing together how things connect. Whether it's pulling apart data, questioning assumptions, or tracing a problem back to its source, you find energy in the process of understanding what's really going on. You'd rather dig into the details than accept things at face value.

Creativity and Innovation

You're energised by the act of creating something new or finding a fresh way to approach a problem. Whether it's designing, writing, building, or experimenting, you feel most alive when you're generating original ideas rather than following established methods. The possibility that something has never been done before excites rather than intimidates you.

What makes Music click for the students who love it?

Two things pull at them at once: working out exactly why a piece of music does what it does, and making something that's unmistakably theirs. They don't just play or compose; they want to understand how a phrase is built and how musical ideas have shifted over centuries. The discipline of getting every detail right energises them as much as the freedom of writing in their own voice. The moment their music reaches an audience matters as much as the hours behind it, and the precision and the passion feed each other.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you feel most alive when you're playing or singing — whether that's performing for others or practising on your own?
Do you enjoy writing your own music, experimenting with different sounds, or coming up with new arrangements of existing pieces?
Do you put real time into practising your instrument or voice, always trying to improve your technique and range?
Do you find yourself listening closely to music and noticing how it's structured — the harmonies, rhythms, and patterns underneath?

Careers a Music degree could lead you to

Music

What do Music degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

Heading 6

Heading 6

Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Music degree could lead you to

Example
Modules