Start Date
Mon 22nd September 2025
Attendance
Full-time
Duration
2 Years
Location
Poole Campus
FdA Music and Sound Production
Subject Area
Music
Attendance
Full-time
Duration
2 Years
Location
Poole Campus
Course Overview
In the UK, we listen to an estimated 60 billion hours of music a year. That’s the equivalent of 7 million years – as long as humans have existed. As a musician producer, you will already be one of the 5 million people who regularly create music, or one of the 9 million who have previously done so. This FdA Music course will provide you with an experience through which you will develop your potential, further your knowledge and refine your skills.
This degree level course will focus on providing students with the skills that they need to meet the needs of clients in live music production contexts, studio recording contexts and media-based contexts. Students will study units embracing studio production, live music applications, audio electronics and sound synthesis. The course is expected to explore analogue (tape) recording as well as digital.
Students will produce work using several of the major music software platforms in current use and will develop academic knowledge of music technology from historical, cultural, social and economic perspectives. It is intended that the course provides the student with a vehicle for creative experimentation as well as training to be able to provide industry applications.
Modules within the course will cover the following topics:
Sound Creation and Recording.
Live Sound
Audio Electronics
Experimental music
Music and Society
Analgoue Recording
Mixing and Mastering
Music for Media
There will also be elements of music theory, tutorials and music analysis.
FdA Music and Sound Production is a two-year course that provides students with the creative and technical knowledge required to build a career in music production. The course primarily engages the student with technology but is intended to provide opportunities for any suitably qualified candidate with an interest in writing / producing / collaborating in music production. The course will provide a wide range of music production experiences to support future employment / self-employment in a variety of roles.
The course connects the practice of music and sound production to theoretical contexts, exploring historical and cultural elements that inform current practice. With guidance, students will build critical awareness of concepts in production and practical skills so that they may realise their full potential both as independent artists and as integral members of a production team. Through a programme of listening, students will improve their awareness of different music styles and genres.
The mix of project work, as independent creatives, collaborators and practitioners working to meet the needs of others, will build capacity and work-flow strategies that prepare the student for entry into professional work or further study.
The course aims to help students to become culturally aware and socially able practitioners with a range of skills and experience that makes them valuable and effective in the professional world of music and sound production.
Entry requirements
UCAS Tariff - 48 points
All applicants should have level 3 qualifications including at least one ‘creative’ subject. Applicants who fall outside of this tariff may be considered.
The course is taught in English. Academic IELTS overall score of 5.5 with a minimum of 5.0 in each band (reading, writing, speaking, listening). If students are joining the course from outside of the UK it is likely that they will require a visa.
In the last term of the course there will be work-experience projects either through offeres from external partners or through searches carried out by the students themselves.
The majority of graduating students choose to top-up their FdA to a full BA (hons).
Employment within the music industry is commonly freelance with something like 75% of practitioners being registered self-employed, it is therefore anticipated that students will largely begin their career development through self-employment.
Tuition fees
£7,750 per academic year
Students who are eligible, can apply for a student loan via Student finance login - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to cover the cost of the tutiton fees.
International Fees
We currently do not offer this course to International applicants due to UKVI regulations.
By the end of the course you will be able to...
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the intellectual, imaginative and practical skills needed for the creation of music and in response to briefs where music is required to meet a client’s need.
• Demonstrate and articulate your understanding of the relationships between different genres, trends and histories and a clear sense of where your own professional strengths lie and how you intend to launch your career in the industry.
• Communicate your ideas both in both a verbal and practical way.
• Articulate your understanding of the complex nature of music production, the forms that this may take and the target audience that you wish to reach.
• Collaborate with others effectively in the realisation of a performative and/or participative event within or across disciplines.
• Extend academic learning as an independent, self-reflective and creative practitioner, fully prepared for professional environments or postgraduate study.
Awarding Body:
Arts University Bournemouth (AUB)
Curriculum Area:
Creative and Digital Industries - Music