Popular Music
Goldsmiths, University of London
UCAS Code: W340 | Bachelor of Music (with Honours) - BMus (Hon)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
With three Higher Level subjects at 655
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
T Level
Each application will be considered on its individual merits. Where the T Level subject area does not directly match the degree programme being applied for, the personal statement and reference will be particularly important in demonstrating interest, enthusiasm and suitability for the subject.
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About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**This ground-breaking degree embraces popular music in its many forms from the mainstream to the underground and puts exploration and experimentation in creative practice at the heart of the degree.**
- Collaboration with Matthew Herbert's Accidental Records has enabled us to create NX Records, an independent record label based at Goldsmiths, giving us the potential to promote Goldsmiths students' work on an international stage.
**Why study BMus Popular Music at Goldsmiths**
- This programme will allow you to acquire and develop a variety of skills, both individually and collaboratively, including musicianship and ensemble playing, songwriting, production and recording (at Goldsmiths Music Studios), composition and making music for film, and alternative sites for music.
**London and Performance**
- You'll be within easy reach of South East London's many venues, as well as those across the capital, which provide a connection to music, art, dance, and theatre with an international focus, but also to local promoters, labels and the London-based music industry. You'll also have the opportunity to perform at student-run showcases, in department ensembles, and at PureGold, our annual music festival that celebrates music created and performed at Goldsmiths.
**Employment and Industry Links**
- The Goldsmiths Music department has strong links with the music industry, employing professional musicians, producers, and artists as lecturers. We also present frequent, high-profile speakers from the music industry at our talks and events. Recently, these have included Dave Okumu, Nigel Godrich, Darkstar, Mica Levi, Matana Roberts, and Arts Council Music Relationship Managers.
- Beyond music, you’ll be very well set-up for the world of work. Employers look for initiative-driven graduates who think critically about their actions, work well with others and adapt quickly and creatively to new ideas. These ideas are written into the DNA of the degree, which will help you develop these skills. Graduates from this programme include Rosie Lowe, Another Sky, La Lief (Oram Award winner, 2018), James Blake, Katy B, and Ross from Friends, among others.
Please note the BMus Popular Music only accepts applications for first year entry and does not accept applications for deferred entry.
Modules
Year 1 (credit level 4)
In your first year you study a range of areas including creative and practical music studies, textual and contextual analysis of popular music, and an introduction to music technology.
All modules are compulsory at this level as we feel it is essential that all our students develop the necessary key skills and knowledge base before further specialisation.
The modules are:
Songform and Practice
Performance and Practice
Artistic Practices
Critical Approaches to Contemporary Music
Popular Music: History and Contexts
Year 2 (credit level 5)
In your second year, you'll study one or two of the following modules:
Performance: New Contexts
Songwriting
With your remaining credits, you can then choose optional modules (4 or 6 depending on your choices) from the following list:
Sounding the 19th Century
Aesthetics, Meaning and Culture
Music and Identity
Electroacoustic Composition
Making Experimental Sound
Techniques in Jazz and Popular Music
Arranging and Composing for the Jazz Ensemble
Contemporary Jazz Performance the UK Scene
Popular Music Production
Media Composition
Music/Modernities
Soviet Music and Politics
Music Practice and the Black Atlantic: Britain’s Celebrity Culture
Music in Film
What is Jazz?
Sound as Art
Musics of East Asia: Politics, Industry, Creativity
Music of Africa and Asia
Pitching Creative Businesses: Models, Markets and Meaning
Goldsmiths’ Social Change Module
The Goldsmiths Elective
Year 3 (credit level 6)
In your final year, you'll choose one or two of the following compulsory modules:
Creative Performance
Composition portfolio
Research Project
You'll then select from modules from the below list with your remaining credits:
Contemporary Jazz Performance the UK Scene
Acoustic Ecology and Field Recording
Performing South-East Asian Music
Improvisation
Creative Orchestration and Arrangement
Introduction to Audiovisual Composition
Music/Modernities
Soviet Music and Politics
Music Practice and the Black Atlantic: Britain’s Celebrity Culture
Music and Screen Media
Advanced Popular Music Studies
Fringe and Underground Musics 15 credits
Music in Educational, Community and Therapeutic Contexts
Music Workshop Skills
Music Teaching Skills
DIY Practice and Alternative Sites for Music
Live Electronics
Work placement
You as Your Future: Developing Creative Careers
Psychological Approaches to Music
A maximum of 30 credits can be in Related Study (modules offered by other departments). Related Study modules will be published each academic year.
Individual vocal and instrumental tuition
Our location in London means that we are able to attract visiting instrumental and vocal teachers of the highest quality, with many of our staff also teaching at the major music conservatoires. We provide a generous allocation of tuition time. Our performance modules are supplemented with ensemble classes and workshops/masterclasses given by top professional musicians.
First-year BMus Popular Music students are currently entitled to 12 hours of one-to-one tuition per year.
Tuition is available to BMus Popular Music students taking performance options in years two and three. The Popular Music programme currently includes up to 12 hours of one-to-one tuition in both years, with regular workshops and masterclasses.
If you do not opt for performance modules you are not automatically entitled to individual lessons, but we can help make private arrangements with our visiting staff, at preferential rates.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work, solo recitals, improvisation and group performances.
What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Music
Teaching and learning
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Music
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£14k
£21k
£21k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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