CREATIVE MUSIC MAKING

Course Details

The programme offers students the opportunity to receive face-to-face and online tuition from teaching staff from Trinity Laban’s Faculty of Music in Greenwich. It will support you to develop your practical skills, knowledge and understanding of musical practice, ensemble music making and musical performance. It does so by exploring a range of ideas and approaches developed by other musicians, before applying these to your own music making. The programme does not include specific tuition on your instrument or voice, but focuses on transferable musical skills relevant across genres and disciplines.

Areas studied will include:

• Evaluating and refining your own performances
• Exploring approaches to practice, preparation and performance
• Communication skills, such as in rehearsing and making music with others
• Creativity and interpretation
• Creative technologies
• Arranging music for your ensemble
• Planning performances and developing an audience.

For further details, see our Programme Specification.

 

Teaching and Learning

How will I learn?

• The programme consists of 22 online units. Each unit provides reading and listening materials to reflect upon, exercises and ideas to take into your personal practice.
• Throughout the programme, you will be asked to record your own musical development through the use of a reflective journal and occasional audio recordings. This process will not require specialist audio equipment – a mobile phone or tablet, for example, may be an adequate recording device.
• There are weekly reading, listening and practical tasks to enable you to apply new ideas to your own music making, alone and with others. Online group tutorials and discussion forums complement your learning.
• You will develop and contextualize your learning about practice through your personal involvement in music making within local group activities, observation of the music-making practices of others, online forum discussion and reflective practice tasks.
• Tutorial learning will be delivered in small groups, building on information you have already acquired through your personal study of the programme materials made available online.
• Your own practical experience is underpinned with theoretical knowledge to help develop your practical and observational skills and your creative responses to challenges.

 

How will I be assessed?

• You will be set four assessed formative assignments and a summative personal project, which you must pass to gain the Level 6 (Level 3 OU) Certificate qualification.
• The assignments will require you to demonstrate critical engagement with programme materials as well as wider research and listening in related subjects. You will be asked to describe how you have applied concepts and theories to your own musicianship, and with what result.
• You will not be assessed upon your performance ability, but on how you have engaged with and synthesised musical ideas.
• Assignments will be supported by regular online tutorials with a member of Trinity Laban staff, including group discussion with other students.
• You will receive regular and on-going feedback from staff through tutorials and discussion forums.

 

Entry Requirements

Practical Entry Requirements

• There is no audition for this programme however students should be actively involved in practical music making, including some form of music making with others (e.g. playing in a band, rehearsing as a duet) for the duration of the programme.
• Applicants not already involved in music making with others will be asked to note that successful completion of the programme will require them to find opportunities to participate in group music making on a regular basis. Confirmation of the students’ planned practical activities will be required prior to enrolment.

Academic Entry Requirements

We welcome learners from all academic and non-academic backgrounds. If you are unsure, we strongly advise you to contact us at admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk We’ll be happy to help and discuss the programme with you.

• Applicants are typically expected to hold academic credit at Level 5 on the FHEQ, normally acquired through prior completion of degree level study (Foundation degree, HND, DipHE or the second year of Bachelors degree study or equivalent).
• OU students must have passed A224 Inside music, A232 Music, sound and technology, A234
  Understanding music, or A342 Central questions in the study of music before studying this module,
  and should have completed stages 1 and 2 of their degree
• For others, this prior learning may be demonstrated in the following ways:
  • Music study at Level 5 or above in another institution (you may, for example, have studied for an academic music degree in the past and now wish to focus more on performance)
  • Study at Level 5 or above in a related subject combined with significant experience of practical music making (e.g. regular music making for 2 years or more)
  • Equivalent entry qualifications or professional experience may be considered for entry to the programme, subject to completing the Institution’s RPL procedures.
  • Applicants for whom English is not their first language should demonstrate proficiency in English equivalent to a pass at Trinity Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level IV, GESE Levels 7-9, IELTS 6.5 overall (min. of 6.0 in all areas). Equivalents from other English language course providers may also be considered.
  • Students must play an instrument or sing (at any standard in any genre) and make music regularly
    with at least one other person, who does not need to be a student, throughout the programme.

Fees and Finance

Undergraduate Fees

Fees for Creative Music Making 2024/25 are £4,260. This includes standard accommodation and meals during the residential week.

Payment of fees can be made in full or in three equal instalments.

Payment is made via Trinity Laban’s online web payment system upon acceptance of offer of a place and prior to enrolment.

Financial Support

Creative Music Making is eligible for Student Finance. Please see our FAQs for further details.

Tuition fee debt

By enrolling on a programme of study online, you are entering into a contract with Trinity Laban and are bound by the information detailed here which outlines the deadlines and financial expectations should you decide to change status, or terminate your studies.

In the event that you have not paid the due fees or discharged any other financial obligation to the Institution, Trinity Laban reserves the right cancel your registration and remove you from your programme of study, cancel the awarding of any degree or certification, and reserves the right to take action to recover outstanding monies.

A fully enrolled student who has opted to pay by instalments must make all payments by the agreed dates. If a student does not make the second or third payment by the due date, their access to the Creative Music Making VLE will be suspended. They will be notified by email of any outstanding debt or sanctions applied.

The Finance Office will inform the Director of Music of those students whose access to the VLE is being suspended. The student will not have access to the VLE re-enabled until payment has been received.

If tuition fees remain outstanding after the end of the academic year, the debt will be actively pursued by the Finance Office Credit Controllers, and the matter will also be passed to a debt collection agency.

How to Apply

Applications to Creative Music Making 2024/25 are open  via UCAS Conservatoires until 9 September 2024.

Please disregard the ‘on time deadline’ of 31 January 2024 as this is set by UCAS and does not apply for this course.

The term dates are as follows:

Programme Dates

Welcome week – 23^rd-27^th September 2024

Course start date –  30^th September 2024

Residential Dates

Monday 7^th April 2025 – Saturday 12^th April 2025

Our conservatoire code is T75 and the course code 501M. As well as providing information about any prior qualifications you hold, you are asked to attach a personal statement, outlining any other relevant experience, your reasons for wishing to enrol on the programme, and your current or planned musical activity.

A standard UCAS Conservatoires application fee of £27.50 applies. Please note the application cycle for this programme differs from most conservatoire programmes.

The application system on UCAS Conservatoires requires you to name two referees in support of your application. However these are not normally contacted as part of the assessment of applications for CMM.

There is no audition for the Creative Music Making programme.

Late applications may be considered – late applicants are advised to directly contact admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk

Apply Now

Alumni Destinations

After completing the Creative Music Making programme, students may wish to progress to further study towards an Open University degree, such as the OU BA (Hons) Music, or (subject to successful audition) to further study at Trinity Laban on the Foundation Certificate: Music, the Postgraduate Diploma, The Teaching Musician or other programmes. In order to progress to further study at any level, you must pass all elements of assessment.

To find out about our recent CMM Alumni and their experience of the programme, visit the Alumni Testimonial page.