Are you passionate about music? Do you want explore not only the practical aspects of creating beautiful music, but also the history and theory behind it? Studying Music at Liverpool Hope gives the opportunity to cover a broad range of topics and genres, designed to enhance your musical experience. Your studies will focus on historical, analytical, academic, compositional and performance skills in a course led by staff with a broad range of teaching and research specialisms.
Based at our Creative Campus, Music is housed in the Capstone building. It is one of only a handful of All-Steinway Music Schools in the UK and, in addition to a Steinway Model D in the Capstone Theatre, also boasts, a chamber organ, two harpsichords, a suite of sound-proofed practice rooms, all equipped with Steinway pianos, as well as four electronic studios and other specialised teaching spaces.
We are proud to work closely with partner organisations to enhance teaching and broaden your student experience. Through our partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO), you will experience having your compositions workshopped regularly by professional musicians. We have major partnerships with The European Opera Centre, Milapfest (Indian Music and Dance), The Beatles Story, and the City’s two cathedrals. As a student at Liverpool Hope, you will also have the opportunity to get involved with the Department’s flourishing musical life. As well as a vibrant, student-led Music Society which organises performances and social events throughout the year, students can get involved in performance through the lunchtime concert series and open-mic nights.
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of smaller groups of around 15-20 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students. You have the opportunity to have a one-to-one meeting with your tutor each week.
If you are studying Music as a Single Honours degree, in your first year of study there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to 10 teaching hours in your second and third years. If you are studying Music as a Combined Honours degree, in your first year of study there are approximately 6 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 5 teaching hours in your second and third years.
On top of teaching hours, you are also expected to spend approximately 30 hours studying independently each week, as well as group study to prepare for any group assessments you may have.
During your studies, you will have a number of assessments, including written and practical exams, portfolios of written pieces and compositions, written reports, and essays.
Feedback on your work comes in a number of different ways. Tutors will give regular feedback in class. In Performance, you will also gain regular feedback in your individual lessons with your named instrumental/vocal tutor; in Composition, you will gain additional feedback from the players who play your works in the Composition workshops. For more formal submissions such as essays, exams, and portfolios, written feedback will be available within four working weeks. If you need further clarification, you can always contact individual tutors to ask for a meeting. Please note that ‘feedback’ is different from ‘mark’ (the numerical mark awarded on a specific piece of work) and will usually concentrate upon areas of strength, areas of weakness, and suggestions for improvement. Some feedback sessions may include a presentation to the whole group, giving a ‘global’ overview of the way a task was tackled.
*Please note topics marked with a * are studied by Single Honours students only.
A year-long series of lectures which introduces you to a variety of classical music genres within their social and historical contexts.
A year-long series of lectures which introduces you to a variety of popular music genres within their social and historical contexts.
A year-long series of seminars to develop your confidence in music theory.
An intensive series of seminars during your first term covering the music theory which will be essential to many other parts of the degree.
An intensive series of seminars in your second term which will introduce you to Composition at University. You will have the opportunity to hear your new works workshopped by musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Individual lessons in your chosen instrument or voice (15 hours a year) plus participation in Choir or Orchestra.
These tutorials cover essential University-level study skills such as essay writing, presentation skills, referencing and using the library, and also function as small pastoral groups. Your Group of 10 tutor will also be your named Pastoral Tutor.
A year-long series of lectures which introduces you to core aesthetic and philosophical ideas within Music, such as what (if anything) music means, how music is received, and how music histories are written.
A year-long series of lectures which introduces you to Musical Analysis.
A year-long series of seminars which further develops your harmony and counterpoint skills through learning style (pastiche) composition in the style of Bach Chorales, Haydn String Quartets, and Corelli String Trios.
A year-long series of seminars which introduces you to electroacoustic composition within a studio environment.
A year-long series of small-group performance seminars. You will have the opportunity to play in class and to receive feedback on your development as a performer.
A year-long series of lectures which develops your understanding of classical music genres. Emphasis is on music up to the late eighteenth century.
A year-long series of lectures which develops your understanding of popular music genres.
Two year-long lecture series which examines analytical approaches and aesthetic issues within Music. (Intermediate Aesthetics develops topics first introduced during your Introduction to Issues and Ideas in Music lecture series during your first year.)
Two choices from:
Composition develops your skills as a composer. You can chose to study either Acoustic Composition (composing for instruments and/or voices); Electroacoustic Composition (electronic composition in a computer environment); or Songwriting (for which you would produce a portfolio of original popular songs). If you take Acoustic Composition you will have the opportunity to hear your new works workshopped by musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. If you take Electroacoustic Composition there are Electroacoustic showcases, and if you take Songwriting there are open-mic nights.
A carousal of intensive seminars which take an in-depth look at selected musicological topics within their social and historical contexts. Recent Topics include, Women in Music, An Introduction to Editing, Schubert: The Viennese, and Indian Art Music.
If you opt for Performance (either Solo or Group/Ensemble), you receive 15 hours of individual tuition on your chosen instrument or voice and also participate in weekly performance seminars as a group. There are opportunities to perform in class and to receive feedback on your development as a performer.
Two further choices from:
A year-long series of seminars which teaches you to orchestrate and arrange musical works.
An individual Research Project which may take the form of either a Dissertation, a Critical Edition with Commentary, or a Practice-Based Research Project in either Composition or Performance.
A year-long series of lectures in either Advanced Classical or Advanced Popular Music Studies. These develop your understanding of classical or popular music genres at an advanced level. For Advanced Classical Music Studies, the emphasis is on music from the early nineteenth century onwards.
Two year-long series of lectures which further develops your analytical and aesthetic skills at an advanced level.
Two seminar choices from:
If you opt for Advanced Performance (either Solo or Group/Ensemble), you receive 15 hours of individual tuition on your chosen instrument or voice and also participate in weekly performance seminars as a group. There are opportunities to perform in class and to receive feedback on your development as a performer.
Advanced Composition further develops your skills as a composer. You can chose to study either Acoustic Composition (composing for instruments and/or voices); Electroacoustic Composition (electronic composition in a computer environment); or Songwriting (a portfolio of original popular songs). If you take Acoustic Composition, you will have the opportunity to hear your new works workshopped by musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. If you take Electroacoustic Composition there are Electroacoustic showcases, and if you take Songwriting there are open-mic nights.
A carousal of intensive seminars which take an in-depth look at selected advanced musicological topics within their social and historical contexts. Recent Topics include, Interdisciplinary Perspectives: Music and Dance 1909–1944, Finding and Handling Primary Source Material, Film and (Popular) Music, Poets and Musicians in Early Modern Italy.
A year-long series of seminars which further develops your skills at arranging and orchestrating musical works at an advanced level.
A music-related work-based learning placement. Recent placements have been with The Beatles Story, European Opera Centre, Milapfest, BBC Radio Merseyside, Cornerstone Arts Festival, and in Music Education. Students are assessed via a written report.
Two further seminar choices from:
| A-Levels | BBB-BBC |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 120-112. UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DDM-DMM |
| Access to HE | 120 - 112 Tariff Points |
| IB | 28 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 120 - 112 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| Subject Requirements | The ability to read and write music is essential and applicants should be of at least ABRSM Grade 5 Theory standard. All Single Honours applicants will be required to attend an audition and interview. |
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
You will graduate from Liverpool Hope with a broad musical education having had the opportunity to specialise in particular areas. An increasing number of our students are choosing to continue their studies at Masters level at Liverpool Hope, on either our MA Music (with specialist pathways available in Musicology, Performance, Composition, Electroacoustic Composition, or Sacred Music) or our MA in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society. Many graduates also enter the teaching profession via our PGCE courses run by the Faculty of Education.
However, our Music degree also develops a range of transferable skills, including critical analysis and communication so that, in recent years, several of our graduates have moved into the commercial and management sectors, often setting up their own businesses.
Many of our students also choose to mix a career in the music sector with private music teaching. The transferable skills you will gain having studied Music at Liverpool Hope will also equip you for a broad range of other careers in the public and private sectors.
If you take a Negotiated Learning Project in your third year of study, you have the opportunity to undertake a music-related work-based placement. Placements are available with a range of our partner organisations (including Milapfest, the European Opera Centre, and Liverpool's two cathedrals). Past students have recently also undertaken placements with the Cornerstone Arts Festival, BBC Radio Merseyside, and in Music Education.
If you have particular interests in research and are contemplating further study at MA level, you also have the opportunity to work with a member of staff on a specific research project as an accredited Research Assistant.
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
The tuition fees for 2019/20 are £9,250 for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,250.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
On top of your tuition fees, you need approximately £100 to buy core textbooks.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
The International tuition fees for 2019/2020 entry will be released in due course.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
This course is also available as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: