Pop / Contemporary
Pop music is all around us, on the radio, on tv and by nature of its name, popular music is by far the most listened to music today. Within pop music there are many different genres, rock, indie, folk, R&B…the list is almost endless if you look at iTunes or Amazon music. Singing popular music is about developing your own style and looking to become your own artist. It involves improvising, composing your own songs and quite often playing a musical instrument. It is more of a speech style of singing, little vibrato but closely linked to the emotion, the story of the song which will mean different vocal effects might be used, but only because they are linked to the emotion, not as an add on.
Academy of Contemporary Music
Birmingham, Guildford, London
BA / BSc (Hons) Creative Industries Futures
There are a couple of different pathways within this degree – Creative Artist Pathway and Musician Route.
2 years accelerated delivery or 3 years traditional delivery (London only)
The 2 year accelerated delivery gives you the same number of teaching hours but in a shorter time by reducing holiday time. This saves on tuition fees and living costs compared to a 3 year course.
Entry Requirements
A minimum of 64 UCAS points
A Level – 2 C’s or equivalent Level 3 qualification
GCSE – Grade C / 4 English
Course Description
This degree provides its students with the skills and experience necessary to become a professional vocalist of both stage and studio gathering skills in songwriting, audio production and learning how the music and creative industries work. Whether you’re embarking on a career fronting a band as a lead singer, providing backing vocals on tour, being a session vocalist in studios or wanting to go into vocal coaching ACM is the place to hone and develop the skills and knowledge required.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
- Prepare a song that best demonstrates your voice. You can sing to a backing track, to an instrument accompaniment either by yourself or someone else or you can perform accapella.
- Practice the exercises below
Audition Format
- Perform your prepared song
- A short interview
- Perform some short exercises in the following so your level of skill so far can be assessed:
Technique / Melody – On a comfortable starting note and in a tempo of your own choice sing a major scale( ascending and descending). You’ll then be required to do this in 3 consecutive keys, ascending by semitones from where you began. To demonstrate your technique, phrasing, tone and timing, you will be asked to perform a melodic piece of your choosing to a click (suggested 120bpm, but tempo can be changed if needed).
Harmony / Chords – Using a syllable and tempo of your choice, sing the notes of a major 7 chord, both ascending and descending. You’ll be asked to do this in 2 different keys which will be provided. If you have never done this before, and have learned to sing by ear, then you will be able to find examples of this exercise online.
Groove / Timing – To identify your rhythmic understanding, a single 2 bar rhythm will be played or sung twice. You will be required to correctly clap or sing the rhythm back.
Music Theory – You will be asked to demonstrate your knowledge of music theory and theoretical concepts. Areas for demonstration and discussion will include intervals, scaled and chords as well as broader rhythmic and harmonic content.
Fee’s
2 year accelerated degree – £11,100 per year
3 year traditional degree – £9250 per year
Dates
For Open Days visit their website – ACM OPEN DAYS
Application Route
Complete an online application form at ACM
UCAS Institution Code A48
British & Irish Modern Music Institute
Berlin, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Hamburg, London, Manchester,
BMus (Hons) Popular Music Performance
You can also combine this degree with Songwriting, Event Management, Music Production and Music Business.
3 Years Full Time
Entry Requirements
32 UCAS Points 2 A Levels Grade E or BTEC Level 3 or equivalent.
GCSE – 3 at Grade C / 4 including English
Course Description
Establish your own exciting route in the live music sector with BMus (Hons) Popular Music Performance. This course is perfect if you’re a vocalist looking to take your technical, performance and musicianship skills to a professional level.
The programme combines core topics such as performance, technique, musicianship, theory and technology to help you find and develop your niche as a performer.
You’ll be able to further tailor your course to your own artistic and career aims through our wide range of optional modules. These include a specific focus in areas such as creative performance, session skills, songwriting, composing, arranging and more. You’ll become equipped you with the skills and drive required to be successful in any musical situation.
You’ll become fully immersed in the flourishing BIMM community with plenty of opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of talented peers. And you’ll spend a lot of time on stage, too. You’ll have the chance to play live and perform with your fellow students. Throughout these performances, you’ll receive expert guidance from our BIMM lecturers.
Our lecturers who guide you through your studies are all experienced and highly sought after professionals with invaluable expertise and experience that will help you progress through the course.
Day-to-day learning will be in large live rooms, smaller studio settings and lecture-based classrooms using our world-class facilities.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
- Prepare a verse and a chorus of 2 songs that contrast in style ie pop, jazz, rock, soul, blues. You can either perform to a backing track or accompany yourself
- Practice technical exercises such as major / minor scales, intervals within 1 octave, ability to harmonize
Audition Format
Auditions last 1 hour and are one to one with a BIMM assessor. They can be in person or via zoom
- Performance of your 2 songs
- Technical Exercises including major / minor scales, intervals within 1 octave, harmonizing
- Sight Reading
- Music Theory
If you are applying for a combination degree there may be other elements in addition to the above which can be found on the website
Fee’s
£9250 each year UK
Dates
For Open Days please visit BIMM website
25 January – UCAS Deadline for Applications
Application Route
UCAS Institution Code – B39 Course Code will depend on which combination you choose.
Institute of Contemporary Music Performance
London
BMus (Hons) Popular Music Performance
3 Years Full Time
Entry Requirements
80 UCAS points made up of A levels, BTEC Diploma, equivalent
GCSE – Grade C / 4 in English
Course Description
This dynamic and distinctly forward-looking degree will provide you with the playing, performing, technical and theoretical skills you need for a career as a professional portfolio musician in today’s ever-changing music industry.
Our fast-moving and increasingly digital world has seen many opportunities for the modern music industry to evolve recently, bringing performers, musicians, audiences and music lovers together in exciting new ways. This programme embraces the context of the global music revolution, allowing you to focus intensely on your instrument of choice while gaining innovative business and technology skills that will truly set you apart after graduation.
At the core of your BMus degree is your principal instrument, vocals. Through research and analysis of established genres, styles and repertoire, you’ll develop a broad, comprehensive understanding of genre conventions, so you’re set up to succeed in a wide range of performance scenarios – whether live, livestreamed or recorded.
You’ll develop outstanding technical skills on your primary instrument, with regular one-on-one instrumental tuition with your ICMP tutors across all three years of your degree, plus you’ll be encouraged to explore a foundation in keyboard skills. Unique opportunities are available within the ICMP community to direct bands, ensembles and choirs, ensuring you become a well-rounded, technically accomplished musician who can work across multiple musical environments and contexts.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
- Prepare two contrasting songs that show different styes. Each song should be between 2 – 4 mins long.
Audition Format
A one to one audition with an ICMP tutor to include –
- Interview
- Performance
- Applied Musicianship – you will be given 20 mins to prepare an unseen excerpt from a piece of popular music repertoire (benchmarked against Rockschool Grade 5 performance exercises). To help with this you will be given notated charts, lyrics and a backing track. After the 20 mins preparation time you will perform the piece and then be asked questions related to the piece about technique, stylistic awareness and music theory.
Fee’s
£9250 per year
Dates
15 October – Open Day
Application Route
Apply initially on the ICMP website
UCAS Institution Code i25 Course Code W315
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool
BA (Hons) Music
3 Years Full Time
Entry Requirements
96 UCAS Points from Level 3 qualifications , 3 A Levels Grade C, BTEC Extended Diploma MMM, BTEC Diploma DD, or equivalent. One qualification preferably in Music.
GCSE – 5 Grade C / 4 including English and Maths
Course Description
Our practice-based popular, commercial and contemporary music course allows you to discover what excites you and then build your learning around that.
Through continuous support and feedback from professionally experienced tutors you develop your skills across performance, composition and production along with essential business knowledge. Industry-focused and underpinned by a thorough understanding of music theory; you leave as an educated musician able to make decisions to take control of your career.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
Prepare two contrasting songs, one of which can be your own composition. Choose pieces such as Jazz, Pop, Rock, etc. Do not use Musical Theatre or Classical repertoire. You can sing along to a backing track or accompany yourself.
Audition Format
On the day there will be a welcome talk, a music theory test, tour and individual audition.
- Music Theory Test – this is a multiple choice test to gauge your understanding of intervals, key signatures, chords, scales and modes. It is to asses your current level of knowledge, not a pass or fail test.
- Short tour of the Music Facilities by current students
- Solo Audition of your prepared songs
- Interview and your opportunity to ask questions about the course
Fee’s
No Audition Fee
UCAS Application Fee
£9250 each year
Dates
4/5 October – Open Days Booking Essential
Application Route
UCAS Institution Code LIVIN Institution NumberL48 Course Code W300
Leeds Conservatoire
Leeds
BA Hons Music (Popular)
3 Years Full Time
Entry Requirements
96 UCAS points from level 3 usually A Levels including A Level Music, BTEC Extended Diploma in a music subject, Highers or equivalent
GCSE – 3 including English Language at Grade C / 4
Course Description
In addition to one to one tuition and band work you will access masterclasses from professional performers, songwriters, producers, managers and provers, supporting your artistic development as well as sharpening your creative voice.
Strong links with the music industry mean that we are in constant contact with major labels such as Sony, Universal, Polydor and Decca as well as local labels like Hide & Seek and Leaf Label. We have seen our students perform at Sound City, Live at Leeds, Eurosonic and on the BBC.
We champion original material and encourage you to take creative risks.By the end of your popular music degree you will be a specialist in your chosen discipline and will have established your individual artistic identity and voice as a musician, whilst possessing a breadth of understanding, knowledge and transferable skills that will support you throughout your future career.
Leeds has an incredible music scene and our students are performing in it every day to he week form support gigs at the legendary Brudenell Social Club and Belgrave Music Hall to open mic nights at Oporto, Nation of Shopkeepers and other venues. Our regular Friday night showcase, Crosswire, presents some of our best pop and production artists and our students and alumni have taken the stage at major festivals, including Live at Leeds, Leeds Festival, Tramlines and SXSW.
Individual Singing Lesson? Yes
Audition Requirements
Prepare 2 songs to show your musical strengths and identity. These can be your own compositions or covers with your own stamp on them. You can accompany yourself, sing unaccompanied or use a backing track.
Audition Format
- Perform your 2 pieces
- Sing scales and technical exercises appropriate for your level.
- Answer some theory based questions in relation to one of your audition pieces
- A short interview to discuss your ambitions, influences, approach and understanding of the current music culture and industry.
Fee’s
No Audition fee
£9250 each year
Dates
29 October – Open Day Booking Essential
Application Route
UCAS Undergraduate Institution Code L30 Course Code W302
Royal Northern College of Music
Manchester
BMus (Hons) in Popular Music
4 Years Full Time
Entry Requirements
Grade 8 ABRSM, Trinity, Rockschool or equivalent
Grade 5 ABRSM Theory or equivalent
2 A Levels, Rockschool Level 3 Music Practitioner, BTEC National Diploma in a music subject or equivalent
4 GCSE (A-C) including English and Maths.
Course Description
Over the last decade, the RNCM’s Popular Music programme has established itself as a global destination of choice for outstanding music students, teachers, researchers and professional artists.
The UK’s only 4-year Bachelor of Music degree in Popular Music, this unique course continually reinvents itself to respond to the ever-changing, dynamic music industry, creating exceptional musicians, original artists and entrepreneurs and enabling purposeful, successful, sustainable careers.
This exciting new degree focuses on Artist Development, teaching the essential skills of the 3D musician: Performance, Composition and Production. Inspired by Manchester’s iconic and fertile music scene, our programme embraces innovation and diversity, and through the study of a range of popular music styles and genres, we empower you to be ambitious and imaginative with no boundaries to your creativity.
With the focus on producing exceptional graduates with the skills to shape the future of music, we regard you as a professional musician from day one and have a flexible degree that enables you to create your own bespoke package and to major in one of our four core areas of study. Through an unparalleled network of international visiting artists, industry professionals and influential music industry partners, we actively encourage and support you to develop your professional career alongside your studies.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
Prepare Singing
- one piece of your own choice to a backing track ( not a graded exam piece)
- one of these 2 songs depending on gender Female – Get Here – Jessie J & Jools Holland Male – Human – Rag’n’Bone Man
Complete an online entrance exam covering theory, aural skills, recording, production and artist profile.
Audition Format
1st round – Record and submit the 2 songs including a 2 minute introduction
2nd round – If successful you will be invited to an in person interview where you will perform the same 2 songs once again
Fee’s
UCAS Conservatoire Fee £27
RNCM Assessment Fee £75
£9250 per year
Dates
3 October 2022 – Deadline for Applications
28 October 2022 – Late Submission Deadline
Application Route
UCAS Conservatoire Institution Code Course Code 201F
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance
London
BA (Hons) Music Performance & Industry
3 Years Full Time – 5 hours contact time per week
Entry Requirements
A Level – 2 Passes (one of which should be Music) or equivalent
BTEC Extended Diploma MMM or BTEC Level 3 Diploma D*D*
Course Description
This popular music programme will inspire you as a musician, creative artist and producer to be curious, experimental and collaborative in developing your own personal artistic identity. We provide the rigorous training required for a rewarding career in the music industry. Whether you’re a singer-songwriter, hip-hop producer, electronic artist, folk musician, or all the above, we’ll equip you with the vital skills needed to both succeed in and shape the musical landscape.
This course is the first of its kind for a London conservatoire. Situated in the heart of south east London’s creative music scene, Trinity Laban is a future-focussed and socially engaged destination for young artists. The inbuilt flexibility of the new programme means that it can respond to the fast-paced change of the times in which we live. This programme provides a place of learning, stability, refuge and activism with the ability to make a difference and to give students from all backgrounds a voice through the expression of music.
Individual Singing Lesson?
Audition Requirements
Prepare and submit via uploaded video the following which should be around 3 minutes.
- an original song of your own, either performed as a solo, with others or to a backing track.
- an existing song that has inspired or influenced you either performed as a solo, with others or to a backing track.
Audition Format
- 1st round – submit your videos online
- 2nd round – an online interview and musicianship assessment including elements of rhythm, harmony and listening skills that might include interval and chord recognition, rhythmic exercises and a discussion in response to a piece of music.
Fee’s
Dates
Application Route
UCAS Conservatoires Institution Code Course Code 315F
Further Information