BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording (Top Up)
01 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2032
| Course Leader | Alun Tomos |
|---|---|
| Course Team | |
| Awarding Body | University of South Wales |
| Teaching Institutions | University of South Wales |
| Modes of Study | Full Time |
Document Version
| Version | 0 |
|---|---|
| Valid From | 01 Sep 2026 |
| Valid To | 31 Aug 2032 |
QAA Benchmarks
Educational Aim
The Course aims to produce flexible, skilled, reflective practitioners in the subject domain who can operate with autonomy and confidence, using advanced practical, technological, intellectual, cognitive and entrepreneurial skills to make a significant contribution to the field of popular and commercial music and body of knowledge in the discipline.
They will achieve this through successful completion of the modules and by undertaking the self-initiated projects that constitute the course
The main aims of the course are:
Aim 1 Develop students’ ability to produce creative and original work, individually and in collaboration with others, appropriate to a range of popular and commercial music contexts.
Aim 2: Enhance students’ understanding of musical processes, materials and technologies, whether through composition, production, performance, analysis, or criticism.
Aim 3: Provide students with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the music industry, informed by current practice, scholarship and research, including a critical awareness of current issues and developments in the subject and the profession.
Aim 4: Enable students to identify and evaluate relationships between theory and practice and apply research to professional situations in the subject domain.
Aim 5: Provide students with knowledge of the operational aspects of the music industry and of existing and emerging practices in popular and commercial music.
Aim 6: Develop students’ understanding of professional practices and employment opportunities within popular and commercial music and related fields.
Aim 7: Provide opportunities for the development of a broad range of industry-relevant transferable skills, with particular emphasis on communication and entrepreneurial skills.
Learning Outcomes
| A1 | Demonstrate knowledge of the historical, contemporary and emerging theoretical debates and developments relevant to the discipline. |
| A2 | Understand the principles, professional practices, and production processes of popular and commercial music 'pipelines', from the ideas stage through to presentation, performance and production. |
| A3 | Understand the operation of the popular music industry, its forms, markets and audiences, including the importance of the commercial processes, ethical considerations and the role of popular music within the creative industries and contemporary cultural life. |
| A4 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how music interconnects with other disciplines in the arts, humanities, social and physical sciences, as appropriate. |
| B1 | Identify and solve problems in the development of creative ideas and concepts, using secure methodological strategies. |
| B2 | Research, analyse and critically evaluate theory, debates, and practice, as relevant to the discipline. |
| B3 | Express intellectual curiosity, speculative enquiry, imagination, and divergent thinking skills. |
| B4 | Evidence an awareness of the implications of an interdisciplinary approach to music for creation, innovation and research. |
| C1 | Produce work in an appropriate form, satisfying specified professional (music industry or academic) requirements and expectations, and utilising suitable technologies. |
| C2 | Recognise their own personal strengths and specific skills, and identify a range of potential career goals. |
| C3 | Work in a professionally engaged and well-organised manner, individually or within a team, and understand associated time management requirements, roles and responsibilities. |
| C4 | Collaborate with others on joint projects or activities and display advanced skills of teamwork, negotiation, organisation and decision-making. |
Course Structure
Level 6 Modules
| Module Code | Module Id | Module Title | Module Status | Credit Value | Module Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MO3S36 | MOD012117 | Professional Practitioner | Running | 20 | specified |
| MO3S38 | MOD012729 | Industry Ready | Running | 20 | specified |
| MO3D10 | MOD012722 | Immersed in the City | Running | 40 | specified |
| MO3D12 | MOD013657 | Major Project | Running | 40 | specified |
Teaching and Assessment
Learning and Teaching Methods
Employer Engagement
Means of Assessment
The course content is designed to cover every aspect that a professional musician may need to survive in the current music industry in terms of skills and knowledge. These elements include performance, songwriting and composition, music production and digital fluency, knowledge of music industry practice and aspects of promotion and events management. These main areas are covered in solo and collaborative contexts, including cross-disciplinary working. With professional musicians now having to adopt a portfolio career, covering all these areas gives the student the best chance of being able to maintain a career within the music industry. The development and progression of a performing musician relies on continual and regular practice and, with performance being an integral part of the course, it has been decided that full-time study is the most appropriate and effective mode of delivery. Likewise, the understanding of the theoretical and conceptual elements that underpin music creation require continual application, within a practical context, to maintain fluency of said elements. The assessment methods are varied and reflect the myriad of skills a professional musician needs in the current music industry, including assessed performance, presentations and oral assessments, written assignments (coursework) and project outputs (including student choice outputs). The delivery schedule is designed to spread the submissions as evenly as possible across the year and to avoid any ‘bunching’ of assessment deadlines and to avoid peaks and troughs in terms of student workload.
Learning Support
Induction
Induction sessions will be provided for all year, in turn, and will cover all areas needed for the students to successfully navigate their forthcoming year of study, including meeting the course leader and teaching team, timetabling, group allocation and code of conduct. In addition to this, the students will receive instruction sessions covering the following areas:
· Navigating your VLE (Blackboard/Unilife)
· Health and Safety in specialist spaces (studios and rehearsal rooms)
· How to Book a Room (studios and rehearsal rooms)
· IT Services
· Student Support Services – where to find them
· Media Loans (Connect2)
To create a sense of community, from the outset, the first-year students will be allocated into bands and will rehearse across the week, under the supervision of the course leader, in preparation to perform one or two songs towards the end of the week. The performances will be held in a local venue with established 2nd and/or 3rd bands performing as “headliners”. This gig will be a social event for all three years and will include an ice-breaker session, such as a pub quiz.
Personal Tutor
All students across the three years will be allocated a Personal Tutor within the first few weeks of the Autumn term. The personal academic coach will meet each of their allocated students in a one-to-one tutorial, once a term, to track and support their academic progress.
Office hours
All module leaders will indicate their office hours and those of their module teaching team on the VLE (Blackboard/Unilife). In addition to this, where possible, teaching staff will place their office hours on their office doors.
Tutorials
Where applicable, tutorials will be provided as part of the allocated contact hours within relevant modules. Beyond this, students will be able to request and book a one-to-one tutorial with their course leader and/or module leader/tutor on an ad-hoc basis.
Seminars
Seminars will be provided within certain modules, as defined by the module’s allocated contact hours.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessments will be rolled-out across the year on an ad-hoc basis. Examples of which include mini-targets set for the weekly performance workshops in Live Performance and Professional Performance and in-seminar activities (music theory and songwriting tasks) in Inside the Music.
Progress meetings
With the students having to work in small groups across Level 4 and 5, progress meetings will be embedded into the supervised time in the studios and workshops. At Level 6, progress meeting will be core to the Immersed in the City module and further progress meetings will be embedded into The Professional Musician: Delivery module, through weekly tutorials with the project supervisor.
Research Supervision
Research supervision will be provided by the teaching team of the Level 6 module, The Professional Musician: Research. On completion of this module, students’ progress onto their major project or dissertation. Supervisors will be allocated to each student based on the nature of the project/dissertation and the research interest/expertise of the supervisor, drawing on a wider range of academic staff.
Online Resources
Online resources will be provided through Unilearn/Blackboard for each module by the module leader and associated teaching team. Further technical instruction and software tutorials will be available on Unilearn/Blackboard, alongside a Health and Safety briefing available on YouTube.
Advice Zone
Students will be made aware of the services provided by the Advice Zone during induction sessions as well as being reminded of the service by academic staff, if they are presented with a student query that goes beyond their remit.
Disability
Students with disability will be referred to the Disability Team.
Course Exit Points
| Award | Criteria | Final |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Music (with Honours) | 120 with a minimum of 100 at L6 | Final |
Progression Route
Entry Requirements
Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:
For full Honour Degree students must achieve 360 credits of which 120 must be at Level 4 ( HNC/CertHe or Year 1 FD) 120 at Level 5 (HND/DipHe or Year 2 FD) and 120 at Level 6.
Students who achieve more than 300 but do not achieve the 360 credits will be awarded a Degree without Hons.
As this is a Top-up course 240 credits will need to be carried from a previous course. In the case of students progressing from Cardiff and Vale Colleges FD in Performance and Recording this will be automatic following successful completion of that course. In exceptional circumstances direct entry from other course may be possible. Applicants will be expected to have achieved 240 credits from an equivalent course at HND/FD level in a performance and recording related area, following content mapping and interview
Inclusive Curriculum Statement
The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/
Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution
N/A
Methods Of Quality Standards
As with all partnership courses the following apply:
A dedicated USW Link Officer is assigned to the course, these provide a regular point of contact for all partner college course staff for operational issues. They also provide wider links to USW registry, finance and advice/casework support for students. Emphasis is on swift resolution of any issues as they occur rather than unnecessary delay.
Each college provides an equivalent Link Officer who is the main link to the course for that partner. With their USW colleague they complete continuous monitoring and Link Officer report that feeds back any issues that need to be resolved.
For FBCI a yearly Partner College Conference provides refresher training on enrolment, QA reporting, finance and student support for all partner college link officers, as well as updates on any changes to QA, funding or other University policies or procedures.
At the start of each year and again and the beginning of each term USW and Partner Link officers meet to run through the delivery pattern and assessment schedule for the year. Where modules are common to those on USW Campus, as is the case here, regular calibration and moderation sessions that set marking/grading expectations take place. With reference to previously graded work, to establish standards, and cross module moderation clear levels of achievement are maintained.
Following submission of marks/grades these are considered at subject and award boards that consider module grades and student performance across the course and historically through previous years grades where available.
Student Voice:
All years of all courses have a student nominated student representative who acts as a spokesperson for the class, as well as official representative with the student’s union;
Reps are expected to take up any serious issues direct with module leaders directly escalating to course leaders or Heads of Subject as appropriate.
Module surveys are completed at the end of each module, with comments collated anonymously and forwarded to the course team for consideration and action. The outcomes of these actions are discussed with students in staff student groups. These meet typically one per term, but in the case of urgent issues can be called at any time. These are reinforced by “You said, we did.” Messaging on the course VLE.
All students are eligible to complete the National Student Survey and the outcomes of these are the subject of continuous monitoring and specific course action plans where required. Again, these involve students at all stages and outcomes are fully communicated.
Quality Of Standards Indicators
N/A