Practical Music Production Higher Diploma

The ACM Higher Diploma is mapped against the Certificate of Higher Education in Contemporary Music Production.

Students graduating from this programme will be awarded two qualifications:

• The ACM Higher Diploma in Contemporary Popular Music and
• The Certificate of Higher Education (CertHe) in Contemporary Music Production.

This qualification is run at Level 4 and sits alongside other Level 4 awards.

• The Higher Diploma course has been designed to provide students with some of the most intensive and practical training, offering a progressive study path leading to a vocation within the music industry.

• The range of programmes available gives producers the opportunity to select the appropriate academic / vocational weighting, taking into consideration their previous experience and professional aspirations.

• This programme gives students an intensive vocational experience combining the opportunity to develop world-class skills, whilst gaining a comprehensive understanding of the music industry.

• Successful completion of this course also opens up the possibility of further study progression, including ACM Degrees.

• The Higher Diploma lasts for one year and consists of 12 hours of lectures per week over 30 weeks. In addition to lectures, students are expected to undertake individual and group practise and get involved with the numerous extra curricular and Business and Artist Development Centre activities.

STUDENTS WILL STUDY THE FOLLOWING MODULES:

• Studio Recording - Developing the advanced skills and knowledge required to operate in a professional studio environment. Using mixing desks, multi-track recorders, hard disk recorders, monitoring systems, synchronisation, basic acoustics, live recording, synthesis, samplers, MIDI controllers, Outboard FX and mastering.

• Composition and Arrangement - Composing, arranging and producing music to a brief, examining a wide range of genres including hit records, film/TV music, game music and radio jingles.

• Music IT - Covering many aspects of music production including: software/hardware, MIDI, keyboard skills, sequencing, hard disk recording, sound editing and score writing. This unit gives the opportunity for practical development of skills gained in other areas of the course.

• Post Production - To introduce students to the basic concepts and issues involved in combining sound with image, whether in films, commercials or TV programmes. The relationship will be examined from both a technical and aesthetic standpoint as well as providing students with a historical overview of its development from the early 1920s up to its contemporary usage. Students will have the opportunity to gain practical experience in some of the more common soundimage techniques.

• Business Studies - Presents the opportunity to discover how business and marketing can enable musicians to realise the commercial potential of their skills. Business studies takes an overview of the music industry and how to succeed in a highly competitive market place.

• Cultural Studies - To get a broad understanding of the ways in which the contemporary music industry has developed over the last century. The unit covers the development of the industry from a cultural perspective, exploring topics with a view to understanding the sociological, economic, political, and technical factors involved.