Creative Music Practice - PhD

The PhD in Creative Music Practice involves research that combines textual and musical outputs. For example:

• Composition
• Performance (either of original or pre-existing repertoire)
• Installation
• Sound design
• Interactive music software, etc.

The outputs take the form of a portfolio, performance, and/or recording, as well as theoretical work and documentation of the processes by which the music was made (e.g. video, photographs, recordings, sketches, studies, web pages).

The musical outputs are explicitly linked to the textual material. This linkage may take various forms: musical material might exemplify, contextualize, and/or expand an idea elaborated in the text, and vice versa.

The programme requires candidates to critically evaluate and articulate the relationship of textual to extra-textual media in the formation of musical knowledge. The format of the PhD thesis consists of a text of not more than 50,000 words and a comprehensive record of the musical material (recordings, scores, software etc.) contained in a coherent and archive-able format (bound thesis and/or CD/DVD). In the case of theses relating to live musical performances, documentation in the form of high quality audio and video recordings is central to the submitted materials.

The programme attracts, for example:

• composer-theorists who wish to carry out research into and practice of particular compositional models
• performers who wish to deepen their practice through musicological research
• computer music composers who wish to develop documented hard/software systems for their music
• performers with a need to study the techniques and organology of period instruments
• instrument builders/researchers needing historical techniques found from evidence on the original instruments

Prof Raymond MacDonald, Programme Director | View staff profile >

All research degrees require students to work closely with a supervision team. Please browse staff profiles to learn about the research specialisms and outputs of Music staff. If your research is interdisciplinary, look at staff profiles in other subject areas, too. We encourage you to approach staff directly to gauge their availability and suitability as a prospective supervisor.

When making first contact, prepare a couple of sentences which describe the topic (research area, research questions). Please also include a link(s) to allow your prospective supervisor to see examples of your musical practice (website, online portfolio, recordings, written output, etc.).

This is not a commitment to carrying out a precise project of work, it simply allows potential supervisors to understand how clearly you can envisage the scope of a PhD or MScR project, and also the type of practical - as well as intellectual – matters that postgraduate research entails. This early contact with staff should also be helpful to you, for decisions you will need to make about how to develop your proposal, and with whom you would like to work.

• Find out more on our Reid School of Music PhD application guidelines (PDF)

If you are uncertain and wish to seek advice, please do get in touch, either with Prof Raymond MacDonald or Sophie Ramette (ECA PG Office).

Prof Stefan Bilbao, Acoustics and Audio Research Group; Research Project Director NESS

Acoustics and audio, Computational, Instrument research, Technology | View staff profile >

Dr Annette Davison, Director of Research, Reid School of Music; Course Organiser for MMus Musicology

Aesthetics, Archival study, Contemporary, Cultural history, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Music industries, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Politics, Reception, Social history, Sociology, Theory and analysis, Twentieth century | View staff profile >

Dr Dr Anne Desler, Director of Performance, teaching on MMus Musicology

Aesthetics, Archival study, Classicism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Historiography, Improvisation, Music industries, Opera/Theatre, Pedagogy, Performance, Philosophy, Popular music, Reception, Renaissance/Baroque, Sacred music, Social history | VYati Durant, Programme Director, MSc in Composition for Screen

Composition, Contemporary, Electroacoustic, Empirical, Improvisation, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Performance, Philosophy, Sonic art, Technology, Twentieth century, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >

Dee Isaacs, Course Organiser, 'Introduction to Community Arts Practice'

Community, Composition, Ethnomusicology, Sonic art | View staff profile >

Dr Elaine Kelly, Teaching on MMus Musicology

Aesthetics, C19th Romanticism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Historiography, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Politics, Social history, Twentieth century |

Prof. Raymond MacDonald, Programme Director, Music - PhD/MPhil/MScR by Research, Creative Music Practice - PhD and Musical Composition - PhD

Cognitive sciences, Community, Composition, Contemporary, Empirical, Ethnomusicology, Improvisation, Instrument research, Music and health, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Musical development, Performance, Psychology, Sonic art, Twenty-first century |

Dr Nikki Moran, Senior Lecturer, Music

Cognitive sciences, Community, Empirical, Ethnomusicology, Improvisation, Pedagogy, Performance, Psychology, Reception |

Dr Michael Newton, Programme Director MSc Acoustics and Music Technology

Acoustics and audio, Computational, Instrument research, Technology | profile

Dr Katie Overy, Director, Institute for Music in Human and Social Development (IMHSD)

Cognitive sciences, Empirical, Music and health, Musical development, Neurosciences, Pedagogy, Psychology |

Dr Martin Parker, Programme Director MSc Sound Design/MScR Sound Design

Acoustics and audio, Composition, Computational, Contemporary, Electroacoustic, Improvisation, Instrument research, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Performance, Sonic art, Technology, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >

Dr Benedict Taylor, Course Organiser for MMus Musicology

Aesthetics, C19th Romanticism, Classicism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Reception, Theory and analysis, Twentieth century | View staff profile >

Dr Gareth Williams, Teaching on MMus Composition

Community, Composition, Contemporary, Music and health, Opera/Theatre, Twentieth century | View staff profile >