HNC in Music Production (Full-time)

For equipment, we highly recommend that you have closed-back headphones with a quarter-inch jack adaptor, a memory stick or hard drive with a high capacity and a journal or notepad.

COURSE SPECIFICATION

Music Production is a fantastic subject to study at SCG. Our staff are active in the music industry and use their industry knowledge and skills to inform their teaching and prepare students for the realities of working in the music business. 

We have three dedicated recording studios and two production suites that have been upgraded recently to professional standards with the latest analogue and digital hardware. We operate with industry-standard software, including Pro Tools and Logic Pro X. These exciting facilities are backed by expert and experienced teaching staff.

There are several options for entry to this course:

• 64 UCAS points in a related qualification
• Level 3 qualification in Music Technology or a related subject

We would expect you to have a portfolio of work to showcase your work to date.

This course is an opportunity for you to enhance the practical and theoretical skills that are required in the ever-changing music industry. You will undertake a number of creative production projects and practical exercises. Other methods of assessment will include written assignments and presentations. Your final grades will depend on the portfolio of evidence you produce to demonstrate your achievements. Your learning experience is enhanced by workshops with professional practitioners and regular performance visits and study trips. In previous years, students have had trips to Berlin and Barcelona.

The course will include the following core units:

The Music Industry

The dynamic music industry, increasingly driven by technology, requires aspiring professionals to understand its complex structure and diverse income opportunities. This unit introduces key industry aspects like revenue flows, employment types, business activities, growth potential, and the roles and relationships within the sector. Students will analyse various income streams to align with their career goals and develop financial planning skills, providing a foundational understanding of the wider financial landscape and personal career planning within the music industry.

Marketing and Promotion for Musicians

For successful freelancing in the music industry, which often requires a versatile portfolio career, effective marketing is crucial, yet frequently misunderstood. This unit provides a "toolkit" of marketing knowledge, encompassing offline techniques like networking, alongside online and social media strategies. Students will explore resources to build a professional marketing presence, evaluate the merits of various tools, and identify the most suitable marketing activities for their specific practice. By completion, students will be able to define diverse music industry roles and explain which marketing activities are most relevant to their career path.

Professional Development

The music industry's dramatic transformation, driven by technology's impact on production and consumption, has presented both challenges and opportunities for music professionals and entrepreneurs. Sustainable careers now demand versatile, enterprising individuals with portfolio careers that leverage their full skill sets.

This unit focuses on building a professional strategy, starting with self-awareness. Students will explore diverse employment avenues related to their specialism, learn market presentation, and begin professional development. Upon completion, they will have defined their vocation and demonstrated the autonomy essential for success in the music industry.

Sound Design Fundamentals

Sound design, an ancient concept now ubiquitous for sensory immersion, spans advertising, music, film, and gaming, constantly evolving with technology. This unit explores core sound design implementation, introducing tools and techniques. Through scenarios, students will design sounds for specific briefs using diverse cross-platform methods. Topics include Foley and field recording, sampling, synthesis, audio editing, effects processing, implementation, and post-production. Upon completion, students will deliver two original sound design projects from source to delivery, demonstrating multi-layering, cross-platform, and processing techniques based on industry-based scenarios.

Music Production Fundamentals

This unit focuses on the pervasive role of technology in contemporary music production, covering industry-standard practices in recording, editing, and mixing. It aims to develop foundational skills in these areas through practical work, fostering a professional approach to technology and workflow. Key topics include DAW familiarisation, critical listening, MIDI and audio sequencing, VST instruments, synthesis, signal flow, mixing, mastering, and session management. Upon completion, students will competently record and produce music in various styles using industry-standard DAWs, demonstrating enhanced critical listening, analytical skills, and theoretical awareness, alongside reflective practice.

Compositional Techniques

This unit emphasises exploring diverse compositional techniques to develop a composer's toolkit for today's evolving music industry. Students will learn to translate ideas into finished compositions across various forms like film scores, game music, or songwriting, by setting their own briefs and utilising learned techniques. Key areas include manipulating melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas, working with diverse stimuli, structural devices, and improvisation. By the unit's end, students will create compositions demonstrating their artistic intentions through a variety of techniques.

Live Sound Techniques

This unit focuses on live sound for music concerts, building on "Sound Engineering Fundamentals" to equip students with the practical skills for setting up and operating sound reinforcement systems. Students will be assessed on their ability to plan, set up, and operate a live sound system, achieving distortion and feedback-free front-of-house and stage monitor mixes. Upon completion, students will be capable of setting up a PA system and providing effective live sound for small music or related events, with transferable skills for other live sound applications.

Recording Technology

This unit helps students navigate the overwhelming array of recording equipment available to modern sound engineers and music producers. It provides them with knowledge of both fundamental and creative recording techniques, covering essential aspects like studio setup procedures, factors affecting audio quality, and the crucial pre-production processes that ensure a smooth recording session.

Students will explore the recording equipment used by industry professionals, gaining skills applicable across diverse fields, including live, studio, location, and broadcast sound. By the end of this unit, students will be competent with industry-standard audio recording equipment and comfortable with all the pre-production planning necessary for successful recording sessions.

This course is validated by Edexcel (Pearson).

Your work will be continually assessed throughout the course through assignments. The assessment will depend upon the module being studied. Typical assessment methods include
assignments, developing portfolios, practical work, and presentations.

During the course you will develop your recording and sound production skills as you explore the finer details of professional audio. You will gain experience of running recording sessions and creating music through technology. Alongside the production aspects of the course, you will complete coursework which explores the music industry, marketing and professional development. You will also complete two specialist practical - based units. This broad qualification is a great starting point for anyone wishing to pursue a career in the music industry as well as those that wish to progress to university. Many have a natural progression route to the third and final year of a degree course. The variety of units offered on the course will help you to develop your independent study as well as your team work and communication skills.

On successful completion of this course, you can progress onto the HND in Music Production or progress into a career in the music industry.

If you continue to complete the HND, you can top this up at university by completing the third year of a full honours degree. This vast industry has many exciting and varied roles, including working behind the scenes in film and television, radio production, theatre or live music. You could become a composer, songwriter, music producer, sound engineer, session musician or event organiser. You could work in the business at a record label or even run your own.

You could work in A&R seeking out the next Adele, Ed Sheeran or Coldplay. Other record label roles include pluggers, marketing, sales and merchandise. Fight for the rights of musicians with a job at the Musicians Union or help support artists by working at a royalty collection agency. There are around 150,000 people working full-time in the music industry in the UK, with over a million working part-time. This course will give you a solid understanding of many of these professions and give you the skills you need to succeed.

To join this course you will first have to register with UCAS at www.ucas.com and then apply through UCAS. (Choose: Sign In-Students-Undergraduate-Apply-Register and follow the instructions.) You will then receive a confirmation email from UCAS and the College will be in contact with an interview date. Current Shrewsbury Colleges Group students should seek support from their tutor before applying.

If after reading this fact sheet, you are still undecided about the programme most suitable for you, please drop in to one of our Advice Events, ring Course Advice on 01743 342333 or email: courseadvice@scg.ac.uk