MU3005 - The Music Profession

What will I learn on this module?

This module encourages you to think about different possible career paths in the music profession, and how they may be combined. It involves going out into the wider community to meet musicians working in differing contexts and environments. At the heart of the module is your engagement with musicians, usually in the places where they work. You will meet performers, scholars, teachers of various kinds, and music administrators. Many will be active in more than one of these areas; some will be employed, others working on a freelance basis.

This module is intended to get you thinking about the musical and generic skills you will need for various kinds of work in the music business. It will also encourage you to think about how the skills you acquire when studying music may be useful in other contexts, and the many and varied careers open to music graduates.

How will I learn on this module?

You will attend five sessions with musicians making their living in various ways; each will be followed up by a seminar in which you will reflect on what you have learned from the sessions, and relate it to your own reading and research.

The sessions will vary from year to year, but they will cover areas in performance (solo/chamber freelance and orchestral), choral/church music, instrumental/vocal teaching (peripatetic and private practice), classroom music teaching (early years, primary, secondary, special, music therapy), musicology, and arts administration (festivals and institutions). The sessions will also introduce you to organisations with which we have partnerships.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

The programme leader and Course Tutor will be on hand to offer help and guidance, either in person during seminars and the advertised office hours or via email, and you will be working in an environment where you and your peers will offer one another mutual support. You will be given appropriate material via the eLearning environment and the online reading lists.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:
• You will demonstrate a knowledge of various career options in Music and how they may be combined, and the skills necessary for them.
• You will demonstrate a knowledge of the music graduate’s skillset and how this may be related to careers outside Music.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• You will develop skills in producing reflective written work.
• You will develop your ability to communicate through different media, especially oral presentation and discussion.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• You will have a capacity for independent, self-motivated learning and time management, thereby demonstrating an awareness of professionalism in Music.

How will I be assessed?

1. Diary/Blog (50%) recording individual responses to sessions, combined with reflective piece based on reading/research undertaken for seminars. MLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2. Essay (50%). Research what a particular career path (e.g. music therapy) entails, what qualifications you need, who offers them, and what skills you need to have developed before you start, or research the career of one musician (or a category of musicians). MLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

You will receive oral feedback on oral presentations and participation in class.

There will be written feedback on the diary/blog in the form of a report.

You will receive written feedback on your essay, comprising annotations to your script and a short report.

Pre-requisite(s)

Entry to the Music Foundation Year in Music

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

This module is intended to help you think about your longterm career aspirations as you progress through the Foundation Year and look towards a degree in Music. What careers are open to Music graduates? You will meet performers, scholars, teachers of various kinds, and music administrators in the places where they work. You will be encouraged to think about the musical and generic skills you will need for various kinds of work in the music business, and about how the skills you acquire when studying music may be useful in other contexts, leading to the many and varied careers open to music graduates outside the world of music and the arts. There will be five sessions, some of which will make use of people working for organisations with which we have a partnership.

Course info

UCAS Code W310

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 1 year full-time followed by a further 3 years full-time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

Department Humanities

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2024 or September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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