The Open University provides a wide range of opportunities to study music at undergraduate levels. Students studying music modules may be working towards a variety of qualifications, from the credit for passing a single course, up to a full degree within the BA (Honours) Music (R25) or BA (Honours) Arts and Humanities (R14) degree schemes. Follow this link for an overview of undergraduate qualifications which include Music.
A234 Understanding Music *NEW* The first presentation will be in October 2020.
This introduction to the fundamentals of music will allow you to understand and use music notation. You’ll study the elements of music and how these are assembled into larger musical structures, focusing on music encountered in Western traditions (popular and classical). You’ll learn to make sense of a wide variety of notated music, and you’ll be encouraged to make meaningful connections between the topics you study and your own experiences and tastes through independent study. You’ll develop practical musicianship skills, using professional music-notation software, that will provide you with a grounding for arranging and composing.
A232 Music, Sound and Technology
This module explores the nature of musical sound and the ways that technology can be used by musicians working in the creative industries. You'll be introduced to the skills needed for making recordings, and the module resources include software packages for analysing and editing recorded sound. You'll study how the physics of sound underlie musical experiences, and investigate the acoustic properties of different instruments. The module aims to deepen your understanding of the nature of sound and to equip you better as a musician, whatever your background and musical interests.
The Practice of Music Making
This Certificate, offered by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Music at the OU, is aimed at practising musicians engaged in degree-level study of music. Students may be active in any genre of music, and there is no specific level of technical attainment required to register. Students examine their own and other musical practices, methods of developing and improving technical and practical skills, and the cultural place and value of different performance contexts. The Certificate includes a residential school.
As I travel around meeting and working with musicians, amateur and professional, I am always struck by the quality they share in common, regardless of attainment or situation: they want to improve their skills. It’s wonderful news that the OU, in collaboration with Trinity Laban, is opening up a channel so they can do just that.
John Rutter
Composer and conductor
Interdisciplinary modules including musical components do not assume prior musical knowledge, but make excellent choices to complement the modules specific to the Music discipline. There is a significant music component in the following interdisciplinary modules:
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