Courses and structure

The degree is divided into three levels. The various courses available are listed below. All courses are 15 credits unless indicated otherwise. Please note that some courses listed may not be offered every year, and new courses may be added.

Core courses establish all the key areas of this innovative subject; these culminate in a final year Music Computing Major Project. The programme also allows you to identify and develop your strengths and interests by choosing various specialist options in the Departments of Music and Computing. Your project topic will determine the award of either BMus (Hons) or BSc (Hons).

Full course descriptions for Department of Music.

Year 1

In your first year you study the fundamentals of computer programming, contemporary music and music technology. In addition to these 105 credits you also choose one 15-credit option in the history and theory of either popular or classical music.

Core courses

• Approaches to Contemporary Music
• Creative Audio-Visual Computing
• Creative Music Technology
• Data representations and Architecture Modelling
• Introduction to Programming (30 credits)
• Music Computing 1

Options (one of the following)

• Analytical and Contextual Studies
• Popular Music: History, Style, Technique.
• Tonal Harmony and Form
• Western Art Music: Repertoire and Development

Year 2

In your second year you take 75 credits in core courses, and 45 credits in optional courses, which cover a wide range of creative, practical and historical topics in music. The list also includes one computing option: Principles and Application of Programming Part 2.

Core Courses

• Music Computing 2 (30 credits)
• Perception and Multi-Media Computing (30 credits)
• Principles and Application of Programming Part 1

Options (three of the following)

• Arranging: Jazz and Commercial Music
• Composition: Creative Strategies
• Language of Jazz
• Media Composition
• Music Aesthetics
• Music and Modernism
• Music and Postmodernism
• Music of Africa and Asia
• Music in Film
• Music, Communication and Identity
• Musical Style and Historical Culture
• Music, Technology and Production
• Musicians, Commerce and Commodification
• Orchestration
• Romanticism and Musical Structures
• Studio Composition
• Studio Techniques
• Principles and Application of Programming Part 2

Year 3

In your final year you undertake a substantial, independent Major Project that allows you to explore in depth a particular specialism in music computing. The selection of either a music or a computing specialism for the project determines whether you are awarded a BMus (Hons) or BSc (Hons). You also choose four options to the value of 60 credits.

Core course

• Music Computing Major Project (60 credits)

Options (choose any four from Groups A and/or B)

R = Recommended (not compulsory)

Group A 

• Algorithm Design and Analysis (R)
• Artificial Intelligence (R)
• Computer Security
• Data Compression
• Data Mining (R)
• Decision Support Systems
• E-commerce
• Enterprise Networking
• Introduction to Mathematical Modeling in Management
• Language, Design and Implementation
• Logic Programming (R)
• Neural Networks (R)
• Physical Computing (R)
• The Semantic Web
• User Interface Design
• Website design, Implementation and management

Group B

• Aesthetics of Performance
• Analysis and New Music
• Improvisation
• Minimalism and Postminimalism
• Mozart’s Operas: Sources and Documents
• Narrative, Representation and the Popular Song
• Performing Southeast Asian Music
• Phonography
• Psychological Approaches to Music
• Soviet Music and Beyond
• Topics in African American Music

Skills and careers

There is a shortage of graduates who have the confidence to apply new technologies in creative ways; a music computing degree from Goldsmiths will enable you to do this.

Our degrees aim to equip you with a wide range of skills to meet the current demands of industry and increase your career prospects.

Industrial placement year

The degree includes an optional Industrial Placement Year between the second and third year of study. This offers you the invaluable opportunity to develop the practical skills and real world experience that is sought after by employers. You're supported throughout your placement year by a placement tutor, who provides you with guidance and liaises between you and your employer.

Skills and careers

The programme is designed with careers in music technology and music computing in mind. It fosters the development of interdisciplinary understanding across the broad fields of computer science, creative practice and musical research, and is designed to meet the opportunities, challenges and intellectual demands presented by careers in the culture industries, in music technology and in audio, music and media-related computing.

Many of our graduates choose careers in fields related to their musical knowledge: teaching, performing, arts administration, music librarianship, publishing and retailing, record companies and production, or technical work in radio or television.

Further information

• Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths
• Our alumni

About the departments

The Department of Music

The Department of Music at Goldsmiths is a vibrant, friendly department with a tradition of committed teaching at all levels. Our degrees offer both depth and flexibility, enabling you to construct a programme of study that is exactly right for you.

What makes us special?

• We are one of the largest university music departments in the UK with over 400 students, including more than 100 postgraduates. We have 16 permanent members of academic staff and many visiting lecturers and instrumental tutors. We have a dedicated team of administrative staff and music technicians, as well as emeritus professors, research fellows and other scholars – so there is always somebody to inspire and help you with your studies.
• Our ethos reflects the contemporary musical world. Our diverse activities cover popular music, Western art and non-Western music, electronic and computer music, sound art, jazz and film music. There is a strong focus on contemporary music, but we are highly committed to all significant areas of musical practice and research.
• In the last Research Assessment Exercise (2008), 70% of our research publications, creative work and performances were graded as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Our taught courses strongly reflect the research interests and expertise of staff.
• The department is active in performance, creative practice and research into many historical periods and cultures. There are concerts, workshops and other events every week, professionally or student- led, with opportunities to perform both in college and in public venues. Student composers regularly present new work in workshops with visiting performers, and at public concerts and exhibitions.
• We are affiliated to the Serge Prokofiev Archive and the Centre for Russian Music at Goldsmiths, both of which offer a unique resource of materials and expertise. We run a specialist Afghanistan Music Unit, devoted to the study and support of the music culture of Afghanistan and surrounding areas.
• We are within easy reach of central London’s many venues, concert halls, opera houses and research libraries, providing a great international focus. We often have concessionary tickets available for concerts and operas.

Facilities

We provide excellent facilities for teaching, performance and studio work, acknowledged consistently in the National Student Survey. In addition to the department’s teaching and rehearsal rooms, you have access to the award-winning Rutherford Building, which brings library, computing and language learning facilities together under one roof. We subscribe to a large number of online services providing access to music recordings, journals and books that support the large collections housed in the library.

Goldsmiths’ music students have access to the Recital Room and the Deptford Town Hall Council Chamber, which houses a brand new Steinway Model D piano. Students can also perform at the beautiful Foundling Museum Picture Gallery in central London. Goldsmiths’ Great Hall seats 650, and is used for large-scale orchestral and choral concerts – these also take place at outside venues.

We have two suites of practice rooms and an arrangement with The Music Rooms, a professional rehearsal space available primarily for popular music students, free of charge during teaching weeks.

The Stanley Glasser Electronic Music Studios (EMS) are working areas for electronic composition, live electronics, interactive performance, sound art, acoustic ecology and research. EMS was established in 1968 by the then Head of Department Stanley Glasser and composer Hugh Davies, and was the first such studio at a UK university.

There are four small studios for individual work (Apple Intel iMacs with ProTools LE hard disk recording), plus a main Control Room (ProTools HD2 Accel system and Yamaha 02R digital mixer) linked to a teaching area/live room with Yamaha Disklavier piano. There are three dedicated postgraduate studios. Software packages include Max 5, Jitter, IRCAM AudioSculpt, GRM Tools, MetaSynth, Ableton Live, Waves & Pluggo plug-ins.

The studio also has a range of portable recording equipment (Tascam, Fostex, M-Audio), studio microphones (Neumann, AKG, Beyer, etc) and control interfaces (Lemur, Soundbeam), a vintage Roland System 100M modular synthesizer, and a multi-channel Genelec PA system for live events. Studio access is available if you are taking a relevant course. For full details regarding all EMS facilities, please consult the EMS homepage.

Music Technology Suite contains 12 iMac workstations with MIDI keyboards for private and course-related music editing. All workstations facilitate Audio and MIDI editing and notation using Cubase SX5, Reason, Halion, Logic 8, Ableton Live and Sibelius 5.

The Music and Media Suite is designed to support students involved in more advanced Audio and Video editing projects, and contains 6 MacPro 8 core workstations. Software includes Logic 8, Final Cut Pro, Max/MSP, Sibelius 5 and Cubase SX 5.

Department instruments and accessories
The Department of Music has a collection of instruments for student use on site in connection with their course. Instruments available include double basses, alto flute, cor anglais, Eb clarinet and various percussion instruments. Larger instruments are available, but access must be arranged. There are six Mackie PA systems and a wide selection of guitar and bass amps, various synthesisers, keyboards and digital processing units.

Performance opportunities

The Department of Music’s commitment to eclectic and high-quality performance is unrivalled. This is reflected in the number of graduates who have made a professional career from their music- making. In return, the department demands a high level of commitment from its students to the various groups that it runs, as well as encouraging students to form their own ensembles.

The main performing opportunities offered by the Department of Music are:

• Goldsmiths Sinfonia
• Goldsmiths Chorus
• Chamber Choir
• Chamber Music Groups
• Composers’ Forum
• Contemporary Music Ensemble
• Electronic Music Studio Concerts
• Music Collective
• Vocal Group
• Lunchtime and evening recitals
• Live events at the Students’ Union
• Studio laptop ensemble

Find out more about these performance opportunities.

Applicant days and College open days

The Department of Music holds a number of applicant days between December and April each year. If you apply to one of our programmes you may be asked to attend an applicant day for an interview or audition, and to participate in a number of short workshop sessions.

This is also an opportunity to see the Department’s facilities, meet staff and ask questions about our programmes. You are welcome to visit on one of these days, once you have submitted your application, even if we do not require you to attend an interview/audition.

There are also College open days for all programmes across the university, usually held three times a year. You can come and see what we do, meet Music staff and students and ask questions.

These days are open to anybody who wants to find out more about us, whether or not they have applied for a course. For further information on these, please visit www.gold.ac.uk/opendays or e-mail open-day@gold.ac.uk.

Find out more

Visit the Goldsmiths Music YouTube Channel.

The Department of Computing

A key feature of the Department of Computing is interdisciplinarity, which is the interaction of computing with a wide range of other subject areas. We don't just see computing as a purely technical discipline. We have a particular focus on computing applied to the arts and creative industries including music, film, TV, visual arts, games and animation.

Our degrees give you a wide appreciation of the subject – rather than just an understanding of existing commercial approaches – so that your knowledge can adapt and evolve. They also include an optional Industrial Placement Year, which enables your to gain invaluable practical skills and real world experience.

• We have a hands-on approach that focuses on practical work in real world situations
• We take a very practice-based approach to computing; programming is a practical skill and it's important that you learn it by doing, not just learn it in theory
• We'll help you explore the creative potential as well as the technical aspects of computing
• The Department has a warm and friendly atmosphere with staff and students of different ages and backgrounds
• We'll help you become a creative computing practitioner, for whom there is a growing demand in business and industry

Staff

The staff who teach you are all actively engaged in quality research, and this means that you'll be taught by experts who apply their skills to developing cutting edge technology. Our teaching is strongly focused on applying academically rigorous concepts to real world situations.

Find out more about staff in the Department of Computing.

Facilities

The Department of Computing has five laboratories equipped with PCs, Macs and a wide range of software packages for media and creative work. The Department of Music’s Electronic Music Studios comprise a suite of facilities, including a recording studio, two multi- channel rooms and a number of small studios equipped with audio software, including Pro Tools and Max/MSP. There are also two labs for sequencing, music processing and multimedia.

Student profile

"Above all others, there are two subjects which have captivated me for my entire life: music and technology. Goldsmiths initially appealed to me as an institution which doesn’t place a barrier between art and science, and during my time here the College has delivered on this premise without fail.

Being a part of both the Music and Computing departments has allowed me access to an especially broad range of subject matter. This has served not only to greatly enhance my understanding of both areas, but also introduce the many points at which they meet. I learned to program computers as a compositional technique; I learned how effects and synthesisers work by building them in code; I even learned how to utilise advanced artificial intelligence to create my own virtual musicians.

Goldsmiths has offered me the unique opportunity to spend my time as a student learning and being creative at the intersection of art and science, and has introduced countless, fascinating areas of study previously unknown to me."

Zebedee, BMus/BSc Music Computing