Note about optional modules (if available): The below is indicative of the typical modules offered, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. The module content and availability is subject to change.
Overview
You’ll do a range of compulsory practical and critical modules and, from your second year, design the focus of your own path of study, choosing from a wide range of modules, as well as have 1-2-1 instrumental/vocal tuition, participate in workshops, industry talks and events.
Academically you'll be encouraged to ask questions on how popular music has affected our cultures, identities and lives. In your final year you can choose to follow your own practical or academic interests. For example, you have the opportunity to undertake your own creative or research projects supported by tutors. In the final year, creative work is showcased wherever possible in venues outside Goldsmiths.
Year 1 (credit level 4)
In your first year you study a range of areas including creative and practical music studies, textual and contextual analysis of popular music, and an introduction to music technology.
All modules are compulsory at this level as we feel it is essential that all our students develop the necessary key skills and knowledge base before further specialisation.
The modules are:
Module title |
Credits |
Songform and Practice
|
30 credits |
Performance and Practice
|
30 credits |
Artistic Practices
|
15 credits |
Critical Approaches to Contemporary Music
|
15 credits |
Popular Music: History and Contexts
|
30 credits |
Year 2 (credit level 5)
In your second year, you'll study at least one and up to two of the following modules:
Module title |
Credits |
Performance: New Contexts
|
30 credits |
Songwriting
|
30 credits |
With your remaining credits, you can then choose optional modules from the following list:
Module title |
Credits |
Sounding the 19th Century
|
15 credits |
Aesthetics, Meaning and Culture
|
15 credits |
Music and Identity
|
15 credits |
Electroacoustic Composition
|
15 credits |
Making Experimental Sound
|
15 credits |
Techniques in Jazz and Popular Music
|
15 credits |
Arranging and Composing for the Jazz Ensemble
|
15 credits |
Contemporary Jazz Performance the UK Scene
|
15 credits |
Popular Music Production
|
15 credits |
Media Composition
|
15 credits |
Music/Modernities
|
15 credits |
Soviet Music and Politics
|
15 credits |
Music Practice and the Black Atlantic: Britain’s Celebrity Culture
|
15 credits |
Music in Film
|
15 credits |
What is Jazz?
|
15 credits |
Sound as Art
|
15 Credits |
Musics of East Asia: Politics, Industry, Creativity
|
15 credits |
Music of Africa and Asia
|
15 credits |
Pitching Creative Businesses: Models, Markets and Meaning
|
15 credits |
Goldsmiths’ Social Change Module
|
15 credits |
The Goldsmiths Elective
|
15 credits |
Year 3 (credit level 6)
In your final year, you'll choose at least one and up to two of the following compulsory modules:
Module title |
Credits |
Creative Performance
|
30 credits |
Composition portfolio
|
30 credits |
Research Project
|
30 credits |
You'll then select from modules from the below list with your remaining credits:
Module title |
Credits |
Contemporary Jazz Performance the UK Scene
|
15 credits |
Acoustic Ecology and Field Recording
|
15 credits |
Performing South-East Asian Music
|
15 credits |
Improvisation
|
15 credits |
Creative Orchestration and Arrangement
|
15 credits |
Introduction to Audiovisual Composition
|
15 credits |
Music/Modernities
|
15 credits |
Soviet Music and Politics
|
15 credits |
Music Practice and the Black Atlantic: Britain’s Celebrity Culture
|
15 credits |
Music and Screen Media
|
15 credits |
Advanced Popular Music Studies
|
15 credits |
Fringe and Underground Musics
|
15 credits |
Music in Educational, Community and Therapeutic Contexts
|
15 Credits |
Music Workshop Skills
|
15 credits |
Music Teaching Skills
|
15 credits |
DIY Practice and Alternative Sites for Music
|
15 credits |
Live Electronics
|
15 credits |
Work placement
|
15 credits |
You as Your Future: Developing Creative Careers
|
15 Credits |
Psychological Approaches to Music
|
15 credits |
A maximum of 30 credits can be in Related Study (modules offered by other departments). Related Study modules will be published each academic year.
Individual vocal and instrumental tuition
Our location in London means that we are able to attract visiting instrumental and vocal teachers of the highest quality, with many of our staff also teaching at the major music conservatoires. We provide a generous allocation of tuition time. Our performance modules are supplemented with ensemble classes and workshops/masterclasses given by top professional musicians.
- First-year BMus Popular Music students are currently entitled to 12 hours of one-to-one tuition per year.
- Tuition is available to BMus Popular Music students taking performance options in years two and three. The Popular Music programme currently includes up to 12 hours of one-to-one tuition in both years, with regular workshops and masterclasses.
If you do not opt for performance modules you are not automatically entitled to individual lessons, but we can help make private arrangements with our visiting staff, at preferential rates.
Teaching style
This programme is taught through a mixture of scheduled teaching, including seminars, one-to-one tutorials and performance lessons, practical workshops and music studio sessions. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work.
The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*:
- Year 1 - 13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning
- Year 2 - 11% scheduled learning, 89% independent learning
- Year 3 - 13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning
How you’ll be assessed
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work, solo recitals, improvisation and group performances.
The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*:
- Year 1 - 75% coursework, 5% written exam, 20% practical
- Year 2 - 79% coursework, 4% written exam, 18% practical
- Year 3 - 63% coursework, 38% practical
*Please note that these are averages are based on enrolments for 2022/23. Each student’s time in teaching, learning and assessment activities will differ based on individual module choices. Find out more about how this information is calculated.
Credits and levels of learning
An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year. A standard module is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half modules or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project.
Download the programme specification.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.