Program Overview

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Music: Popular Music and Recording

Overview

Serious about a career in the music industry? Ready to join a course that’s produced Mercury Prize nominees, award-winning entrepreneurs, and professional film and television composers? If so, our popular music degree is the right choice for you.

When you join this course, you’ll embark upon your personal journey towards professional musicianship, developing your performance, composition, and recording skills while deepening your knowledge of how the industry works. You’ll receive musical tuition in the instrument of your choice, get to grips with the essentials of studio recording, and expand your experience of performing in both solo and ensemble settings. You will also take part in masterclasses led by established professionals, providing you with invaluable insight into what it’s like to work in the music industry. There will also be an opportunity to study a semester abroad in your second year.

As an undergraduate music student studying at Salford, you’ll have access to a vibrant local music scene with links to local venues and musical institutions. We’ll be providing you with the chance to regularly contribute to concerts and gigs, as well as to engage with like-minded creative artists.

Our popular music recording degree is well known for producing a number of successful recording artists such as members of the British art rock band Everything Everything (Mercury Prize nominees 2018); recording artist and award-winning entrepreneur Caroline Redman Lusher (Founder and Creator of Rock Choir); film and television music composer Louis Dodd (Love and Hate Crime , EMMY nominated Strike Back: Retribution , Amazing Hotels and BAFTA winning Long Lost Family), and songwriter/producer Rick Boardman (member of indie dance band Delphic and co-writer of hit singles including ‘Back to You’ performed by Louis Tomlinson and Bebe Rexha; ‘Real Love’ Clean Bandit/Jess Glynne and ‘Love On Me’ Galantis).

Course Details

All about the course

Throughout this popular music and recording course, you’ll be exposed to a wide variety of approaches to creating music, as well as the wider industry. From the fundamentals of performing to applied composition and music technology, this course covers the core concepts you need to launch your career as a professional musician.

In your first year, you’ll focus on instrumental creativity and proficiency through ensemble and one-to-one lessons with leading performance specialists. In addition to examining the concepts of style and genre, you’ll develop fundamental creative skills in arranging, applied composition, and music technology.

In year two you’ll tailor your popular music degree to focus on the modules that interest you the most, and your third year offers the opportunity to consolidate your learning and deepen your individual creativity in a portfolio of work. Throughout, you’ll be building a practical skillset ideal for a career in the music industry, while also exploring key theoretical concepts associated with popular music.

Year One

• Musicianship Skills
  • Students will engage with a range of different activities and taught sessions, designed to develop a broad range of performance skills.
  • There will be a focus on Ensemble rehearsal and Individual performance preparation.
• Fundamentals of Composition, Arranging and Technology
  • The core aim of this module is to provide you with the skills and knowledge necessary for composing and arranging music in a variety of styles.
• Popular Music Style and Genre
  • This module provides an overview of the history of English-language popular music and interrogates and problematises the concept of genre in popular music.
• Performance Studies (PP&R)
  • This module builds the work undertaken in Musicianship skills during Trimester 1, consisting of Individual Performance (instrumental tuition), and Ensemble Musicianship where you will write and rehearse original material to be performed in a concert at the end of the semester.
• Applied Composition and Technology
  • This module will provide you with a strong understanding of advanced diatonic harmony, melodic writing, and technical skills concerned with rhythm as applied to the broad field of composition.
• Interpreting Popular Music
  • This module explores the social, political, and economic contexts impacting upon the production of popular music.

Year Two

• Professional Development in the Creative Industries
  • Focusing on current economic structures and potential development, this module provides an in-depth examination of the UK creative economy.
• You will choose three of the following options:
  • Advanced Musicianship Skills (PP&R)
  • Compositional Practice
  • Studio Composition
  • Audio for Media
  • Studio Recording and Production
  • Popular Music and Identity (PP&R)
• You will then choose two of the following options:
  • Creative Compositions and Arranging
  • Advanced Performance Studies (PP&R)
  • Advanced Studio Composition
  • Advanced Studio and Location Recording
  • Music Journalism
  • Sound, Music and Society

Year Three

• Project Scope (PP&R)
  • This module enables you to undertake a comprehensive project encompassing two areas of specialist study (choose from: Performance, Composition, Studio Recording & Production, Studio Composition, Audio for Media, Arranging, Dissertation, Arts Administration, Collection of Writings, Collaborative Practice).
• Professional Practice (PP&R)
  • By broadening your work experience in areas requiring a leadership and/or team role, this module gives you the opportunity to further develop your own professional practices.
• Negotiated Major Project (PP&R)
  • This module enables you to undertake a comprehensive project encompassing two areas of specialist study (choose from: Performance, Composition, Studio Recording & Production, Studio Composition, Audio for Media, Arranging, Dissertation, Arts Administration, Collection of Writings, Collaborative Practice).

What Will I Be Doing?

Teaching

• Your classes will be based at our New Adelphi building.
• Lectures are enhanced with audio/visual material.
• Each lecture will be followed up with a seminar which will give you the opportunity to discuss the topic with classmates in more depth.
• Masterclasses are a fantastic way to learn from professionals who are already enjoying careers within the industry.
• Your musical ability will be developed in two ways; on an individual basis and as part of an ensemble.

Assessment

• Assessments are an important part of your academic journey, giving you the chance to put the skills and knowledge you’ve learned into practice.
• For this course, your assessments will include coursework assignments.
• The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.
• You’ll also be assessed through examinations and be supported throughout your academic journey by music professionals who will help you to develop new skills and give you greater confidence.

Employment and Stats

What About After Uni?

• Completing a popular music and recording degree will open many doors for a career in the music industry, with many of our graduates establishing successful careers in roles as diverse as recording artists, TV composers, studio producers, live sound engineers, and freelance music producers.
• This degree also will provide you with experiences of live events; you’ll also be in a great position to work as an event organiser or promoter.
• Many of our graduates have also developed successful careers in music education as teachers, lecturers, senior administrators, and educational advisors.

Further Study

• Graduates showing strong academic and research skills can pursue a further postgraduate path through postgraduate programmes on a full-time or part-time basis subject to a satisfactory proposal.

Requirements

Applicant Profile

• To gain a place on this course, you’ll have to submit a personal statement and meet our entry requirements when you apply.
• Within your personal statement (up to 4,000 characters), we’ll want to understand:
  • what motivates you and what current experiences do you have in music?
  • have you had active involvement in music recording and what did you do?
  • what musicians and organisations inspire you?
  • why do you want to work in the music sector?
  • and why the University of Salford and this Music: Popular Music and Recording degree is the right choice for your future goals.

Standard Entry Requirements

• GCSE
  • English Language at grade C/level 4 or above (or equivalent) is required.
  • Maths at grade C/level 4 or above is preferred but not essential.
• UCAS tariff points
  • 104-120 points.
• A level
  • 104-120 points. Applications can be considered without a Music A level, but you must be able to demonstrate significant practical experience.
• T level
  • Merit
• BTEC National Diploma
  • DMM to include music
• Scottish Highers
  • 104-120 points including Music.
• Irish Leaving Certificate
  • 104-120 points including Music.
• International Baccalaureate
  • 31 points, to include 5 (Higher Level) in Music
• European Baccalaureate
  • Pass in Diploma of at least 60% including Music
• Access to HE
  • Pass level 3 QAA approved Access Diploma. To include Music.

International Students

• We accept qualifications from all around the world.
• Find your country to see a full list of entry requirements.
• If you are an international student and not from a majority English speaking country, you will need IELTS 6.0 with no element below 5.5.

How Much?

Tuition Fees

• Your tuition fees are regulated by the UK government who has proposed changes to tuition fees for UK students studying in England from 1 August 2025.
• The fee stated reflects this proposed change, but remains subject to parliamentary approval.
• Your tuition fees may increase in your first and each subsequent year of your programme to the maximum amount permitted by UK law or regulation for that academic year.

Type of study	Year	Fees
Full-time home	2025/26	£9,535 per year
Full-time international	2025/26	£17,650 per year
Full-time home	2026/27	£9,535 per year
Full-time international	2026/27	£18,120 per year

Additional Costs

• You should also consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding, and general subsistence on trips and visits.

Scholarships for International Students

• If you are a high-achieving international student, you may be eligible for one of our scholarships.
• Explore our international scholarships.