Course Overview
Career-focus
Through our well-established Popular Music course, we have over 10 years of preparing our students for a successful career as a writer in the modern music industry. You will gain valuable experience in writing on your own and as a collaborator; crafting songs for yourself, bands, projects and other artists. In tandem with developing your proficiency on industry standard recording software, these solo and collaborative skills will prepare you for a career as a songwriter. You will also attend masterclasses from professional performers, songwriters, producers, managers and promoters, supporting your artistic development as well as sharpening your creative voice.
Industry links
Strong links with the music industry mean that we are in constant contact with major publishing companies and record labels such as Universal, Polydor, Decca, and Kobalt as well as local labels like Hide and Seek and Leaf Label to name a few. Our students receive regular advice on their portfolios from visiting Industry guests, and often live briefs to work on. Our partnerships with European conservatoires mean that you could be working on songwriting projects with students in Mannheim, Rotterdam or Copenhagen.
Creative Freedom
During the songwriting degree you’ll get weekly one-to-one tuition with experienced songwriters and regular timetabled sessions in band practice rooms where you’ll have the creative freedom to craft and perfect your own songs. With access to our Apple Mac Labs, you will learn how to bring those songs to life using industry-standard software like Logic Pro.
Music community
With over 1,200 students at the conservatoire, you’ll be able to call on the skills of our diverse community of musicians, producers and entrepreneurs to assist you in performing, producing and promoting your work.
Foundation Year
The Foundation Year gives you an extra year of access to our creative and collaborative environment, excellent facilities, expert staff and rich performance opportunities, building your confidence as a conservatoire musician.
Career destinations
Graduates from Leeds Conservatoire have gone on to a wide variety of careers including Recording Artists, Award-winning Folk Artists, Session Musicians, Producers, and Record Label Songwriters. Find out more in our Alumni section.
What you will study
The BA (Hons) Music (Songwriting) with Foundation Year modules focus on developing you as a professional songwriter through one-to-one tuition, ensemble study and creative projects. The professional studies strand will develop your core business skills, and other optional modules will introduce additional cross-genre opportunities. See our module specifications page for detailed module specification documents.
You will receive specialist tuition and a firm foundation in basic songwriting techniques, gaining a perspective on the range of what constitutes pop composition and exploring aspects such as song form, melodic and motivic development, lyrical construction, rhythmic concepts and idiomatic harmony.
Through set tasks, you will produce work using established popular music techniques, structures and harmonic sequences using appropriate music technology software.
You will gain a breadth of understanding in order to provide context for your specialism, and will be given the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to creative tasks. Aural topics include singing at sight, improvisation, aural identification and interpretation of melodic material, chord sequences and rhythms, identification and analysis of key stylistic traits and forms.
You will study one of the topics listed below, based on identified areas for your development:
- Theory
- Composition
- Technology
- Keyboard Skills
- Creative Performance Techniques
- Arranging Techniques
- Live Sound
You will develop musicology, composition, and creative skills through the examination and exploration of repertoire, key historical and cultural concepts and creative collaboration. Study is divided into three themes: general musicology, pathway-specific repertoire analysis & composition, and creative workshops.
Through one-to-one lessons with an experienced songwriting specialist, you will focus on developing your skills and your in-depth understanding of the craft of songwriting. In addition to developing these existing skills, you will also attend ‘Composition in Context’ small group sessions where you will receive further tuition in harmonic, melodic, and lyrical construction and will have the opportunity to collaborate with other songwriters.
For half of the academic year, you will work in a band developing and realising your compositional ideas with other musicians. This will enable you to bring your song and arrangement ideas to life as you work with other songwriters and performers from the Popular Music pathway. For the other half of the year, you will work in a Mac Lab realising your compositional ideas on a computer, developing the skills to produce demos of your songs.
Students will attend a series of sessions delivered by guests and tutors who will discuss their own practice by taking a reflective stance on their creative output, project management, artistic expression and creative risk. Students will assimilate approaches in how to critically reflect on their own practice.
You will develop composition, musicology and aural skills through the examination of repertoire, styles, concepts and discourse to better understand the effect of these on society. You will investigate the parameters through which we consume and construct music, how we communicate their use, the social, commercial and contextual issues surrounding them, and the manner in which we can employ these parameters to the craft of songwriting.
Working in the Creative Industries
You will be introduced to the professional framework and mechanisms of the creative industries, focusing on developing your project management skills and understanding the legal and commercial issues likely to impact on your future employability. You will also develop your core digital and media skills.
Through continued weekly one-one lessons, you will further develop your understanding of the craft of songwriting, developing your own unique voice as a composer and lyricist. You will continue to attend ‘Composition in Context’ small group seminars where you will receive more specialist tuition in harmony, melody and lyrical craft as well as gaining more valuable experience in collaboration with peers.
As in the 1st year of study, this module is split into two halves. You will continue to work in a band context where you will further develop your collaborative writing and arrangement skills in a live rehearsal environment, and you will also receive continued tuition in working on industry standard software where you will gain more experience in realising your songs as recorded demos.
You will further enhance your composition, musicology and aural skills. Topics include music and politics, cultural and technological influences on popular composition, compositional appropriation, collaborative approaches and comparative analysis.
You will also choose one of the below options to study:
- Introduction to Music Technology
- Music for the Moving Image
- Collaborative Composition
- Music and Ideology
- Performance with Electronics
- Entrepreneurship
- Arranging and Orchestration
- Musical Direction
You will choose one of the below options to study:
- Business Start-up
- Working with Music in the Community
- Instrumental Music Tuition
- Self-Promotion & Music Marketing
- Structure & Functions of the Film Music Industry
- Concerts & Touring
- Artistic Management
Through continued weekly one-to-one classes, your individual compositional voice will emerge as you focus more on what makes you a distinct and individual writer. You will also continue to attend ‘Composition in Context’ seminar sessions where you will receive additional tuition and guidance into how to present and share your work as a professional songwriter.
This module is designed to offer students flexibility in their final year by providing opportunity to delve deeper into a specialism specific to their course and interests.
You will study one of the below options:
- Computer-Based Composition
- Software Environments for Performance & Sound Creation
- Electroacoustic Composition
- Composition and Production for Film and TV
- Music and the Body (Subject to Approval)
- Extended Improvisation
- Intercultural Music
- Emerging Music Models
- Politics and Art
You will study one of the below options:
- Live Music Management
- Community Music Project
- Music Journalism
- Business Leadership & Ethics
- Film Music: Aesthetics & Narrative Function
Entry requirements, fees & applying
Course Type: Undergraduate, Single Honours
Duration: 4 years
Study Mode: Full Time
Start date: September 2022
Validated by: University of Hull
Academic entry requirements:
64 UCAS tariff points from level 3 studies or equivalent, which normally include A Level Music or a BTEC Extended Diploma in a Music-related subject.
A minimum of three GCSEs including English Language at Grade C / Grade 4 or above or equivalent international qualification, eg IELTS 6.0 (5.5 in each component).
Other entry requirements:
a. Performance standard (assessed at audition)
Applicants are expected to demonstrate at audition a playing/singing standard of Grade 6 (commensurate with ABRSM, London College of Music, Trinity College, Rock School (as appropriate for the pathway)).
b. Musical theory standard (assessed at audition)
Applicants’ understanding of applied music theory will be assessed at audition where they will be asked questions about the theoretical elements of the pieces they have played to ensure that they are suitable for the course and to identify those applicants who need to take a Theory module at Level 3.
UK applicants to certain courses at Leeds Conservatoire will need to audition, interview or submit a portfolio of work.
Find more information and course-specific audition guides for UK applicants and International Applicants.
Apply via: UCAS Undergraduate (not Conservatoires)
UCAS Code: W3J4
UCAS Institution Code: L30
Read our step-by-step application guide
Visit our Fees and Funding section to find out more about Fees & Funding for International Students.
If you are an international applicant, visit our dedicated International section of the website for information on:
- How To Apply
- Auditions
- International Entry Requirements
- Fees & Funding
Related News
The British Flute Society welcomed talented players to its flagship annual event, the Competitions, with winners including a Classical graduate from Leeds Conservatoire.
Find out more
Twelve universities and higher education institutions in Yorkshire, including Leeds Conservatoire, have issued a powerful open letter to the region’s mayoral election candidates.
Find out more
22 female and nonbinary musicians, aged between 8 and 15, were welcomed to Leeds Conservatoire to experience jazz music and improvisation in a supportive environment.
Find out more
