BA (Hons) Popular Music Performance & Event Management

The first Creative Industries module will introduce you to the strategies and tools to set you on the right path toward pursuing a successful career. Whether focused on a particular career goal or considering several future possibilities, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a future creative industry professional.

Good instrumental/vocal technique is reliant on efficiency – this module will enable you to develop the core techniques to be able to express yourself in the way you want to. Looking at various styles and theory, along with the physics and physiology of playing, you’ll be taken through the fundamentals in a step-by-step manner in a progressive way, leading you to develop your creative vocabulary, so you can say what you want to say, musically.

The Performance Skills module will take you through the process of effective live performance through individual preparation, live ensemble performance and reflective practice. Weekly instrument-specific prep classes will equip you with techniques for effective part-preparation, memorisation and rehearsal strategies.

The Live Performance Workshop component will provide you with the opportunity to further your skillset through full-band live performance. Here you will receive guided feedback and feedforward from lecturers and peers to help further your own reflective practice. This will be recorded in a weekly Reflective Journal. You will be encouraged to develop confidence on stage, and the necessary arrangement and communication skills for professional live performance.

Summary

Evaluating events is crucial to understanding what could be improved for future planning. By analysing the success and impact
of an event, event professionals can identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to better meet the needs and
expectations of attendees. This evaluation process can also help professionals identify what elements of the event were
particularly successful and should be repeated in the future, whether that means planning a series of events, a live tour, or a
similar event in a different location. By building on the success of previous events, event professionals can create a strong
brand identity and reputation for their events, attracting repeat attendees and building a loyal following. Additionally,
evaluating events can help event professionals identify any legal, ethical or safety concerns that may have arisen during the
event, and take steps to address them in future events.

Module Aims

This module will give you the knowledge and skills to progress from delivering a real-world music event, through to planning
a live music tour or series of events. You will organise, promote and deliver a live music event as part of a small team, and
reflect on the process.
You will also learn how to plan the logistics of a tour across multiple roles, such as tour managers and production teams. You
will explore key industry documentation such as tour advances and technical riders, to ensure the events are delivered
effectively and on schedule.

• Entrepreneurism
• Resilience
• Creativity and Collaboration

In this module, you will further develop your investigative skills, exploring relevant underlying concepts and principles and interpreting these within the context of your area of study. You will explore the nature of creativity, the wider context of the industry and practice reflective techniques.

You will also evaluate sources and consider issues such as potential biases and cultural diversity. This evaluation will contribute to developing an enhanced awareness of your creative identity and greater insight into the topics that inspire and motivate you. In addition, you will improve your understanding of how your area of interest intersects with the wider creative industry.

Using academic enquiry, you will develop a reflective journal to evaluate your strengths and areas for self-development in relation to your studies, careers and personal aspirations. This investigative work will help establish a connection between the skills you have identified concerning specific careers and areas of the industry, enhancing your understanding of what is required to be a successful professional practitioner.

This module develops key skills to arrange and perform established songs within a different context.
Each week you will have a discipline-specific preparation class to analyse a pre-assigned song and explore alternative technique, tone, instrumentation, feel, tempo, re-harmonisation or live production options that inform your stage performance strategy.

You will come together with all instruments in a weekly performance workshop that will enable your ensemble to develop and rearrange the songs, according to the ideas in your group. Your ensemble will negotiate and workshop ideas into full arrangements while developing engaging, visual performances that enhance the musical decisions you make.

Summary

Evaluating events is crucial to understanding what could be improved for future planning. By analysing the success and impact of an event, event professionals can identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to better meet the needs and expectations of attendees. This evaluation process can also help professionals identify what elements of the event were particularly successful and should be repeated in the future, whether that means planning a series of events, a live tour, or a similar event in a different location. By building on the success of previous events, event professionals can create a strong brand identity and reputation for their events, attracting repeat attendees and building a loyal following. Additionally, evaluating events can help event professionals identify any legal, ethical or safety concerns that may have arisen during the event, and take steps to address them in future events.

Module Aims

This module will give you the knowledge and skills to progress from delivering a real-world music event, through to planning a live music tour or series of events. You will organise, promote and deliver a live music event as part of a small team, and reflect on the process. You will also learn how to plan the logistics of a tour across multiple roles, such as tour managers and production teams. You will explore key industry documentation such as tour advances and technical riders, to ensure the events are delivered effectively and on schedule. Additionally, this module will help you develop the following graduate attributes:

• Entrepreneurism
• Social responsibility
• Professionalism

Safety underpins all successful events; no matter their scale or format. Many well-documented cases of audience injuries or deaths at events could have been avoided with more thorough planning. In this module, you will explore the key health & safety tools and strategies you will need in the events and business world. You will look at famous cases of when it went wrong, why it went wrong, and how to avoid similar incidents happening at your events.

Through considering the hierarchy of safety management and the associated roles and responsibilities, you will explore a range of relevant legislation and guidance to be applied across a variety of event types. You will evaluate event risks and develop expertise and experience in proposing solutions to health & safety concerns through proper planning, strategy and management.

Summary

This module will build on the skills you developed in your first year. In The Creative Industries and You module, you utilised concepts and principles to explore the nature of creativity, developing a short and longer-term plan for your personal and professional practice.

In this module you will carry out an individual investigation, utilising secondary research to investigate the lineage of your creative practice. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument in writing or via a narrated slide presentation. The concepts you explore in this module, including your positionality and identity, are themes you will encounter frequently as a creative professional.

Module Aims

By examining existing case studies and undertaking a research case study you will further develop secondary research skills and contextualise your professional identity. The research methods and study skills you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice. Additionally, this module will help you develop the following graduate attributes:

• Global Awareness
• Self-awareness
• Intellectual curiosity
• Professionalism

In this module, you will focus on developing your unique voice on your instrument. You will study technical development in the context of creative applications – advancing your capabilities, and further refining your individual voice.

A broad range of stylistic contexts will be investigated with a focus on developing appropriate technique and vocabulary and how to apply it creatively.

You will be looking at technical studies that will increase the range, capacity and versatility of your instrument skills. Over the course of the module, you will select tasks and studies that work towards your personal and creative goals as a musician, pushing yourself to perform material that expands your musical capacity. You will also be autonomous in selecting the style and context for your performances, enabling you to further define and create your individual and unique sound.

Students will gain a comprehensive insight into the inner workings of the outdoor events industry with a detailed and definitive overview of on-site operations, as well as the pre-event logistics planning required to ensure operational success.

The first part examines the tools and techniques underpinning operations planning, including a site production schedule, management and command structures and a detailed site plan, taking into consideration the relevant regulations supporting safe event design.

The second part explores on-site operations and considers what happens when functions are disrupted by unplanned events. You will study how to identify and tackle potential hazards, as well as leadership and decision-making, thereby learning the importance of establishing and observing correct procedures, and how to deploy the right resources.

Contextualised Performance is the culmination of styles, repertoire, genre-specific knowledge, music theory, composition, arrangement and live performance.

Each week you will work in a specified context, composing, arranging and performing as part of an ensemble to a specific creative brief. These briefs will vary in context and requirements, such as interpreting lyrics and songs, rearranging songs incorporating electronics and live production, co-writing and arranging to visual footage.

Discipline-specific preparation classes will allow you to explore options and develop musical ideas that will inform your performance strategy.

Summary

In the Defining Your Practice in Context module, you evaluated the lineage and traditions of your creative practice, investigating how it connects to artistic and industry practices. This module will require you to utilise your acquired knowledge to plan and create, collaboratively, a piece of work that links to your practice. Collaborating with others can help you develop new and innovative ideas and can also help you develop confidence as a creative practitioner whilst practising your communication, project management, reflection and feedback skills.

Module Aims

• To develop collaborative working practices.
• To plan and execute a creative project.
• To document your creative process including the nature of your collaboration.
• Seek and use developmental feedback.
• Evaluate the nature of teamwork, communication and collaboration.
• Appraise your professional values, ethics and goals.

Additionally, this module will help you develop the following graduate attributes:

• Employable and Entrepreneurial.
• Creative, Collaborative and Connected.
• Socially Responsible.
• Self-awareness.
• Professionalism.

Summary

As one of the primary stakeholders for any event, knowing your audience and ensuring their safety is an important part of managing any event. Throughout this module you will be able to address audience needs and expectations not only to ensure a positive audience experience, but also their safety.

Aims

This module aims to develop your understanding of the different types of audiences and their behaviour,, enabling you to effectively manage crowds at a variety of events and adapt management tools and techniques for crowd management plans ensuring safer event design.

This module presents you with the opportunity to develop your songwriting, arranging and performing skills as you embark on a creative journey, where you will be writing, rehearsing and performing an original set for your assessment. Your songwriting and arranging skills will be addressed in the prep lessons and expanded upon in the weekly workshops as part of an ensemble performance.

During the weekly prep lessons, you will examine songwriting and arranging techniques, such as subject writing, core values, toplining, melody, harmony, form, structure, conceptual development, collaborative writing and basic orchestration. Arrangements, instrumental/vocal proficiency, rehearsal skills and communication will all be covered during the weekly workshops.

The second assessment will take place after the first, whereby you will sit a viva voce, evaluating the processes involved in crafting, rehearsing and performing your set.

Sound Financial Management being critical to the success of any event, this module explores the techniques and tools used in the planning and delivery of events. Not-for-profit versus profit. Sponsorship versus Crowdfunding. Grant Funding versus Philanthropy.

The module will follow two strands:

1. Accounting techniques such as balance sheet, budgeting, break-even projection, cash flow and projections
2. Funding sources such as Sponsorship, Grant Funding, Crowdfunding and Philanthropy

The module is designed to be supportive of future modules where funding for an event will be critical to success.

Upon successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

• LO1: Apply financial management tools and techniques
• LO2: Appraise appropriate event funding methods
• LO3: Produce a realistic event budget in a spreadsheet format

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

Sustainability is currently at the forefront of people’s minds. This module assesses the sustainability impact of an event and explores the influence that events have to mobilise positive change.

The International Standard for Event Sustainability is used as a framework by which to evaluate significant event-related risks and opportunities, including the need for sustainability processes and practices to be embedded in the event management cycle.

Contemporary perspectives and trends in event sustainability will be a central theme. Using appropriate tools and templates, you will learn how to apply the requirements of the International Standard and create an event sustainability policy and action plan to increase the sustainability of an event.

This module will develop your ability to construct and implement a live ensemble performance to a professional standard, with consideration for your target audience. Additionally, you will critically evaluate the processes by which this is achieved.

By analysing high-level performances (e.g. Super Bowl shows/ festival headliners etc) as reference points, you will take into account all aspects of stagecraft and musicality to create your own showcase performance. The showcase will need to include; technical proficiency, creative musicianship and arrangement, and visual performance.

Throughout the course, you will also be required to engage in reflective practice by creating a digital portfolio (via Mahara). This will document your practice, progress, insights, strengths and challenges; both as an individual and as part of the ensemble. The portfolio may include written notes, images, audio examples, video recordings of the rehearsal process or vlog entries.

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

This module is the final step in your journey and will support you as you look to enter your chosen field as a creative professional. Drawing on evidence from throughout your time here. you will critically self-evaluate your personal learning journey and industry engagements to date. You will explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to support, challenge and test your assumptions, to determine your readiness for work in the creative industries. You will have the opportunity to discuss this with your peers and learn from your collective experiences in both small degree path groups and large mixed discipline sessions.

With this position in mind, you will then be challenged to create and consolidate creative assets to give you the edge over the competition in your chosen field. Specialist workshops will be offered throughout the module, informed and delivered by our wide-reaching connections and specialist lecturers in the creative industries. This culminates in the creation of a portfolio which tells the story of your personal and professional journey so far, communicating your unique professional identity and future career plans in the creative industries.

In this module you will be given an exciting overview of the technical production side of live events, covering lighting, audio, pyrotechnics, staging, backline, video and rigging in both indoor and outdoor venues. You will learn transferable skills around touring, festivals and theatres/arenas, and gain in-depth knowledge of production management and stage management, as well as specific disciplines.

The module will focus on practical application in a range of environments (including practice rooms with real equipment), as well as covering health and safety, working with artists and clients, and industry best practices. This technical production module will aim to give you the tools needed to work both backstage and on stage as part of a tour, in a venue, and at outdoor events and festivals.