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MA Creative Music Production
Why choose Herts?
- Excellent reputation: Ranked 1st as best creative media and entertainment school in the UK (Rookies, 2021)
- Exceptional facilities: Aligned to industry specifications to support your learning and hone your skills.
- Strong industry connections: We provide extensive networking activities with our industry partners that include BAFTA, Sony, and Splash Damage Videogame Company.
- Employment prospects: Graduates work as producers, audio engineers, composers, sound designers, consultants and creatives for organisations such as Focusrite, Sound Technology, Kobalt Music, Zimmer Audio, Splash Damage, Roli, Splice, Anderson Acoustics and Bose.
- Teaching excellence: Our staff are all professional practitioners with a host of real-world experience, and ongoing active engagement in music creation and production.
About the course
- Explore the most advanced studio techniques, technologies and processes at the forefront of current music production.
- Discover advanced compositional devices and strategy applicable to DAW-based realisation of original material.
- Unleash your creative potential and cultivate your own individual style to produce original works that stand out from the crowd in their artistic and technical sophistication.
Why choose this course?
The MA Creative Music Production is aimed at applicants specifically interested in applying studio technologies and production skills to the creation of their own original music (as opposed to “producing” other artists’ music). In addition to equipping students with solid bases in studio technology, processes and practices, the course addresses the purely formal, artistic and aesthetic aspects of music-making, and the specific compositional devices and strategy applicable to DAW-based realisations of original material.
By surveying the defining traits and aesthetic concerns of a number of popular genres centred on electronic composition-production, students develop a sophisticated awareness of current artistic and aesthetic trends, and an enhanced knowledge of the musicology of production. On this course, you will develop a portfolio of original works showcasing your talent as a composer-producer, opening up a wide range of possibilities for your professional career.
The University of Hertfordshire was ranked 2nd in the East of England (after Cambridge) for Music (2023 Complete University Guide).
Course Content
Taught sessions will typically cover the following topics:
- Studio Technology, processes and practices
- Audio production and design
- Compositional strategies in DAW environments
- Musical form, structure and discourse in Electronica
- Rhythm and kinesis in EDM
- Experimentation in IDM
- Noise in Techno
- Timbre and texture in Ambient music
- Machine aesthetics in House music
- Sampling and re-contextualisation in Hip-Hop
- Lo-fi aesthetics and Glitch
- Retro-revivalism - analogue sound in the digital age
Resources
Our state-of-the-art equipment includes:
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• a large recording studio featuring a 32-fader Neve Genesys Black analogue mixing console (with Neve 1073 mic-preamps + 88R and 1084 EQ) / 64-channel Protools HD MADI system / PMC IB2S-A midfield monitors / Neumann surround monitoring / two racks of high-end analogue and digital outboard compression, EQ and effects (Neve, Focusrite, Drawmer, 1176, LA2A, Pultec) / UAD DSP processing with full suite of plug-ins.
• medium-size studio featuring a Neve Genesys / Protools HD system with RedNET and Neumann 5.1 monitoring.
• 4 x acoustically-treated, surround-equipped, iMAc mix/production spaces with Slate Raven Mti touchscreen control and REDNet, and Kawai acoustic pianos.
• 2 x live recording booth/spaces.
• 3 monitoring spaces for surround sound mixing.
• dubbing suite for A/V work (foley, ADR, etc.)
• 2 x 30 seat dual-monitor Apple iMac labs (each with a large range of s/w - including Logic, Ableton Live, Reason, ProTools, MaxMSP, Native Instruments Komplete, East West Composer Cloud)
• a 150-seats state-of-the-art performance venue with Soundcraft vi1 console and full RedNET integration.
• top class outboard including Digidesign Pro Tools, Lexicon TLAudio, TC Electronic, Focusrite, and so much more.
• vast selection of top-quality dynamic, condenser and ribbon microphones, including Soundfield, Neumann, AKG, Coles, Shure, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic.
Industry Links
Our industry partners include:
- Spitfire Audio
- AIR Studios
- Zimmer Audio
- Featured Artists Coalition
- Music Academic Partnership
- Sound Technology
- Splash Damage Videogame Company
What will I study?
Lecture, seminars and tutorials are typically scheduled over two consecutive days a week, plus some extra sessions for particular workshops, performance, recording, as necessary. In addition to scheduled sessions, students are expected to engage in continuous self-directed study and studio practice.
Key staff
Bruce Aisher
Programme Leader for Postgraduate Music, Bruce is a music producer, songwriter, composer, remixer, sound designer, and technology journalist. His work features on over 100 tracks, including a US Billboard Club Chart No.1, a Platinum album and TV shows.
Find out more about Bruce Aisher
Dr Kyriacos Michael
Dr. Kyriacos is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter, and music director. He's founded bands such as Nova Neon, and worked with BoohooMan, BBC & Discovery Channel. He teaches songwriting, composition, and research, focusing on Immersive Music.
Rob Wright
Head of Music, School of Creative Arts
John Brough
John is a freelance producer/engineer known for hit records. Formerly chief engineer at Metropolis Studios, he has worked with major artists like Queen. He specialises in studio recording, mixing, surround sound, and immersive formats.
Further course information
| Course fact sheets | |
|---|---|
| MA Creative Music Production | Download |
| MA Creative Music Production | Download |
| Programme specifications | |
|---|---|
| MA Creative Music Production | Download |
| MA Creative Music Production | Download |
| Additional information | |
|---|---|
Sandwich placement or study abroad year |
n/a |
Applications open to international and EU students |
Yes |