Newcastle University

Folk and Traditional Music BMus Honours UCAS Code: W340 (4 years)International Centre for Music Studies

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This is the first performance based degree programme in folk and traditional music to be offered in England and Wales.

The course explores folk music in its traditional and revived forms, through practical work (including composition and performance) and academic work.

Study focuses on folk music itself (with an emphasis on the music of Britain and Ireland), the historical and cultural contexts in which it flourishes, as well as relating it to other musical styles and genres.

The course is run in collaboration with Folkworks, the educational charity for traditional music, dance and song, based at the Sage Gateshead music centre.

You also have the chance to work with an international roll call of staff at the International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS) including:

• Northumbrian small pipes player and composer, Kathryn Tickell
• singer songwriter, Sandra Kerr
• world-renowned Shetland fiddle player, Catriona Macdonald
• expert performer of Highland-, Border- and Uilleann-pipes, Simon McKerrell
• traditional musician and singer, specialising in Irish and Breton music, Dr Desi Wilkinson

Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage.

Stages 1

Compulsory modules

• MUS1012 Understanding Music History
• MUS1090 Performance Studies (Folk and Traditional Music)1
• MUS1091 Additional Performance Studies(Folk and Traditional Music) 1
• MUS1092 Ensemble 1
• MUS1096 The Traditions of These Islands 1
• MUS1098 Music Skills (Folk and Traditional Music) 1

If you achieve a Stage 1 average of 60 per cent or more, it is possible to spend one semester on an Erasmus exchange at Stage 2, studying folk music at one of our partner institutions.

Stage 2

Compulsory modules

• MUS2065 Studying Vernacular Musics
• MUS2063 Music Skills (Folk and Traditional Music) 2
• MUS2088 Folk Music Studies: Resources and Research Materials
• MUS2090 Performance Studies (Folk and Traditional Music) 2
• MUS2092 Ensemble 2
• MUS2094 Additional Performance Studies (Folk and Traditional Music) 2

If you complete just Stages 1 and 2 of the programme you will be eligible for an Undergraduate Diploma in Folk and Traditional Music.

Stage 3 

Compulsory modules

• MUS2060 Ethnomusicology: Issues and Applications
• MUS3090 Performance Studies (Folk and Traditional Music) 3

Optional modules

You take at least one of the following optional modules:

• MUS3102 Teaching Methods (Folk and Traditional Music)
• MUS3095 Music Enterprise

You take at least one of the following optional modules:

• MUS2041 Contemporary Compositional Techniques
• MUS2045 Indian Music in Practice 1
• MUS2064 Collective Performance
• MUS3092 Additional Performance Studies (Folk and Traditional Music) 3
• MUS3093 Folk Ensemble 3
• MUS2020 Techniques of Harmony

You take at least one of the following optional modules:

• MUS2087 Hearing the Individual in Traditional Music
• MUS2077 The Classical Style
• MUS2098 Noises, Sounds, and Gestures: Experimental Improvisation and Electroacoustic Composition
• MUS3106 Entrez dans la Danse
• MUS3034 Mediterranean Musics
• MUS2074 Music in the Renaissance
• MUS3083 Conducting Studies
• MUS3032 Roots of Hip Hop

Stage 4

Compulsory modules

•  MUS3054 Music and Cultural Theory

Optional modules

You take one of the following optional modules:

• MUS3012 Major Specialist Study: Composition
• MUS3013 Major Specialist Study: Dissertation
• MUS3014 Major Specialist Study: Performance
• MUS3015 Major Specialist Study: Project

You take one of the following optional modules:

• MUS3016 Minor Specialist Study: Composition
• MUS3017 Minor Specialist Study: Dissertation
• MUS3018 Minor Specialist Study: Performance
• MUS3019 Minor Specialist Study: Project

You take two of the following optional modules:

• MUS2045 Indian Music in Practice 1
• MUS2046 Indian Music in Practice 2
• MUS2064 Collective Performance
• MUS3087 Contemporary Music Practice 2
• MUS3095 Music Enterprise
• MUS3102 Teaching Methods (Folk and Traditional Music)
• MUS2020 Techniques of Harmony
• MUS2087 Hearing the individual in traditional music
• MUS2077 The Classical Style
• MUS3106 Entrez dans la Danse
• MUS3034 Mediterranean Musics
• MUS2074 Music in the Renaissance
• MUS3083 Conducting Studies
• MUS3032 Roots of Hip Hop

Please Note

The modules listed here are those currently being taught in this academic year and may vary for your year of entry.