Hone your skills as a performer and benefit from our expertise in instrumental and vocal performance. Gain the practical skills and theoretical knowledge you need to perform at an advanced level.
You'll develop and refine your skills as a performing musician through expert individual tuition and performance classes, seminars, and tutorials.
As well as enhancing your professional skills as a performer, you'll gain the knowledge you need to build a music career.
Our practical employability module will give you the tools to become a successful music professional.
The course runs over 12 months full-time. You can also study this programme on a part-time basis.
September - December (11 weeks)
Full-time students usually take two compulsory modules and up to two optional modules in the autumn term.
There are two hours of seminar time per module per week, with an emphasis on guided independent learning.
One-third of your degree is your solo recital. You begin planning this in the autumn term.
January - April (12 weeks)
Full-time students usually take three compulsory modules and an optional module in the spring term.
During term two you are assigned a supervisor for your solo recital.
May – August
There are no more taught modules during term three. You’ll continue working on your solo recital and research seminar summaries, ready to submit these at the end of August.
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To gain a place at Birmingham you will need to meet our general entry requirements, as well as those specific to your course. Your application will be reviewed by the course’s Admissions Tutor, who will decide whether your application should receive an offer.
You should have, or expect to get, a 2:1 Honours degree in Music. We can consider an Honours degree in another subject if you have significant professional musical experience and relevant qualifications.
In your personal statement, please include the MA Music pathway you're applying for in the first paragraph.
All applicants for pathways in performance must submit a sample of written work. This needs to be in English and at least 1,500 words. The written work should focus on a musical topic, with academic bibliography and references.
You'll also need to present a 20-minute audition where you play a varied programme focusing on Western classical repertoire. The audition should include a brief spoken introduction to the programme, discussing the repertoire performed. This needs to be spoken in English.
All applicants are expected to submit a video-recorded audition through an internet video link, (e.g., YouTube/Vimeo/Youku or Dropbox/WeTransfer/YouSendIt). The URL should be pasted into a text document and uploaded to the application portal. The video and written work should be submitted at the same time as your application.
English language requirements If you are an international student, you will need to demonstrate you have a suitable level of English proficiency, usually through the form of an IELTS or equivalent qualification or a Presessional English course.
For this course we require IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band, which is equivalent to: