fusionbassist1 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Hello Everyone, I'm basically completing my personal statement n all that jazz within the next week (or so I hope) in order to apply to do music in University. I've already had some places suggested to me over the years but I was hoping that by having a quick scan on would possibly turn my head towards somwehre promising in the country that i might not have thought of. I've already looked at the courses at (some successfully and some not so successfully) Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff and LIPA so far. If you have any feedback about any of these places or anywhere else in the UK that does a Music degree (BMus, BA with or without Hons and i'm also considering things like jazz, performance and world musics etc) that lasts 3 to 4 years then that'd be great. Knowing where NOT to go would be handy too, to be completely honest Thanx very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamapirate Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 hmm I know a professional guitarist who teaches at BIMM and he seems to think it's good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) My wife recently completed her BMus at Aberdeen University. I'll ask her for some info and get back to you. In the short term, look here: [url="http://www.abdn.ac.uk/music/"]http://www.abdn.ac.uk/music/[/url] Edited October 9, 2009 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 My friend did his degree at Newcastle Collage and seemed to enjoy it he posts on here as Beardybass so hopefully he will add his thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Leeds seems to have a huge reputation for its music course. I did a gig at LIPA; it was to support our guitarist’s presentation on the history of the Blues. Seems like a good place with nice people. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu-khag Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I couldnt possibly comment on the Cardiff course but seeing as you are based in Wales, would you get cheaper entrance fees as a result of Welsh Assembly? (this may have changed now as Im out of the loop all things educational) Saying that, I dont suppose its wise to choose a University on financial terms if the course/facilities aren't up to scratch. I did see a performance by the graduating jazz students from the welsh college of music and drama few years back conducted and written by Keith Tippett which was fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey1-8 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 [quote name='iamapirate' post='621267' date='Oct 9 2009, 08:00 AM']hmm I know a professional guitarist who teaches at BIMM and he seems to think it's good [/quote] Everyone I know who went to BIMM said it was a waste of time. I think if you're looking for something along the same lines as BIMM and ACM then The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London may be your best bet. I haven't been to any of the above mentioned so it's all advice I've been given and not first hand experience. Not sure about universities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionbassist1 Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Thanx for having a look at the topic guys. I want to go away from Wales purely because I see Uni as a fantastic way to move away from home and with Wales being so full of social pockets and friends of friends I think it'd be a waste to go to the capital (no matter how good their Uni and courses are meant to be) to only end up sharing diggs with some people I grew up with and work for companies owned by people I've known for years; there's not enough social or proffessional expansion there for me as I've been gigging up and down the country for quite a few years now. On the note of how much cheaper I'd get my Uni by staying in the country it really doesn't bother me about how much everything's going to cost as i believe if there was ever a reason to jump into tens of thousands of pounds of debt then my future is exactly that reason. I'm looking at Edinburgh now due to it being nice and far away, in a culturally awesome place and it ranking pretty good on the uni ranking table. Anyone got any ideas what they're like? [url="http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php?AC_sub=Music&x=24&y=7&sub=M"]Uni Ranking Table[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) Rather than just using the newspaper's league tables, also see what students think of a specific course via the National Student Survey results at [url="http://www.unistats.com/"]Unistats[/url]. It may not be perfect (it only surveys final year undergraduates for example) but it's probably the best judge of individual courses. Gareth Edited October 9, 2009 by walbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionbassist1 Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Oh yeah I don't for one second think that the paper's ratings aren't a sturdy guide but when I don't have any other feedback on some of these unis it's at least a nice rough bit of help that gives me an idea rather than my UCAS form being full of guesses and courses picked out of a hat. A lecturer from Bangor University whom I play bass for in his jazz trio has just suggested that a good starting point would be to decide if i want to go to a straight up uni or a conservatoire. He says a university will be far more academically driven and less performance based which might suit me better due to me really dissliking the preassure on exams and irrelevant skills that i had with my music tech A level and certain aspects of my other music qualification. With that said though i'm not a bedroom musician who just wants to play, i consider myself a musician first and a bassplayer a just a specific detail thereof; I don't want to be surrounded by a load of metalheads who just want to shred as it wouldn't be a step up from college at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 You have PM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exile252 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'm currently studying Creative Music and Sound Technology at Leeds Met uni. Its a good course and a good city, not to big and not too small. Don't know anyone that dislikes it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 My drummer's at Trinity in London. All the players there seem pretty good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 [quote name='fusionbassist1' post='621867' date='Oct 9 2009, 05:57 PM']I don't want to be surrounded by a load of metalheads who just want to shred as it wouldn't be a step up from college at all.[/quote] DUDE! Metal rulzzzzzz. Get with the now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exile252 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Well, theres no metal heads on my course (well atleast not in my group) So it is a step away from college in that respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerboy Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I'm reliably informed that Guildhall will take bass guitarists onto their jazz course - you'll need to pick up some double bass on the course, though. And be a s**t-hot player, naturally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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