About

How is Creative Audio different?

Let's begin with a question: how important is sound? In general, our mediated world tends to have a bias towards the visual domain. The result is that sound can be taken for granted. This is an oversight. Around the world, a not so silent revolution is taking place. Each day, more than one billion pairs of headphones are in use. That's one billion people hooked into a private listening environment - most of whom are connected to the Internet through their mobile device accessing a global catalogue of creations.

On the Creative Audio programme, we believe that audio is the ultimate cultural medium. An information-rich environment incorporating music, speech and sound. Our brains work by association and so it should be little surprise to find that sound is integral to our lived experience. Consider the case of music alone: for many people, it is enjoyed as a standalone event. Yet, when attached to other media (film, game, software application, AR/VR), music becomes especially powerful.

In parallel, creative exploration is the motivation for everything we do. Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and space to explore the future of music and sound. Not only how to create and manipulate audio, but also how to produce an overall user experience that is both compelling and relevant to the world in which we live.

For further information, please see our prospectus for 25/26 entry

Feedback

What our students say…

Testimonials

“The quality of information and the streamlined nature in which it is delivered speaks volumes about the staff. This course finds a way to explain every topic, regardless of depth or difficulty, in an easy to follow format. In terms of subject matter, the team spends time versing you on why the information presented is important for your venture into the world of music technology. Every topic is carefully selected and is essential for a career in music technology.”

“The [Creative Audio] programme has been brilliant from start to finish. Each module brought something new and even when I thought I was relatively experienced in the topic at hand I always learnt numerous new techniques and developed a deeper understanding of the topic. Each module was delivered in a clear and concise manner that catered to all experience levels... One thing that consistently amazes me about the Creative Audio programme is the sheer breadth of the content delivered while still going in depth on each topic.”

“[It's] really great to work with such talented and creative people and...a really invaluable experience to me”

“The modules I enjoyed the most were the coding ones however all the teaching staff were great. The coursework oriented style of the course really suits it and it teaches you some great skills. It taught me how to be more independent when it came to researching and problem solving but there was help available if you really needed it... There's more than one way to fix things and I think the [Creative Audio] course teaches this flexibility when it comes to problem solving really well. I think if there was one big impact the course had on me it was to be an independent thinker and it made me a better problem solver.”

Philosophy

How we approach learning?

Graduate Qualities

We have created an illustration highlighting the qualities we hope to assist our students realise. A university education is an education for life. Yes, the specific skills we develop (1) are important, however, there is much more to explore (2 + 3).

As a practice-based, industry-focused course designed to give you the skills and experience needed to build a career within the creative industries, no two weeks are the same. We are a supportive community where creativity is encouraged and developed. This in turn allows you to discover what excites you and then build your learning around that. Through continuous support and feedback from highly experienced practitioners and tutors you will develop skills across composition, production and implementation in parallel with essential business knowledge. During your learning, the discipline expected of a professional becomes second nature to you, making you ready to take control of your career. There are opportunities to form and join bands, manage and/or perform at events, and collaborate on creating and recording new audio and music material across a wide range of genres, formats and platforms.

As a full-time student the teaching schedule is between 10 and 12 hours per week. Class time is often divided into practical and theoretical sessions. One-on-one meetings, collaborations with peers, and personal practice time in the studios and labs will be additional. The schedule is designed to be as flexible as possible with emphasis of efficient travel to and from campus.

Find out more…