Popular Music BA (Honours)

at Munster Technological University - MTU

Each student is assigned a matched group of peers to form a small popular ensemble, this becomes the centre of the learning experience. Lectures, classes, and music technology labs provide supporting skills to the core training in performance.

INSTRUMENTAL TUITION 
 

• Ensembles – everything from rock, pop, hip hop, blues, soul, metal, jazz, salsa, disco, electronica, funk, ska, reggae, etc.; 

• Musicianship and Harmony – play by ear, harmonise, notate your favourite songs and solos; 

• Music Technology – live sound and PA, studio engineering, computer-based music applications including ProTools and Logic Studio; 

• Song Writing – mentored guidance and practical experience in realising your own composition; 

• Arranging and Musical Direction – coordinate, arrange for, and direct a group of your musical peers.
  
  Additionally, BAPM students will have the opportunity to devise and develop personal live and recorded music projects. Along with their BMus counterparts, BAPM students will be introduced to Community Music and Music Therapy as potential pathways. Students will also have access to specialist modules embracing arts marketing, professional promotion, and business for artist practitioners and career development.
  
  Elective modules
   

Due to our colocation with our sister courses, the BMus, BA in Theatre & Drama Studies, and the new BA in Musical Theatre you will have an unparallelled access to a wide variety of elective modules, particularly in years 3 and 4. These range from Classical Instruments, bass, orchestral percussion, classical guitar, to Songwriting, Composition, Arranging, Conducting, Dance, Irish Traditional Music, Lighting Design, Music Therapy, and Education
 

Semester Schedules

For admission to a programme, standard applicants must

• meet the minimum entry requirements

• Assessment Test

• Garda Vetting
   

MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
 

Leaving Certificate Examination

Leaving Certificate in six subjects i.e. H5 in two subjects, and O6/H7 in four other subjects. One of the subjects must be English or Irish. There is no specific Mathematics requirement. Grade F2 or higher in Foundation Level Mathematics is recognised as one of the subjects for entry.

Vetting

Vetting is conducted by the National Vetting Bureau (formerly known as the Garda Central Vetting Unit). The National Vetting Bureau (NVB)  helps to assess the suitability of all applicants on this programme. It is important to note that participation in or completion of this programme may be affected by subsequent disclosure/discovery.

Entrance Exam

All applicants must sit the CSM’s BA (Honours) in Popular Music Degree Course Entrance Test (provisional dates: Thursday to Saturday, 7th - 9th April 2022).Each candidate who sits an Entrance Test is awarded up to a maximum of 600 points. Each standard candidate must achieve the minimum threshold of 276 points in the Entrance Test and must also meet the minimum Leaving Certificate entry requirement in order to be eligible for admission. Note that Leaving Certificate exam points are not used to rank candidates.
 

NB: Candidates are NOT allowed to defer the results of the Entrance Exam from one year to the next.
 

Sample Paper

Applicants will be required to prepare two contrasting pieces of music; undergo an interview; and sit a written assessment paper. 
 

Leaving Cert Subjects:

Helpful subject is Music, though not mandatory.
 

IELTS (Academic)

L1: At least 6.0 with no section below 5.5
 

TOEFL

L1: At least 80 - with minimum scores: Listening- 17; Reading - 18; Speaking – 20; Writing - 17

The fees for Popular Music BA (Honours) may vary from (Range) Exmaple - €10,000 to €25,000 anually for tuition fees. The fee's prices may get higher for international students.

POTENTIAL AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT
 

• Musician in a band

• Music teaching

• Singer songwriter 

• Sound technician

• Session/Pit Musician 

• Film, Video and TV scoring
   

Graduates go into the industry as performers, writers, producers, teachers and administrators, strongly equipped to develop their own entrepreneurship and freelance employment opportunities. Graduates will be able to compete in the busy world of commercial music in Ireland, for recording contracts, gigs in clubs and concert halls, TV and stage shows, corporate entertainment, and the fertile melting pot that is the Irish singer-songwriter circuit. Synergies with the classical, jazz and traditional musicians on the BMus course will open creative doors and career opportunities such as those fostered in the famous performing arts schools and colleges of the UK and the USA.

There are many employment opportunities for popular music graduates apart from the obvious one of performing. Composition, music for multimedia, songwriting, playing in recording sessions, in theatrical productions, and TV. Outside of this field is the associated area of promotion, festival and arts administration, and the business side of the industry.

However, taking an Honours Degree in popular music does not mean that a graduate is restricted to a music driven career for the rest of their life. In addition, a growing number of employers outside the specific music business favour music graduates because of the combination of intellectual training, digital skills, interpersonal sensitivity and greatly enhanced general response rates represented by a musical training.