A student playing an electric guitar in ARU's recital hall
BA (Hons) Placement year available

Music Performance

Become a versatile performer in your preferred musical style and experiment with different styles on our Music Performance degree.

Our BA (Hons) Music Performance will challenge your creativity. You’ll learn to analyse and deconstruct existing modes of performance, songwriting and composition before finding your own way to create new performances or rework the music of others.

As the course develops, you’ll examine increasingly complex performance scenarios, using them to inform aspects of your own live work. Weekly performance workshops in Year 2 will help you hone your stagecraft in particular styles of performance, while analysis seminars will allow you to explore vocal and instrument techniques by genre.

As a Music Performance student at ARU, you'll create a diverse portfolio of work and learn up-to-date techniques that will prepare you for the modern collaborative creative industries, whether you want to perform and release your own music, create soundtracks for films and games, or play in a band or orchestra.

Our Drama and Dance courses, including Music Performance, ranked 13th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2025, with 92% for “satisfied with teaching”.

Join a course ranked 2nd in the UK for the Teaching on my Course and 4th for Learning Opportunities in the National Student Survey 2024.

  • A music practice room on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring various instruments, speakers, and soundproofing panels

    Music Performance student Patrick shares how the course has helped him take his music to the next level.

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Why ARU?

  • Learn from expert academics and industry-active practitioners

  • Collaborate with students from other music courses to develop all-important skills for your professional life

  • Get full training in our industry-standard music facilities, including five recording studios, a spacious recital hall, and practice rooms

  • Take an optional work placement, or internships with our industry partners and practitioners

  • Make the most of Cambridge’s music scene with our links to local networks, venues and arts groups

Logo: THE Awards 2023
 

Study at an award-winning university

We were named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2023. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.

Course options

Key facts

Looking for different course options?

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.

Year 1
  • Music in Context
  • Dots, Lines and Waves - Songwriting 1
  • Studio Techniques
  • Music Performance 1
  • Into ARU
Year 2
  • Ruskin Module (15 credits)
  • Chords, Contours and Grooves - Songwriting 2
  • Audio for Film *
  • Audio for Games *
  • Composition and Orchestration *
  • Principles of Music Therapy *
  • Music Business *
  • Music Performance 2 *
  • Music Industry *
Year 3
  • Final Project
  • Collaborative Project
  • Portfolio
Module details

To prepare you for university study, you can take a foundation year at the start of this course. Find out more about foundation years.

Year 1
  • Foundation in Humanities, English, Media, Social Sciences and Education
Module details

You can choose to take an optional placement year as part of this course. Placements typically happen in Year 3, and your course will take four years overall. Find out more about placement years.

Placement year
  • Work Placement - Cambridge School of Creative Industries
Module details

Read profiles of teaching and research staff on this course.

Student work

Our student showcase
  • ARU students Ben and Emily coming down an escalator in a train station

    ARU students Emily Cole and Ben Brown share their experience of working in Finland with renowned guitarist and composer Mike Keneally.

  • Students Emily and Ben recording sound with a microphone by a lake in Finland

    Hear students Emily Cole and Ben Brown's work with renowned guitarist and composer Mike Keneally as part of Dr Chanan Hanspal's The Landscape Musician research project.

  • Phil Harding talking to two students in a music studio

    Legendary pop producer Phil Harding gave a masterclass at ARU’s recording studios. Phil has worked with artists including The Clash, Killing Joke, Dead or Alive, Belinda Carlisle, Rick Astley and East 17.

  • Patrick Walsh holding an electric guitar

    Music Performance student Patrick Walsh performs to his own composition, created for the course.

  • Sofia Andre Da Trindade singing into a microphone

    BA Music Performance Course Leader Chanan Hanspal enlisted the help of three students on his new album. Hear about their experience, and preview a few of the tracks.

    • ;
  • ARU students Ben and Emily coming down an escalator in a train station
  • Students Emily and Ben recording sound with a microphone by a lake in Finland
  • Phil Harding talking to two students in a music studio
  • Patrick Walsh holding an electric guitar
  • Sofia Andre Da Trindade singing into a microphone
  • ARU students Ben and Emily coming down an escalator in a train station
  • Students Emily and Ben recording sound with a microphone by a lake in Finland
  • Phil Harding talking to two students in a music studio
  • Patrick Walsh holding an electric guitar
  • Sofia Andre Da Trindade singing into a microphone

Facilities

  • The Recital Hall on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring a grand piano, soundproofing panels, and speakers suspended from the ceiling

    Spacious recital hall

  • The music recording studio on ARU's Cambridge campus - a large, carpeted space containing various instruments, and a booth visible through a window at the back

    Fully-equipped, climate-controlled recording studio

  • A large music mixing desk in a studio, lit in red and green

    Industry-standard mixing suites

  • A music mixing desk in a booth, with a keyboard visible to its left

    Industry-standard mixing suites

  • A music practice room on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring various instruments, speakers, and soundproofing panels

    Purpose-built practice rooms

  • The Music Technology Mac suite on ARU's Cambridge campus, showing several rows of workstations

    State-of-the-art hardware and software

    • ;
  • The Recital Hall on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring a grand piano, soundproofing panels, and speakers suspended from the ceiling
  • The music recording studio on ARU's Cambridge campus - a large, carpeted space containing various instruments, and a booth visible through a window at the back
  • A large music mixing desk in a studio, lit in red and green
  • A music mixing desk in a booth, with a keyboard visible to its left
  • A music practice room on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring various instruments, speakers, and soundproofing panels
  • The Music Technology Mac suite on ARU's Cambridge campus, showing several rows of workstations
  • The Recital Hall on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring a grand piano, soundproofing panels, and speakers suspended from the ceiling
  • The music recording studio on ARU's Cambridge campus - a large, carpeted space containing various instruments, and a booth visible through a window at the back
  • A large music mixing desk in a studio, lit in red and green
  • A music mixing desk in a booth, with a keyboard visible to its left
  • A music practice room on ARU's Cambridge campus, featuring various instruments, speakers, and soundproofing panels
  • The Music Technology Mac suite on ARU's Cambridge campus, showing several rows of workstations

You can get full training in all our creative facilities, including:

  • five recording studios featuring analogue, digital or hybrid mixing desks, all equipped with DAWs Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Ableton Live and hardware outboard recording equipment
  • audio-visual studio
  • spacious recital hall, band rooms and practice rooms
  • electronic and orchestral instruments, including a range of synthesisers and five grand pianos
  • an impressive inventory of professionally rated microphones and recording equipment
  • podcast and video capture system.

Careers

Throughout our BA (Hons) Music Performance, you’ll not only develop the latest skills and knowledge for a career in music performance, but also get the support you need to grow into a confident and creative graduate with a willingness for lifelong learning, and the desire to seek continuing personal and professional development in all aspects of your career.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have built up a professional portfolio of your music performance projects, which will act as an enhanced CV for you to present to future employers and clients. This might consist of video showreels, commercial music releases, or other demonstrations of your technical expertise, as well as a fully-developed online profile.

You’ll also seek and complete a work placement in an area of your interest in year two, gaining experience of the industry as well as learning to self-evaluate and develop your employability skills.

Graduation doesn’t need to be the end of your time with us, of course. You might decide to stay at ARU and study for a Masters, such as our MA Music Therapy. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

Employability and personal career development

Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.

To amplify your career ambition, you will need to actively dedicate time outside of your studies, whether you choose to explore placements, internships or volunteering. Or you could make a social impact by collaborating with our partner organisations through our volunteer scheme Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE). These all give you an edge, providing you with experience that you will be able to evidence on your CV and talk about in interviews.

Our Employability and Careers Service offers a range of expert advice and support to build your unique professional profile, including tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, and help to complete job applications. You’ll have 24/7 access to the Careers Centre, our comprehensive online digital resource, which empowers you to start building a Personal Career Development Plan from the very start. Design your future at ARU.

Entry Requirements

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Fees and Paying for University

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Placement year available

You have the option to take a placement year as part of this course. It’s a great chance to get hands-on experience in the industry you want to work in.

Your guide to placements