Music is for everyone – you can start studying music with us from scratch.
You can begin by looking at our free taster materials on OpenLearn, or sign up for the next presentation of our MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) – From Notation to Performance: Understanding Musical Scores – with FutureLearn (4 week course, 3 hours per week).
Undergraduate students on the BA Humanities (Music) degree begin by studying Music alongside other Arts subjects in our interdisciplinary level 1 curriculum – currently consisting of AA100 The arts past and present and A105 Voices, texts and material culture. There’s a free taster from AA100, on the Diva, on OpenLearn. It isn’t necessary to be able to read music to complete level 1. Moving on to specialist study, students prepare for A224 Inside Music over the summer by studying our Introduction to Music Theory, together with the MOOC and other materials we provide. You then progress to our new level 3 module, A342 Central questions in the study of music.
If you already have an undergraduate degree in Music (from the OU or elsewhere), you might be interested in our new MA in Music which enables you to continue your studies in a way that suits you. Whether you have just graduated or you haven’t studied for a while, our new taster material An Introduction to Music Research gives a flavour of what to expect from this online course.
Many of our own undergraduate students progress to the MA in Music and even complete a PhD with us.
Nick Logie is a professional musician who completed BA, Masters and PhD with the OU. Nick is currently an Honorary Research Associate in the Department, studying perceptions of gender in conducting.
Tom Hewitt is a former police officer who studied for his undergraduate degree while working. Having completed the MA in Music, Tom is currently studying for a PhD in Music and Philosophy.
You can read more about Nick, Tom and some of our other students here. Will you be next to join our list?