does anyone know which are the best universities for music?

I've heard Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway (both part of the University of London) are great for music (I know Royal Holloway's music department has recieved a 5*, which is the best score for universities to be given as far as I'm aware ). My music teachers went to Goldsmiths and RH, and they're great musicians so it must be good!

Depending what you want out of your course - I've heard Chichester Uni is very good for music with lots of options in teaching and performing.

It's quite subjective I think - it really depends on the individual, what they want to do and what suits them. It's not really 'one size fits all'. At least, that's what I found when I was looking round and applying.

I'm inclined to agree ... a '5*' rating is just an assessment of a department's research record, and is frankly pretty irrelevant to undergraduate students (might even be a disadvantage, since staff may be more interested in research than in teaching you).

Entirely depends what you want from the course: lots of playing? Great academic teaching, pushed to achieve results? Prestige? Good facilities? Good employment chances? A friendly place without too much competition where you'll be happy and develop?

These aren't mutually exclusive, of course, but you'll probably get the best idea by making a short list and then visiting as many as you can, or asking people who are already there. It may help you to think about whether your interest in music is primarily academic or practical (or both), and what sort of music you see yourself playing ... that may help to whittle down the choices.

You can get a rough idea by looking at the national student satisfaction survey (which is online) or at the Guardian or Times University guides, which draw on the survey - though some of their judgments, in my discipline at least, seem a bit strange! The problem can be that very few students (very few undergraduates, anyway) have experience of more than one university, so they may not really know how their's compares ...

I've taught in two top-grade universities (NOT in music departments) in recent years; both have a similar reputation, but the undergraduate experience is very different in one from the other. And in two less well regarded, where the experience was different again.

nick

I'm starting at Chichester in September. The course is so varied and can be tailored to your needs and strengths. This is what attracted me to the course there.

Hope it all goes well for you...have you started the dreaded UCAS/CUKAS process yet?

It really does depend on what you're looking for - what type of music do you specialise in, what sort of course do you want - lots of essays and learning, or more performance based?

I'm at York, (which i think is 6th for music??) and its a very free course, we get a massive choice of modules to pick from each term so you can tailor your degree however you want - each module is assessed on an essay, performance, composition or some combination thereof, and each one is 10% of your degree.

There isn't much rote learning though, so if you want rigorous music history and counterpoint, its not for you. also we have a bias on composition and contemporary music, along with an excellent baroque/early music side too. Of course theres the choral aspect as well, with york minster we pull in some very good singers and have more choirs than i can think of. I wouldn't come here if you don't have a route you want to go down though, or at least an idea - for some people there is almost too much choice. plus your first year (and even first term!) count to there's no relaxing period.

I love it though, it was the perfect choice for me - i'd much rather be here than at cambridge, learning the entire history of music which i could just get from a book. The choice I had was to study "music" as a whole, or ten topics within that in detail - i chose the latter, but thats not right for everyone.

I'm hopefully starting at Aberdeen in September and I've found the same with their course. There are lots of people on this forum who have studied music at university, and each of them could probably present a good case for where they went. It's like Nick said, 'The problem can be that very few students (very few undergraduates, anyway) have experience of more than one university, so they may not really know how their's compares ...'

Im off to chichester Uni this year - it sounds great as being an organist, going somehwere with a cathedral next door (so to speak) is great.
Even though Ive pre-booked piano lessons not organ lessons. Ive go to grade 8 organ and dont need any more lessons in it.

thanks everyone...........
is royal academy of music, trinity, guilhall any good? i was thinking of choosing music perfomance.....
by the way i was wondering whether the music examination points are only counted for the music colleges or is not?

I know FRCOs who still have lessons.

Look carefully at module descriptions, because unis vary greatly in terms of specialisms. Birmingham is fairly flexible, with lots of options in performance and composition as well as musicology, but they're very hot on analysis work. There's no such thing as the 'best' uni!

First look at the course - whether you want loads of choice within the course, how intense it is, how tough the requirements are and what the acceptance rate is...

Secondly, look at the uni - whether it's got good social stuff (music clubs and other societies), whether it's a campus or town/city uni, whether the accomodation suits you...

Asking around for people with experience of certain places will help - go to as many open days as possible & try to talk to the tutors to see if they're the kind of people you'd like to teach you (!).

Look at statistics as an extra - don't let them determine your choice...




Try to get a bit of a range of offer requirements so you've got more freedom when you choose for your firm/insurance offers.
I'm just finishing my A2s, and then I'll wait for the results to see where I'm going...
Durham's my firm offer - AAA
Birmingham's insurance - ABB

I'm doing 4 A Levels, and at the moment I really don't feel as though I can manage 3 As... having a lower insurance offer is a huge relief as it's a lifeline if you find A2s tough. I know some people who've had really similar frim/insurance offers and have failed to get either...


Don't let that put you off!

Go with the course you like first and foremost - remember this is going to be your focus for the next 3 years, make sure it's something you'll really enjoy.

And good luck!

(hope the Personal Statement helps, though it's quite specifically for History...)

I'm a music student in Cardiff University...it has a very good reputation for music tuition.

I've just completed my 1st year, where as a BMus student you have a lot of compulsory modules, but this is an advantage as it gives you chance to try and have experience in the main areas such as harmony, counterpoint, analysis and music history. Performance is also compulsory in the first year.

I could have gone to music college, but chose Cardiff over this because originally I wanted to do a joint honours. Switched to single honours BMus, and have not looked back.

I know people who have played the organ all of their lives and still have lessons. Even some who have studied it at a high level! Just because you reach grade 8 it doesn't mean you stop learning!

i agree with you both...i wouldn't stop having a lesson just because i have a LTCL (and no way that i'm good enough). i have a music college tutor for regular lessons as well as some other famous organists, lessons once in a while. the experience and the inspiration are important to me. one could never stop learning.