Course Overview
The Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Music is a Full-time Further Education course designed for students who are interested in popular music, want to develop their musical skills and have aspirations of becoming a professional musician. This is located in the Creative, Visual and Performing Arts (CVP) department.
The course allows learners to gain experience and skills in a wide range of popular music specialisms. It is a level 3 course, which is equivalent to 3 A Levels. If you are a talented and more importantly a committed musician, and love all aspects of music, then this is the course for you.
We have a very vibrant music department here at the College, affording students many opportunities to be involved in music related extracurricular activities such as Jazz ensemble, Function band, orchestra, playing abroad and much more.
5 GCSEs A*-C including English. A relevant Level 2 qualification and successful applicants will be selected via interview and audition. The criterion will include being judged on their interest and experience in music plus an audition on an instrument or voice at around Grade 5 standard.
This qualification will help learners to enter higher level courses, e.g., Degree courses and Higher National Diploma courses, and prepare them for future employment in the field of popular music, performance, music education, music therapy and music management. Many of our past students are now involved in Performance careers, with many of our former students going into the world of Primary, Secondary, Further, Higher and private education
Specialist units cover the following popular music specialisms: Performing as an ensemble, Solo Performance, Using DAW software, Composition, Arranging, Self-Promotion, Major project, Instrumental development, One to one instrumental tuition, to name a few.
Throughout the year there will be masterclasses and workshop sessions with top industry professionals. Examples of recent clinicians include: Guthrie Govan (Guitar), Laurence Cottle (Bass), Ian Thomas (Drums), Tommy Emmanuel (Acoustic Guitar) Jamiroquai (Rhythm Section) Jeff Lorber (Keys) Jimmy Haslip (Bass) to name a few. These events are compulsory.
There will be a £100 cost. This can be paid over several weeks and the money goes directly back to the students to cover costs of masterclass, one to one lessons and the up keep of all of the equipment provided.
