Music Technology

Examination Board: NCFE

Course Title:  NCFE Level 2 Technical Award in Music Technology

Why should I choose to study music?

Music Technology will help you to develop your understanding of how music is created and recorded whist improving your ability to work as a team and through independent study.

What will I learn?

You will learn how to setup and use a digital audio workstation (DAW) effectively. You will create a music project to a specified brief using audio and MIDI editing tools and experiment with musical elements in a chosen style. You will plan and undertake a studio recording session, develop your understanding of missing techniques applying appropriate effects to your multitrack recording and study the process of sound creation in modern media.

What will be expected of me?

You will be expected to work independently and also as part of a team. You will need to devote some of your free time to access the facilities to complete various tasks throughout the course. You need to be creative and able to compose music. You should be able to work under pressure, meet regular deadlines, be creative and open minded; since you will not always be working with music that you know and enjoy.

What skills will I develop?

You will develop skills from creating music using MIDI and audio in a particular style, using different software and equipment to create music, to panning and undertaking a studio recording session. To do this you will have to planning and undertake sound creation by reviewing your own, and others’ work. Communicating, planning and experimentation.

How will I be assessed?

50% of this course is internally assessed and externally verified coursework activities. You will collate a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate your skills across four units. Assessments will occur regularly throughout the course where you will be taught a skill or activity and will then be assessed on your ability to carry it out independently. At the end of the course. You will then complete two external examination papers which account for the remaining 50%. The first of these is a written listening test which assesses your ability to recognise the techniques that you have learned audibly. The second is a practical assessment where you will be given audio and MIDI stems and will be expected to manipulate them to a given brief under controlled conditions.

Where will this qualification lead me?

A good result in Music shows employers and interviewers that you are creative (increasingly important in today’s society); that you can work both independently and in a group; that you can organise your time and much, much more. Music is highly-valued as a subject for university applications. Many students go on to A-Level or BTEC Music courses and some then progress to study music technology at university or music college. Even if you decide not to continue the subject beyond Level 2, the Level 2 qualification will have given you a comprehensive background knowledge and understanding of the technology used in the music industry and can provide you with an exciting hobby in the future.

You can earn a career in recording or live sound at concert venues. You could also pursue a life as a composer or songwriter.