Edinburgh Virtual Open Day why study at edinburgh scotland music school college university catton hill hnc ba hons hnd

Why Study in Edinburgh?

September is on the horizon, and we’re still very much open for applications for the new academic year. Edinburgh is one of our 2 AMS centres in Scotland, and could prove to be an excellent choice if you’re looking for an exciting, buzzing city to take your musical study to the next level. From free short courses which we change and mix up each semester, to our hugely popular HNC/HND in Music and our BA Hons in Music and Sound, AMS Edinburgh have a great range of courses for you to sink your musical teeth into.

 

So, whats the city’s appeal?

 

The Scottish capital has a long-established reputation in the international festival circuit, offering a fantastic fusion of culture, art and performance. Most notably, Edinburgh annually hosts the incredible Edinburgh Fringe Festival and their famous 3-day New Year party. With festivals and cultural events scheduled all year around, Edinburgh has countless entertainment and opportunities for musicians, as well as infinite eating out options, theatres and comedy nights. The Edinburgh Centre is certainly the the best place to be to gain your start in the Music Industry!

The city is home to some fantastic venues like, Sneaky Pete’s, The Queens Hall, Leith Folk Club, Bannermans,  The Caves, and Stramash. And of course cultural structures and iconic places to visit like the famous Edinburgh Castle, Catton Hill and Authur’s Seat.

And it’s not far from some stunning beauty spots either – you can truly get the best of both worlds here.

What courses are available at AMS Edinburgh?

 

Free Short Courses | Each semester we update an exciting programme of free short courses. Most recently we’ve had some really fascinating courses on Women in Music, Sound Production, Hip-hop and Rap, and Working in the Music Industry. Most recently we adapted all our short courses – which are usually held in our studio and performance facilities in-centre – for online purposes due to the pandemic, and had some great responses from attendees! Keep your eyes peeled for next semester’s programme.

 

HNC/HND in Music | This specialist course for modern musicians is available at both our city centre facilities in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  Our unique selling point has always been supporting students with their chosen pathway – this year we are thrilled to announce that we are now offering Hip-Hop & Rap as a pathway on our HND Music course. Accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), our HND is written in partnership with education professionals and industry experts, reflecting the current music industry and allows for further progression onto higher levels of study, expanding career opportunities and personal development. If you’re serious about your music, and want to take your creativity to the next level whilst studying an accredited undergraduate pathway then the HNC in Music could be for you.

 

BA Hons in Music and Sound – Equivalent to the 3rd year of a degree, this flexible top-up year is designed to follow on from our Foundation Degree in Music & Sound, but would also suit any applicants studying a music related HND, Foundation Degree or indeed those with recognised industry experience backed up with qualifications. Validated by the University of West London, the course has been developed to mirror the modern music industry, allowing students to learn the skills to become independent, multi-skilled music practitioners, fluent with various forms of multi-media. We provide the time, space and the opportunity to develop your own sound and work on your material alongside gaining valuable vocational skills.

 

Facilities
Our Edinburgh centre boasts teaching rooms, rehearsal rooms, mac suites, recording studios and a team of professional music tutors.

Learn from the pros
All our tutors and staff are working in music, and our courses are both delivered by and written by musicians. With that comes a great community, common goals and an immediate industry focus that you won’t get at your run of the mill college.

Alumni
Many of our past students are now working in music, check out our alumni page to find out more.

Who will I be learning from?

Our dedicated and passionate teaching team are all professional musicians with several years experience both in teaching and the music industry. You’ll be learning and working with a range of musical professionals, mostly have well established links with the Edinburgh and Glasgow music scenes and all have a wealth of knowledge.

On our singer-songwriter team, we’ve got Zac Scott a performer and artists with experience facilitating creative songwriting sessions across Scotland. He trained at Lincoln Center Education, New York and graduated with BA (Hons) in Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. There’s also Georgia Smith our songwriting tutor – Georgia has a whole host of accolades from the likes of Scottish Jazz Awards, BBC Scotland and Society Magazine. In our vocals department is the wonderful Susanna Klayman, specialising in soul music she has over 12 years experience. Michael Mackay is one of our guitar tutors, an artist part of several local bands with a loyal following, and Ewan Gibson is our bass tutor, also part of many local projects.

If sound production is your thing, you’ll be learning first hand from Archie Biard. While Karyln King is our BA Course Coordinator, Music Business and Women in Music Tutor. Born in Glasgow, Karlyn is a prolific Popular Music academic, lecturer and researcher who regularly presents at industry conferences all over the UK, specialising in Rock n Roll history, Artist Development and Research. She is completing a PhD at University of Birmingham on vinyl record culture, and freelances in Artist Management.

What’s the deal with Coronavirus?

 

Of course, coronavirus has sadly impacted many of our local venues and arts centres, but with several of them having recently received Creative Scotland funding, and Edinburgh will surely be quick to get back on its feet.

Online learning: Since March we’ve swapped the studio for home and come September we’re confident we’ll be in a great position to offer flexible, online learning to students should we need to. We’re also spreading out, finding new spaces for learning so classrooms can be bigger and class sizes smaller. We were quick to adapt to the changes back in the Spring, and received some hugely positive feedback from our students.

Come September we’re readily adapting, in a great position to provide optional online learning and small class sizes should we need to. There’s still space on many of our courses for 2020/21 and we really look forward to hearing from you!

Group tutor sessions and live online performances have kept me feeling involved and uplifted during these crazy times
– Ella Crossland, Exeter student, April 2020.

How do I apply?

It’s simple. Just fill out a short online form, and we will get back to you in the following few days.

Take me to the application form.

 

And if you have any more questions or queries, feel free to to in touch with our friendly team!  We’ll get back to you as soon as possible, and we really look forward to hearing from you, about your musical experience and your musical interests.

 

Contact us 


exeter diploma music course rsl level 3 why study at exeter music exeter exeter university college music and sound ams uk

Why Study in Exeter?

September is on the horizon, and we’re still very much open for applications for the new academic year. Exeter would be a great place to decide to study with AMS – with course options in RSL Level 3, Foundation Degree in Music and Sound, BA Hons in Music and Sound, and of course our hugely popular M.MUS in Popular Music Performance, it’s also a great dynamic, interesting, student oriented city in its own right.

 

So, whats the city’s appeal?

 

Exeter is such a dynamic cultural hub, which is steadily and surely getting back on its feet after coronavirus. In terms of music, it’s got much to offer with independent venues like Exeter Phoenix & Old Firehouse Exeter, Northcott Theatre , Lemon Grove, the Corn Echange, and home to lots of incredible independent shops and the unique and quirky Gandy Street. Exeter has also has its share of music related enterprises including the famous Manson Guitar Works, who make guitars for the likes of Matt Bellamy (Muse) and Mikey Demus (Skindred)!

Exeter has always been a historic and cultural hub, but in 2019 the Cathedral City truly came into its own. New, quirky bars and cafes opening left, right and centre make Exeter a fun and vibrant city to explore throughout the year. Being so close to the countryside also gives Exeter a special appeal – you’re just a short hop one way to the stunning South West Coastline, and a hop in the other direction to the picturesque beauty spot that is Dartmoor National Park. Best of both worlds!

It also means that proper muddy festivals are not far away either; Beautiful Days (run by the Levellers) happens every year (well, apart from 2020…..) as well as the cheerful Chagstock Music Festival in the heart of the moors – plus you’re only a short hop on the train to Glastonbury, home to the most famous festival of all.

What courses are available at AMS Exeter?

 

RSL Extended Diploma Music Practitioners Level 3This popular course internationally recognised qualification with regular updates to mirror the developments within the music industry. It is written and developed by industry specialists with education professionals. Fully-accredited by OfQual and DfES, it is the equivalent to 3 A-levels with an outcome of up to 168 UCAS points.

 

Foundation Degree in Music & Sound – Our bespoke Foundation Degree is developed to mirror the modern music industry, helping students gain the skills to be independent, multi-skilled music practitioners, fluent with various forms of multimedia. The Foundation Degree in Music & Sound is fully validated by the University of West London, which encompasses the London College of Music. A Foundation Degree is a combined academic and vocational qualification, equivalent to two thirds of an honours degree, it is anticipated that those who complete the Foundation Degree in Music & Sound will progress to the BA (Hons) top-up in Music & Sound.

 

BA Hons in Music and Sound – Equivalent to the 3rd year of a degree, this flexible top-up year is designed to follow on from our Foundation Degree in Music & Sound, but would also suit any applicants studying a music related HND, Foundation Degree or indeed those with recognised industry experience backed up with qualifications (Fast-Track). Validated by the University of West London, the course has been developed to mirror the modern music industry, allowing students to learn the skills to become independent, multi-skilled music practitioners, fluent with various forms of multi-media. We provide the time, space and the opportunity to develop your own sound and work on your material alongside gaining valuable vocational skills.

 

M.Mus Popular Music Performance – In partnership with the London College of Music and University of West London, this qualification has been developed to address the needs of contemporary musicians on a practical, academic and professional basis delivered by highly qualified professionals active in the music industry. Explore in-depth an area of musicianship that interests you, combine practical and academic study with extensive ensemble work and individual tuition to expand and develop your competitive edge, and gain academic recognition to explore theories and ideas.

Who will I be learning from?

Our dedicated and passionate teaching team are all professional musicians with several years experience both in teaching and the music industry. You’ve got the likes of Ben Green our Foundation course coordinator + RSL production tutor – a talented guitarist and frontman for Exeter band Pattern Pusher, as well as a hard working sound production engineer and producer, recording for many local acts. Emma Waston, our BA course Coordinator, RSL and Foundation degree vocal tutor – an experienced professional musician, namely a vocalist and music teacher, specialising in music performance, music event management and the music industry.

Another member of our Foundation team is Steve Down, who’s been teaching guitar and music theory for over a decade, as well as being an active professional musician. He graduated with a 1st Class degree in Music from Southampton University and Masters in Jazz from LCM, and has since worked live and in the studio with many artists including Joss Stone, Jeff Beck and Beverley Knight, having also performed at prestigious venues and events worldwide like Wembley Stadium, and The Royal Albert Hall. Over in the office we’ve got Laura Wright who heads up our centre management, but also a professional and talented musician in her won right. And that’s to name but a few of our great staff!

 

Meet the tutors on our Exeter Staff Spotlight page.

What’s the deal with Coronavirus?

 

Of course, coronavirus has sadly impacted many of our local venues and arts centres, but with several of them having recently received Arts Council England funding, we think Exeter will be quick to get back on its feet.

Online learning: Since March we’ve swapped the studio for home and come September we’re confident we’ll be in a great position to offer flexible, online learning to students should we need to. We’re also spreading out, finding new spaces for learning so classrooms can be bigger and class sizes smaller. We were quick to adapt to the changes back in the Spring, and received some hugely positive feedback from our students.

Come September we’re readily adapting, in a great position to provide optional online learning and small class sizes should we need to. There’s still space on many of our courses for 2020/21 and we really look forward to hearing from you!

Group tutor sessions and live online performances have kept me feeling involved and uplifted during these crazy times
– Ella Crossland, Exeter student, April 2020.

Attend an open event

Want to learn more and chat to our team one-on-one? Lucky you, we’ve got a virtual open day coming up and there’s plenty of places left! Join us on Zoom on 13th August to meet some of our team, including our foundation tutor Ben Green, and get an in-depth, comprehensive look at our courses and get all your burning questions answered. Applications for AMS are generally ongoing and there is no official closing date.  We can’t wait to (virtually) meet you all!

Book your place now.

How do I apply?

It’s simple. Just fill out a short online form, and we will get back to you in the following few days.

Take me to the application form.

 

And if you have any more questions or queries, feel free to to in touch with our friendly team!  We’ll get back to you as soon as possible, and we really look forward to hearing from you, about your musical experience and your musical interests.

 

Contact us 


Open Days at our Southampton site

Southampton is having some Open Days!
Fancy a Career in Music? Then head down to the Academy of Music and Sound in Southampton to learn more about our courses in Music. You can thrive in a small focused learning environment and learn from industry professionals.
We offer College and University courses in Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums and Music Technology.
Most of our students qualify for funding for these courses!
Gain real experience and learn from some truly awesome tutors. Gain recognised qualifications and start to build your Career in Music.
Your first step is to come and meet us at one of our Southampton Open Days.
Open Days – Dates and Times
11th of April 2018 6pm til 8pm
14th of May 2018 6pm til 8pm 
Can’t wait till then? No worries! Give us a call: 02380 829 666

Why Study in Southampton?

Here is what our level 3 students think!