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.