This 4-year BMus (Hons) Vocal Teaching degree will prepare you for your teaching career.

You will explore vocal technique and how the voice is physically produced with in the body before progressing to study repertoire and the various musical gradings used by schools and external exams. You will experience being a musical beginner as you learn a new instrument from scratch, explore the psychology of learning music, and develop your teaching techniques as you have the chance to work with children in workshops and in schools.

This course allows you to explore the technique and mechanics of your voice and how to work with various learners, from young children with changing bodies to adults with more established routines. You will investigate graded examination systems across classical and popular music and explore how music is taught in the National Curriculum for mainstream and special needs children and explore the psychology of learning and teaching and prepare to support individual students. Every pupil is different so you will learn to prepare, assess, reflect, and revise interactions and how teaching material is presented. Your understanding will support positive and pupil-centred teaching, instead of using a reactive approach. You will explore the psychology of learning music, develop your teaching techniques and have a chance to work with children in workshops and in schools.

In your third year you will experience one-to-one and group teaching, and teach individual lessons to peers and colleagues. Recordings of these lessons will be used to reflect on your planning, progress, and effectiveness in tailoring lessons to the learning needs of individuals.

Finally you will create your own curriculum and plan a year’s repertoire and study for a student of your choice. Many areas in teaching follow a curriculum, but there is no set curriculum for music lessons. This opportunity to plan for a future pupil gives you notable head start in the teaching profession, equipping you with the skills you will need after you graduate.

You will also have the opportunity to choose a module on international experience where you will be involved in all aspects of event planning, arranging workshops and performances, intercultural exchanges, and the logistics of timetabling the schedule of getting from A to B.

You will study in the University of Chichester Conservatoire, one of the largest and liveliest music departments in the UK with a community of over 1000 student performers. You will access facilities including computerised recording and media studios, well equipped practice rooms and an acoustically superb performance venue, and have the chance to join a variety of University ensembles and bands while you study. Ensembles are involved in plenty of performance work with a rich programme of concerts, recitals and master classes by visiting artists.