- Student Common Room
Our student common room is one of my favourite places in the department. First, it’s a very useful space to leave instruments in as it is safe and close to where most of our rehearsals are (as we mostly rehearse and practise in the department). As well as being a functional space, it’s also a great place to hang out with peers and get to know people; it’s the main way I made friends from the department in my first year. We often have lunch between lectures or meet up to chat there. It has become a comfortable space to be in when trying to get away from life’s stresses. So much so, that I sometimes specifically go there to rest!
- Community Feel
The music department, mainly in the last year, has developed a real community feel, with things like the weekly colloquium (lectures given by specialist musicologists about their current research, which is then discussed by the musicologists in the department) series (I have attached an example of the colloquia we have had) and end of semester department drinks. Not only are these events fun and informative, the contacts we get, due to talking to the lecturers and guest speakers, are extremely useful for making connections in the music industry. Many of the guest speakers in the colloquiums are leaders in their field, as are most of our lecturers. This means we have frequent access to not only stimulating minds but to individuals which can open up a world of professional opportunities. This community feel is aided by the fact that these very lectures willingly come to our student organised concerts, which makes us feel supported.
- Personal interactions with lecturers
Similarly to what I mentioned above, personal interactions with the lecturers are something I appreciate a lot about this department. Not only are they caring and supportive as people, but they also give us a taste of the professional experience needed to interact with professionals in the industry. For example, when organising a concert, my committee and I needed to move a piano to the Chapel. In order to do so, we needed to contact the head of department to negotiate on which terms to do so and discuss the possibilities we had at hand. Interacting with him in this way, both in person and over email, gave me an insight into how to deal with administrative problems such as this within a professional context. It is this awareness of professional skills that has helped fuel a passion I now have for event organisation.
- Access to the Royal Academy of Music
As part of the performance part of my degree, I get access to lessons at the Royal Academy of Music. Not only does having access to the academy create contacts in the industry but it exposes me to London’s performing scene. My course is relatively academic, and while I love it, it is nice to stay attuned to what the performing industry has to offer. This helps me when organising concerts (where I need to fix players, which depends on which contacts I have) and when findings gigs (often paid) to play in.
- Breadth of modules
Within my course, our choice of modules is incredibly varied. They range from traditional musicology to ethnomusicology to jazz studies to sound studies. I have included an example of what these extremities can offer. On the left is a picture of a Pygme tribe in Congo hearing playback for the first time and on the right is an experimental musical score of classical music from the fifties. The ability to explore both of these radically different things as music is absolutely fascinating to me. I have learnt a huge amount of information I hadn’t expected to learn before coming to King’s and although I do not aim to pursue these subjects in the future, by simply having been exposed to them, I have attained a wide understanding of the musical world, making my personal interests all the more interesting and relevant.
Read More:
Rita has also written on keeping up with your instrument while in a music BA, as well as a Day in the Life of a Music BA Student.
You can also check out the King’s College London Music department for more information on music degrees.
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