Music Performance (Level 3)

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If you are looking to apply for September 2026, please go to our website and click APPLY NOW.

Our Music Performance courses are renowned for their exciting content and opportunities. They are perfect for any musician looking to develop their skills.
The Level 3 course is:

• Our Music Performance course is centred around artist and band-based rehearsals in fullyequipped rehearsal rooms.
• Our Music Performance course is ideal for young musicians aged 16+. We work with guitarists, bass players, keyboard players, drummers, vocalists, singer/ songwriters, percussionists, horn players, string players.Whatever, you play we can help you develop your skills!
• Our Music Performance course is ideal for musicians into creating and performing any style of popular music, from metal, indie and alternative to folk, funk, soul, jazz and blues.
• Our Music Performance course is based around real-world projects with opportunities to record and perform. Performances include gigs in local venues to opportunities to perform at festivals such as Latitude. Our students also get to perform at industry showcases, such as the Island Records talent showcase.
• Our Music Performance course is designed to give you more than music in that you will also gain valuable job skills and life skills.
• Our Music Performance course is linked to nationally-recognised music qualifications.
• Access to Music acheived ‘Good’ by Ofsted.

This course offers progression from Music Performance at Level 2 and is for musicians and singers with more experience, but who are looking to refine their skills.The course covers musicianship, songwriting, rehearsal, repertoire development, recording and performance with technology, business awareness and promotion.

Delivery is focussed around practical rehearsal sessions in fully-equipped band rehearsal rooms with opportunities to perform at college events in the local community and at national events and festivals.

You will focus on developing the skills needed for successful live and recorded performance. On the Level 3 course you will be doing in-depth work in the following areas:

• Musicianship: this is about developing your technical and theoretical knowledge to enable you to achieve better performances. You will work in groups on your instrumental skills, both solo and ensemble, and on their application. You will also develop your understanding of how music works and systems of notation to record musical ideas. There is no formal requirement to read conventional music notation, but an understanding of it is important.
• Repertoire: you will work on developing a body of work which will include cover songs, original compositions and arrangements. It is important for aspiring musicians to encounter all these elements. Playing cover songs accurately helps you to understand how other artists create and play their music and is a useful skill for session playing and tribute band work. Writing original material is an essential creative process for artists, but you will be involved in the process in different ways depending on your instrument. Arranging other people's songs is an interesting and instructive activity, such as creating a heavy metal version of an acoustic song or vice versa.
• Rehearsal: this is where the hard work of refining your repertoire in preparation for performance takes place. Effective rehearsals require clear planning and preparation as well as structure to ensure best use of time. You will learn how to organise constructive and progressive rehearsals with clear targets. These will take place in fully-equipped band rehearsal rooms usually in groups. You will work on improving/editing songs for performance as well as formulating performance skills and image.
• Promotion: it is important for artists to create channels to promote their repertoire - this is essential if you are to generate money from your music. You will look at creating a fanbase through effective communication via social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Soundcloud. You will look at developing an electronic press kit via organisations such as Sonicbids, releasing music digitally via online distribution companies and looking at publishing options. You will also look at image and graphical/video representation via posters, flyers, album artwork etc.
• Live Performance: this is one of the goals which drives the whole process. Access to Music provides a wealth of performance opportunities from in-college events through to gigs in local venues and national opportunities with Atom Live. The aim is to hone performance/audience skills, showmanship and professionalism when dealing with venues, crew and promoters.
• Recorded Performance: this is a very different skill to live performance. Recording a track in a studio requires technical skills and precision, such as playing accurately to a click track. You will learn how to prepare and deliver is such situations fostering valuable skills both for original artists as well as those seeking session work.

Applying for this Level 3 Music Performance course is easy.

All you need to do is fill in our short online application form. After you have created an account you will be able to provide links to online work, upload relevant documents and book an interview slot.

Skills set:

• We value your creative passion and skills above all else. However, you will also need to demonstrate that you are able to work at Level 3 (A Level standard). This means achieving at least four GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A*-C), including English, or other equivalent qualifications. Other grades will be considered on a case by case basis. Places are conditional based on this achievement and we will discuss options with you if you do not attain these.
• For school leavers we will require evidence of your predicted and actual grades, ideally backed up by a school reference.
• As a guide, this Music Performance course is for more experienced musicians with some experience of performance and working with others. You are also likely to have developed reasonable instrumental skills.
• If you have done Rock school grades then you may have achieved a standard between Grade 5 and Grade 8.
• Please note you will not be able to enrol if you will be under the age of 16 on 31st August. Applications from people under this age are still welcome, but will be deferred to the following year.

We also require each applicant to complete an interview, please visit our website for information and guidance on this.

The Level 3 Music Performance course can lead on to:

• A creative degree at university where you can gain further skills in preparation for work. This may be a music degree or another subject which takes your fancy. You will need to complete both years of the course in order to generate the UCAS points for university entry. Access Creative College has two new music foundation degrees which offer perfect progression.
• Our one-year Artist Development scheme where you can take your music to the next level in preparation for professional work.
• Employment, or self-employment, in the creative industries. This may be as a music artist or songwriter, or it may be into another area of the music or creative industries.
• A creative apprenticeship as a stepping stone to work.