Choosing a Course

If you're heading for the technological end of the spectrum, make sure the facilities are all you would hope fbr. If you're hoping to be a sound engineer, check there are enough modern studios for you to gain plenty of practical experience. If you want to end up working in a top-end music studio, its as well to ensure the department has one, and, equally importantly, the software to back it up. The conservatoires may disappoint in that direction, but, conversely; you're more likely to get your hands on a Stradivarius.

Aside from the core subjects, the choice for music degrees is vast, so make sure you pick the right one for you and that the course of modules is of interest - whether it's performance, jazz, composition, conducting. Some courses are more traditional than others - some of the conservatoires see themselves as the nation's guardians of classical excellence - while some make more use of music technology, innovation and multimedia. If your interest is classical violin, there's no need to go where the expertise is in electronic musical skills, and vice versa.

Look at the specialisations and interests of those who teach and what links they have. There maybe a composer you admire working in the department, or there may be an orchestra or studio with strong links that can help you gain experience via a work placement scheme. Some music schools are keen to get performance experience for their students as soon as possible and help them find work through their own ensembles and via music industry contacts. Check out the possibilities - if you want to work in the music industry after you leave, there's no substitute for experience.

To do a music degree is effectively to take up a vocational degree, so, more than many subjects, it pays to think where you're going with this. If you can afford to study just for the sake of it, then great, but if you're going to have to crawl out of debt, then it's worth thinking about whether what you're studying is likely to help you make it in a notoriously difficult field. In the wider world, music does give you a range of skills and knowledge that can open doors to a hugely varied choice of careers.

And make sure that the way your work is assessed is the best for you. Assessment methods vary tremendously, so don't be caught out.