Free Rehearsal Space THIS SUMMER: Exeter, Southampton & Gateshead
Our Level 3 music and degree students have broken up for the summer holidays, so we’re offering you FREE rehearsal space. It’s the perfect chance to practice for up and coming festivals or even to kick start a new band.
Book now as we have limited availability and space – we can only offer free space during office hours. Please contact the centre you wish to rehearse at for further details and booking availability.
Exeter
8 Coombe Street, Exeter EX1 1DB
[email protected]
01392 427 874
Gateshead
191 High Street, Gateshead NE8 1AS
[email protected]
0191 478 7879
Southampton
11a High Street, Southampton S014 2DF
[email protected]
0238 082 9666
We offer paid for rehearsal space out of office hours.
This offer will end on September 1st 2018 and is subject to availability.
APPLY NOW
Applications for September 2018 start are open for:
Level 3 music (16-18 year old)
Foundation Degree in Music Performance
Foundation Degree in Creative Music Production
BA (Hons) Professional Music Performance
BA (Hons) Professional Music Production
Masters in Popular Music Performance
Professional Musicians
We can map your experience as a professional musician, against the first two years of a degree, to fast-track you onto a 1 year BA (Hons). This saves you time and money so you can progress in your career, or start a new one such as teaching.
Contact us for more information: [email protected]
Masterclass with The Haggis Horns in Exeter
The Haggis Horns are a 7 piece live funk extravaganza combining heavy breakbeat funk, soul, hip-hop and afrobeat with the virtuosity of trained jazz musicians. They took a break from their tour to work with our students in workshops, treated them to an exclusive performance and shared some valuable tips.
The members of The Haggis Horns have performed and recorded with the likes of Jamiroquai, John Legend & The Roots, 
Amy Winehouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, Take That, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, Roots Manuva, Lou Donaldson, Elbow, Nightmares On Wax, Dennis Coffey, Adele, Finley Quaye, Robbie Williams, Morcheeba, Duran Duran, Craig Charles Presents The Fantasy Funk Band, The Cinematic Orchestra, Lisa Stansfield, Kano, Estelle, Lily Allen, KT Tunstall & Snowboy, to name a few!
Check out the cracking review written by our work experience student:
On Monday 16th of October a funk band called, The Haggis Horns, came to direct a workshop at the Academy of Music and Sound, Exeter. It was incredibly inspiring and I think we all learned a lot from the band. They performed two songs from their new album “One of These Days”. They blew us all away with their musicianship and excellent song writing; everyone loved it.
They split the students into groups based on their instrument/skills and each band member led a group in creating parts for a song, which was later performed with all the students. It sounded amazing. The band really helped to provide musical inspiration to the students and to give them new and exciting ideas. It shed light on a new style of music that many of the students were not familiar with. I think that it really helped to expand their musical vocabulary and would definitely recommend The Haggis Horns to any musician wishing to find new and creative ideas.
www.thehaggishorns.com
www.facebook.com/thehaggishorns
www.twitter.com/thehaggishorns
www.youtube.com/TheHaggisHorns
Exeter BTEC Student In Regional Finals of the Teen Star Competition!
Huge well done to Amy Walklett, Exeter first year BTEC student, has reached the Regional finals of the Teen Star Competition. See below for offical press release.
Follow her on:
- Facebook: @amywalklettmusician
- Twitter: @amywalklett
- YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCyDkaRrOYzAhEgGSmLOduUw
Talented Local wows judges at TeenStar auditions!
Amy Walklett from Beaminster has been given the big thumbs up by judges at the TeenStar audition in Southampton. Along with other impressive acts, Amy has made it through to the Regional Finals of the UK’s only singing and dancing competition exclusively for teens and pre-teens, and will now be performing in a live showcase in the competition.
TeenStar is an exciting national singing and dancing competition searching for the UK’s best teen and pre-teen singers, singer/songwriters, rappers, dancers and dance groups of all genres and styles. TeenStar is brought to you by Future Music, the company behind the discovery of artists such as Jacob Banks, Warner Music’s Birdy and Union J’s Jaymi Hensley. For the first time, ever, the competition has now opened its doors to dancers too! With even more talent entering the competition, the TeenStar competition is an exciting opportunity for teens and pre-teens across the UK.
One contestant who has evidently caught the judge’s eye is local talent Amy Walklett, who is now in the running to follow in the footsteps of previous winners Luke Friend and Emily Middlemas, and compete for a place in the Grand Final. Thousands of hopefuls entered TeenStar nationwide and hundreds of auditionees queued patiently on the day for their turn to impress the judges. Those who made it through the audition stage will now take part in a live Regional head-to-head battle alongside the best talent in their area. They’ll be performing in front of hundreds of audience members and a professional judging panel to win a place at the National Grand Final.
Chris Grayston, Events Coordinator for TeenStar comments “We are looking to find an act that has something unique to offer, another Birdy or Luke Friend that can go all the way, with both the ability to deliver a strong live performance but also potential to become a professional recording artist or dance act. Now with the addition of dance acts, these shows are going to be so exciting to watch and judge! There is so much talent out there I’m sure we can find that star again!”
The competition is divided into age categories - 'Late Teens' (16-19), 'Mid Teens' (13-15) and a special category searching for the stars of tomorrow, the Pre-Teens! All types of singers and dancers are invited to enter TeenStar. All entrants are aiming to make it to that prestigious Grand Final where the spotlight will be shone on them and they’ll have the chance win some huge prizes such as; recording an album, shooting a music video, scholarships to the Flawless Dance School, sponsorship from Squad Dancewear and more.
The latter stages of the competition will also provide acts with the opportunity to impress many guests from record labels, agencies and the entertainment industry as well as judges from BBC Introducing, national radio and regional press. Past judges for Future Music competitions include Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale MBE, KISS FM’s Charlie Hedges and four time Ivor Novello award winner Mark Hill, also known as one half of the Artful Dodger, plus A&R reps from Sony, Warner and Syco Entertainment.
Birdy’s career has gone from strength-to-strength since winning a Future Music Competition in 2008, after securing a deal with Warner Music and watching her debut album achieve Gold status in the UK and platinum status throughout Europe, and receiving a 2014 BRIT award nomination. Hopefully the TeenStar 2017 winner can go on to gain a similar success.
If you’d like to hear more from Amy and follow her progress in the competition you can visit her Facebook page @amywalklettmusician or her twitter @amywalklett; and to watch her latest covers, look for her on YouTube!
For more information go to the website www.teenstarcompetition.co.uk! You can purchase tickets from the website www.teenstarcompetition.co.uk, as well as on the door subject to availability or from Amy Walklett.
Newton Faulkner visits AMS Exeter
Newton Faulkner delivers a fantastic masterclass at the Academy of Music & Sound in Exeter
We were very lucky recently to host a fantastic masterclass from Newton Faulkner in out Exeter centre. The masterclass was focussed on songwriting, guitar techniques, the experience of working in the music industry and how to get started in the industry. After the masterclass, Newton was kind enough to stay and speak individually to each student in the room, taking the time to offer tailored advice and guidance to each student.
Centre manager Laura Wright said: The masterclass was absolutely brilliant. Newton Faulkner is a highly skilled guitarist, songwriter and performer and to have him here at our centre, performing live for us was a real privilege. Our students went away on a high after being inspired and motivated to try out new techniques and to keep working hard towards their own musical careers.
Becky Walker, a student on the BTEC Level 3 Music Singer-Songwriter course said: It was a great intimate experience, with great humour and some enriching stories that further made me want to branch out and better myself
Following the success of the masterclass, Newton is now in the process of developing a signature Songwriting module for the Academy of Music and Sound as part of the Foundation Degree Singer-Songwriter course, ready for delivery next September. This news has further delighted Higher Education students at the Academy of Music and Sound. This module will be available to all of our Foundation Degree students alongside our brand new Higher Education Enrichment program.
Sara Sanders, from the Music Degree course said about Newton: “He was so down to earth, which was refreshing to see. It was great to hear about his experiences”
Higher Education at the Academy of Music and Sound
Higher Education at the Academy of Music and Sound has never been more attractive!
Higher education has never been more important. The Academy of Music and Sound has a strong history of preparing students for rigours of the modern music industry. We are conscious that this is a rapidly changing industry we’re preparing our students for and so we can’t stand still when it comes to our student experience. Our Foundation Degree courses in Music and Creative Music Production and BA (hons) in Performance Industries are constantly reviewed, evaluated and updated in light of changes in the industry.
Today a degree is only half the story when it comes to your education, modern musicians needs to be incredibly skilled on their instrument or in their discipline. They also need to be experienced and connected. In response to this, we have developed a brand new, comprehensive enrichment program. All Higher Education students will have exclusive access to this program.
Our industry led masterclasses will provide specific training and connections with top class practitioners. Previous masterclasses have been delivered by Nat Powers, Newton Faulkner, Futureheads, Bumblefoot, Vintage Trouble, PRS, Musicians Union and many more.
Our industry mentor scheme will connect students with dedicated professionals who will offer help and advice. The mentors will be available throughout the course and for 6 months after graduation to really help students to get their careers off the ground.
Our mentors include:
- Roy Harter: New York based Emmy award-winning, composer, sound designer and audio mixer, best known for his work in television and film. He is also a multi-instrumentalist for various performing and recording artists. Roy is the founder and owner of the post-production facility SkinnyMan, located in New York City.
- Glen Brady: Based in California, Glen Brady is a music producer & audio engineer. He writes and produces music which has been used by on TV networks such as CBS, Fox Sports, MTV, CW Network and Sky Sports. Glen specializes in analogue synth systems, modular synths and drum machines.
- Simon Efemey: A record producer, noted for his work with Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, Obituary, Amorphis, Deceased & The Wildhearts. Simon also works mixing live sound for The Wonder Stuff, Jesus Jones, Napalm Death, Diamond Head, Orson & Obituary.
- Rick McMurray: Founding member of Alternative Rock band Ash, Rick has toured the world as a drummer. Rick has extensive experience of the live and record industry, working professionally since the early 90s!
- Plus many more, covering all aspects of the music industry!
At the end of your first year on the Foundation Degree in Music Performance, students will be taken on a tour bus to a showcase event at a location within the UK. They will showcase their talents at a gig with students from across the UK. After the gig, they will spend the night on a tour bus as they're taken home. Music Performance students will be given delegate passes to Liverpool Sound City where you can network with the who’s who of the UK music industry. Music Production students will have the opportunity to attend Sónar in Barcelona.
Applications for our courses starting in September 2016 are still open. Apply via UCAS for the Foundation Degree courses and through the University of Wolverhampton for the BA (hons) course. Our Foundation Degrees are available in our Birmingham, Exeter, Gateshead, Swindon and Southampton centres and our BA (hons) course is available in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gateshead, Birmingham, Swindon, Southampton and Exeter.
Nick Harper & AMS Exeter Singer-Songwriters at Exeter Old Timers
The Academy of Music and Sound are proud to present Nick Harper at Old Timers in Exeter. Nick will be performing live, supported by Alex Johnstone, Rev Hammer and a selection of students from our Singer Song Writer course in our Exeter centre.
Tickets are £10 and available on 01392 427 874 or in our Exeter centre:
The Academy of Music & Sound, 8 Coombe Street, Exeter, EX1 1DB.