This programme will ensure students keep up-to-date with current processes and standards within the industry. In year 1: it provides the basic skills of music production, building a firm foundation in sequencing, recording and the underlying theories associated with them. A wide variety of areas are included, focusing on key practical skills and the basis of core academic inquiry in music production. The practical skills include areas such as using a recording studio, music sequencing and production arrangement. The academic areas covered include music theory, cultural studies and music law and ethics and acoustics. Areas of study: music theory and theorists, law and ethics, music and culture, composition and arranging, studio management and production, acoustics and production analysis, sequencing practice. In year 2: following on from the broad introductory approach in the preceding year, year 2 expands significantly on the technical areas, particularly in recording and post-production techniques as well as developing critical lines of enquiry, and introducing them to new ways of thinking and to creative practitioners outside their field of experience. There is a significant focus in the second year on moving learners forward in their studies and encouraging them to work in a more independent and self-directed way. Areas of study: dissertation preparation, business practice, music and sound for TV and film, live sound and sound reinforcement, audio recording and post-production, synthesis and sampling practice.