Music Production: Song, Screen and Games (Secondary 1-6)

This course is open to anyone aged 12 – 17 who has some prior musical experience.

Experience of using a digital audio workstation (DAW) is also beneficial.

This year-long course takes place on Sunday evenings over the following two terms:

• Term 2 – 11 January – 29 March
• Term 3 – 19 April – 21 June

Each week combines discussion, demonstration, and hands-on practice. You’ll analyse real-world examples from songs, film scores and game soundtracks, before applying the techniques to your own projects. With personalised feedback from an experienced professional, you’ll work with industry-standard software and tools to develop your productions from sketch to completion. By the end, you’ll have gained a versatile set of skills that allow you to create music for a variety of professional contexts, whether that’s the stage, the screen or the virtual world.

• Plan and prepare to attend all classes.
• Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in.
• Bring a notepad and pen/pencil in case you wish to make notes.
• Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class.

Further course preparation details will be sent with all welcome information approximately 2 weeks before the course start date.

David Simpson

David R Simpson is a composer, creative technician and educator from Glasgow, Scotland. With a background spanning a wide range of genre and experience, his work combines innovative subtlety with the immediacy of pop sensibility.

With over 25 years of experience as a composer, David’s work has featured on Netflix, Amazon Prime, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky as well as CBS, NBC and ABC in the US and numerous other international networks. Most recently his music was featured on Tom Basden’s
award-winning sitcom, ‘Here We Go’, for BBC One.

Other commissions include music for the BAFTA-nominated ‘Dennis The Menace & Gnasher’ (CBBC), Justin Long’s ‘The Real Stephen Blatt’
(Amazon), Pulcinella-nominated animation series, ‘Wendy’ (ZDF) and BAFTA winner, ‘The Walking Wounded’ (BBC Two).

In addition to his composition work, David has had considerable involvement in the spheres of live and recorded music, having worked with CHVRCHES, Lauren Mayberry, First Aid Kit, Zara Larsson, Hayley Williams (Paramore), Matt Berninger (The National), Marshmello and Karine Polwart as a performing musician, musical director, sound engineer and technician.

As an educator, he particularly enjoys bringing a hands-on approach to participants’ projects, fostering an atmosphere of welcoming discussion and openness. Previously, David has taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of the West of Scotland, the University of Strathclyde, the Edinburgh College of Art and for leading software developer, Ableton.

Credit-rated short courses are designed in accordance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).

This course is credit-rated at SCQF Level 5 and 6, 20 credits.

By studying a credit-rated short course, students can benchmark their learning against national standards, and credits may be used towards further education programmes at many institutions throughout the world.

There is an additional fee of £110 to take part in the credit-rated portion of the course. Please ensure you have already signed up to the course via the Book Now button on the webpage. Once you have completed that, please sign up for the credit-rated option, by completing this booking form:

Credit-Rated Booking Form
Students applying for two-tier courses (those that require your application to be evaluated) should wait until they have accepted an offer onto their course and made payment before completing the credit-rated booking form.

By studying a credit-rated course, you will need to be matriculated to RCS*, we require some additional information from credit-rated students for this reason. Please read through the section below thoroughly before you submit. If you have any questions about what is required, please email credit-rated@rcs.ac.uk and we can help you.

* Please note although Credit-Rated Short Courses students require matriculation to get their accreditation, you will not be a full time matriculated student of RCS. Credit-Rated Short Courses do not qualify for student visas due to the short term nature of the course. You will also not qualify for a student email address or student card.