An Overview

You begin your postgraduate studies with the core of your musical personality – the skills, understandings and attitudes that define you as a traditional musician or piper – already established. Your postgraduate studies should nurture that existing artistic personality so that you can really make a difference in the fields in which you choose to work.

The programme offers advanced training to talented traditional musicians from a diverse range of undergraduate degrees or their equivalent, allowing you to refine and extend your musicianship in the context of your own aspirations. Most importantly, we have designed it so that you take ownership of the learning process throughout the degree and beyond it, whether in the professional world or in further studies (such as a PhD).

Our staff are professional performers, composers, and scholars of Scottish traditional music (and beyond) with active careers. They understand the challenges that you’ll face in your own career and can provide help and advice as you progress. As well as working with our core staff, you’ll get the opportunity to learn from visiting artists and academics from all over the world.

There’s a great atmosphere in the department and the Conservatoire as a whole; it’s a close-knit community where you end up performing and gigging with other students and staff, and making friends for life.

As for professional and institutional collaborations, we work closely with the National Piping Centre, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and the Celtic Connections festival in delivering a varied and vocationally robust experience for its students. We also possess long-standing exchange agreements with a host of European and North American universities, allowing you to study for a term abroad, including the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden; the Sibelius Academy, Finland; and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.

Piping tuition on the MMus is delivered in collaboration with the National Piping Centre, which is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in Highland Bagpipe teaching.

Institution Code:

R58

Programme Code:

MMus: 806F / MA: 805F

UK Deadline:

3 October 2022

International Deadline:

1 December 2022

Programme Structure

The MMus/MA programme is divided into Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 is common to both degrees, and may also lead to the exit award of PGDip. In Stage 2, MMus and MA students follow different pathways leading to their respective degrees.

Principal Study 1 — 80 SCQF credits

Supporting Studies 1 — 30, 20 or 10 SCQF credits

Practice Research — 10 SCQF credits

Options — 0, 10 or 20 SCQF credits

Principal Study

The Principal Study is focused primarily on your individual development as a musician.

The central plank of learning and teaching in this module is the one-to-one lesson with an expert tutor. The role of the lessons will be to help and guide in developing a firm but flexible and open- minded repertoire of technical, musical and performance skills, stemming from and reinterpreting Scottish (or related) traditional music through your unique idiomatic voice. These lessons will form part of an ongoing cycle of individual practice and reflection, and will require you to devote a substantial amount of time to independent learning.

Within the credit assigned for Principal Study, the contact hours are flexibly assigned to suit your particular needs as a student.

Supporting Studies

This module engages the student in a range of activities and learning experiences, both practical and contextual; some of which are exclusive to MA/MMus Traditional Music students and some shared with undergraduate students for the sake of holistic peer learning. Regular weekly studies include performance classes, workshops on technique and healthy practice, classes on Scottish traditional repertoire and style, folk ensemble classes leading to public performances, and participation in professional skills seminars, masterclasses and visiting artist workshops. A range of multi-genre postgraduate seminars and a wider range of optional studies to suit the individual are also offered. Student choices will be negotiated and agreed through the Student Contract.

Practice Research

This module challenges you to examine critically an aspect of your arts practice by means of an individually-negotiated portfolio of research, reflection and/or documentation.

Over the course of your studies, with the support of a supervisor, you will assemble a portfolio of documentation and reflective writing that interrogates a self-chosen research focus and communicates your findings.

Options

Options give space within the curriculum for you to engage in studies which enhance your professional versatility, by pursuing areas of interest either close to or far away from your core discipline.

The range of modules available is very wide, including options drawn from the undergraduate programmes in both the School of Music and the School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film. The design of the programme puts no restrictions on the level of the options/s chosen. There is a significant range of choice available in the amount of credit taken in this way, with students free to choose pathways which place greater weight on Supporting Studies.

The MMus/MA programme is divided into Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 is common to both degrees, and may also lead to the exit award of PGDip. In Stage 2, MMus and MA students follow different pathways leading to their respective degrees.

Principal Study 2 — 90 SCQF credits

Supporting Studies 2 — 30, 20 or 10 SCQF credits

Options — 0, 10 or 20 SCQF credits

Principal Study

The principal areas within your PGDip year on which you focused, depending on your goals and discipline – solo performance, collaborative performance or a mixture of the two – continue with the addition of the requirement to undertake a substantial, self-defined specialist area of practice-based research in the form of an Independent Project.

This project culminates in live performance supported by written critical commentary, demonstrating clear synthesis of different kinds of knowledge in-and-through practice.

You will decide in negotiation with your Principal Study tutor and the Head of Traditional Music the theme of your Independent Project and will receive supervision as it progresses. You will retain the freedom to choose to develop your knowledge and skills through live performance, studio recorded performance and the composition and/or arrangement of new traditional-idiom works.

Within the credit assigned for Principal Study, the contact hours are flexibly assigned to suit your particular needs as a student.

Supporting Studies

This module engages the student in a range of activities and learning experiences, both practical and contextual; some of which are exclusive to MA/MMus Traditional Music students and some shared with undergraduate students for the sake of holistic peer learning. Regular weekly studies include performance classes, workshops on technique and healthy practice, classes on Scottish traditional repertoire and style, folk ensemble classes leading to public performances, and participation in professional skills seminars, masterclasses and visiting artist workshops. A range of multi-genre postgraduate seminars and a wider range of optional studies to suit the individual are also offered. Student choices will be negotiated and agreed through the Student Contract.

Options

Options give space within the curriculum for you to engage in studies which enhance your professional versatility, by pursuing areas of interest either close to or far away from your core discipline.

The range of modules available is very wide, including otions drawn from the undergraduate programmes in both the School of Music and the School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film. The design of the programme puts no restrictions on the level of the options/s chosen. There is a significant range of choice available in the amount of credit taken in this way, with students free to choose pathways which place greater weight on Supporting Studies.

Teaching Staff

Accordian

Ian Muir
John Somerville
Paddy Callaghan
Djordje Gajic

Bagpipes

John Mulhearn (Head of Piping Studies)
Willie McCallum
Ross Ainslie

Frequent visiting tutors for piping include Barnaby Brown, Iain MacInnes, Fred Morrison, Hugh Cheape, Mike Katz and many more.

Cello

Bespoke arrangements available

Folk Ensemble

Jenn Butterworth BA Hons PG Cert 
Marc Duff 
John Somerville

Fiddle

Alistair McCulloch 
Marie Fielding
Greg Lawson

Flutes and Whistles

Anna Friel
Marc Duff 
Steph Geremia
Philippe Barnes

Gaelic Song

Iseabail T NicDhomhnaill
Màiri MacInnes

Guitar

Kevin MacKenzie
Ali Hutton
Jenn Butterworth 
Innes White

Percussion

David Henderson
Fraser Stone
Martin O’Neill

Piano

Mary McCarthy 
James Ross BA 
Alistair Paterson

Scottish Harp

Corrina Hewat 
Heather Downie

Scots Song

Fiona Hunter
Rod Paterson

Creative and Contextual Studies

Professor Margaret Bennett DCE BA MA PhD, Folklore

Prof Fred Freeman, Scots Language & Song, Scottish Music in Context

Dr Ailie Robertson, Research and Composition

James Ross, Creative Skills in Traditional Music 1

Dave Milligan, Creative Skills in Traditional Music 2

Graduate Destinations

The Royal Conservatoire’s MMus and MA graduates work professionally in orchestras, ensembles and opera houses in the UK and abroad. Many build portfolio careers, combining part-time and freelance performance with teaching, community engagement, and work in allied areas such as music administration.

Some noted alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s MMus (Scottish Music) programme include Hayley Hewitt (class of 2013), who went on to win the Scottish Harp Society of America’s 2013 National Championship, and William Woodson, noted American piper, pipe-maker and innovator.

Other noted alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Department of Traditional Music include:

  • Finlay MacDonald (Head of Piping Studies at the National Piping Centre; The Finlay MacDonald Band)
  • Findlay Napier (Back of the Moon; Findlay Napier and the Bar-Room Mountaineers)
  • Emily Smith
  • Paul McKenna and Ruairidh MacMillan (The Paul McKenna Band)
  • Daniel Thorpe (The Daniel Thorpe Trio)
  • Cameron Drummond (Highland Society of London Double Silver Medallist; Strathallan School)
  • Calum MacCrimmon (Man’s Ruin; Seudan; Breabach)
  • Siobhan Miller and Jean Leslie
  • Gillian Frame (Back of the Moon, Glasgow Fiddle Workshop)
  • Simon McKerrell (Lecturer, Newcastle University)
  • Angus MacPhail (Skippinish)
  • Jenna Reid
  • Stuart Cassells (Red Hot Chilli Pipers)
  • Kathleen MacInnes
  • Deirdre Graham
  • James Graham
  • Jack Smedley, David Foley and Steven Blake (Rura)
  • Robyn Stapleton (BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2014)
  • Ainsley Hamill (Barluath)
  • Gordon Bruce (Highland Society of London Double Silver Medallist)
  • Grant McFarlane (CherryGrove)

The Wayfarers

Guitars, mandolins, fiddles and other instruments that make up a contemporary traditional band resonate with historical associations. The Wayfarers project explores how music can aid the teaching of controversial histories.

Working together, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music, Plockton; and the University of Glasgow, showcases teaching packs for pilot study in a Scottish secondary school to teach pupils about the musical migration of Scots to Appalachia, Eastern United States, and the challenging historical factors (such as forced migration, slavery, and segregation) that they encountered.

Visit The Wayfarers website to learn more 

Why Choose Us?

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is consistently ranked in the World Top 10 for performing arts education (QS World Rankings 2023)

In addition to our position as educators and our reputation for having expert staff renowned in the field of Scottish traditional music with formidable reputations in the traditional music field, this programme offers additional benefits you won’t get studying anywhere else.

  • Opportunity to develop invaluable industry contacts
  • Students receive unparalleled one-to-one principal study tuition
  • High staff-student ratio
  • Excellent teaching staff who are all prolific in the academic and performing industries
  • Benefit from our partnership with the National Piping Centre
  • Dedicated recording and rehearsal studio
  • Performance opportunities include the world-famous Celtic Connections Festival and Celtic Colours Festival
  • Collaborations and connections include the National Piping Centre, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Fèis Rois, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at University of Limerick, East Tennessee State University, KMH Royal College of Music (Stockholm) and the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki (Finland)
  • Performance Class 
  • Sang Scuil | Sgoil nan Oran
  • Technique and Healthy Practice
  • The Groove Studio
  • Folk Ensemble

Virtual Tour

Explore the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in our 360 virtual tour. You’ll be able to see our rehearsal and practice rooms, professional performance venues, production workshops, editing suite, ballet studios and more.

Facilities

Traditional Music is based, appropriately enough, at the heart of the Royal Conservatoire, occupying its centrally-located Studio C recording, rehearsal and teaching area. The Royal Conservatoire’s Studio C is a large yet intimate space at the heart of the Renfrew Street campus, functioning as the living hub of BMus and MA/MMus Traditional Music activity at the Royal Conservatoire (including band studies, group projects, masterclasses and informal sessions) and providing rehearsal, recording, PA and storage facilities.

Practice accommodation in the Royal Conservatoire’s Renfrew Street campus has increased prodigiously in recent years, accommodating all types of musical activity, from solo to band, singing to piping. The National Piping Centre offers further purpose-designed practice space for Highland piping students.  Areas within the building have been Wi-Fi-enabled and all students have access to the network using their own laptops and portable devices.

IT provision in the Whittaker Library has increased in recent years to accommodate 16 PC workstations, (incorporating Sibelius 7), bringing the total open access student PC provision to 52 machines (and counting). This is further enhanced by the Royal Conservatoire’s Digital Training Unit and Language Lab facilities.

Students have access to over 70 relevant e-journals and 14 electronic databases and online archives, including Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches, HOTBED, Oxford Music Online, IPA Source, JStor and Naxos. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Whittaker Library continues to support Scottish Music students via a dedicated full-time Music Librarian and a full-time Performance Librarian.

Just as the Traditional Music Department occupies the heart of RCS, so RCS occupies the heart of Glasgow, a UNESCO City of Music. Students can take advantage of our central location to avail themselves of the National Piping Centre, the Scottish Music Centre at City Halls, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and a teeming network of folk music sessions at pubs throughout the city.

Entry Requirements

Our Admissions Process

Our admissions processes are designed to be fair, transparent and efficient. The audition/interview approach serves the dual nature of allowing the panel to assess first-hand an applicant’s suitability for their chosen programme and it also affords the applicant the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the nature of that programme and the opportunities offered by the RCS.

In arriving at its recommendation, the audition/interview panel will take account of all aspects of the applicant’s profile i.e.:

  • Performance at audition/interview
  • Commitment to the particular programme
  • Potential to benefit from the programme
  • Academic qualifications
  • Personal statement
  • Performance qualifications
  • Performance/practical experience
  • References
  • Contextualised data
Academic Entrance Requirements

Candidates for both the MMus and MA are normally expected to hold a good honours (at least 2:2) degree, or its overseas equivalent, in a subject area relevant to the demands of the programme.

Language of Study

The language of study is English. Applicants who first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English. We accept the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Level 6.0 (with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component) is required of applicants to the School of Music.

Direct Entry

Applications for direct entry beyond Year 1 will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the Royal Conservatoire’s Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning policy. If you wish to apply for direct entry, please mark the point of entry on UCAS Conservatoires application as 2 or 3.

Non-Standard Entry

We welcome applications from individuals whose academic qualifications or English language qualifications do not match (in terms of equivalence) or fall short of the normal entrance requirements, where specified*. Having satisfied the Audition Panel that they meet the selection criteria and demonstrated that they have the capacity to pursue the proposed course of study, such applicants will be considered through examination of contextualised data provided in accordance with the Non-Standard Entry Policy. The appropriate Head of Department/ Programme will make a case in support of the applicant for consideration by the Directors of the Schools and Convener of the Quality and Standards Committee.

*Note that UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) imposes minimum English Language qualifications in respect of international (non-EU) applicants who require a Tier 4 Visa to study in the UK.

Mature Students

RCS welcomes applications from mature students, i.e. students over the age of 21 at entry to the programme. Whilst the selection procedures will still be applied, consideration will be given to appropriate artistic experience not normally expected in school leavers, which is deemed to compensate for any lack of traditional entrance qualifications. Successful mature applicants, as for all other applicants, must convince auditioning panels that they have the ability and potential to cope with the demands of the programme. Their progress, especially in the early stages of the programme, will be closely monitored and appropriate advice and support given.

How to Apply

Apply via UCAS Conservatoires

Applications are made through UCAS Conservatoires website. The UCAS Conservatoires application system is separate from the main UCAS undergraduate application system. If you wish to apply to conservatoires and universities within UCAS, you will need to register for both services. There is a UCAS application fee of £26.50 to register to use UCAS Conservatoires.

To begin a new UCAS Conservatoires application, you will need to register. You can read the UCAS Conservatoires’ advice on completing the UCAS Conservatoires application. If you need assistance with your application, you can contact UCAS Conservatoires team by telephoning (Monday to Friday, 8.30 — 18.00). Phone 0371 468 0470 from within the UK or +44 330 3330 232 if you are calling from overseas.

Application deadline date

The deadline dates to apply and submit your audition recording can be found in the table below –

  UCAS Conservatoires Application Deadline  Audition Recording Deadline
UK Applicants 3rd October 2022 17th October 2022 (for applicants unable to attend an in-person audition)
International Applicants 1st December 2022 1st December 2022

International student applicants

We are aware that international students, particularly those coming from the USA, may struggle with the UCAS deadline. As a consequence, we have set an additional deadline of 1st December 2022 for international students.

If you submit your application after this date, we cannot guarantee that your application/audition recording will be reviewed by the audition panel. If you do want to submit a late application, you must contact admissions@rcs.ac.uk in the first instance to check we are accepting late applications. Late applications will be considered on a case by case basis and may not be considered in the first round of scholarship allocation.

We do not offer deferred entry. If you wish to commence in 2024, you must apply next year.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland institution code is R58.

MMus Traditional Music (2 years) – 806F

MA Traditional Music (1 year) – 805F

Book an advice lesson with one of our Music tutors

An advice lesson gives you the chance to experience having a lesson at the Conservatoire and provides a great opportunity for you to gain some expert advice and insight. Advice lessons normally take place from late August to early October and are dependent on staff availability. Book your advice lesson here or e-mail our team for further information at hello@rcs.ac.uk.

Application Fee

There is a UCAS Conservatoires application fee of £26.50. In addition to the application fee, each conservatoire charges an audition assessment administration fee. For RCS, the audition assessment administration fee is £65 per programme applied for. Fees are not refundable. The fees are paid via the UCAS Conservatoires website and not directly to RCS.

Audition Assessment Administration fee

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland charges an audition assessment administration fee of £65 per course.

We recognise that auditioning and interviewing for conservatoires, drama and ballet schools can be costly. The audition assessment administration fee charge allows us to offer a thorough and positive experience to all applicants and we encourage you to get in touch to ask the panel questions and find out more about the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to see if it is the best place for you.

We are committed to ensuring fair acce