| The Academy of Contemporary Music | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Guildford, Surrey United Kingdom |
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| Information | |
| Type | Music School |
| Motto | World Leaders in Music Industry Education[2] |
| Established | 1997[1] |
| Website | http://www.acm.ac.uk/ |
The Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) is a music academy located in Guildford, Surrey, England.
The school differs from more traditional music academies by its focus on rock and pop music, and its vocational approach. To facilitate careers for its students, it has established relationships with record labels and management companies, which offer opportunities for auditions and management/production jobs.
The school tries to appeal to young people (aged 16 and up) by having a very modern and "hip" look and feel. The reception, for instance, looks like the stage at a rock concert, with black lights and steel decorating the interior of both the reception and the rest of the halls of the main building. The Academy is constantly improving and developing its buildings.
The school provides practice facilities, personal tutoring and has performances both for students and other audiences that are held in Guildford's Electric Theatre
The faculty is varied, ranging from successful musicians to very skilled previous ACM students.
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The Academy of Contemporary Music was the brainchild of Phil Brookes,[3] a guitar tutor from Woking. He wanted to bring contemporary music education and the music industry closer together, ultimately becoming mutually beneficial and working together in the same environment. Originally ACM consisted of tutors who were mainly professional musicians and considered teaching students as a part of their profession. As demand for tutoring in contemporary music has grown these musicians have increasingly become central to the teaching ethos of ACM and spend much of their time passing on their knowledge and experiences to ACM students. ACM currently has three educational partners: Guildford College which is located in the heart of Guildford granting BTEC/Edexcel awards for the lower discipline, and Middlesex University and University of Surrey who validate the Certificate in Higher Education for the intermediate discipline and degree BA (Hons) and BMus (Hons) through to an MA (Masters) in contemporary music. In May 2008 ACM was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Innovation 2008. The Queen’s Award, which is endorsed by Her Majesty the Queen, follows the Prime Minister's recommendation that the Innovation category should be conferred upon ACM in recognition of ACM’s unique and industrious education philosophy. ACM celebrated the Award with a VIP reception at the Academy with many top-level representatives from the music industry, government and education sectors in attendance to show their support. In the Fall of 2009, ACM, with support from The University of Central Oklahoma, opened up its first location outside of the UK in Downtown Oklahoma City, with Scott Booker as the Executive Director.
The academy offers full time courses for guitar, bass, drums, vocals, keyboards, music production, artist development & songwriting, radio broadcasting and music business. Depending on knowledge and skill at application time, as well as future intentions, students are recommended to study Diploma, Higher Diploma, Degree courses or Masters. ACM also offers Part time courses which consist of ACM Plus+ courses for over people over the age of 16 and ACM Junior courses for ages 10-16.
The Diploma is a level 3 qualification while the Higher Diploma is a level 4 qualification. The Higher Diploma requires that students are more advanced and have to portray more skill and knowledge in their application. Both courses take one year to finish (three semesters). The Diploma awards you a BTEC/Edexcel whilst successful Higher Diploma students receive a Certificate in Higher Education and are allowed to move on to the Degree studies (two years long) as long as they pass the course. At Diploma level, here are three grades awarded, as dictated by the BTEC standards; PASS, MERIT and DISTINCTION. It is not recommended for students to try to move on to the Degree from the Diploma as a very high level of technical proficiency and understanding is required.
The studies that relate directly to musical performance (bass, vocals, drums, keyboards and guitar) focus on making the student learn to perform at an industry professional standard consistently, teaching music theory, ear training, different playing styles, songwriting and music culture. The student is to be prepared to work in the music industry in many different scenarios, ranging from being a Session musician, tutor or even a successful musician, solo or in a band. Students are made to work in bands created for and in school, and are observed and tutored in their progression in that scenario, as well as graded in the end.
The school also offers courses in music production and the business side of the music industry. These elements of the curriculum frequently work together with other students doing musical studies and both get experience out of it. The business side can manage ACM bands and artists, book and manage gigs, arrange auditions etc., while the production side does all related to music production (e.g. recording, sequencing, mixing, etc.). This is done to provide studio experience for the music students and is an integral part of the studies of music production students.
The school has recently added the BA (Hons) Degree in Creative Sound Design for New Media to its portfolio of courses. Accredited by the University of Surrey, the course is designed to provide students with a vocational pathway into the industry as music and sound content providers for all areas of new media including, web & internet, electronic games, post production and animation.
In September 2009 ACM will be running a new course aimed at helping people who want to work as road crew. The course is run in association with Cato, who are the UK's leading tour production company. The course will cover modules such as; technical stagecraft, sound checking, tour planning, artist interaction, stage management and monitoring. This will be a 1 year course, that will give students a Btec National Award (level 3) qualification, which is the equivalent of 1 A-level.
Some previous students of the ACM who have successfully moved into the music industry include:
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