Music Facilities

Hi,

Hopefully I will be starting my first year of a History degree at Lancaster this October. I've looked around the uni and looked into the course and I'm really looking forward to starting. However one thing I was wondering about was what the facilities for musicians are like. I'm not going to be studying music but I've been playing in a band for the past 4 years and I'm a really keen drummer, so I was just wondering whether anyone knew whether there is much of a music scene at Lancaster and whether there is any practice space dedicated to musicians.

Reply 1

PeteG

Heya,

Lancaster has a lot to offer musicians, practice space is often available either by the music department or within the Nuffield theatre/Great Hall complex. As for the music scene there are regular battle of the bands happening across campus with the winners securing a spot in campusfest as well as general band nights in campus bars.

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Reply 2

Manitude

Apparently there are practice spaces on campus though I never managed to track any down in my first year.

In town there's the Lancaster Musicians Coop which is a really cheap practice space and recording studio. There's regular gigs at the Yorkshire House, a lot of which are student bands, mostly rock and metal.

The Bobbin and The Penny Bank have gigs quite frequently but they're more local pub-rock bands.

Reply 3

ohaem

Hi, there are practice rooms both inside and near the Great Hall complex. However they are not open all the time- after 6pm each day the practice rooms belonging to the music department are only open to music students who have a swipe card to get in.The practice rooms in the Great Hall complex are locked sometimes, however this is not a problem as you can ask the Great Hall Porter's for the key.

In third term the hours that you are able to practice on campus are restricted due to "quiet period" during the exam period which is the majority of the term.

As well as campusfest there are the college extravs at the end of the year that you could perform in (I do not know how the bands are selected however). A couple of my friends performed in the Cartmel Extrav (In the bands "Jess Falls over" and "Yellow Bird") - it was fantasic :biggrin:

Also there are a number of ensembles within ULMS (University of Lancaster Music Society) that require a drummer eg. Brass band, Swing group, Big band to name a few. More info on http://www.ulms.org.uk/

It is £3 to join and you need a Purplecard, as you do to join any societies. You can find us on a stall in Freshers' Fair as well as at the Activities Showcase.

Hope this has helped. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Hope to see you in September
Liz

Reply 4

Bjcross