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Should I do just music?

I’m picking my A-Levels, and am big on music, and doing pretty good at it in GCSE.

I love all of it, both performance and theory. I don’t know what I’d rather do, but I’m thinking about A-Level Music, A-Level Music Technology, and B-Tech Music Performance.

Is this a bad idea?

My plan is to get into southampton to do a music degree. Will this be alright, or will they want some more academic stuff too?

Do you think I will regret it?
i regret not doing music at a level. however, that's a lot of music- id say music a level, cs (for the it part) and something else
Hi @kit.

The University of Southampton requires A level Music and Grade 8 Music Practical (but if you do not have Grade 8 you can demonstrate you are of the equivalent standard through an audition). You can find the full entry requirements here.

So, I would recommend you keep A level Music. However, it would be worth studying other subjects for the other two. Music degree involves writing so I would recommend a humanities subject. But really, I suggest you study any subject you are interested in. Southampton doesn't actually recognize A level Music Technology as meeting their music requirement so I think they would probably prefer you study other subjects. Also, studying two other subjects alongside music would diversify your studies. Studying three music qualifications might get too much.

Best Wishes,
Gulcin
Student Ambassador
I’m picking my A-Levels, and am big on music, and doing pretty good at it in GCSE.
I love all of it, both performance and theory. I don’t know what I’d rather do, but I’m thinking about A-Level Music, A-Level Music Technology, and B-Tech Music Performance.
Is this a bad idea?
My plan is to get into southampton to do a music degree. Will this be alright, or will they want some more academic stuff too?
Do you think I will regret it?

Hi, I’m a year 13 student studying Music, History, and English Lit.

In year 11 I was totally set on doing music for uni and for a job, I only really took the other A Levels to balance my subjects out. Now, i’ve completely changed my mind and applied to uni to study history and international relations. I also really regret music, it’s a lot of extra work outside the classroom and I don’t really like the board (OCR) i’m studying.
Southampton is a great uni to study in and I wish I still had the same passion for music as I did in year 11. In my opinion, I’d balance out your options, not just for academic reasons but for other options, you may change your mind or want to switch careers later in life! Also, if you want to do pure music at uni I would just do music A Level with 2 other A Levels and then do an EPQ on music as an extra instead! There’s 6 people in my music class that do such a wide range of subjects (History, English Lit, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Sociology, Psychology, Spanish, Media, Law, and Photography) and music works well with any subject that is offered.
I would also recommend doing your grade 5 theory or learning basic theory before your A Level, and to know how to read music. Depending on how good your school resources are, I’d also talk to your teacher about composition and performance as you will need to be able to transport it from school and home (I would recommend a macbook or any other laptop that you can get musescore 4 on it’s honestly a lifesaver).
Good luck and I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions!

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