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The Academy of Contemporary Music is a prestigious music academy located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Statistics Population: 66819 (2001) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU9949 Administration District: Guildford Shire county: Surrey Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Surrey Historic county: Surrey Services Police force: Surrey Police Ambulance: South East Coast Post office and telephone Post town: GUILDFORD...
Not to be confused with Surry. ...
Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ...
The main focus of the school is to prepare students who are ready to get serious about music for life working in the music industry, teaching the ropes of the industry and have them network with one another to establish contacts within the industry, thus offering future contacts. It also provides direct contact with many of the largest record labels, as well as providing professional auditions when requested by external parties.
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 blacklights 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 excellent 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.
History
The Academy of Contemporary was the brain child of Phil Brookes, 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 two educational partners: Guildford College which is located in the heart of Guildford granting BTEC/Edexcel awards for the lower discipline, and Middlesex University)which validates the Certificate in Higher Education for the intermediate discipline and a BA (Hons) degree for the highest. The Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) was a subdegree conferring council in the United Kingdom until 1996, when its functions were transferred to Edexcel. ...
Edexcel is a London-based organisation and one of England, Wales and Northern Irelands five main examination boards. ...
Middlesex University is a university in North London, England, located in the traditional county of Middlesex (from which it takes its name). ...
A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ...
Disciplines The academy offers full and part time courses for guitar, bass, drums, vocals, music production and music business. Depending on knowledge and skill at application time, as well as future intentions, students are recommended to study Diploma, Higher Diploma and Degree courses (except for music business, which only offers Degree).
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 DISCTINCTION. 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 Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) was a subdegree conferring council in the United Kingdom until 1996, when its functions were transferred to Edexcel. ...
Edexcel is a London-based organisation and one of England, Wales and Northern Irelands five main examination boards. ...
The Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) was a subdegree conferring council in the United Kingdom until 1996, when its functions were transferred to Edexcel. ...
Musical studies The studies that relate directly to musical performance (vocals, bass, drums 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. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sideman. ...
Business and production studies 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.
Previous students Some previous students of the ACM who have successfully moved into the music industry include:
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