Folk and Traditional Music

Folk and traditional music sits at the intersection of living performance practice and cultural heritage. It encompasses the songs, tunes, and musical styles that have developed within communities over generations, and which continue to evolve through the work of performers, composers, and arrangers who bring new energy to old material. In the UK, this tradition includes English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk music, as well as the connections between British traditions and those of North America and beyond.

Studying folk and traditional music takes these traditions seriously as art forms with their own aesthetic values, histories, and communities of practice.

Newcastle University's three-year full-time Folk and Traditional Music programme is one of the few in the UK dedicated to this field at degree level, and it is built around performance as much as academic study. You will develop your instrumental or vocal skills in the context of traditional music, working on repertoire, stylistic authenticity, improvisation, and the ability to play by ear as well as from notation. Alongside performance, you will study the history and ethnomusicology of folk traditions, the sociology of folk revival movements, and the creative possibilities that open up when traditional forms are extended or combined with other genres.

The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, which together give you substantial professional experience in the music industry and in international folk music contexts, essential grounding for a career where self-promotion, networking, and versatility matter enormously.

A typical tariff of 136 points reflects the programme's expectation of genuine musical ability at entry, and you will be expected to demonstrate performance competence as part of your application.

Graduates work as professional performers, session musicians, teachers, community music practitioners, arts administrators, festival organisers, and music researchers. The skills developed also transfer into broader music industry, broadcasting, and cultural heritage roles.