I chose HCA because the BA (Hons) Popular Music course was so new and ambitious. I met with Dave Bebbington (course leader) and he discussed how he had taken all the best bits from the courses he’d worked on in the past and shaped them into something completely new. I was really intrigued, and the more I discovered the more I realised it was the course for me.

There’s a real flexibility in this course: you can balance being a practical musician with studying music theory and recording techniques and we also get an hour’s private tuition on our instrument per week which is brilliant. It’s also great that the tutors are so well connected, they often bring in guest musicians.

Before I started, there were certain areas of my knowledge that needed working on but the tutors have been able to break down daunting concepts and help me incorporate them in to my playing. I’m generally more into performing than recording, but we’re always taught the importance of being a well-rounded musician and I’ve really enjoyed using Logic Pro X to produce my own music.