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lcm
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:12 pm
by lynne
hi,
Does anyone on here have any first hand experience of the London college of musics Contact hours for musical theatre?
thanks
Re: lcm
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:14 am
by 2leftfeetmyself
At the open day, they said the contact hours were between 15 and 25 depending on the modules taken. On the plus side, at LCM you can take their singing exams at reduced cost and study amongst all those talented musicians doing pure music courses but my daughter rejected LCM for musical theatre due to the lack of dance.
Re: lcm
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 1:35 pm
by lbm1e14
2leftfeetmyself wrote: ↑Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:14 am
At the open day, they said the contact hours were between 15 and 25 depending on the modules taken. On the plus side, at LCM you can take their singing exams at reduced cost and study amongst all those talented musicians doing pure music courses but my daughter rejected LCM for musical theatre due to the lack of dance.
Likewise. The dance content was very low indeed. That said that was 2 years ago and it also depends very much on what DC sees as their future career. If it's more as a singer/actor then it won't be a problem.
Re: lcm
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:29 pm
by lynne
Thats really disappointing!
Re: lcm
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:29 am
by Robin64
They do a 4 year musical theatre course with a foundation year at the start. Now I may be wrong but I think this could be one of very few ways to access a funded foundation as you could audition again for a degree elsewhere at the end of the foundation year. Obviously this would use up one of your funded years ( you get 4 from student finance). I don't know if people do this as I guess you are meant to stay for 4 years but there isn't any reason why you couldn't. Might be worth thinking about?
Re: lcm
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 1:25 am
by kzgirl
Our daughter applied to LCM for the musical theatre course and was offered a place, she decided not to accept as the course didn’t have much dance at all. We loved the feel of the Uni but the course just wasn’ right.
Re: lcm
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:56 am
by bop2thetop
Hey there, My DS is at LCM and absolutely loves it. It suits him as he mainly an actor/singer. The above comments are right there is not much dance content on the course but it was just what he wanted. Yes some students start on the foundation year and there is nothing to stop you moving somewhere else after the year, although I’m sure the majority stay and move in to the first year of the degree course. Before my DS started there we went to watch a show. I think that’s really important so you can then see the standard of the third years. We were really impressed and that’s why he chose there. Please feel free to ask me any questions

Re: lcm
Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 7:01 pm
by Harry2003
We attended the open day at LCM today. Really liked the university and the surrounding area. I hear good things about the musical theatre course there and graduates are getting jobs. My biggest concern is the number of contact hours. I know it’s a university and not a conservatoire but 12 contact hours a week seems very low and I struggle to understand how the graduates can compete with others who have had far greater contact hours. Am I missing something? What is a usual amount of contact hours for courses at Guildford/Central/Trinity for example? Just a bit confused.
Re: lcm
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:42 am
by Marissa
Harry2003 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 09, 2019 7:01 pm
We attended the open day at LCM today. Really liked the university and the surrounding area. I hear good things about the musical theatre course there and graduates are getting jobs. My biggest concern is the number of contact hours. I know it’s a university and not a conservatoire but 12 contact hours a week seems very low and I struggle to understand how the graduates can compete with others who have had far greater contact hours. Am I missing something? What is a usual amount of contact hours for courses at Guildford/Central/Trinity for example? Just a bit confused.
I counted my dds contact hours today and without anything extra as they will be starting to rehearse for shows soon she has 36.5 hours at The Hammond x I know some of the conservatoires have more than this x
Re: lcm
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 2:27 pm
by Scarytimes
Harry2003 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 09, 2019 7:01 pm
We attended the open day at LCM today. Really liked the university and the surrounding area. I hear good things about the musical theatre course there and graduates are getting jobs. My biggest concern is the number of contact hours. I know it’s a university and not a conservatoire but 12 contact hours a week seems very low and I struggle to understand how the graduates can compete with others who have had far greater contact hours. Am I missing something? What is a usual amount of contact hours for courses at Guildford/Central/Trinity for example? Just a bit confused.
Just having a quick look at my DS timetable, 2nd year GSA. Looks like 32 hours basic contact hours, plus they get called in some evenings or Sundays when preparing for something. I may have missed something though.
Re: lcm
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 4:23 pm
by Harry2003
Thank you both for your replies, that’s a shocking difference - just don’t understand how they can possibly compare.
Re: lcm
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 6:05 pm
by islandofsodor
Music conservatoires like LCM, Birmingham, Guildhall, Royal Northern Etc typically have around 12-15 15 hours per week contact hours comprising of 1:1 lessons, Repertoire/Song classes/Masterclasses, Ensemble/Opera rehearsals, Theory/Aural/contextual Studies & Stagecraft. The students are expected to devote a lot of time to private practice and research.
Re: lcm
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:23 am
by ajbew
Mountview is full on. DS had contact hours pretty much from 9 until at least 5pm Monday to Friday for his musical theatre degree. Also small classes - only 38 per year accepted and then split into smaller groups for classes, or 1:1 singing etc. They also get showcased extremely well - three musicals and a showcase each in the third year all with invited agents.
Re: lcm
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:29 pm
by Scarytimes
ajbew wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:23 am
Mountview is full on. DS had contact hours pretty much from 9 until at least 5pm Monday to Friday for his musical theatre degree. Also small classes - only 38 per year accepted and then split into smaller groups for classes, or 1:1 singing etc. They also get showcased extremely well - three musicals and a showcase each in the third year all with invited agents.
That's good to know for future applicants. GSA almost identical with 36 per year, same splits for classes and same showcases. I guess they follow same model. Presume Arts Ed will be similar too.
Re: lcm
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 7:21 pm
by Yorkshirepudding
islandofsodor wrote: ↑Sun Nov 10, 2019 6:05 pm
Music conservatoires like LCM, Birmingham, Guildhall, Royal Northern Etc typically have around 12-15 15 hours per week contact hours comprising of 1:1 lessons, Repertoire/Song classes/Masterclasses, Ensemble/Opera rehearsals, Theory/Aural/contextual Studies & Stagecraft. The students are expected to devote a lot of time to private practice and research.
Yes, totally agree with this. My DS1 is in year 1 at Guildhall doing electronic music. He has apporox 15 hours contact time, and then huge amounts of set composition work in between plus private study and practice. The others who are there on the acting and technical theatre courses have a lot more contact hours, so it is important to be sure you know what you are signing up for, and how it compares with the standard in each area of the industry.