Libby Hamilton
Bachelor of Music (Honours) Contemporary Music
Bachelor of Music (Honours)
"I joined the Contemporary Music programme at Otago because I wanted to pursue my passion. You often hear people say 'it's who you know' in regard to making it in the music industry, and what better place to start than under the guidance of experienced professionals.
"Studying contemporary music really opened my eyes to the intricate craftsmanship behind writing a good song. A song can sound so simple yet can have a great deal of complexity behind it. It's the subtle things we often dismiss, like the way the music marries with the lyrics, that give a song its depth and magic.
"Working with others in randomly assigned bands gave me the opportunity to be exposed to a huge variety of styles, genres and musical minds. Everybody brings his or her own ingredients to the band, which can result in an original, unique type of sound being created.
"Each and every paper contributes a small piece to the great puzzle. Having this knowledge can give you the tools to understand why certain music works for you and this can be applied to your own music. The course offers outstanding tuition in composition, theory and the production side of things here you are given the opportunity to work with the latest software to develop techniques in studio operation.
"I can confidently say that I now have the skills to apply over a vast musical field and this has opened many doors. Whether it is a career in song writing, composing music for film scores, working in a band, working as a studio musician or even sound engineering, there are multiple paths I can take and the future is exciting!"