BA (Hons) Commercial Music

Additional demo tips

Every year the admissions team receives a large number of enquiries about how to put together the CD demo. We've compiled a list of tips based on previous applicants' questions and reviewers' comments.

Demo tips

1. Get to the point quickly; if you're a singer, for example, let's hear the vocal in the first 10 seconds.

2. If you write songs, get to the chorus (or the 'best bit') as soon as you can. This advice applies to any demo you compile - remember, A&R people (and fans) often press 'stop' after less than 30 seconds!

3. Avoid 'accompaniment' sections (i.e. 4 or 8-bar chunks where nothing melodic or vocal happens) - lots of guitar bands, for example, have 4-chord strumming intros, and the reviewing team will skip these preparatory sections anyway.

4. All instruments should be perfectly in tune throughout. Out-of-tune demos can mean a lack of aural skills or a lack of attention to detail - either can result in an unsuccessful application.

5. Instrumental performances should demonstrate phrasing, intonation (for guitarists - the ability to keep in tune through bends, vibrato etc), solid tempi with no fluctuations (drummers). Programmed compositions should demonstrate an ability to maintain the listener's interest throughout.

6. If you play lots of instruments, let's hear them all in the demo if possible.

7. If you sing and can work out vocal harmonies, please include some examples - these demonstrate that you understand music theory.

8. Electronic music with 'friendly' software applications such as Reason, GarageBand or eJay needs to show compositional skill (dynamics, arrangement, light and shade of texture) - bear in mind that the reviewing team are familiar with these applications and are fully aware of how they can create credible results with only a small amount of user input.

9. Please do not submit score- or MIDI-based coursework from A level Music Technology - these assignments may not show your musical skills in the best light.

10. Don't worry if the demo is only of a basic technical standard, or if you have limited access to recording equipment. We'd rather hear a rough piano/voice version of a great song/performance than an expensive studio recording of a poor song/performance. Recording quality is rarely taken into account by the reviewing panel - every applicant has a different budget, so we do not discriminate against those who cannot afford expensive kit.

11. If you write a lot of music and you're not sure which four tracks to submit, don't go with your own choices alone - often your family, friends and tutors will have a more objective opinion of which of your repertoire is your best work.

12. If you're in a band, please don't submit a whole demo done by the band at a local studio where your only contribution was, for instance, the bass part. It's fine to include band material, but please put some other stuff on there too (e.g. rough demos, computer/workstation tracks, live recordings etc) to demonstrate your versatility.

Audio files:

Samples of previous demos

Use the audio player above to hear samples of previous demos. Here are some excerpts from the reviewing panel's comments for these applicants' tracks.

Applicant 1 - drummer. Intro too long, and the guitarist is out of tune, but the drumming is competent, albeit not working to click track. Clearly he's a physical player - can hold a very high tempo, presumably for the length of a gig! Question mark over tempo consistency, but there is some evidence of strong, solid playing here. Worth investigating further.

Applicant 2 - vocal and programmer. Long intro. Some contemporary R&B samples used, and a good grasp of the feel. The song has some meaning, but is a little stuck in the one idea. Still, a good attempt at a pop/Christian crossover. Programmed it all himself. Good voice, with lots of pentatonic ornaments and some strong projection, with solid tuning throughout. Audition.

Applicant 3 - guitar and voice/songwriter. Starts with 4s of silence. Weak guitar sound; weak out-of-tune voice. Self-produced but with very simple, basic ideas that have not been developed enough. Poorly worked-out backing vocals. Reject.

Applicant 4 - guitar, bass, composer. Django Reinhardt goes flamenco! Very eccentric and beautifully played, with wit and solid technical control. The player is responsible for all instruments on the demo. Excellent. Audition.

Applicant 5 - voice/guitar/songwriter. Obvious in the first 10 seconds that this is a strong applicant. Excellent voice, passionate and pyrotechnic. Competent guitar playing. Excellent songwriting. Fantastic. Audition.

Applicant 6 - guitar. Average cross-picking intro, with some duff notes. Lead part is unimaginative, repetitive and shows poor timing & phrasing. No melodic or scalic knowledge apparent. Reject.

Applicant 7 - guitar. Beginner level blues solo. Very basic and inexperienced; highly unmusical. Reject. .

Applicant 8 - voice and production. Sometimes poorly produced (very noisy), but a pleasing voice with some potential. Good hook/chorus, with nicely-arrangement parallel 3rd backing vocals. Potentially strong songwriter too. Audition.

Applicant 9 - voice/guitar/songwriter. Predictable strumming, using the 'Oasis' rhythm and moving one chord shape up and down the fingerboard. Two-note melody in verse, no attempt at development. Cliched and unimaginative lyric. Competent arrangement and solid timing. Passable, but we get a lot of demos like this and better. Reject.

Applicant 10 - voice/songwriter/guitar. Basic but competent 6/8 strumming, with an interesting, passionate and quirky voice and a great song. Audition.

Applicant 11 - voice/production/songwriter. A pop song! Pleasing voice, and solid/charming lyric meaning. Well-arranged backing vocals. Overall sound is quite '80s' but this is purely a stylistic observation - the applicant is clearly very talented. Audition.

Applicant 12 - voice/guitar/production. An excellent example of the power of getting the vocal straight in - I made a decision on this in the first 5 seconds. Emotional, powerful vocal, nicely produced (a little over-compressed, but when the performance is this good you can see why he's done it). A good song, nice fingerstyle playing, and a really strong singer. Audition.