Emma Pollock

For Glasgow-based singer, songwriter and musician Emma Pollock, who formed and fronted the band The Delgados, studying music theory with The Open University (OU) has helped influence the way she records and writes songs.  

The Delgados band founded both the Chem19 Recording Studio and the record label Chemikal Underground in the 1990s, on which they released their own records and debut albums from other local bands such as Mogwai and Arab Strap.

The band was a favourite of esteemed BBC radio DJ John Peel, with their songs gaining UK singles chart spots and a Mercury Music Prize nomination.

Emma established her solo career in the mid-2000s, and after her third solo album came out in 2017, Emma was looking for a new challenge. Emma considered a new career as a maths or physics teacher but decided against this when she realised it would mean giving up being a musician.

“I looked to the OU, as I have done in the past, and found their music theory courses,” she says.

Emma firstly studied the OU’s former 'Inside Music' module over 2017 and 2018, and during the COVID-19 pandemic undertook the Music, Sound and Technology module.

Emma, now aged 54, goes on to explain: “I had reached a point in my life where I wanted to learn and grow into a better musician and stretch myself.

“An interesting outcome was that I learned more about myself, what I responded to and what I found less interesting. Music is so multi-faceted. There are so many ways to interact to it.

“Some go through graded music exams at school, some are self-taught like me and some come to it as a hobby later in life. All are relevant, as it’s what we want to get out of music personally that is the point.”

‘Gained confidence’

Discussing the 'Music, Sound and Technology' module, Emma says: “I adored the course, as my degree from the 1990s is in physics and I have a solid interest in the science of music. To understand in much greater detail the relationship between the violin and the double bass, for example, aids a broader understanding of sound and how it interacts with the objects around it.”

I was certainly better placed with my new music vocabulary skills and able to communicate better with the musicians I recorded my next album with...I also gained the confidence to push my writing a little more.”

As an already experienced musician and songwriter, Emma says studying for the module has helped inform her new music, which has “enhanced my appreciation and respect for the art of writing and playing in a more instinctive, natural and untrained way”.

She shares: “I was certainly better placed with my new music vocabulary skills and able to communicate better with the musicians I recorded my next album with. Suddenly I understood the mechanics of what I had been writing instinctively.

“I also gained the confidence to push my writing a little more, now that I understood what I had made and how to expand on it using some of the knowledge and skills learned in the theory course.”

‘So glad the OU exists’

In recent years, Emma has been diagnosed as autistic and welcomes the accessibility of studying with the OU in Scotland, explaining: “The courses were very well laid out, and I really enjoyed that aspect to it. Everything was available right away.

“Both modules were brilliantly organised, and I had a full understanding of the timetable and assessment deadlines months in advance. This helped me plan my days and weeks as I progressed.”

I’ve always looked to the OU as a brilliantly accessible way to learn without having to commit to a whole degree programme.”

Although she found studying at home beneficial, Emma also enjoyed opportunities to meet fellow students online and in-person, commenting: “The social aspect of that was very welcome and we were all able to discuss the course material afterwards.”

She is keen to study again with the OU in Scotland, adding: “I’ve always looked to the OU as a brilliantly accessible way to learn without having to commit to a whole degree programme. 

"This presents the opportunity to find out more about what we like without committing too much.

“Equally, it presents brilliant opportunities to do a full degree programme over time but with the added benefit of being able to do that with incredibly well-designed course content, from the ease of your own home and with flexible hours. 

"It’s perfect for someone who can’t leave home to study, or who wants to retrain while they keep working.” 

Emma concludes: “I think The Open University is an option that may be overlooked by many school leavers, and I would recommend they give it some thought, especially if they would like to work whilst they study.

“I’m so glad the OU exists, as it is of such high quality and offers so much flexibility.”