Overview & What We're Looking For | Demo Guide

What this guide covers

We’re not looking for perfection— we’re looking for potential.

Whether you’ve recently applied and just getting started with your demo or you’re still working out if dBs is right for you, this guide covers what a demo is, why it matters, and how you can make yours.

No expensive gear. No production background needed. Just an afternoon and a free app.

Why musicians need a demo

A demo is one of the most important things you can make as a music-maker.

Not just for your university application, but throughout your career. Here’s how they’re used across the industry:

Performers & live artists

Use demos to pitch to promoters, venues and festivals. Most bookings start with “send me something.”

Vocalists

Use demos to get session work. If a producer wants to know whether you’re right for a project, they’ll ask for a demo before inviting you in. The same applies when approaching a songwriter to collaborate or going for a residency.

Songwriters

Use demos to pitch songs to other artists, publishers and music supervisors. A demo doesn’t have to be a finished record, it has to communicate the song. Some of the most successful pitches in pop music were made on phone recordings.

Producers & artists

Demo constantly. It’s how ideas get developed, sounds get tested, and projects get finished.

Sync & A&R

Placing music in film, TV and advertising is one of the most significant revenue streams in the contemporary music, and music supervisors work almost entirely from demo-quality recordings. The same is true of A&R, most collaborations, and many other professional relationships in music.

Making demos is making music. It’s a creative practice as much as a technical one, and it’s something you’ll do at every stage of your career.

Why we ask for a demo

Why we ask applicants for a demo

At dBs, we ask for a demo as part of our application process. Just as a graphic designer submits a design portfolio and a writer submits a writing sample, your demo is how you show us who you are as a music-maker. It sits alongside your interview/audition (which can be in person or pre-recorded) as the two main ways we can get to know you.

The tutors who listen to your demo are the same people who'll be working with you one-to-one throughout your studies. What they're looking for isn't the perfect production, but your starting point. Your demo shows us where you are now, and that will help us understand where you're starting from so we can teach you more effectively from day one.

What we ask for

What we ask applicants
to submit

Once we have received your UCAS application, you will be invited to book your interview/audition and submit your demo. We ask applicants to prepare the following:

Part 01

Your Audio Demo

2.5–4.5 min · Any recording app or DAW · MP3 or WAV

Made in a recording app or DAW of your choice. This can be an original composition or a cover but songwriting applicants must submit an original.

This is the recording we’ll listen to before your interview/audition. We’re listening for musical thinking, not advanced production.

Part 02

Your Performance

2.5–4 min · Cover or original

A performance of one piece, which can be a cover or an original (songwriting applicants must perform an original composition). You choose how you deliver it.

Option A - FILM IT AND SEND AHEAD OF YOUR INTERVIEW

Record video of yourself performing on your phone. One take, unedited. Do this if you want it done before the interview day, or don’t feel comfortable performing in person yet.

Option B - PEFORM LIVE AT YOUR INTERVIEW

Do your performance during the interview itself, in person or on a video call. Do this if you’d rather perform on the day than submit a video in advance.

There's no advantage to either option. Choose what suits you.

You will need to submit your demo and performance (if pre-recording) via the Falmouth Applicant Portal or email direct to our Admissions Team.

What we look for

What we're looking for and why.

We need more than a voice memo. We want to see that you’ve engaged with the basics of putting a recording together. Here's what we're actually listening for in every submission.

More than one element

That could be any combination that's right for you. Voice and beat, guitar and loop, or maybe recording two instruments.

Levels and timing

Things broadly in time and at audible volumes. We're not after the perfect mix, but we do want to see evidence that you've listened back and made some adjustments.

One production decision

Adding reverb, recording to a click, using a loop, applying a plugin — one thing that shows you've thought about sound, not just captured it.

What we listen for

Three things we're
listening for

Every year we receive submissions from performers, producers, songwriters and vocalists at completely different stages, from fully produced, mixed and mastered tracks to very simple two-track recordings made on a phone with a free app. Both are valid. What we’re listening for across all of them is the same:

Musical
engagement

A sense of who you are and what you're drawn to.

Basic
intentionality

Some thought given to timing, levels, and at least one production element.

Your instincts,
not your budget

Expensive gear doesn't score better. What matters is what you make, not what you make it with.

The full guide

What to do next

02What Your Demo Should Include→03How to Make Your Demo: Free Tools→04Stretch Tasks: Go Further→05Glossary: Words You'll Come Across→

Not sure where to start?

We offer applicants a free 1:1 session with one of our tutors. Bring questions, a half-finished idea, or get help getting started.

Contact Admissions →

What We're Looking For