Extra-curricular activities have for many years been a prominent and valuable feature of UK university music departments, but the current political and economic climate poses several significant threats to their survival, including uncertain funding, demands on students’ time (including the need to undertake paid employment), and, potentially, the reduction of music in the school curriculum, limiting the number of students equipped to study music in higher education. Amongst this uncertainty, articulating the value of extra-curricular music-making becomes ever more important. This article draws on an empirical investigation of current practice in extra-curricular music, and considers the ways in which staff and students negotiate the aims, experiences and roles that shape a department’s performing culture. The transitions of learner roles, increasing independence and musical identity inherent in these practices are considered here, and some conclusions drawn about the contribution of extra-curricular learning to university experience. (Contains 1 note.)