IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INCOMING AND PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS (Click HERE)
The Music B.A. is separated into three concentrations: "Contemporary Practices", "Global Musics", and "Western Art Music". Note that these are not separate degrees - if you choose the Music B.A., your diploma will read "B.A. in Music with a Concentration in ...".
- Contemporary Practices prepares students to perform create/compose/improvise, and think critically about music in a diverse range of musical practices and traditions. Emphasizes composition, improvisation, and topical theory.
- Global Musics prepares students to perform, think critically, and write in a diverse range of musical practices. Emphasizes research and performance practice.
- Western Art Music focuses on Western Canon theory, history, and performance, but allows students to study ethnomusicology, composition, and improvisation through elective courses.
Please find the concentration requirements for each track below, or skip to one with these links. If you would like a more-visual representation of the B.A. concentrations and their requirements, you can check out this document.
The objective of the Contemporary Practices (CP) concentration is to prepare students to perform, create/compose/improvise, and think critically about music in a diverse range of musical practices and traditions.
Students in the CP concentration will take a variety of history, culture, theory, improvisation and composition courses & participate in ensembles and performance practice workshops - gaining academic, performance and music making fluency in a variety of musical practices.
In addition to taking core music courses, students in the CP concentration will also be required to complete three “Modules”, or course pathways, organized around central themes.
- Global Art Musics [e.g. history/culture, workshop, ensemble, and special topics theory courses in art music traditions]
- Experimental and Contemporary Musics [e.g. culture/history courses in contemporary and popular musics, and workshop courses in music production, technology, and songwriting]
- Spontaneous Composition/Improvisation [e.g. theory and practice courses in improvisation, ensembles involving improvisation-focused traditions]
Course requirements:
1. First-year theory courses: Music 16, Music 14, Music 30A, & Music 30B (30A entrance requirement: Music Theory Placement Examination, or an A/A+ in Music 14).
Students who have not yet taken a university-level theory course are recommended to take Music 13 or Music 14 to prepare for the Placement Exam. If you receive an "A" in Music 14, you are eligible for direct placement into Music 30A. Students with little to no keyboard experience are recommended to take the introductory keyboard course Music 59 prior to starting Music 30. Concurrent enrollment with the Music 60 keyboard series is recommended for students in the Contemporary Practices track. Students with significant keyboard experience are given the opportunity to test out of individual quarters of Music 60.
2. First-year Music history/culture courses: Dependent on modules. Take three courses from the Music 11, 80, or 81 series - one relevant to each Module.
3. Second-year theory courses: Dependent on modules. Take three courses from the following list: Music 111B, 123, 124, 125, the 150 series, 174, and 175, related to your first-year history/culture courses & modules
4. Second-year history/culture courses: Music 101C.
5. Electives: One additional 150-series theory course, plus one course from any of the following series - Music 101, 105, or 180.
6. Composition: Music 121 - Orchestration, plus two quarters of Music 120: Seminar in Composition.
7. Senior Capstone: Music 196A - Senior Composition Recital (or portfolio submission).
8. Ensemble participation (9 ensembles total). Dependent on modules. Students must take two quarters of ensembles specific to each module (6 total), plus three quarters of elective ensembles.
The objective of the Global Musics (GM) concentration is to prepare students to perform, think critically, and write in a diverse range of musical practices.
The GM concentration provides a pathway for students interested in various modes of musical inquiry not limited to western art music to pursue the Music major (though western art music is included). Students in the GM concentration will take a variety of history and culture courses & participate in ensembles and performance practice workshops - gaining academic and performance fluency in a variety of musical practices.
In addition to taking core music courses, students in the GM concentration will also be required to complete three of seven “Modules”, or course pathways, organized around a central theme.
Modules contain courses that cross a range of regional, genre and theme-based topics including:
- Region/Area coverage (and repertoires within area)—Europe; Asia (including South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia); Africa and the Americas (including Latin America and Latin American Diasporas & Africa and African Diasporas);
- Genre/Repertoire coverage—Jazz; Contemporary/Experimental;
- Theme-based coverage—Popular Music; World Music.
Course requirements:
1. First-year theory courses: Music 16, Music 14, and Music 30A (entrance requirement: Music Theory Placement Examination, or an A/A+ in Music 14).
Students who have not yet taken a university-level theory course are recommended to take Music 14 to prepare for the Placement Exam. If you receive an "A" in Music 14, you are eligible for placement into Music 30A. Students with little to no keyboard experience are recommended to take the introductory keyboard course Music 59 prior to starting Music 30. Concurrent enrollment with the Music 60 keyboard series is recommended for students in the Global Musics track. Students with significant keyboard experience are given the opportunity to test out of individual quarters of Music 60.
2. First-year Music history/culture courses: Dependent on modules. Take three courses from the Music 11, 80, or 81 series - one for each Module.
3. Second-year history/culture courses: Dependent on modules. Take three courses from the Music 101, 105, 150, or 180 series, related to your first-year history courses & Modules.
4. Electives: Three courses from the upper-division Music catalog (any 5-credit course with a catalogue number of Music 100+). Cannot be double-counted with modular courses.
6. Research Requirement: One course on graduate-level research or cross-cultural foundations & methods. Music 200, 203G, or any course from the Music 253 series.
7. Senior Capstone: Research Paper or Creative Portfolio
- Research option: Concurrently with Music 195A (senior thesis), take one additional course from the Music 105 or 180 series, or Music 200. Cannot be double-counted with modular courses electives.
- Creative option: Concurrently with Music 196A (senior recital), take one additional course from the Music 150 series, 120, or 203H. Cannot be double-counted with modular courses or electives..
8. Ensemble participation (9 ensembles total). Dependent on modules. Students must take two quarters of ensembles specific to each module (6 total), plus three quarters of elective ensembles.
The Western Art Music concentration is simply a renaming of our existing Music B.A. curriculum. It emphasizes deep knowledge in Western theory, history, and performance on a primary instrument, but allows for students to branch out into other areas via upper-division electives. Unlike the other two concentrations, it is not focused around a modular design.
Course requirements:
1. First-year theory courses: Music 30A, Music 30B, & Music 30C (entrance requirement: Music Theory Placement Examination, or an A/A+ in Music 14).
Students who have not yet taken a university-level theory course are recommended to take Music 14 to prepare for the Placement Exam. If you receive an "A" in Music 14, you are eligible for placement into Music 30A. Students with little to no keyboard experience are recommended to take the introductory keyboard course Music 59 prior to starting Music 30. The Music 30 series requires concurrent enrollment with the Music 60 keyboard series. Students with significant keyboard experience are given the opportunity to test out of individual quarters of Music 60.
Students must take an "Advisory" jury on their main instrument during Music 30A.
2. Second-year theory courses: Music 130 (entrance requirement: Keyboard Proficiency Exam, taken at end of 30C); one course from the Music 150 series.
3. Music history courses: Music 101A, Music 101B, Music 101C and one course from the Music 105 series.
4. Music 180A, 180B or 180C: Studies in World Musics
5. One course from the following list: Music 121, Music 124 (can be double-counted with Electronic Music Minor), a second Music 150-series course, or a second Music 180-series course.
6. Senior Capstone seminar: a second Music 105, or Music 120.
7. At least 6 quarters enrollment in private instrumental or vocal lessons. Note: students should reach at least a lower-intermediate level on their instrument or voice by the Advisory Audition (at the end of Music 30A). Applied faculty (teachers of voice and instruments) are not required to accept a student with less than a lower-intermediate level on the Advisory Audition, even though that student has been accepted into Music 30.
8. It is a requirement of the major that all students must reach an "upper-intermediate" level on the Proficiency Audition (at the end of Music 130).
9. At least 6 quarters enrollment in Music Department ensembles, 3 quarters of which should be in large ensembles (Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Orchestra, Gamelan, Latin American Ensembles, Large Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble). Students are urged to participate in ensembles every quarter. The sample schedule on p. 6 shows how the requirements can best be fulfilled.
Program Learning Outcomes for the BA program:
The Bachelor of Arts in Music program in music is designed to help students accomplish the following learning outcomes:
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Demonstrate critical familiarity with differences and commonalities among musical practices and their material conditions, across a diverse range of genres, cultures, and histories.
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Demonstrate familiarity with analytical tools arising in theories of music, including those in music theory, ethnomusicology, and sound studies, as they are applied to musical sounds, practices, and repertoires in diverse musical contexts.
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Demonstrate skills in listening, interpretation, and collaboration as they pertain to music-making across diverse oral and notational repertoires.
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Demonstrate performance proficiency on a specific instrument (including voice specializations) across a range of musical genres, periods, and/or practices.
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Demonstrate skills in music composition, improvisation and/or production including skills in audio technologies.
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Demonstrate working knowledge of social science, humanities, and/or arts approaches to research in music-relevant topics.This includes qualitative and quantitative research methods for, gathering or obtaining research data, finding/using primary sources, and other research approaches/methods.
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Demonstrate effective writing and interpretive skills to participate in disciplinary and interdisciplinary dialogue about musical practices, traditions, genres, ideas, and music-making spaces.
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