Undergraduate Study
Music Major Requirements
B.A. Program. The program for the bachelor's degree with a major in Music offers a well-balanced selection of practical, historical, and conceptual approaches to music.
All music majors are required to take at least twelve music courses and participate in a campus performing organization (or comparable musical activity) for at least three quarters. Students should begin their concentration program by taking the three-quarter sequence in harmony and voice leading (Music 151-152-15300). Students follow this introductory course with the following: (1) a yearlong sequence that takes up topics in the history of Western art music (MUSI 27100-27200-27300), (2) Introduction to the Social and Cultural Study of Music (MUSI 23300), and (3) any two advanced courses in music theory and analysis numbered between MUSI 25100-25900. MUSI 27100-27200-27300 and individual courses numbered as MUSI 25100 through 25900 are offered in alternate years. It typically takes three years to complete the introductory and advanced courses. It is thus highly advisable for students to take the MUSI 15100 through 15300 sequence during their first or second year.
The required course in musicianship skills (Music 285) is offered every year and should be taken after the MUSI 15100-15200-15300 sequence. NOTE: MUSI 28500 is a yearlong course. One quarter's credit (100 units) is granted in Spring Quarter after successful completion of the year's work. To meet requirements for full-time student status, students must carry at least three additional courses during Autumn and Winter Quarters.
Students complete their programs by electing two additional music courses numbered as MUSI 20000 or above. Undergraduates can take graduate classes with the instructor's consent and can use them to meet program elective requirements.
Students must arrange a formal consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, Prof. Steven Rings, before declaring music as their major.
Summary of Requirements
| No. of Credits | Description |
| 3 | Music 15100-15200-15300* |
| 2 | two courses numbered between MUSI 25100 and 25900 |
| 1 | Music 28500 |
| 3 | Music 27100-27200-27300* |
| 1 | MUSI 23300 |
| 2 | two additional music courses numbered as MUSI 20000 or above |
| - | participation for at least three quarters in a performance organization approved by the Department of Music |
| 12 | TOTAL |
*Those students who exhibit a competence in harmony sufficient to place out of Music 151-152-153 or knowledge of music history sufficient to place out of Music 271-272-273 may devise an alternative program with the director of undergraduate studies.
Composition. Students whose interest lies in composition are advised to take a sequence of two courses: Introduction to Composition (MUSI 26100) followed by Advanced Composition (MUSI 26200). These two courses are designed for students wishing to learn composition or improve their compositional technique. Students pursuing composition, particularly those intending to apply to graduate school in music composition, are also advised to take such courses as Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint (MUSI 26800), Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint (MUSI 26900), Contemporary Opera (MUSI 22900), Introduction to Computer Music (MUSI 26300-26400), Multiple-Media Composition: Innovation and Technology (MUSI 28200), or Twentieth-Century Analysis (MUSI 25300). Upon special arrangement with a composition instructor, students may also register for composition lessons by using an Independent Study elective (MUSI 29700).
Ethnomusicology. Students wishing to specialize in ethnomusicology in the context of a music major are advised to take, in addition to Introduction to the Social and Cultural Study of Music (MUSI 23300), Introduction to World Music (10300); these will provide grounding in musical styles and repertoires, as well as the techniques and methods of study central to ethnomusicology. Other classes can be selected at the 23000 level, allowing students to build up specific areas of expertise in fields such as jazz, popular music, Middle Eastern music, and South Asian music. Students considering graduate studies in ethnomusicology are strongly advised to take the Honors Seminar (MUSI 29500) and write an Honors thesis with a focus on an ethnomusicological topic.
Grading. Courses taken to meet the general education requirement cannot be taken on a P/N basis. Music students must take courses in the major for quality grades.
Honors. Students who have a GPA of at least 3.0 overall and at least 3.5 in the major, and who present a senior essay or composition written in an advanced course or special tutorial (MUSI 29900) may be recommended for honors. This research paper or project may not be used to meet the B.A. paper or project requirement in another major. The optional Undergraduate Honors Seminar (MUSI 29500), offered each autumn, is designed to prepare students to write an honors essay. Students seeking honors should speak with the director of undergraduate studies no later than Spring Quarter of their third year.
