Bachelor of Fine Arts and Certificate of Fine Arts General Requirements
When students enter the BFA Program in Music, they are regarded as holistic "Music Artists." As each student gains experience with the spectrum of curriculum offerings available, always in regular consultation with a mentor, they naturally develop particular concentrations of study that best suit their artistic and professional goals.
The BFA Program in Music contains the following métier components: 1) a Core Curriculum required for all students, 2) a variety of Specialization curricula with required courses, 3) prerequisites intended to prepare students for particular Specializations, and 4) BFA 3-4 Music requirements for students who do not proceed with a Specialization curriculum. In addition, a Music Theory Minor and certain optional Concentrations in Composition are also available for those who wish to pursue them. A single course can simultaneous fulfill a requirement in each of the Core Curriculum, a music Specialization, the Music Theory Minor, and an optional concentration in music, but no single course can satisfy more than one requirement within any one of these.
When students apply to the BFA Program in Music, they have the option of declaring their intention to concentrate their work in a particular curriculum Specialization, or they may be accepted to enter as Undeclared and allow their Specialization to emerge. Undeclared students may subsequently declare their intention to adopt a Specialization, which must be approved by the Director of that Specialization. However, the declaration to adopt a Specialization curriculum must be made prior to the time of the Mid-Residence Review, which takes place before the third year (BFA-3) of study, normally in the BFA-2-2 semester. To be prepared for this, undeclared students must take any necessary prerequisite courses for their Specialization and have a portfolio and performance assessment review approved by Specialization faculty. In special cases, it may be possible to declare more than one or a combination of Specializations, and students may also apply prerequisite coursework to more than one Specialization. When students complete the requirements of their Specialization(s), appropriate notations are placed on their official transcripts. Students who elect not to declare a Specialization, or who are not approved by faculty to proceed with a Specialization curriculum, will be automatically required to adopt the BFA 3-4 Music curriculum. Upon graduation, those students will receive a BFA in Music without a Specialization curriculum indicated on their transcripts.
Students must maintain close contact with their faculty mentors, who can guide them in selecting courses that will best serve their individual educational and career objectives and prepare them for their intended Specialization(s). Note that all students are required to develop a cumulative portfolio of work each year, which is also reviewed by their mentors and appropriate faculty.
Back to top
BFA Core Curriculum
All undergraduate music students must take core curriculum courses. These courses are intended to foster the development of skills in the essential areas of music cultures and literature, music theory and practice, performance experiences, making original work, new methods and technologies, professional development, and breadth of experience in the arts.
Learning Goals
By the time they graduate, students will have had opportunity to:
- develop a forward-looking approach to music-making that is exploratory while recognizing precedent and tradition, and that is appropriate to the challenges and opportunities in today's rapidly developing climate of global music,
- engage music from diverse historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts–including new emerging musical forms and musical traditions from around the world,
- acquire a broad and strong foundation of technique appropriate to their individual artistic and professional aspirations,
- systematically analyze and document in detail the materials and structure of representative musical examples, employing established analytical techniques and vocabulary wherever these are useful,
- develop sophisticated musicianship skills, including the ability to identify melodic, rhythmic and harmonic ideas by ear with sufficient clarity and speed for success as a professional musician in their discipline,
- perform within ensemble contexts and gain experience with the particular demands and rewards of performing with other musicians,
- make distinctive original music reflecting their own creative interests,
- explore musical possibilities afforded by current technology and their application to the student’s own musical work,
- discover collaborative possibilities through engagement with other artistic métiers,
- produce and present professional-quality documentation of their artistic work in appropriate media,
- acquire skills applicable to planning and sustaining a career in music,
- establish strong communication skills and an ability to express musical and scholarly ideas in verbal form,
- demonstrate productive self-discipline reflecting an awareness that art is less an end result than a process in which excellence and self-transcendence are pursued constantly.
Core Curriculum: Summary Listing of Requirements
The Core Curriculum requirements listed immediately below are required for all undergraduate students. Courses completed to meet Core Curriculum requirements can be used to meet Specialization Requirements if approved by Dean and Mentor in review.
MUSIC CULTURES & LITERATURE
- MAIC100 Survey of 20th & 21st C. Music
- MAIC101 World Music Survey
MUSIC THEORY & PRACTICE
- MPRF103 Class Piano (or other approved keyboard course)
- MTHY101 Practical Musicianship A
- MTHY102 Practical Musicianship B
- MTHY111 Tonal Theory & Applications A
- MTHY112 Tonal Theory & Applications B (not required for the Music Technology Specialization)
- MTHY210 Non-Tonal Theories
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCES
- ONE course chosen from:
- MTEC100 Intro to Concert Production (in BFA2)
- MTEC101 Concert Production I
- MBLExxx TWO World Music Ensemble electives (see listing below)
- MBLExxx TWO additional ensemble courses
MAKING ORIGINAL WORK
- TWO courses chosen from:
- MCMP110 Introduction to Composition
- MCMP309 Words for Music
- MCMP310 Jazz Composition
- MCMP314 Jazz Arranging
- MCMP330-339 Writing for…
- MCMP342 Composition for Film & Video
- MCMP465 Composition with Max/MSP
- MPRF330 TRIG: Electronic Percussion
- MTEC270 History of Electronic Dance Music
- MTHY215 Song Writing & Analysis
- MLSNxxx non-required composition lessons
NEW METHODS & TECHNOLOGIES
- TWO courses chosen from
- ICOM111 Intro to Sound Production
- ICOM201 Introduction to Programming I
- ICOM202 Introduction to Programming II
- ICOM301 Digital Fabrication
- IDAR201 Videomaking for Digital Artists
- MCMP404 Field Recording Workshop
- MSCM310 Acoustics for Musicians
- MTEC150 Fundamentals of Computer Music
- MTEC360 Audio Signal Processing
- MTEC365 Digital Recording Studio
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- TWO classes chosen from:
- AAIC323 Practice & Pedagogy: ArtPilot
- ICOM101 Media & Web Development
- MAIC403 Pedagogy I: Teaching Artistry
- MAIC404 Pedagogy II: Best Practices
- MINTxxx Internship in Music
- MPCD350 Career Designs for Musicians
- MPCD420 Teaching the Voice
- MPCD460 Creative Entrepreneurship
- Other professional development coursework as approved by mentor
- MCMP290 Portfolio Review (each Spring Semester, 4 classes)
BREADTH IN THE ARTS
- Wintersession (4 units of coursework with subject code MITM, taken in in January)
- TWO elective courses in Art, Dance, Film/Video, Creative Writing, or Theater (course in an artistic métier not taught by School of Music faculty)
Back to top
Core Curriculum: World Music Ensemble Options
The following listing of world music ensemble electives is provided for ease of reference.
- MBLE103 Beg. World Percussion Ensemble
- MBLE203 Adv. World Percussion Ensemble
- MBLE104 Tabla Ensemble
- MBLE201 Beginning African Ensemble
- MBLE202 Advanced African Ensemble
- MBLE205 Azoli Highlife Ensemble
- MBLE206 Talking Drum Ensemble
- MBLE210 Beginning Javanese Gamelan
- MBLE211 Advanced Javanese Gamelan
- MBLE220 Beginning Balinese Gamelan
- MBLE221 Advanced Balinese Gamelan
- MBLE222 Gender Wayang Ensemble
- MBLE223 Balinese Flute Ensemble
- MBLE224 Kecak Ensemble
- MBLE230 North Indian Ensemble
- MBLE235 Japan Ensemble
- MBLE240 Beginning Persian Ensemble
- MBLE241 Advanced Persian Ensemble
- MPRF221 African Song
- MBLE250 African Dance
- MBLE252 Balinese Dance
- MBLE254 Javanese Dance (Women)
- MBLE256 Javanese Dance (Men)
- MBLE260 The Baltic Voice
- MPRF328 Latin Percussion
- MPRF223 Beginning Shakuhachi Workshop
- MTHY120 Beginning Svar Graam (Vocal)
- MTHY121 Beginning Svar Graam (Instrumental)
- MTHY322 Advanced Svar Graam (Vocal)
- MTHY323 Advanced Svar Graam (Instrumental)
Back to top
Core Curriculum: A Typical Course Sequence Semester-by-Semester
Whichever core courses are required by a student's specialization, there may be some variability as to when they are taken depending on individual placement, experience and development. However, certain strict deadlines do apply (see Music Theory and Skills Deadlines below).
First Year
First Semester (BFA1-1)
- MTHY101 Practical Musicianship A
- MTHY111 Tonal Theory & Applications A
- MAIC100 Survey of 20th & 21st C. Music
- MLSN003 Class Piano (or alternative as approved by instructor; see list of alternatives above)
Second Semester (BFA1-2)
- MTHY102 Practical Musicianship B
- MTHY112 Tonal Theory & Applications B
- MAIC101 World Music Survey
Second Year
First Semester (BFA2-1)
- MTHY203 Practical Musicianship C
- MTHY210 Non-Tonal Theories
- M… World Music Ensemble elective (see the list of ensemble electives above)
Second Semester (BFA2-2)
- MTHY204 Practical Musicianship D (if required)
- MTEC100 (or MTEC101 for Music Tech majors) Intro to Concert Production
- M… World Music Ensemble elective (see the list of ensemble electives above)
Third Year
First Semester (BFA3-1)
- M… Ensemble elective
- course in Making Original Work (see course listing above)
- course in New Methods & Technologies (see course listing above)
Second Semester (BFA3-2)
- M… Ensemble elective
- course in Making Original Work (see course listing above)
- course in New Methods & Technologies (see course listing above)
Fourth Year
First Semester (BFA4-1)
- course in Professional Development (see course listing above)
- course in an artistic métier outside the School of Music (not taught by music faculty)
Second Semester (BFA4-2)
- course in Professional Development (see course listing above)
- course in an artistic métier outside the School of Music (not taught by music faculty)
All core curriculum requirements should have been completed by the end of BFA3.
Back to top