Music

The Bachelor of Arts in Music option in Music Education is designed to prepare students with the skills and knowledge to successfully teach music in K-12 schools (entrance audition required). Students receive a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree that focuses on music education. Completion of this curriculum satisfies the pre-professional academic requirements for the Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music. The Music department’s program is fully approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

The curriculum provides a broad-based comprehensive approach to the teaching of music through experiences in aural skills; theory; improvisation; technology; conducting and arranging; history; world music; choral, general and instrumental methods; observation and field experiences; small and large ensembles; and private lessons. Music education students study with the same teachers and perform with the same ensembles as the performance majors.

The CSU, Northridge Music department maintains a close relationship with area schools allowing students many early opportunities to observe and experience teaching prior to student teaching. These schools provide diverse urban and suburban settings with mentor teachers for student teacher placements during the credential program.

The credential program is a fifth year of study that follows the B.A. degree. This program, which includes two semesters of student teaching, must be completed to receive the California teaching credential that is required to teach in California Public Schools.

Credential Program

To be cleared for the credential program, a Music Education major must meet all of the Music Education requirements, including the Music Education Assessment and additional criteria found in the Credential section of this Catalog.

A. Admission to the Major

Admission to the major in Music for all undergraduate degrees is determined by audition. Those auditioning for the Performance options must exhibit a high-performance competence in the audition. Audition procedures and standards are listed on the Department of Music—Audition and Placement website.

Transfer students seeking admission to Performance options must audition at the appropriate entrance level determined by the number of transferable units accepted by the University. (Example: At the time of the audition, students with more than 60 transferable units must demonstrate musical proficiency at the junior level for admission to a Performance option.) Exceptions to this policy are rare and are at the discretion of the Music department.

B. Lesson and Ensemble Requirements

To qualify for individual lessons in any semester, undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units, including lesson units and the correct number of ensemble units required by their option.

Enrollment in the designated ensemble(s) for the student’s instrument is a corequisite of enrollment in private lessons each semester of enrollment. Students who do not meet this requirement by the third week of the semester will not be eligible for lessons that semester. Students enrolled in music ensembles in the Fall semester normally are expected to re-enroll in the same ensemble for the Spring semester. The nature of these classes makes it essential that consistent personnel be maintained throughout the year.

All students enrolled in individual lessons must demonstrate their progress in the major before a faculty jury at the end of each semester of study. Students receiving lower than a grade of “C-” in that semester of lessons will need to take additional study at their own expense to achieve their required level of performance before resuming department-paid lessons.

C. Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

1. Lower Division Required Courses (24 units)

MUS 110A Keyboard Musicianship I (1)
MUS 110B Keyboard Musicianship II (1)
MUS 111/L Musicianship I and Lab (1/1)
MUS 112/L Musicianship II and Lab (1/1)
MUS 191/L Fundamentals of Music Technology and Lab (2/1)
MUS 201 Style/Literature of Western Music I (3)
MUS 202 Style/Literature of Western Music II (3)
MUS 210A Keyboard Musicianship III (1)
MUS 211/L Musicianship III and Lab (1/1)
Individual Lessons (1-1)*
Ensembles (4)

2. Upper Division Required Courses (6 units)

MUS 307 Music from a Global Perspective (3)
MUS 483ME/L Music Entrepreneurship and Lab (1/1)
MUS 495 Senior Recital/Project (1)

3. Music Education Option Requirements (45 units)

a. Additional Required Music Courses (24 units)

MUS 212/L Musicianship IV and Lab (1/1)
MUS 213 Harmony I (3)
MUS 214 Harmony II (3)
MUS 233 Keyboard Application for Music Education (1)
Individual Lessons (5)*
Ensembles (10)

*Lessons, including the 2 units in the core, must be on one instrument.

b. Core Music Education Courses (14 units)

MUS 219A Jazz Improvisation (1)
MUS 266 Foundations and Field Observation in Music Education (2)
MUS 334 String Instruments (1)
MUS 335 Woodwind Instruments (1)
MUS 336 Brass Instruments (1)
MUS 337 Percussion Instruments (1)
MUS 363/L Choral Conducting and Arranging and Lab (2/1)
MUS 364/L Instrumental Conducting and Arranging and Lab (2/1)
MUS 479 General Music Practicum (1)

c. Emphasis Courses (7 units)

i. Choral Emphasis

MUS 339AB Diction (1-1)
MUS 468/L Pedagogy of Singing and Lab (1/1)
MUS 473/L Choral Methods and Practicum and Lab (2/1)

ii. Instrumental Emphasis

MUS 338A Elements of Vocal Technique (1)
MUS 369 Field Band Techniques (1)
MUS 474/L Instrumental Methods and Practicum and Lab (2/1)

Select one Pedagogy Course from the following three:

MUS 464 String Pedagogy (2) (String Majors)
MUS 465 Wind Pedagogy (2) (Wind Majors)
MUS 467 Percussion Pedagogy (2) (Percussion Majors)

4. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog, including 3 units of coursework meeting the Ethnic Studies (ES) graduation requirement.

9 units are satisfied by the following courses in the major: MUS 202 satisfies C1 Arts; MUS 191/L satisfies E Lifelong Learning; and MUS 307 satisfies 3 units of upper division Comparative Cultural Studies.

If taken, MUS 397R/L satisfies B5 Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning.

Total Units in the Major/Option: 75

General Education Units: 39

Additional Units: 6

Total Units Required for the B.A. Degree: 120

Requirements for the Credential Program

1. Completed B.A. requirements and graduated.
2. An overall 3.0 GPA in Music courses.
3. No grade lower than a “B-” in any of the Subject Matter courses.
4. Successfully completed the Music Education Assessment (Information is available in the Music Education advisor’s office).
5. Met additional criteria found in the Credential section of this Catalog.

For more information about this program, please contact john.whitener@csun.edu.