UNIVERSITY CATALOG 2012 - 2014 menu

Music


Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication


B.A. Music

Requirements for the Bachelor Degrees in Music 

After admission to the University and admission to the Music Department (audition for Performance Options and audition plus interview for other Options), students will need to complete required course work in the Music Core curriculum and in an Option. Successful progress toward the Degree is in part determined by appropriate course work taken in a sequential manner and by earning a grade of “C-” or better in all courses in the Music curriculum, including those outside the Music Department. Students will not be admitted to Upper Division study in Music until all Lower Division course work has been successfully completed.

Lesson and Ensemble Requirements 

To qualify for individual lessons in any semester, an undergraduate student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units, including lesson units and the correct number of ensemble units required by his or her 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.

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.

Credential Program 

A Music Education Major, to be cleared for the Credential Program, must have met all of the Music Education requirements, including the Music Education Assessment and additional criteria found in the Credential Section of the current University Catalog.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree 

1. Lower Division Required Courses (26 units) 

MUS 101 Your Career in Music: College and Beyond (2)

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 (3)

MUS 201 Style and Literature of Western Music I (3)

MUS 202 Style and 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 (3-4 Units) 

MUS 307 Music from a Global Perspective (3)

MUS 495 Senior Recital/Project (Applies only to B.A.

Music Education and Breadth Studies) (1)


The Major 

Research increasingly confirms and reveals the power and potential of music in human development. The study of music, requiring a variety of learning modalities, develops essential skills that carry over into the study of other fields. The performance components allow for deep cultivation of its expressive potential. The student also has opportunity to develop maturity and poise in public settings, leading to growth in self-confidence and flexibility. In group music making, the student becomes part of an artistic community, reaping the satisfaction of working with others toward common goals and the sense of accomplishment resulting from fine performance.

Careers 

Music Department graduates are gainfully employed in diverse positions throughout the world, including teachers in public and private schools and colleges, practicing music therapists; conductors of orchestras and bands; published composers and arrangers; award-winning recording artists; and performers in renowned opera companies, major symphony orchestras, recording studios and professional chamber ensembles; and many involvements with the entertainment industry in Southern California and elsewhere.

Academic Advisement 

All Music Majors are required to meet with the designated faculty in each Option during the last 3 weeks of each semester for mandatory academic advisement. Students who fail to meet with his/her advisor will not be allowed to enroll through System Registration, which could result in missing his/her System Registration Priority Registration time.

Undergraduate Music Advisor Lea Antone is available to assist students with general music advisement. Questions regarding academic status, selecting a major, changing major, Degree Progress Reports (DPR), unofficial transcripts, graduation and transfer evaluation should be directed to her attention.

Questions regarding graduate studies should be directed to the Graduate Advisor at (818) 677-3181.

Admission to the Major 

Students wanting to select Music as a major are expected to have had a variety of pre-college cognitive and affective experiences. These could include high school performance, high school theory programs, individual private instruction with music professionals, and music professional and vocational experiences. Admission to the Major in Music for all undergraduate degrees is determined by audition. Students must complete this audition and be accepted to the Department prior to being accepted in the major. Those auditioning for the Bachelor of Music Degree must exhibit a high performance competence in the audition.

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.

Students admitted on a probationary basis to the Bachelor of Music Degree Program will receive 1 semester of B.M. lessons (2 units). If probationary status continues beyond 1 semester, students will receive B.A. lessons (1 unit).

All persons applying for admission to a Graduate Program in Music must take placement examinations in history and theory, in addition to any entrance requirements for the field of study.