General Music Major

Music Forum is a course designed to provide an opportunity for all music students and faculty to share in a weekly educational experience. Each forum will have a different musical focus. Students will have opportunities to perform, witness performances by faculty and guest artists, as well as gain insights into the industry from guest lecturers and music professionals. Forum will also provide an opportunity for the presentation of collaborative audio-visual projects between departments.

MUSC 258: Ensemble III. Ensembles, required of all students, are the focal point of the Music program. All students are placed by audition in one or more ensembles. Students must participate in a minimum of four ensembles to graduate. Types of ensembles offered will focus on contemporary music including rock, funk, fusion, jazz and vocal, with the goal of developing both the student's repertoire and improvisational abilities. Students are encouraged to participate in as many different types of ensembles as possible. A graduation showcase will be required from all students majoring in Music Performance.

MUSC 264: Instrumental Lab III. This course is designed to help students develop instrumental skills. Grouped by instrument, students learn the fundamentals of reading, articulation, balance, dynamics, styles and technique as related to their particular instrument. This course is taught "instrument-in-hand" and also uses audio and visual aids to explore different techniques and styles. A requirement in all majors, students have weekly assignments.

MUSC 274: Contemporary Harmony III. This course continues with the principles of contemporary harmony in Harmony 2. Topics are expanded to include Deceptive Resolution, Substitute Dominants, Diminished Chords, Modulation, Blues and Chord Scale Relationships. This course provides students with a practical working knowledge of harmony in various styles of contemporary music as it applies to composition and improvisation.

MUSC 280: Ear Training III. This course continues to develop an aural perception of intervals, pitches, seventh chords, chord progressions, melodies and rhythms. The focus of this semester is on minor and secondary dominant melodies and chord progressions and 9th chords. The rhythms explore sixteenth note syncopated rhythms as well as cut time, 3/8, 6/8 and 5/4 meters

The purpose of this course is three-fold: to provide the student with an awareness of the career possibilities in the field of music; to introduce students to some of the major aspects of the music profession; and to introduce students to basic general business practices. This course is of particular benefit to students planning a career in the music industry.

MUSC 268: Songwriting I. This course is designed to help you prepare for survival in the competitive world of the songwriter's market. Learn about all types of styles while striving to define your own. Special attention is paid to the rudiments of songwriting: creativity, basic theory (usage of basic rhythms, scales, harmony, melodic patterns, lyrics, etc.), basic styles (pop, rock, folk, country, etc.), production patterns, and the legalities of the music business. The class also spends time analyzing the work of other writes (successful and unsuccessful; those who have maintained artistic integrity; those who have not).

MUSC 272: Improvisation I. In this course, students will begin applying the basic tools of melodic and harmonic improvisation. Melodic interpretation, phrasing, rhythmic density, motivic development, pacing, voice leading, and harmonic accuracy will all be explored through performance and analysis. The class will examine classic solos in a variety of idioms. Students will write and transcribe melodic improvisation. The class is taught with "instrument in hand", performing with teacher and students.

MUSC 282: Film Scoring I. This hands-on course focuses on TV and radio broadcasting. Students are required to score themes and cues for various TV and radio shows using mostly electronic equipment along with one or two live musicians.

MUSC 284: Composition 1. This course is designed to improve the skills of composers by presenting a wide variety of compositional tools in styles ranging from Classical to Jazz, Folk, Rock and Pop. By studying the recordings and scores of composers throughout history each student gains a musical awareness that strengthen their own compositional process. Particular attention is paid to the "building blocks of a composition;" the musical elements such as melody, harmony and rhythm that are at the core of the creative process. In class performance and analysis of student compositions occurs on a weekly basis and midterm and final assignments are recorded.

This course is an applied study of the software and concepts used in the recording home studio environment. The primary focus of the course is in the use of Pro Tools LE for the self-recording musician. Topics include: mixing console application, editing techniques, microphone technique, an introduction to effects processing for final mixing, auxiliary buss in the virtual mixing board, use of patch bay, outboard effects, and file maintenance.

Music Forum is a course designed to provide an opportunity for all music students and faculty to share in a weekly educational experience. Each forum will have a different musical focus. Students will have opportunities to perform, witness performances by faculty and guest artists, as well as gain insights into the industry from guest lecturers and music professionals. Forum will also provide an opportunity for the presentation of collaborative audio-visual projects between departments.

MUSC 253: Private Lesson IV A. A weekly one-hour private instrumental or vocal lesson is provided for all first year students. Instruction is available on keyboard, woodwinds, saxophone, percussion, guitar, electric and acoustic, bass, and voice. Lessons are designed to increase students' technical and musical abilities.

MUSC 259: Ensemble IV, required of all students, are the focal point of the Music program. All students are placed by audition in one or more ensembles. Students must participate in a minimum of four ensembles to graduate. Types of ensembles offered will focus on contemporary music including rock, funk, fusion, jazz and vocal, with the goal of developing both the student's repertoire and improvisational abilities. Students are encouraged to participate in as many different types of ensembles as possible. A graduation showcase will be required from all students majoring in Music Performance.

MUSC 265: Instrumental Lab IV. This course is designed to help students develop instrumental skills. Grouped by instrument, students learn the fundamentals of reading, articulation, balance, dynamics, styles and technique as related to their particular instrument. This course is taught "instrument-in-hand" and also uses audio and visual aids to explore different techniques and styles. A requirement in all majors, students have weekly assignments.

MUSC 275: Contemporary Harmony IV. This course continues with the principles of contemporary harmony in Harmony 3. Topics are expanded to include further concepts of Deceptive Resolution, Non-functional Dominant chords, Contiguous Dominants, Pedal Point and Ostinato, Modal harmony, Compound Chords, and Constant Structures. This course provides students with a practical working knowledge of harmony in various styles of contemporary music as it applies to areas of composition and improvisation.

MUSC 281: Ear Training IV: Upon successful completion of this course you have will have mastered basic aural skills for professional musicianship. The emphasis on this level is chromatic and modal melodies. Mixed meters and odd time signatures are explored. Emphasis is given to transcribing pre-recorded songs.

MUSC 262: Survey of Recording Techniques. An introduction to recording principles and practices, this course is open to students whose major is not music production. Topics include a brief history of the multi-track recording studio, procedures of a recording studio, procedures of a recording session, fundamentals of microphones and audio effects.

MUSC 269: Songwriting II. This course is designed to strengthen your songwriting skills in every respect. Closer attention is paid to marketing skills, legal procedures, finding one's personal niche in the music business (whether to focus on one's own style, concentrate on writing tunes for other acts, or both; whether to go through a publisher or be your own publisher; etc.). Co-writing music is to be explored (you put lyrics to someone else's music; they put music to yours). Class time centers around the analysis of successful songwriters in every genre.

MUSC 273: Advanced Improvisation II. This course continues the concepts of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic variety learned in Improvisation I. These concepts are then applied to the stylistic considerations of rock, funk, Latin, jazz, blues, and calypso music. Greater emphasis is given to harmonic accuracy through arpeggio and scale studies. Students will examine classic solos in class, as well as transcribe and perform their own transcriptions of improvisations. Improvisation is also examined in the context of rhythmic section accompaniment.

MUSC 283: Film Scoring II. This hands-on course focuses on TV and radio broadcasting. Students are required to score themes and cues for various TV and radio shows using mostly electronic equipment along with one or two live musicians.

MUSC 285: Composition II. This course continues the study of compositional building blocks started in Composition 1 with an additional focus on arranging and orchestration. Topics include minimalism, world rhythm studies, chord progressions and voicings in classical and contemporary styles, and string and vocal arranging. Composers of interest include Sting, John Lennon, Bach, Stravinsky, Steve Reich, and Miles Davis.

This course is a continuation of MUSC 288. The primary focus is the advanced use of Pro Tools LE. Topics will include: the musical application of effects plug-ins, computer components and related technology, and other recording formats.

This course, Music 2xx Fundamentals of Private Studio Teaching, studies aspects of effective private studio teaching. Topics covered, but not limited to, include: pedagogy, literature, technology, business plans, methods and materials to support a teacher’s attributes and philosophies essential to the successful private instructor.