Music Major
Major Description
Major programs are put together by the students in consultation with their advisors. The programs reflect the individual interests and needs of the students. The department requires that a program proposal, including all music courses previously taken and those planned for the future, be submitted at the time of application to be a major. A major program should have a healthy balance between courses in music history and culture; courses in music analysis, theory, and composition; and courses in performance. It is a fundamental principle of the Wesleyan music program that the study of music and the experience of music should reinforce and inspire each other. A major program must show evidence of work in at least one musical tradition outside the area of the student’s prime concentration. The understanding that comes with new experiences is an essential part of the music opportunity at Wesleyan.
A music major's possible foci of study include Western classical music; new and experimental music; African American, Indonesian, Indian, and African musics; and European and American music outside the art tradition. These and other possibilities are not mutually exclusive but can be studied in combinations that reflect the interests of individual students. The music profession is international. In many areas of music study, at least one foreign language is essential.
Admission to the Major
Prerequisites to the music major:
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
One Course in the Music Theory Gateway Category | 1 | |
Materials and Design | ||
Tonal Harmony | ||
Theory and Analysis | ||
Theory of Jazz Improvisation |
Note: MUSC103, a prerequisite for all other theory classes, may be waived on the basis of a placement test. For AP Music Theory credit questions, see "Additional Information."
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
One Course in the History/Culture Gateway Category | 1 | |
World Music | ||
A Thousand Years of Music History | ||
Introduction to Experimental Music | ||
Introduction to South Indian Music | ||
Music and Theater of Indonesia | ||
Introduction to North Indian Music | ||
Musicking Body |
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
One Course in the Performance Category | 1 | |
.
Major Requirements
Music majors take three courses in each of three capabilities: theory/composition, history/culture, and performance, plus one interdisciplinary elective in each capability. Two additional courses from the MUSC300-level Seminars for Music Majors bring the number of music credits to 14. The required senior project or senior honors thesis brings the total number of music credits to 15 or 16, respectively.
Diversity of musical experience is a core value of the Music Department and is expected of all music majors. Towards that goal, each major’s program of study must include at least two Music credits out of the major’s main area of interest. In addition, interdisciplinary electives may be drawn from any department or program in the University (including Music). For an elective to be approved, it must clearly serve to develop the capability to which it is assigned.
The Music Department expects its majors to continue to refine and extend their performance skills throughout their undergraduate careers, which may mean accumulating more than 15 or 16 credits in music. No more than 16 credits in music may be counted toward the 32 credits required for graduation, however, and students must therefore complete 16 or 17 credits outside of music.
Courses For Non-Majors
With the exception of MUSC300, all classes offered by the Music Department are open to non-majors.
General Education
Music majors are advised to complete their General Education Expectations (three each of HA, NSM, and SBS courses). Prospective majors who have not taken enough courses outside of the Music Department may be refused entry into the major. Students who fail to fulfill the General Education Expectations are generally not considered for department prizes and honors.
Student Learning Goals
At graduation, music majors will be able to:
- Think analytically and critically about musical languages, histories, and cultures
- Write effectively about music
- Perform and/or create music with proficiency and creativity
- Engage unfamiliar traditions and paradigms of humanly organized sound with sensitivity and insight
- Apply their musical knowledge and skills within broader investigations of the human experience
Advanced Placement
AP theory credit is considered as follows:
AP Theory Credit on the student’s Wesleyan transcript
- Counts as one of the 4 theory/composition requirements for the music major
- Student needs to complete 3 additional theory/composition credits for the major
Passed the AP test with 4 or 5 but the AP Credit Will not appear on the student's Wesleyan transcript
- Student may begin theory coursework at a higher level
- Student will still be required to take 4 theory/composition courses for the major
Students with questions regarding AP Theory
- Should meet with the theory faculty of the Music Department teaching MUSC103 to discuss options
Prizes
Merit-based awards that may be awarded annually
Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Prize
Established in 1981 by a gift from Mrs. Tishler. Expanded in 1989 for excellence in piano performance.
Gwen Livingston Pokora Prize
Established in 1993, awarded annually to the outstanding undergraduate student in music composition.
Leavell Memorial Prize
Awarded annually to a senior who has done outstanding work in music and whose work manifests the ideals of the World Music Program in the Music Department.
Lipsky Prize
The gift of the Reverend and Mrs. Bailey G. Lipsky in memory of their son, Francis Jules Lipsky, Class of 1931, to the member of the choir possessing in the highest degree unfailing kindliness, quiet dignity, and brilliant scholarship.
Samuel C. Silipo Prize
Awarded annually for the most valuable player(s) of the Wesleyan orchestra.
Additional Information
Special Activities
The department supports a number of unusual activities, many of which are available to the student body in general as well as to music majors. Among them are ensembles in various Asian, African, American, and European traditions, as well as a variety of chamber ensembles.
Private Lessons Program
Private lessons are available for many instruments and voice in Western art music, African American music, and a variety of other musics from around the world. Lessons are considered one-credit-per-semester courses. An additional fee, $780 per semester, is charged for these private lessons (financial aid may be available to students eligible for university financial aid). Approved music majors in their junior and senior years are eligible for partial subsidy when taking one (1) private lesson, per semester, for academic credit with a private lessons teacher.
Departmental Colloquium
An ongoing departmental colloquium is intended for the entire music community. It includes presentations by Wesleyan faculty, students, and outside speakers and encourages general discussion of broad issues in the world of music.
Facilities
The study facilities include a working collection of musical instruments from many different cultures; a music-instrument manufacturing workshop; a 45-piece Javanese Gamelan Orchestra; a large formal concert hall and a small multipurpose concert hall; an electronic music studio coupled to a professional recording studio; a computer-arts studio capable of producing electronic music, video art, and environmental simulations; a music and record library; an electronic keyboard lab; and an archive of world music.
Courses
The following is a listing according to capabilities of courses offered by the department:
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Theory Gateways | ||
MUSC103 | Materials and Design | 1 |
MUSC201 | Tonal Harmony | 1 |
MUSC202 | Theory and Analysis | 1 |
MUSC210 | Theory of Jazz Improvisation | 1 |
History/Culture Gateways | ||
MUSC102 | World Music | 1 |
MUSC106 | A Thousand Years of Music History | 1 |
MUSC109 | Introduction to Experimental Music | 1 |
MUSC110 | Introduction to South Indian Music | 1 |
MUSC111 | Music and Theater of Indonesia | 1 |
MUSC115 | Introduction to North Indian Music | 1 |
MUSC117 | Musicking Body | 1 |
FYS Courses | ||
MUSC116F | Visual Sounds: Exploring the Landscape and Architecture of Musical Notation (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC117F | Musicking Body (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC118F | Bob Dylan and His World: Sources and Legacies (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC119F | Jazz in the 1960s (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC120F | Music, Place, and Culture: An Exploration of African American Soundscapes and Traditions (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC124F | Mapping Culture (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC125F | Music and Downtown New York, 1950-1970 (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC126F | Poetry and Song (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC128F | Music and the Moving Image: From Music Video to Film to Digital Media (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC130F | Wagner and Wagnerism: Richard Wagner's Music and Influence from the 1840s to the Present (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC131F | Gender and Sexuality in Hip Hop (FYS) | 1 |
MUSC133F | Caribbean Connection: Music and Culture of Trinidad and Tobago Music | 1 |
Theory/Composition | ||
MUSC203 | Chromatic Harmony | 1 |
MUSC204 | 20th Century Compositional Techniques | 1 |
MUSC205 | Song: Music and Text | 1 |
MUSC206 | 18th-Century Counterpoint | 1 |
MUSC207 | Orchestration | 1 |
MUSC208 | Post-Tonal Music Theory | 1 |
MUSC212 | South Indian Music: Solkattu | 1 |
MUSC219 | I am the Loudest Sound in This Room // I am the Softest Sound in This Room | 1 |
MUSC220 | Composing, Performing, and Listening to Experimental Music | 1 |
MUSC221 | Live-Electronics for Composition, Improvisation, and Sound Art | 1 |
MUSC223 | Music, Recording, and Sound Design | 1 |
MUSC230 | Music Theater Workshop (cross list) | 1 |
MUSC308 | Composition in the Arts | 1 |
History/Culture | ||
MUSC108 | History of Rock and R&B | 1 |
MUSC121 | Queering Russian Music | 1 |
MUSC125 | Music and Downtown New York, 1950-1970 | 1 |
MUSC127 | C-Pop in the Shadow of a Rising China | 1 |
MUSC129 | The Art of Listening | 1 |
MUSC241 | Mystical Visions, Medieval Women, and the Performance of Early Music (cross list) | 1 |
MUSC242 | Baroque and Classical Music | 1 |
MUSC243 | Music of the 19th Century | 1 |
MUSC244 | Music of the 20th Century | 1 |
MUSC245 | Music in the United States in the Nineteenth Century | 1 |
MUSC246 | The Symphony: Evolution of Genre | 1 |
MUSC248 | Music in Outer Space | 1 |
MUSC250 | Film and Folk Music of India | 1 |
MUSC261 | Music and Modernity in China, Japan, and Korea | 1 |
MUSC264 | Singing in a Strange Land: An Examination of the History of Black Sacred Songs | 1 |
MUSC265 | African Presences I: Music in Africa | 1 |
MUSC268 | The People's News: The Convergence of Gospel and Hip Hop in Modern Thought | .5 |
MUSC269 | Sacred and Secular African American Musics | 1 |
MUSC272 | History of Jazz in American Culture | 1 |
MUSC273 | BlaQueer Sounds: Queer Negotiations in African American Music | 1 |
MUSC274 | Hymnody in the United States Before the Civil War | 1 |
MUSC275 | Music and Downtown New York | 1 |
MUSC277 | Jazz Avant-Gardes | 1 |
MUSC278 | Survey of Jazz Styles | 1 |
MUSC285 | Global Hip Hop of the Non-Anglophone World (CLAC .50) | 0.5 |
MUSC290 | Research Skills in Ethnomusicology--IRL & Digital | 1 |
MUSC291 | The Gendering of Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective | 1 |
MUSC293 | Mapping Culture | 1 |
MUSC294 | Queer Opera | 1 |
MUSC295 | Global Hip-Hop | 1 |
MUSC296 | Soundscapes of Islam | 1 |
MUSC297 | Music of Central Asia: From Throat-Singing to Heavy Metal | 1 |
Major Seminars | ||
MUSC300 | Seminar for Music Majors | 1 |
MUSC304 | Arranging and Composing for Jazz Orchestra | 1 |
Performance/Study Groups | ||
MUSC405 | Private Music Lessons for Nonmusic Majors | 1 |
MUSC406 | Private Music Lessons for Declared Music Majors | 1 |
MUSC413 | Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC414 | Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble Advanced | 1 |
MUSC416 | Beginning Taiko--Japanese Drumming Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC418 | Taiko II: Japanese Drumming Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC428 | Chinese Music Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC429 | Voice Technique & Improvisation | 1 |
MUSC430 | South Indian Voice--Beginning | 1 |
MUSC431 | South Indian Voice--Intermediate | 1 |
MUSC432 | South Indian Voice--Advanced | 1 |
MUSC433 | South Indian Music--Percussion | 1 |
MUSC434 | Improvisational Techniques in South Indian Music | 1 |
MUSC435 | Keyboard Techniques for Composers and Conductors | 1 |
MUSC436 | Wesleyan Concert Choir | 1 |
MUSC437 | Singing to Your Instruments | 1 |
MUSC438 | Wesleyan University Collegium Musicum (cross list) | 1 |
MUSC439 | Wesleyan University Orchestra | 1 |
MUSC440 | Instrumental Conducting | 1 |
MUSC441 | Piping Performance: An Exploration of Artistic Expression through the Pipe Organ | 1 |
MUSC442 | Chamber Music Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC443 | Wesleyan Wind Ensemble (WesWinds) | 1 |
MUSC444 | African Popular Music Performance | 1 |
MUSC445 | West African Music and Culture: Beginners | 1 |
MUSC446 | West African Music and Culture--Intermediate | 1 |
MUSC447 | West African Music and Culture--Advanced | 1 |
MUSC448 | Ebony Singers: Gospel Music | 0.5 |
MUSC450 | Steelband | 1 |
MUSC451 | Javanese Gamelan--Beginners | 1 |
MUSC452 | Javanese Gamelan--Advanced | 1 |
MUSC455 | Jazz Ensemble | 1 |
MUSC456 | Jazz Improvisation Performance | 1 |
MUSC457 | Jazz Orchestra I | 1 |
MUSC458 | Jazz Orchestra II | 1 |
MUSC461 | Sound Systems: The How of Hearing | 1 |
MUSC463 | Teaching Music Lessons to Children in Local Schools | 1 |
MUSC464 | Laptop Ensemble | 1 |
Graduate Courses | ||
MUSC500 | Graduate Pedagogy | 0.5 |
MUSC505 | Topics in Applied Ethnomusicology/Public Musicology | 1 |
MUSC506 | Reading Ethnomusicology | 1 |
MUSC507 | Practicing Ethnomusicology | 1 |
MUSC508 | Graduate Seminar in Composition | 1 |
MUSC509 | Special Topics in Contemporary Music | 1 |
MUSC510 | Graduate Proseminar in World Music Studies | 1 |
MUSC513 | Improvisation in Cross-Cultural Perspective | 1 |
MUSC515 | Mapping Music as/in Motion: The Cartographies and Circulation of Aural Culture | 1 |
MUSC517 | Sex/Gender/Queerness in Music and Music Scholarship | 1 |
MUSC519 | Current Issues in Ethnomusicology | 1 |
MUSC520 | Explorations in Musicology | 1 |
MUSC521 | Seminar in Interdisciplinary Studies | 1 |
MUSC522 | Seminar in Comparative Music Theory | 1 |
MUSC530 | Department of Music Colloquium | 0.25 |
Honors
The senior project requirement may be satisfied by the completion of an honors project, a project that may encompass a composition, a concert, etc., but the honors project always contains a substantial written component; for this reason it is called the honors thesis. An honors thesis satisfies the departmental requirement for a senior project, even if it is not awarded honors. The honors thesis tutorial is always a two-semester undertaking.
Capstone Experience
All music majors are required to complete a senior project by the end of their final year. The purpose of the project is to give focus to the major by means of independent, creative work and to encourage independent study with the close advice and support of a faculty member. Students who choose to undertake an honors thesis may count this as their senior project.