Music, Jazz and American Music Studies Track, B.A.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:    

Musicianship and Creativity

     1. An understanding of and the ability to read and realize musical notation.

     2. The ability to hear, identify, work conceptually, and implement the elements of music such as rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, timbre, and texture.

Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Writing

     3. The ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments about music.

     4. The ability to develop and defend arguments about music.

Disciplinary Knowledge

     5. An acquaintance with a wide selection of musical literature, genres, and cultural sources, as well as with current issues in music scholarship.

     6. An understanding of compositional processes, aesthetic properties of musical style, and the ways these shape and are shaped by artistic forces and historical and social contexts.

Music Performance

     7. A level of mastery in an instrument or voice commensurate with their level of study and specific to their area of focus, as defined by department standards and recommended by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) or National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

General Education Requirements (30-46 Credits)

Prerequisite coursework may be required to satisfy certain General Education courses and will count as elective credit.

Basic Requirements for all Music Options (26 Credits)

• Musicianship Requirement (8 Credits)

• MUSC 139 - Piano I Credit(s): 1
• MUSC 140 - Piano II Credit(s): 1
• MUSC 189 - Elements of Music Theory Credit(s): 3

• Select one:

• MUSC 256 - Elements of Diatonic Harmony and Polyphony Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 258 - Elements of Jazz Harmony Credit(s): 3

• Critical Histories and Methods (18 Credits)

• MUSC 226 - Music History I: Music and the European City, 1685-1803 Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 227 - Music History II: Key Figures in Music History, Beethoven to Beyoncé Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 236 - Thinking Through Music I Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 315 - Analytical Methods Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 327 - Thinking Through Music II Credit(s): 3

• Select one:

• MUSC 331 - Studies in Keyboard Literature: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 333 - Studies in Vocal Literature: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 334 - Music and Film: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 335 - Studies in Instrumental Literature: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 336 - Music, Gender, and Sexuality: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 337 - Music, Race, and Ethnicity: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 338 - Folk Music in New York State Credit(s): 3 or
• MUSC 339 - Folk and Popular Music Studies: (subtitle) Credit(s): 3

Option Requirements: Jazz and American Music Studies (19 Credits)

Departmental Writing Requirement

Each of the following courses includes a writing assignment in formal prose of about ten pages in length, following one of three approaches - analytical, historical, or a combination of these: MUSC 311 , MUSC 315 , MUSC 331 , MUSC 333 , MUSC 334 , MUSC 335 , MUSC 336 , MUSC 337 , MUSC 338 , and MUSC 339 . The organization of each paper should be clear, the writing appropriately literary, and grammatically and syntactically correct. The ideas should present a logical argument, as suggested by an earlier outline. The paper should be typed and doubled-spaced, with page numbers and one-inch margins. All sources consulted should be cited in a consistent manner in footnotes and a complete bibliography, following the standard format described in The Chicago Manual of Style or Kate Turabian’s Manual for Writers. It is the music historian’s responsibility to oversee the implementation of the writing requirement and to enforce a fair and equal standard for all papers submitted.

Students who plan to attend graduate school are strongly advised to complete two years of sudy of a language other than English.

Sample Course Map

For students who Matriculated prior to Fall 2022: please select the bulletin year in which you entered the college (matriculated) at the top right of this page.

Curriculum Map

• First Year
  • Fall - 14 Credits
    • MUSC 139 - Piano I  *
    • MUSC 189 - Elements of Music Theory  
    • MUSC 226 - Music History I: Music and the European City, 1685-1803  
    • INTD 105 - Writing Seminar: (subtitle)  
    • World Language 101 - Credit(s): 4
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • MUSC 140 - Piano II  
    • MUSC 256 - Elements of Diatonic Harmony and Polyphony  or MUSC 258 - Elements of Jazz Harmony  
    • MUSC 227 - Music History II: Key Figures in Music History, Beethoven to Beyoncé  
    • Natural Science with lab - Credit(s): 4
    • World Language 102 - Credit(s): 4
• Second Year
  • Fall - 16 Credits
    • MUSC 217 - Jazz in America  
      • Counts for Global Society: CAI and DPP
    • MUSC 236 - Thinking Through Music I  
    • MUSC 315 - Analytical Methods  
    • Global Society: WCV - Credit(s): 4
    • Global Society: CGC - Credit(s): 3
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • MUSC 232 - Folk Music in America  
    • MUSC 327 - Thinking Through Music II  
    • Global Society: SST - Credit(s): 3
    • Math/Quantitative - Credit(s): 3
    • Elective - Credit(s): 3
• Third Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • MUSC Critical Histories and Methods Elective - Credit(s): 3
    • Related requirement - Credit(s): 4
    • Electives - Credit(s): 8
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • MUSC Elective or Related Requirement - Credit(s): 3
    • Integrative and Applied Learning - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 9
• Fourth Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • MUSC Elective - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 12
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • Electives - Credit(s): 15

KEY - Participation in a Global Society (PGS)

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