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

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

I. Formal Understanding: Students will hear, identify, and symbolically analyze the formal rudiments of music, including rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, and form.

II. Historical Understanding: Students will identify and describe the characteristic features of various musical styles and practices and the ways these shaped and were shaped by broader historical and social contexts.

III. Communication: Students will critically evaluate, develop (including research), and defend arguments about music in both formal and informal settings.

IV. Difference and Power: Students will critically identify and articulate the ways that difference and power shape musical practice and values in specific socio-historical contexts.

V. Performance: Students will demonstrate technical, interpretive, and collaborative aspects of music performance on their primary instrument or voice.

General Education Requirements (30-40 Credits)

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

Basic Requirements for all Music Options (18 Credits)

• Foundations in Music and Musicianship:

• MUSC 189 - Elements of Music Theory Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 256 - Elements of Diatonic Harmony and Polyphony Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 315 - Music Analysis Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 327 - Thinking Through Music Credit(s): 3

•  

  Select one from Elements of Musicology:

• MUSC 217 - Jazz in America Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 226 - History of Western Music I from 1500-1800 Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 227 - History of Western Music II from 1800-2000 Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 231 - Introduction to Ethnomusicology Credit(s): 3
• MUSC 232 - Folk Music in America Credit(s): 3

•  

  Select one seminar in Musicology or Ethnomusicology from:

• 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 (18 Credits)

Departmental Writing Requirement

Program Writing Requirement: As part of their degree requirements, Music BA students must complete a writing portfolio consisting of two short writing samples and a reflective statement. Writing samples should represent two different genres of musicological writing (history, ethnography, score analysis, criticism) and should illustrate an understanding of the generic conventions of musicological writing, including an understanding of the sorts of claims appropriate to each genre and the types of evidence necessary to support those claims. At least one writing sample should include a significant analytical example.

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 - 16 Credits
    • MUSC 189
    • MUSC 217
    • Math/Quantitative
    • Global Soc: WCV
    • World Language 101
  • Spring - 16 Credits
    • MUSC 256
    • MUSC 232
    • INTD 105
    • Global Soc: DPP
    • World Language 102
• Second Year
  • Fall - 16 Credits
    • MUSC 315 (even year) or MUSC 226 or 231 (odd)
    • MUSC 327
    • Global Soc: CAI
    • Natural Science
    • Elective
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • MUSC 227 or Elective
    • MUSC 331-339
    • MUSC Related Requirement
    • Global Soc: CGC
    • Global Soc: SST
• Third Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • MUSC 315 (even year) or MUSC Elective (odd)
    • MUSC Elective
    • Elective (9)
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • MUSC Elective
    • Electives (12)
• Forth Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • Electives 
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • Electives 

KEY - Participation in a Global Society (PGS)

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