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Music - B.A Degree

School of Music

Office: Mason Hall

(716) 673-3151
Dr. James Davis, Interim Chair of Music Studies

Email: music@fredonia.edu

Website:https://www.fredonia.edu/academics/colleges-schools/school-music/music/ba-music

The Bachelor of Arts in Music is conceived as a flexible program that guides the student toward broad learning and a wide range of professional applications. The School of Music has established four tracks of specialization. All tracks require 66 credit hours outside of Music.

Major Requirements

Musicianship Core:

MUS 115Music Appreciation

3
MUS 263Music History in Western Civilization I

3
MUS 264Music History in Western Civilization II

3
MUS 231Conducting I

2
MUS 121Aural Skills I

2
MUS 122Aural Skills II

2
MUS 123Music Theory I

3
MUS 124Music Theory II

3
MUS 221Aural Skills III

2
MUS 222Aural Skills IV

2
MUS 223Music Theory III

3
MUS 224Music Theory IV

3
MUS 118Piano Class, Elementary

2
MUS 100Recital-Seminar

0
MUS 120Concert Attendance

0
MUS 125Applied Music Major

2
MUS 126Applied Music Major

2
MUS 200Recital Seminar

0
MUS 225Applied Music Major

2
MUS 226Applied Music Major

2
Four semesters of one-credit ensembles

4
Total Credit Hours:45

NOTE:

TRACK SPECIALIZATIONS (select one)

  • Limited to 21-27 credit hours, 9 of which will be outside of music.

General Track:

In this plan, the student is able to explore subjects in and beyond music while fully developing musicianship skills and accessing four years of lessons and performance study.

MUS 217Piano Class, Intermediate

1
MUS 218Piano Class, Intermediate

1
MUS 300Recital Seminar

0
MUS 325Applied Music Major

2
MUS 326Applied Music Major

2
MUS 400Recital Seminar

0
MUS 425Applied Music Major

2
MUS 426Applied Music Major

2
Additional ensembles (1-credit ensemble each semester of residency)

4
Additional electives outside of music

9
Senior/Graduation Recital

0
Total Credit Hours:23

NOTE:

  • MUS 217 and MUS 218 are waived for students whose principal instrument is piano.

Additional requirements if voice is principal instrument:

MUS 033Opera Prod Practicum

0.5
MUS 137Diction for Singers-English

0.5
MUS 138Diction for Singers-Italian

0.5
MUS 139Diction for Singers-German

0.5
MUS 140Diction for Singers-French

0.5
Total Credit Hours:2.5

NOTE:

  • MUS 033: one semester of participation is required during the freshman year.
  • Voice students in the B.A. in Music-Applied degree program are encouraged to utilize foreign language offerings to partially complete the required 66 hours outside the major area.
 

Jazz Track:

Jazz is no longer a stylistic idiom in and of itself. This program treats jazz as an arm of American culture, allowing the student to fully develop performance skills while exploring its context within the whole of our complex society.

MUS 300Recital Seminar

0
MUS 325Applied Music Major

2
MUS 326Applied Music Major

2
MUS 400Recital Seminar

0
MUS 425Applied Music Major

2
MUS 426Applied Music Major

2
MUED 291Technology in Music I

2
MUS 233Musics of the World

3
HIST 33920th Century American Culture

3
ETHN 206African American Studies

3
Jazz-oriented ensembles

4
Senior/Graduation Recital

0
Total Credit Hours:23

Electives by advisement, selected from:

MUS 334Music of Latin America

3
MUS 267African American Music

3
HIST 334African American History Since 1877

3
MUSB 201The Business of Music

3
MUSB 301Music Copyrights

3
MUSB 320Music Contracts

3
COMM 465Intercultural Communication

3
Total Credit Hours:9
 

Entrepreneurship Track:

This program will provide the student a core of musical studies while exploring the world of business, non-profit organizations, foundation and corporate grants, and personal enterprise.

MUS 272Arts Advocacy and Leadership

3
MUS 363Music Entrepreneurship I

3
and
MUS 364Music Entrepreneurship II

3
MUS 492Music Capstone Project

3
ECON 205Principles of Microeconomics

3
ACCT 201Principles of Financial Accounting

3
Total Credit Hours:18

NOTE:

  • ECON 205 serves General Education - Social Sciences category and Critical Thinking & Analysis theme

Electives by advisement, selected from:

MUSB 201The Business of Music

3
MUSB 301Music Copyrights

3
MUSB 320Music Contracts

3
COMM 102Mass Media and Society

3
COMM 111Web Design

1
COMM 222Principles of Public Relations

3
COMM 244Introduction to Social Media

3
ECON 210Principles of Macroeconomics

3
Total Credit Hours:9
 

Music Technology Track:

As with many industries today, music and its related fields have been influenced by the advances of new technologies. This program builds a foundation of musical skills and the knowledge to apply them to current digital and technological trends.

SRT 105Recording Techniques for Music

1
 
MUED 291Technology in Music I

2
and
MUED 292Technology in Music II

2
 
MUS 440Composition for Electronic Media: Analog

3
and
MUS 441Composition for Electronic Media: Digital

3
or
MUS 442Digital Music Seminar: Digital Orchestration

3
and
MUS 443Digital Music Seminar: Sound Design

3
 
PHYS 121College Physics I

3
PHYS 311Acoustics I

3
Guided Specialization

6
Total Credit Hours:23

NOTE:

  • Guided Specialization: Courses fulfilling the guided specialization must be chosen in consultation with the advisor based on the student's potential career interest and the nature of the anticipated Capstone Project. These courses may be in the School of Music or in other departments with supporting courses.

Capstone

MUS 492Music Capstone Project

3
Total Credit Hours:3
 

History and Literature Track:

Musicology considers how music works as expressive testimony of people and events. It prepares students for the resurgent field of cultural criticism, thinking and writing about music and art. Students venture deeply into the history of music and explore across the humanities.

Music History Seminars, chosen from:

MUS 453The Baroque Period in Music

3
MUS 454The Classical Period in Music

3
MUS 455The Romantic Period in Music

3
MUS 456The Modern Period in Music

3
Total Credit Hours:6

Music History Electives, by advisement:

Total Credit Hours:6

Supporting courses outside of music

selected by consultation with the advisor, in areas such as history, art theory and history, and English and world literature.

Total Credit Hours:6

Capstone

MUS 492Music Capstone Project

3
Total Credit Hours:3

NOTE: * A total of two courses among these 12 credits may be selected to also satisfy General Education requirements.

Statement on Ensembles:

No undergraduate student will be allowed to enroll in more than two 1-credit ensembles in a given semester.  Undergraduate students enroll in up to four curricular ensembles (1-credit and ½-credit) in a semester.  Any student may be asked to be in more than one 1-credit ensemble in a semester, but they cannot be required to do so.  This does not pertain to the choral requirements for instrumental Music Education majors, as that is a requirement of the major. 

Each undergraduate student pursuing the General BA track is required to audition for and enroll in a 1-credit ensemble each semester.  See below for requirements for the other BA tracks. 

If an undergraduate student is in residence at Fredonia in a fifth (or later) undergraduate year, the ensemble participation requirement remains in force if the student is taking private lessons.

All students required to enroll in a 1-credit ensemble will do so on the instrument correlating to the primary studio assignment unless specifically exempted by the administration of the School of Music.  

Exemption from any ensemble policy requires agreement between the ensemble director(s) and the studio instructor, and may be appealed to the department chair.

Specific Degree Program Requirements

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music – General:  8 semesters of 1-credit ensemble (8 credits total).

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music – Jazz:  4 semesters of 1-credit ensembles, and 4-credits of jazz-orientated ensembles (8 credits total)

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music – Music Technology, Entrepreneurship, History and Literature:  4 semesters of 1-credit ensembles (4 credits total)