Music, B.A.

Music (B.A.) 180 units

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Program Description

The Music Department at CSUEB integrates rigorous academic training with a driving passion for the making of great music: the classics from the European-American tradition, great jazz, the new ‘classics’ of our own time, world music, experimental music and more. With a rich variety of opportunities for performing and composing and a deep commitment to teacher education, the Music Department offers something for all students seriously committed to pursuing a life in music.

Student performance groups are open to all qualified students and one need not be a music major to participate. There are more than twenty active ensembles including Symphonic Band, Jazz Workshop, University Singers, Orchestra, Opera Workshop, New Music Ensemble, Chorus, Oratorio Society, Percussion Ensemble, Chamber Singers, and many small vocal and instrumental ensembles.

The Department of Music offers Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree majors which are fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. All music majors have the advantage of continuous applied lessons with instrumental, vocal, or composition teachers on the faculty. A music minor is also offered.

The Music Department occupies a large, fully-equipped, modern facility with a number of special resources: a Media Center for Music Technology; Music Resource Center, with thousands of scores and recordings; Choral Music Education Student Resource Center, with thousands of choral octavos and conducting resources; large musical equipment collection for student use; Recital Hall with custom acoustical design; and professional recording facilities.

The Music curriculum is designed to serve the needs of students who have career goals in performance, composition, music technology, jazz, public school or private teaching, or graduate study, as well as those who are pursuing other fields of study and choose music as an elective.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a B.A. in Music from Cal State East Bay will be able to:

1. Quickly identify rhythms and pitches and maintain pitch accuracy for application in performance or composition;
2. Bring an enriched tone production with improved technical skills to the performance of their primary instrument;
3. Apply critical and creative thinking and analytical reasoning to address complex challenges in music theory and history;
4. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively and respectfully with other musicians in a performance context; and
5. Integrate musical ideas, methods, theory, and practice, and communicate them to others clearly and persuasively, in classroom and performance settings.

Career Opportunities

• Choral Director
• Composer
• Arranger
• Music Professor/Teacher
• Concert Artist
• Symphony Member
• Jazz Musician
• Conductor
• Film/Video Composer
• Musical Theater Director
• DJ
• Freelance Performer

Scholarships

The Music Department annually awards a number of scholarships to entering and returning music majors. For more information, contact the Music Department office at (510) 885-3135.

Preparation

For Advanced Placement course equivalencies, see Registration chapter.

Admission

Students wanting to select music as a major are expected to have had a variety of pre-college cognitive and affective experiences, such as high school performance, high school theory programs, individual private instruction with music professionals, or music professional experiences. Admission to the major in music is determined by audition. Students must complete this audition and be accepted to the department prior to being accepted in the major.

Transfer students will be placed at the appropriate applied lesson level determined by their successful audition. Transfer students will also be subject to a proficiency examination as described below under “Special Requirements of the Department of Music, Section IV. Proficiency Examinations.”

Standards and Guidelines for Auditions

May be found on the Department of Music website. http://music.csueastbay.edu.

Applied Lessons:

• Each Music major will declare an applied music discipline (keyboard, voice, wind, brass, percussion, strings, jazz, guitar, harp, composition) with the department.
  • Majors wishing to choose composition as their applied music discipline are required to complete first year study in an instrumental or vocal discipline or demonstrate equivalent experience and submit a portfolio of written works for review.  Students whose portfolios are accepted, will begin applied lessons in composition.
• To receive applied lessons, an undergraduate student must be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) units, two of which must be in any music course other than major performance activities and applied music.
  • Registration for applied lessons requires concurrent enrollment in a major performance activity (MUS 3501-MUS3505; MUS 3510-MUS 3515). Students who do not meet this requirement by the end of the add/drop period will not be eligible for applied lessons that quarter.  Ensembles that may be used to meet this requirement are listed in the Handbook for Music Majors.
  • All students enrolled in applied lessons must demonstrate their progress through periodic performances before a faculty jury as outlined in the Handbook for Undergraduate Music Majors.
  • Students are limited to a total of twelve (12) quarters of study in applied instruction (assuming a passing grade for each quarter of instruction was given).

Recitals:

• Music majors are to appear each year in regularly scheduled student recitals as determined by the department.
• Specific recital performance requirements are outlined in the Handbook for Music Majors.
• Music majors are required to attend six (6) DEPARTMENTAL recitals or concerts each quarter on which they are not a performer or participant. Recital attendance is recorded on a recital attendance card that may be obtained from the Music Department office.

Major Performance Activities and Chamber Ensembles:

• Each music major is required to play his or her principal instrument (as determined by applied lesson enrollment) in one major music performance activity (MUS 3531-MUS 3590) each quarter in which he or she is registered for applied lessons. Students may choose to perform on a secondary instrument or voice to fulfill the requirement if performance opportunities on the principal instrument do not exist.
• The 3 units of chamber ensemble required for the Music major must be taken in 3 different quarters.

Proficiency Examinations:

• Proficiency examinations may be required in any or all aspects of music performance skills, theory, and history and literature as a basis for determining placement in sequence courses.
• An upper division transfer student who has completed most of his or her music major may be required to take remediation in certain courses in theory, history and literature, and performance based on the results of the proficiency examinations.
• All new music majors (except keyboard majors) are required to take a piano proficiency exam. If the exam is not passed, the student must enroll in the appropriate level of class piano instruction until the proficiency exam or MUS 2313 is passed. (Freshmen music majors, including keyboard majors, are required to take for credit a minimum of MUS 1314, MUS 1315, MUS 1316. They may challenge the course for credit if they believe their keyboard skills meet the demands of MUS 1314, MUS 1315, MUS 1316.)

Sample Program

A Sample Program for this degree can be found at the department website:http://music.csueastbay.edu.

Course Descriptions

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Use this link to see all Course Descriptions  available throughout this catalog.

Other Undergraduate Degree Requirements

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In addition to major requirements, every student must also complete the University requirements for graduation which are described in the Undergraduate Admission and Degree Information & FAQ  chapter in the front of this catalog. These include the General Education-Breadth requirements; the second composition (ENGL 1002 ) requirement; the cultural groups/women requirement; the performing arts/activities requirement; the U.S. history, U.S. Constitution, and California state and local government requirement; the University Writing Skills Requirement; and the residence, unit, and grade point average requirements.