The Bachelor of Music in early music is a 125 credit program. You may have fewer credits to complete if you receive course exemptions and/or transfer credits.
Students in the early music performance program are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in all practical instruction/exams and ensembles, as well as attain a minimum CGPA of 2.0 to continue in this program.
Use our sample 4-year program plan to determine when to take each course.
Early Music Performance Major (Baroque Violin, Viola, Cello, Viola da Gamba, Flute, Recorder, Oboe, Organ, Harpsichord and Early Brass Instruments) (B.Mus.) (125 credits)
Offered by: Performance (Schulich School of Music)
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Program credit weight: 125
Program Description
The Bachelor of Music; Major Early Music Performance program provides comprehensive training in historical performance practice and in performance on a period instrument. The program combines individual lessons and ensembles with the study of historical approaches to performance in its various activities - workshops, master classes, guest lectures, and research projects.
The Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.); Major Early Music Performance program requires 91 credits (plus 34 credits for the Freshman requirement for out-of-province students).
Special Requirements
Continuation in the program requires a minimum grade of B- in practical instruction/exams and ensembles.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites - Freshman Program (34 credits)
34 credits selected as described below, in consultation with the Program Adviser:
22 credits of Prerequisite Courses
2 credits of Assigned Small Ensemble
4 credits of Large Ensemble
6 credits of Non-Music Electives
Prerequisite Courses
22 credits, all of the courses below:
Note: Applicants who can demonstrate through auditions and placement tests that they have mastered the material in any of the courses below will be exempt from them and may proceed to more advanced courses.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 186 | Western Musical Traditions. | 3 |
Western Musical Traditions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present. Emphasis on key musical concepts and genres in their historical context and aural recognition of style. | ||
| MUIN 180 | BMus Practical Lessons 1. | 3 |
BMus Practical Lessons 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 181 | BMus Practical Lessons 2. | 3 |
BMus Practical Lessons 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical examination in clarinet techniques. | ||
| MUPD 135 | Music as a Profession 1. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Music Professional Development: An introduction to information, resources, and skills related to physical, mental, and professional well-being for the musician and scholar. | ||
| MUSP 140 | Musicianship Training 1. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rhythm and metre basic subdivisions and conducting patterns; intervals, chords, and scale patterns; non-modulating tonal melodies with treble and bass clefs; harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures. | ||
| MUSP 141 | Musicianship Training 2. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and syncopations; triadic and seventh chord voicings and disjunct pitch collections; chromatically embellished melodies adding alto clef; simple modulating harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures. | ||
| MUSP 170 | Musicianship (Keyboard) 1. | 1 |
Musicianship (Keyboard) 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Harmonic, melodic and rhythmic analysis at the keyboard through the study of rudiments, repertoire, chorale/score reading, transposition and harmonization. | ||
| MUSP 171 | Musicianship (Keyboard) 2. | 1 |
Musicianship (Keyboard) 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Building chordal fluency. Harmonic vocabulary including sequences, chromaticism and modulation. Chorale and score reading with transposing instruments and alto/tenor clefs. | ||
| MUTH 150 | Theory and Analysis 1. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Diatonic chords and harmonic progressions, focus on outer-voice framework, cadences, embellishments, building chordal fluency in common-practice tonality, applied chords. | ||
| MUTH 151 | Theory and Analysis 2. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Sequences and modulation, chromatic vocabulary, analysis of simple theme types (sentence, period, hybrids) and fugal techniques. | ||
Required Courses (41 credits)
Performance
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUIN 280 | BMus Practical Lessons 3. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 281 | BMus Practical Lessons 4. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 282 | BMus Performance Examination 1. | 1 |
BMus Performance Examination 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Assessment of student's progress in the practical area. | ||
| MUIN 380 | BMus Practical Lessons 5. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 5. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 381 | BMus Practical Lessons 6. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 6. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 382 | BMus Performance Examination 2. | 1 |
BMus Performance Examination 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Assessment of student's progress in the practical area. | ||
| MUIN 480 | BMus Practical Lessons 7. | 2 |
BMus Practical Lessons 7. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 481 | BMus Practical Lessons 8. | 2 |
BMus Practical Lessons 8. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 482 | BMus Performance Examination 3. | 2 |
BMus Performance Examination 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Assessment of student's progress in the practical area. | ||
Theory
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 250 | Theory and Analysis 3. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Compositional resources of late 18th and early 19th century music. Analysis of forms common to the period c. 1770 - 1840, including Classical sonata forms in several media. | ||
| MUTH 251 | Theory and Analysis 4. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 4. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Expanded harmonic resources of the 19th century (e.g., advanced chromaticism including enharmonic reinterpretation and symmetrical division). Analysis of characteristic small and large forms. Writing and analytical skills with a goal toward perceiving how levels of musical structure interact. | ||
| MUTH 350 | Theory and Analysis 5. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 5. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Exploration of 20th and 21st century organizations of pitch, rhythm, timbre etc. Written and analytical skills for the purpose of gaining insight into the compositional techniques and aesthetics of this repertoire. | ||
| MUTH 426 | Topics in Early Music Analysis. | 3 |
Topics in Early Music Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Music from before 1700 is analyzed using recently developed techniques as well as materials gathered from treatises contemporaneous with the music. The implications of analysis for performance are considered. | ||
Musicianship
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUSP 240 | Musicianship Training 3. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and two-part work; additional chordal voicings and pitch collections; melodies modulating to closely-related keys adding tenor clef; harmonic progression including applied chords; two-part keyboard-style passages. | ||
| MUSP 241 | Musicianship Training 4. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 4. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Changing metres; chord voicings and atonal pitch collections; modulating tonal melodies and score reading of transposing instruments; harmonic progression including chromatic chords; two-part passages. | ||
Music History/Literature/Performance Practice
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 286 | Critical Thinking About Music. | 3 |
Critical Thinking About Music. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Examination of various periods and styles: e.g., central works from different traditions, the interaction of music and society, performance practice, and music's relation to other arts. | ||
| MUPP 381 | Topics in Performance Practice. | 3 |
Topics in Performance Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of the techniques, methods, and problems of historical performance. Topics covered include theoretical matters involving source material, treatises, organology, 17th-century views of rhetoric and emotion, 18th-century composition methods, rhythmic interpretation, embellishment and ornamentation, tuning and temperament, and basso continuo. | ||
Professional Development
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPD 235 | Music as a Profession 2. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of the responsibilities and skills required of professions in music and of the varied career paths leading from a music degree. | ||
Complementary Courses (27 credits)
Performance
12 credits1 (2 credits per term; as assigned by audition) from large ensembles:
- 1
All ensemble courses under MUEN may be taken in multiple terms.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 563 | Jazz Vocal Workshop. | 2 |
Jazz Vocal Workshop. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Vocal workshop for jazz musicians. | ||
| MUEN 572 | Cappella Antica. | 2 |
Cappella Antica. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 8 to 12 voices specializing in early music. N.B. This ensemble may substitute as a Basic Ensemble in programs that specify Choral Ensemble, with Departmental approval. | ||
| MUEN 573 | Baroque Orchestra. | 2 |
Baroque Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Open to singers and instrumentalists, this ensemble specializes in chamber music primarily of the Baroque era. | ||
| MUEN 587 | Cappella McGill. | 2 |
Cappella McGill. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 16 voices performing challenging repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. Since the expectation is a level of performance equivalent to a professional chamber ensemble, singers wishing to join this group should have had considerable ensemble experience, and advanced vocal and sight-reading skills. | ||
| MUEN 590 | McGill Wind Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Wind Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Large ensemble for wind instruments. | ||
| MUEN 592 | Chamber Jazz Ensemble. | 2 |
Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This ensemble will deal with the extensive repertoire of music which exists for small jazz orchestra (9-13 instruments). | ||
| MUEN 593 | Choral Ensembles. | 2 |
Choral Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students enrolling in Choral Ensembles will be assigned to one of the above groups. | ||
| MUEN 594 | Contemporary Music Ensemble. | 2 |
Contemporary Music Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for contemporary music - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 595 | Jazz Ensembles. | 2 |
Jazz Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for jazz - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 597 | McGill Symphony Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Symphony Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for orchestral instruments. | ||
4 credits1 (1 credit per term)
- 1
All ensemble courses under MUEN may be taken in multiple terms.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 569 | Tabla Ensemble. | 1 |
Tabla Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Performance and practice of the tabla of North India. | ||
| MUEN 580 | Early Music Ensemble. | 1 |
Early Music Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 4-6 vocalists and instrumentalists which performs music of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. | ||
6 credits from:
Baroque Instruments
MUEN prefix - maximum 4 credits
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 473 | Special Project in Performance. | 1 |
Special Project in Performance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. For details, contact the Department of Performance. | ||
| MUPG 474 | Special Project in Performance. | 2 |
Special Project in Performance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. For details, contact the Department of Performance. | ||
| MUPG 475 | Special Project in Performance. | 3 |
Special Project in Performance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. For details, contact the Department of Performance. | ||
OR
Harpsichord
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 272D1 | Continuo. | 2 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An historically-oriented study of the principles of figured-bass. The student will realize at sight elementary bass patterns. Standard idioms from historical treatises will be introduced. | ||
| MUPG 272D2 | Continuo. | 2 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUPG 272D1 for course description. | ||
| MUPG 372D1 | Continuo. | 1 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of 17th and 18th Century styles of figured-bass accompaniment as revealed in contemporary sources. The emphasis will be on the realization at the keyboard of representative works using original sources. | ||
| MUPG 372D2 | Continuo. | 1 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUPG 372D1 for course description. | ||
OR
Organ
MUEN prefix - maximum 2 credits
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 272D1 | Continuo. | 2 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An historically-oriented study of the principles of figured-bass. The student will realize at sight elementary bass patterns. Standard idioms from historical treatises will be introduced. | ||
| MUPG 272D2 | Continuo. | 2 |
Continuo. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUPG 272D1 for course description. | ||
| MUPG 473 | Special Project in Performance. | 1 |
Special Project in Performance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. For details, contact the Department of Performance. | ||
| MUPG 474 | Special Project in Performance. | 2 |
Special Project in Performance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. For details, contact the Department of Performance. | ||
Musicianship
2 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUSP 346 | Post-Tonal Musicianship. | 2 |
Post-Tonal Musicianship. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Extended tonal and post-tonal harmonic and contrapuntal structures, rhythmic practices of the 20th and 21st century, score reading. | ||
| MUSP 354 | Introduction to Improvisation and Ornamentation. | 2 |
Introduction to Improvisation and Ornamentation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of improvisation and ornamentation for music before 1800, including harmonic progressions and voice-leading and contrapuntal patterns for instrumentalists and singers, along with examples of ornamented vocal and instrumental works from 17th and 18th century sources. | ||
| MUSP 361 | Topics in Musicianship. | 2 |
Topics in Musicianship. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced ear training challenges in rhythm, pitch, harmony, form, or timbre. | ||
| MUSP 363 | Topics in Global Musicianship. | 2 |
Topics in Global Musicianship. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Musicianship skills from one or more global musical practice(s), with specific challenges and approaches corresponding to the selected topic. | ||
| MUSP 381 | Singing Renaissance Notation. | 2 |
Singing Renaissance Notation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Choral sightsinging of mensural notation, with a focus on white notation c. 1420-1600. Development of basic fluency in the notation, interpretation of values in triple meter, addition of accidentals given the contrapuntal context as perceived aurally, Renaissance solmisation. | ||
History/Literature/Performance Practice
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 377 | Baroque Opera. | 3 |
Baroque Opera. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. History of opera from its origins in the musical, literary, and philosophical models available to the Florentine Camerata to the end of the baroque. The development of opera will be studied from the perspective of artistic style and in the light of historical, political, social, and economic conditions. | ||
| MUHL 380 | Medieval Music. | 3 |
Medieval Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The medieval style - an intensive study of one or more selected topics from the repertoire. Possible subjects include liturgical chant, Notre Dame, the medieval motet, secular developments, and instrumental literature. | ||
| MUHL 381 | Renaissance Music. | 3 |
Renaissance Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Sacred and secular musical genres of the 15th and 16th Centuries. Various phases of imitative practice, cantus firmus and parody techniques. The emergence of homophonic textures in peripheral areas of the repertoire. Selected problems in the fields of theory, bibliography and aesthetics. | ||
| MUHL 382 | Baroque Music. | 3 |
Baroque Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A detailed examination of several selected areas of Baroque music. Topics will be drawn from different geographical regions (e.g., Italy, France, Germany, etc.) and encompass church, chamber and theatre music, as well as performance practice. Each topic will be related to general musical developments of the period. | ||
| MUHL 383 | Classical Music. | 3 |
Classical Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The period covered will be from approximately 1740-1828, from the schools of the Italian keyboard composers, opera buffa and seria, and composers centred at Mannheim, Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna, through the Viennese Classic period of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to the death of Schubert. | ||
| MUHL 591D1 | Paleography. | 1.5 |
Paleography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The theory and practice of musical transcription for the period 1100 to 1600. Black modal notation, Franconian notation, French and Italian Ars Nova notation, Mannerism, white mensural notation, proportions, and lute and keyboard tablatures will be studied. | ||
| MUHL 591D2 | Paleography. | 1.5 |
Paleography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUHL 591D1 for course description. | ||
Elective Courses (23 credits)
3 credits of non-Music Electives
20 credits of Free Electives (may include 2 credits of courses with a MUEN prefix)
