The Bachelor of Music in organ and guitar is a 125 credit program. You may have fewer credits to complete if you receive course exemptions and/or transfer credits.
Students in the 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.
Performance (Organ and Guitar) Major (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 Performance (Organ and Guitar) program provides comprehensive training in the practical and theoretical elements of music. Throughout the program, students receive individual instruction and participate in small and large ensembles as appropriate to their area of specialization.
Special Requirements
Continuation in the program requires a minimum grade of B- in practical instruction/exams and ensembles.
Program Prerequisites - Freshman Program (34 credits)
34 credits selected as described below, in consultation with the Program Advisor:
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.
Students who have been admitted to a degree or diploma program with keyboard as their principal instrument are exempt from MUSP 170 Musicianship (Keyboard) 1. (but not from MUSP 171 Musicianship (Keyboard) 2.); see section on Keyboard Proficiency testing for complete information.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 186 | Western Musical Traditions. | 3 |
Western Musical Traditions. Terms offered: Fall 2025 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: Fall 2025 Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 181 | BMus Practical Lessons 2. | 3 |
BMus Practical Lessons 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Practical examination in clarinet techniques. | ||
| MUPD 135 | Music as a Profession 1. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 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: Fall 2025 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: Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025 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: Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025 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: Winter 2026 Sequences and modulation, chromatic vocabulary, analysis of simple theme types (sentence, period, hybrids) and fugal techniques. | ||
Required Courses (35 credits)
Performance
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUIN 280 | BMus Practical Lessons 3. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 3. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 281 | BMus Practical Lessons 4. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 4. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 381 | BMus Practical Lessons 6. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 6. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 481 | BMus Practical Lessons 8. | 2 |
BMus Practical Lessons 8. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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, Fall 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, Winter 2026 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, Winter 2026 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. | ||
Musicianship
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUSP 240 | Musicianship Training 3. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 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, Winter 2026 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
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 286 | Critical Thinking About Music. | 3 |
Critical Thinking About Music. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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. | ||
Professional Development
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPD 235 | Music as a Profession 2. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 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 (24 credits)
Performance
12 credits* (2 credits per term; as assigned by audition) from large ensembles:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 563 | Jazz Vocal Workshop. | 2 |
Jazz Vocal Workshop. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Vocal workshop for jazz musicians. | ||
| MUEN 565 | String Quartet Seminar. | 2 |
String Quartet Seminar. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 An overview of the history of the string quartet genre and literature for this formation. Basic principles of string ensemble playing, intonation, matching sound production, cueing, etc., will be addressed. Regular performances in a masterclass setting. Participation in an orchestra program as assigned when warranted by ensemble needs. | ||
| MUEN 573 | Baroque Orchestra. | 2 |
Baroque Orchestra. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Large ensemble for wind instruments. | ||
| MUEN 592 | Chamber Jazz Ensemble. | 2 |
Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Ensemble for contemporary music - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 595 | Jazz Ensembles. | 2 |
Jazz Ensembles. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Ensemble for jazz - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 597 | McGill Symphony Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Symphony Orchestra. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Ensemble for orchestral instruments. | ||
4 credits* (1 credit per term) from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 540 | Chamber Music Project 1. | 0.5 |
Chamber Music Project 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Chamber music ensemble for various instruments. | ||
| MUEN 541 | Chamber Music Project 2. | 0.5 |
Chamber Music Project 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Chamber music ensemble for various instruments. | ||
| MUEN 560 | Chamber Music Ensemble. | 1 |
Chamber Music Ensemble. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Ensemble for chamber music - various instruments. | ||
| MUEN 562 | Guitar Ensemble. | 1 |
Guitar Ensemble. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Performance of guitar ensemble repertoire and transcriptions throughout music history and in various genres. | ||
| MUEN 569 | Tabla Ensemble. | 1 |
Tabla Ensemble. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Performance and practice of the tabla of North India. | ||
| MUEN 580 | Early Music Ensemble. | 1 |
Early Music Ensemble. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 An ensemble of 4-6 vocalists and instrumentalists which performs music of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. | ||
*All ensemble courses under MUEN may be taken in multiple terms.
Musicianship
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUSP 324 | Musicianship for Strings. | 2 |
Musicianship for Strings. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on intonation accuracy, rhythm, articulation, voice-leading and sound texture for strings. | ||
| MUSP 346 | Post-Tonal Musicianship. | 2 |
Post-Tonal Musicianship. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 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: Winter 2026 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. | ||
Music History/Literature/Performance Practice
6 credits of courses with a MUHL or MUPP prefix
Elective Courses (32 credits)
9 credits of Music Electives; Organ majors must include the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 272D1 | Continuo. | 2 |
Continuo. Terms offered: Fall 2025 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: Winter 2026 See MUPG 272D1 for course description. | ||
3 credits of non-Music Electives
20 credits of Free Electives (may include 2 credits of courses with a MUEN prefix)
