Program Requirements
This Major Concentration studies music as a vital art form in contemporary society and in the history of Western civilization. Its central purpose emphasizes music within broader intellectual and cultural contexts; the Major concentration's premise is that, as a product of culture, music must be considered in relation to the other humanistic disciplines. This program could be an excellent preparation for graduate work in music (musicology, music theory, music librarianship, music journalism, arts administration) or for professional studies in other fields.
Students in the Music Major Concentration must consult the Music Adviser prior to registration. Questions regarding the general requirements of the B.A. program and especially elective courses should be addressed to the Office of Advising and Student Information Services (OASIS) at the Faculty of Arts.
Completion of the diagnostic placement exams for music theory and musicianship is mandatory. Students should refer to the placement exam website for more details: https://www.mcgill.ca/music/student-resources/undergraduates/new-student....
Prerequisite Courses
Students must complete the diagnostic placement exams for music theory and musicianship. Depending on the results, they may be asked to register for one or more of the prerequisite courses listed below. These prerequisite courses cannot be counted toward the 36 credits of the program requirements.
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MUHL 186 Western Musical Traditions (3 credits)
Overview
Music History and Literature : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours
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MUSP 140 Musicianship Training 1 (2 credits)
Overview
Musicianship : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUSP 141 Musicianship Training 2 (2 credits)
Overview
Musicianship : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUSP 170 Musicianship (Keyboard) 1 (1 credit)
Overview
Musicianship : Harmonic, melodic and rhythmic analysis at the keyboard through the study of rudiments, repertoire, chorale/score reading, transposition and harmonization.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUSP 171 Musicianship (Keyboard) 2 (1 credit)
Overview
Musicianship : Building chordal fluency. Harmonic vocabulary including sequences, chromaticism and modulation. Chorale and score reading with transposing instruments and alto/tenor clefs.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
1 hour
Prerequisite: MUSP 170
Corequisites: MUTH 111 and MUSP 131; or MUTH 151 and MUSP 141
Restriction: All students admitted to B.Mus. and L.Mus. programs, including those with keyboard or guitar as their principal instrument, are required to take MUSP 171 Keyboard Lab, unless exempt on the basis of a placement test. Students who are exempt from MUTH 111 through placement tests must still take MUSP 171 (unless exempt) since this course forms the foundation of keyboard-based musicianship tasks at upper levels. (All Majors in Jazz Performance substitute MUJZ 171 for MUSP 171. Students in Jazz Performance who have completed MUJZ 170 and MUJZ 171, and who transfer to a Department of Theory program, will be required to complete MUSP 171.) Students who do not achieve a continuation pass in MUSP 171 must reregister for the course in the semester immediately following. Students who do not achieve a continuation pass after repeating the course will not be allowed to proceed with further Musicianship or Theory studies until a continuation pass is achieved. Tests for MUSP 171 are held in August-September, December-January, and April-May [as well as during the Summer Session when course(s) offered], the exact dates determined by the Department of Music Research.
Course contents parallel with those of MUTH 151 and MUSP 141.
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MUTH 100 Music Theory Fundamentals (3 credits)
Overview
Music Theory and Analysis : Basic training in music theory fundamentals. Topics include interval identification (both visual and aural), clef reading, chord recognition, melodic and rhythmic dictation, scales, and key signatures.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The course is offered as a simultaneous corequisite to MUTH 150 (Theory and Analysis I) for students without the required music theory background. Enrolment in MUTH 100 is based on performance on the placement test for incoming undergraduates.
Prerequisite: Theory placement test for Schulich School of Music undergraduates.
Corequisite: MUTH 150
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MUTH 150 Theory and Analysis 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Theory and Analysis : Diatonic chords and harmonic progressions, focus on outer-voice framework, cadences, embellishments, building chordal fluency in common-practice tonality, applied chords.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUTH 151 Theory and Analysis 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Theory and Analysis : Sequences and modulation, chromatic vocabulary, analysis of simple theme types (sentence, period, hybrids) and fugal techniques.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Required Courses (13 credits)
Prior to registering for each required course, students must either have completed the pre-requisite course or have successfully passed the diagnostic placement exam.
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MUHL 286 Critical Thinking About Music (3 credits)
Overview
Music History and Literature : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUSP 240 Musicianship Training 3 (2 credits)
Overview
Musicianship : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUSP 241 Musicianship Training 4 (2 credits)
Overview
Musicianship : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUTH 250 Theory and Analysis 3 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Theory and Analysis : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUTH 251 Theory and Analysis 4 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Theory and Analysis : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Complementary Courses (23 credits)
Students select from courses offered by the Schulich School of Music except for courses with a MUAR subject code. Students must include 3 credits from a MUHL or MUPP subject code at the 300 level or higher.
