Music Advising Guide

Introduction

Offerings in Music are given in four related areas: composition, history, performance and theory. Students have also created subspecialties in related areas such as conducting and ethnomusicology, with approval by overseeing faculty.

The department frequently offers courses dealing with such topics as ethnomusicology, music in the United States, music in film, music and politics, and the life and works of composers such as J.S. Bach.

Course descriptions, requirements for the major, FAQs and other information may be found in the Academic Bulletin: Music and on the department website.

Introductory courses appropriate for prospective majors

MUAC 101 & 102, Introduction to Music History
MUAC 125 & 126, Music Theory I
*First-year students intending to major in music are strongly encouraged to complete MUAC 125 and 126 in the first year. MUAC 101 and 102 can be taken out of sequence.

Introductory courses that fulfill distribution requirements

Division IC:
All 100-level courses, EXCEPT: MUPS 111 (Guitar, Piano and Voice classes), MUAC 115 (Fundamentals) and half-hour lessons (MUPS 113-114)
MUAC 206, Music in the United States
MUAC 209, Ethnomusicology
MUAC 221, Music in Film

Quantitative Reasoning:
MUAC 125, Music Theory

Comparative Civilizations:
MUAC 209, Ethnomusicology

US Diversity:
MUAC 206, Music in the United States

Film Studies:
MUAC 221, Music in Film

In addition, the departments of Music and Theatre & Dance offer an interdisciplinary major in Dance and Music. See the Academic Bulletin for information on the major.

For course descriptions and requirements for the major, refer to the Academic Bulletin: Music.

Department Ensembles (MUEN)

All music department ensembles at Dickinson (choir, collegium, jazz band, orchestra, Dickinson Improvisation and Collaboration Ensemble) as well as the chamber music program are open to all students by audition. Auditions on all instruments (including voice) comprise sight-reading and the performance of one work (a movement or song) that demonstrates the student's best musical abilities. Instrumentalists may also be asked to play specific scales. Auditions for all music programs (private lessons, ensembles, and chamber music) take place on the first Tuesday of classes. Music Audition Night, which begins with a thorough introduction to all the programs of the department, is held that evening at 5:30pm in Rubendall Recital Hall.

Instrumental ensembles rehearse once a week; vocal ensembles rehearse twice a week. It is possible to be in more than one ensemble at a time, as no rehearsals overlap. Music ensembles do not bear GPA credit, but successful participation in two or more semesters in one or more ensembles may be registered on students' final transcripts as "Music Ensemble Participation Fulfilled." This fulfillment is required for Music majors and minors. To receive this credit, students must register through Banner (after being accepted via audition) under the appropriate ensemble rubric (MUEN).

Lockers for instrument storage are available only to students participating in ensembles and/or taking lessons in the department.

Performance Studies (MUPS) 

Private lessons are offered in voice and instruments, either as half-hour lessons or full-hour lessons in the Performance Studies program. Performance Studies lessons are taken for credit (one half-credit for a semester of half-hour lessons, one full-credit for asemester of full-hour lessons). Only full-hour/one-credit private lessons satisfy the Division IC distribution requirement and students must have the instructor's permission to enroll for full-hour/one-credit private lessons. Degree requirements may not be fulfilled by combinations of half-credit courses (i.e., two half-hour/.50 credit lessons cannot be combined to satisfy the Division IC distribution requirement).

To register for Performance Studies lessons,
1. Contact the instructor with whom you wish to study. (Email is best.)
2. The instructor may ask to meet with you. (Music Audition Night is an excellent opportunity if you are beginning lessons in the fall.)
3. If the instructor agrees to take you on as a new student, s/he will place the appropriate override code on your Banner account.
4. Once the override is recorded, you must still log in to Banner and register for lessons as you would any other class.
5. If you need an overload, twice during your studies you can simply use the Overload form (downloadable from the Registrar’s Office) and in a third and subsequent semesters you will need to submit a petitions for overload to the Subcommittee on Academic Standards, with copy to your studio teacher, chair and your Advisor. When your registration is confirmed, you and the instructor will arrange for a mutually convenient weekly lesson time.

PLEASE NOTE: A fee is assessed for all Performance Studies lessons (with the exception of lessons for music majors meeting certain criteria). These fees are added to the student's tuition when registration is confirmed at the end of the Add/Drop Period. (See the Financial Operations website for current fee amounts.) Performance Studies fees are non-refundable.

Scholarships are available from the Department of Music to offset the cost of lessons. To apply for a scholarship, a student must have the approval of the Performance Studies instructor with whom the student intends to study. The student must submit a brief letter of application (explaining any financial need as well as why the student wishes to study) in an email to the Director of Performance Studies, Lynn Helding, with copy to the student's intended instructor.

Music theory placement

For students who have had extensive, substantial studies in music, it may be possible to test for credit for one or more semesters of Music Theory (125, 126, 245, 246). The exam is offered online, on Music Audition Night (second night of classes), and at the same time as the language placement exams. No AP Music Theory score alone qualifies a student for Music Theory credit.

Student Music Society

The Student Music Society at Dickinson is open to all students interested in participating in and enriching campus musical culture. The Society sponsors many activities, including an informal concert series, performances of student compositions, regular meetings with guest artists or lecturers, and trips to off-campus concerts and lectures. Recent Society-sponsored events have included trips to Pittsburgh to hear a performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and to the Metropolitan Opera in NYC to hear Don Giovanni.

Additional remarks

Recent graduates of the department include a Fulbright Fellowship winner, others are attending or have attended graduate school in music-related fields at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of California – Los Angeles, the Pennsylvania State University, the Royal Academy of Music (London), the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Rutgers, Catholic University, and New York University. Graduates of the department are represented in the fields of music performance (the Philadelphia Orchestra), arts administration (the Philadelphia Orchestra), musicological research (RILM), music publishing (G. Schirmer), academia, and are teaching in public schools and privately.