Musical Studies

The Musical Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences is overseen by the Musical Studies/Double Degree Committee, a General Faculty committee that consists of faculty members and student representatives from both the Conservatory and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Music for Arts & Science Students

Courses

The Conservatory offers a number of courses to serve Arts & Sciences students. The academic courses listed below are specifically designed for Arts & Sciences students (Musical Ensembles are listed here):

* CMUS 100 - Introduction to Western Art Music (Offered Second Semester)
* CMUS 103 - Introduction to the Anthropology of Music (Offered First Semester)
* CMUS 130 - General Music Theory (Offered First and Second semesters)
* TECH 101 - Introduction to Electroacoustic Music (Offered First Semester)

The following courses, described in the Conservatory section of the catalog, are recommended to qualified Arts & Sciences students (see the specific course descriptions in the Conservatory section of this catalog for prerequisites and/or limitations):

* MHST 101 - Introduction to the History and Literature of Music (Offered First Semester)
* ETHN 100 - Introduction to Musics of the World (Offered Second Semester)

Note: Students who wish to elect any course in Music Theory and/or Aural Skills are required to take Music Theory Placement Test 1 and Aural Skills Placement Test 1 (see www.oberlin.edu/condean for more information).

Most courses in the Conservatory are open to qualified students in the College of Arts and Sciences, although there is significant demand for many Conservatory courses. Although efforts are made to accommodate Arts and Sciences students, many Conservatory courses that support the Conservatory majors may be unavailable. Courses limited to Conservatory students are noted in the catalog course descriptions.

Musical Ensembles
Qualified students in the College of Arts and Sciences may be accepted for membership in Arts & Sciences Orchestra, Musical Union, Oberlin College Choir, Oberlin College Women’s Chorale, Oberlin Orchestra, Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin Sinfonietta, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Collegium Musicum, Javanese Gamelan, Performance & Improvisation Ensembles, Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, Opera Theater, and various other ensembles under the direction of members of the Conservatory faculty. Ensembles are offered for two credits/Half Academic Course per semester and may be repeated for credit. For further details consult the Conservatory of Music section of this catalog.

Musical Studies Major
The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Musical Studies is an integral part of the liberal arts program of the College of Arts & Sciences. The Musical Studies major is designed for Arts & Sciences students with serious preparation for and interest in the study of music within a liberal arts context. The major emphasizes critical thinking, writing, and communications skills grounded in practical musical experience. Students in the major build musical foundations in applied study, musicianship skills, and music history, and continue more advanced work in the major with a selection of courses chosen to contextualize their consideration of music.

Students interested in intensive pre-professional training are advised to apply for the Bachelor of Music program in the Conservatory. Students interested in pursuing graduate work in music are advised to take additional courses beyond the minimum major requirements and to pursue the honors program.

In addition to any grade restrictions for Conservatory courses, courses in which a student has earned a letter grade lower than a C- or P cannot be used to fulfill the requirements of the Musical Studies major.

Minor
No minor in music exists for College of Arts and Sciences students.

Double-Degree Program
The Double-Degree program leads to both the Bachelor of Music and the Bachelor of Arts degrees. Within the Double-Degree program, the Bachelor of Arts degree may not be in music. Double-degree candidates must be admitted to both the Conservatory of Music and the College of Arts and Sciences, either upon first application to Oberlin or any time while in residence. In the latter instance, students should declare their interest in the double-degree program to the Director of Conservatory or College Admissions as appropriate.

Private Study
Private instruction by members of the Conservatory faculty or by advanced students supervised by the faculty is offered in composition, piano, voice, organ, strings (violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, guitar), woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), percussion, early instruments (harpsichord, fortepiano, recorder, Baroque flute, Baroque oboe, Baroque violin, Baroque cello, viola da gamba), and selected Jazz instruments (trumpet, trombone, saxophones, percussion, piano, guitar, and double bass). College students are permitted, under the following conditions, to earn credit in private study (see also “Private Study” in the Conservatory of Music section of this catalog): The student must be certified as eligible for credit. This certification must be secured prior to the first semester in which credit is desired and is based on an audition before the appropriate applied study or composition department. Secondary Private Study auditions are held during the orientation periods and/or during the first week of classes each semester; see www.oberlin.edu/condean for audition dates, procedures, and policies. Results of secondary auditions are typically posted one or two days following the auditions on the bulletin board outside Bibbins 113 in the Conservatory.

The Conservatory’s Office of Associate Deans makes all assignments to teachers in private study. Because of heavy demands for private study on certain instruments or in composition, it is not always possible to place qualified students with faculty or student teachers; priority is given to advanced students (see “Supervised Student Teaching Program” and “Approved Student Teacher Program” in the Conservatory of Music section of this catalog). A student assigned to private study must contact the teacher before the end of the first week of the semester or forfeit the spot on the teacher’s schedule.

Normally, College students are permitted to earn two credits/Half Academic Course in applied study per semester (i.e. thirty minutes of instruction weekly). Exceptionally talented students, upon the written recommendation of the private study teacher and with the approval of the Associate Dean in the Conservatory, may earn six credits/Full Academic Course (i.e. one hour of applied study instruction plus studio class weekly). In such cases, additional tuition will not be charged unless the six credits increase the student’s registered hours beyond the semester limit.

Students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences who wish approval to perform a non-required recital must complete two departmental or studio recital appearances before approval may be requested. A student may apply a maximum of 48 credits/8 Full Academic Courses of private study toward the BA degree. A student whose work does not merit continuation of private study with a teacher may be removed from the schedule.

All students continuing with secondary applied study must complete a consent form (available from the Conservatory Dean’s Office) each fall semester in order to be placed with a teacher.

A student who at their own volition discontinues applied study instruction for one or more semesters is not guaranteed a future place on a teacher’s schedule. A student who has discontinued lessons for more than one semester is required to reaudition.

No student may take lessons on more than one instrument without payment of additional tuition (see “Tuition” in the Expenses section of this catalog).

Major Description

The Musical Studies major is designed for Arts & Sciences students with serious preparation for and interest in the study of music within a liberal arts context. The major emphasizes critical thinking, writing, and communications skills grounded in practical musical experience. Students in the major build musical foundations in applied study, musicianship skills, and music history, and continue more advanced work in the major with a selection of courses chosen to contextualize their consideration of music. Students interested in pursuing graduate work in music are advised to take additional courses beyond the minimum major requirements and to pursue the honors program.

Note: Students interested in intensive pre-professional training are advised to apply for the Bachelor of Music program in the Conservatory.

Admission to the Major

Students must apply for admission to the Musical Studies major. The application can be downloaded from the Musical Studies website. The Musical Studies Committee determines acceptance to the major on the basis of the following:

i. Successful completion of one of the following courses, with either a required minimum grade of B- or the recommendation of the instructor: CMUS 100; CMUS 103; CMUS 130; ETHN 100; JAZZ 290; MHST 101; TECH 101.

ii. Approval for credit-bearing secondary private study at Oberlin. Approval must be obtained prior to application to the major. Secondary-lesson auditions are organized by the Conservatory at the beginning of each semester; see www.oberlin.edu/condean for audition procedures and requirements.

iii. An essay in which the applicant articulates specific goals for the major, specifies an area of concentration/focus within the major, identifies advanced courses appropriate to that concentration, and provides a rationale for those choices.

Major Requirements

The major consists of a minimum of 58 credits/14.5 Full Academic Courses of foundational and advanced work, apportioned as follows:

I. Musical Foundations: minimum 42 credits/10.5 Full Academic Courses required

a. Music Theory & Aural Skills:

    MUTH 130/131: Theory I (4 cr/1 FC); MUTH 101: Aural Skills I (2 cr/1 HC)
    MUTH 132: Theory II (4 cr/1 FC); MUTH 102: Aural Skills II (2 cr/1 HC)
    MUTH 231: Theory III (4 cr/1 FC); MUTH 201: Aural Skills III (2 cr/1 HC)

b. Musicology:

    MHST 101 (4 cr/1 FC)^[1]
    MHST 200-level (4 cr/1 FC)
    MHST or ETHN 200-level or HPRF 302 (4 cr/1 FC)

c. Applied Study:

A minimum of four semesters (8 cr/4 HC ) of secondary private study.^[2]
Successful completion of a minimum of two ensembles, to be selected from the following:

APST 700 (Musical Union); APST 701 (Oberlin College Choir); APST 705 (Oberlin College Women’s Chorale); APST 709 (Oberlin Orchestra/Contemporary Music Ensemble); APST 724 (Sinfonietta/Chamber Orchestra); APST 726 (Oberlin Arts & Sciences Orchestra); APST 730 Collegium Musicum; APST 800 (Chamber Music); APST 805 (Contemporary Chamber Music); APST 808 (Performance and Improvisation Ensemble); APST 810 (Piano Ensemble); Conservatory world-music ensembles; Conservatory historical-performance ensembles.^[3]

II. Advanced Work in the Major Concentration: minimum 16 credits/4 Full Academic Courses required

The Musical Studies major offers students the opportunity both to focus and contextualize their study of music. Each Musical Studies major must identify an area of concentration and propose a minimum of three specific advanced courses appropriate to that concentration. The Musical Studies Senior seminar offers students an opportunity to place their study within a broader cultural context, and to conduct research (may be supplemented with creative and/or performance work) leading to the libera-arts influenced capstone project.

a. Concentration Courses:

Three Full Academic Courses as appropriate to the approved concentration within the major. Two of these courses must be above the introductory level and one additional course must be at the 300-level or above.^[4] Concentration electives may not duplicate Musical Foundations courses and must include at least one Conservatory course. The Musical Studies Committee strongly recommends including at least one Arts & Sciences course in the concentration courses.

b. Musical Studies Senior Seminar^[5] (4 cr/1 FC)

^_[1]Students who enter the major through CMUS 100 must substitute another MHST or ETHN course for MHST 101.

^[2] Students interested in graduate study in music are advised to pursue private applied study and ensembles each semester.

^[3] An audition may be required for certain ensembles.

^[4] MUTH 232 and MHST 200-level courses may be applied towards fulfillment of this requirement. Students interested in graduate study in music are advised to fulfill concentration requirements with upper-division music electives; specifically recommended is MHST 301: Introduction to Music Research and Writing.

^[5] A capstone project that reflects the liberal arts nature of the major and the student’s concentration is a requirement of this class.

Honors Program

Students in the Musical Studies major who wish to pursue an independent research project are invited to apply for the honors program in the second semester of the junior year. Entry to the honors program is contingent on approval of the honors proposal by both the student’s advisor and the Musical Studies Committee. Detailed application information is available from the Chair of the Musical Studies Committee. Additional information is available on the Musical Studies website.

Students admitted to the honors program must enroll in CMUS 400/401 (Senior Honors). Students admitted to the honors program are not required to enroll in the Musical Studies Senior Seminar. The requirements for the successful completion of the honors project include a scholarly thesis and comprehensive examinations.