Undergraduate learning outcomes
Degree
Students receiving an undergraduate degree in music will demonstrate:
Continuing Musical Growth and Independence Accordion Closed
- Applying performance skills on his/her principal instrument or voice
- Demonstrate technical aptitude on his/her principal instrument or voice
- Perform individually and in ensembles of different types
- Investigating specific repertoire
- Exercise and defend aesthetic judgment by recognizing and interpreting appropriate literature
Application of Musicianship Skills Accordion Closed
Skills applicable to performance, teaching and/or critical analysis of music
- Aural perception
- Sight-singing
- Dictation
- Keyboard Competency appropriate to the students’ degree program and satisfactory progress in Music Theory
- Composition or improvisation
Analysis of and the ability to apply understanding to Tonal and Post-Tonal Musical Works and Topics Accordion Closed
Enhance students’ performance, teaching, and/or critical analysis of Tonal and Post-Tonal Musical Works and Topics through discussion of the following elements of music
- Melody
- Harmony
- Counterpoint
- Rhythm and Meter
- Form
- Timbre
Knowledge of the Historical and Cultural Contexts of Western and non-Western Music Accordion Closed
- Characteristics of musical styles
- Compositional techniques
- Performance practices
- Societal and cultural influences on the creation, performance, and dissemination of music
Knowledge and Application of Research Materials, Critical Thinking Skills, and Writing Skills Accordion Closed
- Basic knowledge and appropriate application of primary and secondary research materials pertaining to music
- Effectively communicate in writing on topics in the field of music through the purposeful use of evidence, insightful reasoning (critical thinking), and supporting details
Synthesis of Learning Experiences Accordion Closed
- Synthesize understanding of musical forms, processes, and structures in compositional, performance, analytical, scholarly and pedagogical applications appropriate to the degree program
- Employ multiple areas of learning within music and, ideally, disciplines outside music through a capstone project or culminating experience
Emphasis
In addition to degree learning outcomes, students will possess skills and knowledge specific to their chosen emphasis and will demonstrate:
Bachelor of Music Education
Students develop a background in music, musicianship, and music education that prepares them for a wide range of further educational and vocational activities that include music as a component. Students are prepared for further study at the graduate and/or professional level.
Teaching (general) Accordion Closed
Executable knowledge of philosophies and pedagogies specific to teaching general music, choral music, and/or instrumental music K-12 settings.
- Planning instruction that supports students in meeting learning objectives by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum design, and cross-disciplinary skills
- Applying a variety of instructional strategies in order that learners may develop a deep understanding of content areas for the purpose of applying that understanding in meaningful ways
- Utilizing multiple methods of assessment to monitor learner progress, to guide lesson planning, and to engage learners in their own growth
Child development Accordion Closed
An ability to synthesize theories of child development into lesson plans and course designs.
- Understanding how learners grow and develop
- Recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas
- Designing and implementing developmentally appropriate music learning experiences
Diversity (students and classroom settings) Accordion Closed
Aptitudes for teaching diverse sets of students in a variety of classroom settings.
- Assessing aptitudes, experiential backgrounds, and interests of individual learners and groups of learners and tailoring lesson plans accordingly
- Working to create environments that encourage positive social interaction and active engagement in learning
- Applying theories related to individual and cultural differences to lesson planning, with the goal of creating inclusive learning environments
- Arranging and adapting music for divergent classroom environments and student abilities
Skills Accordion Closed
Proficiencies in conducting and playing the keyboard as well as in using instruments, equipment, and technologies associated with their area of specialization.
- Demonstrating skills in rehearsal techniques; acquiring communicative and expressive conducting technique; and leading performance-based instruction
- Acquiring advanced keyboard skills such as scales, triads, seventh chords; progression and resolution of the diatonic and chromatic chords; harmonization of melodies; transposition of chord progressions to different keys; arpeggios
- Students graduating with a Choral emphasis will become proficient in diction and choral conducting, enhanced by private lessons in conjunction with vocal ensemble experiences.
- Students graduating with an Instrumental emphasis will become proficient in instrumental conducting and techniques in teaching woodwinds, percussion, brass, and strings, enhanced by private lessons in conjunction with instrumental ensemble experiences.
Policies and Trends Accordion Closed
Executable knowledge of organizational procedures, policies, and current trends/changes specific to music teaching and learning in K-12 settings.
Commitment to the Field Accordion Closed
A commitment to the art of music.
- Inspiring students to want to understand and make music
- Advocating on behalf of music’s place in K-12 curricula
- Remaining current in the field of music education
Bachelor of Music in Performance
Students develop skills that prepare them for careers in musical performance and private teaching of performance, and advanced study and independent practice. Students are prepared for further study at the graduate and/or professional level.
Advanced performing ability on the principal instrument or voice and the ability to prepare performances independently Accordion Closed
- Acquire technical skills requisite for artistic self-expression on the principal instrument or voice
- Sight read at a skill level appropriate to professional standards
- For voice majors, the ability to comprehend and pronounce languages at a professional level and fundamental movement and acting techniques
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of the repertory in the major performance area and the ability to perform from a cross section of that repertory through a successful capstone experience (a senior solo recital or senior recital of original compositions)
Ability to apply performance skills in a variety of solo and ensemble settings Accordion Closed
- Perform from a cross section of the repertory of the major performance area
- Achieve growth in artistry, technical skill, collaborative competence and knowledge of repertory through regular solo and ensemble experiences
- Work collaboratively within ensembles to develop and perform collective musical interpretations
Knowledge of solo, chamber, and large-ensemble literature Accordion Closed
- Learn the characteristics of different musical instruments and their use in compositions and arrangements
- Learn ensemble techniques and representative repertory in large and small ensembles appropriate to the discipline
Executable knowledge of the fundamentals of pedagogy for the principal instrument or voice Accordion Closed
- Understand and apply a variety of instructional strategies to engage learners in a deep understanding of musicianship
- Use instructional strategies to build learners’ technical skills on the instrument or voice
Bachelor of Arts
Students develop a background in music and musicianship that prepares them for a wide range of further educational and vocational activities that include music as a component.
Integration of content knowledge and skills into analytical frameworks Accordion Closed
- Understanding and appreciation of the human experience as it can be explained and expressed in the analysis and performance of music (Aesthetic & Humanistic Inquiry)
- Examining musical practices and aesthetics in cross-cultural perspectives (Cultural Understanding)
- Develop an awareness of music’s long technological history and how its tools (including digital and non-digital) have evolved to represent and shape the cultural and aesthetic values of particular time periods. Exploration furthermore of the rootedness of music, as sound, in the physics of the natural world (Science & Applied Science)
- Awareness of how music both expresses and shapes societies, political systems, and cultures (Social & Political Worlds)
Advanced research and writing skills within music and allied disciplines in the humanities and social sciences Accordion Closed
- Select and define a problem, challenge, or research question
- Conduct a literature review using primary and secondary sources relevant to the research question
- Critically analyze the insights gained through the literature review and synthesize the findings into a research paper
Ability to think, speak, and write clearly and effectively and to communicate with precision, cogency, and rhetorical force in music theory, historical musicology, and ethnomusicology Accordion Closed
- Produce writing, research, and presentations according to discipline-specific needs
- Master the language and terms of the discipline and be able to apply them accurately
- Apply discipline-specific formats, vocabulary, documentation, and evidence
- Understand the interactions between reading, critical thinking, writing and public presentations
- Review work-in-progress, understanding the need for continuous revisions that focus on polishing grammar, syntax, punctuation
- Communicate effectively to general and specialized audiences through well-structured oral presentations that contain a clear central message and make appropriate reference to information or analysis that significantly supports the presentation
- Employ digital tools for revising, editing, designing, sharing drafted works, and in disseminating final products
- Incorporate appropriate citations in one’s work
- Use, invent, and correctly read graphic symbols, including traditional and contemporary musical scores and notations
- Organize a progression of ideas or points into an effective rhetorical sequence
Capacity to explain and defend views effectively and rationally Accordion Closed
- Demonstrate an understanding of logic, logical fallacy, and syllogism
- Engage with and “do” musical criticism, both in the apprehension of musical structure and its relationship to musical interpretation and performance
- Survey, compare, and criticize musical theories, schools of thought, points of view, and performance interpretations
- Categorize various theories and performance practices as they relate to, derive from, or contest others
- Evaluate musical performances, interpretations, and theories as implausible versus plausible, contestable versus incontestable, inappropriate versus appropriate, farfetched versus fetched, silly versus serious, and gradations in between
- Propose an original philosophical or musical interpretation or adopt an existing idea as one’s own
- Evaluate and verbally articulate the pros and cons of various points of view and musical interpretations