Music

Professors: Bothwell, Ludwa, Koehler (Chair), Moon, Schumaker

The music department seeks to cultivate an understanding of the language and history of music and to nurture artistic skill and musicianship. All music performance opportunities, both solo and ensemble, are available to majors and non-majors alike. Academic courses in music theory, music history, and practical musicianship combine with music performance to provide an integrated approach to the discipline.

The major or minor in music intensifies this integrated approach to create highly creative, analytical thinkers with self-discipline and independent organizational skills. They are welcomed by graduate schools and employers alike.

Requirements for the Major in Music

Number of Units

Eleven units are required in addition to the prerequisite. AP credit accepted to meet prerequisite only.

Required Courses

  • I. Music Theory
  • Prerequisite: MUSC 105 completed with a grade of C- or above. This prerequisite may also be met by examination or an AP score of 4 or 5.
  • 1. MUSC 205 Theory I: Common Practice and Popular Styles
  • 2. MUSC 305 Theory II: Chromaticism and Modernism
  • 3. At least two units from the following MUSC 370s:
    • MUSC 376 Conducting and Score Analysis
    • MUSC 377 Arranging
    • MUSC 378 Jazz Theory
    • MUSC 379 Global and Post-tonal Musics
  • II. Music in Cultural and Historical Contexts
  • 1. MUSC 160 Music of World Cultures
  • 2. At least two units from the following MUSC 260s
    • MUSC 261 Virtuosity through the Ages
    • MUSC 262 Musical Theater and Opera
    • MUSC 263 The Evolution of Symphonic Music
    • MUSC 264 History of American Music
    • MUSC 265 East-West Musical Encounters
  • III. Applied Musicianship
  • 1. Ensembles (at least one full unit; see “About Ensembles” for more information)
  • 2. MUSC/SEMN 490 Arts Entrepreneurship
  • IV. Electives
  • 1. At least two units from the following:
    • Any of the courses listed above taken beyond the minimum requirements
    • Applied Music Lessons (see “About Applied Music” for more information)
    • MUSC 120, 121, or 123 Instrumental Methods
    • MUSC 165 Jazz Explorations
    • MUSC/ANSO 315 Sound and Culture in the Middle East

Additional Expectations and Opportunities

With permission of the department, limited transfer courses and coursework completed abroad may count toward the Major. Majors who plan advanced music studies in graduate school or who aspire to professional careers are strongly encouraged to complete their senior integrated project in the department. Majors are also encouraged to participate in an ensemble beyond their one required unit, and to study applied music in each quarter of residency. With few exceptions, a full unit of applied music credited toward the Major must be achieved by the study in the same instrument. Musical performances on campus should be attended by Music Majors, including concerts by invited guests, by Music Department Faculty, and by fellow music students.

In addition, Majors may consider incorporating three recommended programs available to all students at the College into their own musical K Plan:

  1. The Career and Professional Development Internship Program.
  2. Study Abroad: The University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Queen’s University in Northern Ireland offer particularly robust opportunities for qualified students to continue actively making music while abroad. In addition, with sufficient advance consultation with music faculty and the CIP office, it may be possible to create opportunities to continue music at several other study abroad sites.
  3. New York Arts Program: This domestic study away program offers an opportunity for qualified sophomore and junior student artists to live in New York City and work as interns with professional artists. The application process begins in late spring quarter for internships the following winter quarter. Information is available from campus faculty representative Andrew Koehler.

Requirements for the Minor in Music

Number of Units

A minimum of six units in addition to the prerequisite are required for the minor in music. AP credit accepted to meet prerequisite only.

Required Courses

  • Prerequisite: MUSC 105 completed with a grade of C- or above. This prerequisite may also be met by examination or an AP score of 4 or 5.
  • 1. MUSC 205 Theory I: Common Practice and Popular Styles
  • 2. MUSC 160 Music of World Cultures
  • 3. At least one unit from the following MUSC 260s:
    • MUSC 261 Virtuosity through the Ages
    • MUSC 262 Musical Theater and Opera
    • MUSC 263 The Evolution of Symphonic Music
    • MUSC 264 History of American Music
    • MUSC 265 East-West Musical Encounters
  • 4. At least three units from the following:
    • Any of the courses listed above taken beyond the minimum requirements
    • Ensembles (see “About Music Ensembles” for more information)
    • Applied Music Lessons (see “About Applied Music” for more information)
    • MUSC 120, 121, or 123 Instrumental Methods
    • MUSC 165 Jazz Explorations
    • MUSC 305 Theory II: Chromaticism and Modernism
    • MUSC/ANSO 315 Sound and Culture in the Middle East
    • MUSC 376 Conducting and Score Analysis
    • MUSC 377 Arranging
    • MUSC 378 Jazz Theory
    • MUSC 379 Global and Post-Tonal Musics
    • MUSC/SEMN 490 Arts Entrepreneurship

Additional Expectations and Opportunities

With permission from the department, limited transfer courses and coursework completed abroad may count toward the Minor. Music Minors are encouraged to participate in an ensemble and to study applied music in each quarter of residency. With few exceptions, each full unit of applied music credited toward the Minor must be achieved by study in the same instrument. Musical performances on campus should be attended by Music Minors, including concerts by invited guests, by Music Department Faculty, and by fellow music students.

In addition, Minors may consider incorporating three recommended programs available to all students at the College into their own musical K Plan:

  1. The Career and Professional Development Internship Program.
  2. Study Abroad: The University of Aberdeen in Scotland and Queen’s University in Northern Ireland offer particularly robust opportunities for qualified students to continue actively making music while abroad. In addition, with sufficient advance consultation with music faculty and the CIP office, it may be possible to create opportunities to continue music at several other study abroad sites.
  3. New York Arts Program: This domestic study away program offers an opportunity for qualified sophomore and junior student artists to live in New York City and work as interns with professional artists. The application process begins in late spring quarter for internships the following winter quarter. Information is available from campus faculty representative Andrew Koehler.

Music Courses

About 100-Level Courses

Courses at the 100 level in the Music Department are appropriate for students with no prior music study, but can also be relevant to students with musical experience.  There are no expectations that students are able to read music or know basic music theory.

About 200-Level Courses

Courses at the 200 level within the Music Department generally anticipate that students are able to read music and know basic music theory, equivalent to MUSC 105, with some exceptions.  Please see individual course descriptions for more details. 

About 300-Level Courses

Courses at the 300 level within the Music Department generally anticipate that students are able to read music and use music theory, equivalent to MUSC 205, with some exceptions.  Please see individual course descriptions for more details. 

About 400-Level and Above Courses

See individual course descriptions.

MUSC 105 Introduction to Music Study of the language, power, and communicative properties of music in the Western tradition. Students will acquire basic skills in music literacy, theory, and aural comprehension. In addition, selected works, both popular and classical and ranging in time from the Middle Ages to the present, will be listened to and discussed with an emphasis on their musical style and cultural-social context. Class activities will include guest performances, concert attendance (on and off campus), and behind-the-scenes looks at what goes into making music. Students considering a major in Music should enroll in MUSC 105 in the fall or winter quarter of their first year. No prior music reading or basic theory knowledge is expected. Advanced students may request to test out of MUSC-105; please consult the Department Chair.
MUSC 120 Beginning Band Methods: Brass Basic techniques of playing orchestra and band instruments; emphasis on understanding the principles and problems of playing brass. No music reading or basic theory knowledge is required.
MUSC 121 Beginning Band Methods: Woodwinds Basic techniques of playing orchestra and band instruments; emphasis on understanding the principles and problems of playing woodwinds. No music reading or basic theory knowledge is required.
MUSC 123 Instrumental Music Methods: Strings Basic techniques of playing the four orchestral stringed instruments. No music reading or basic theory knowledge is required.
MUSC 160 Music of World Cultures Study of music of various cultures within their social contexts. The course includes folk, traditional, classical, and popular music from selected traditions in Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It presents music as an evolving process and the performance of music as an expression of individual and cultural identity. Using readings, discussions, guest lectures and performances, CDs, and films, the course provides a framework for comparison of musical cultures from different parts of the world. No music reading or basic theory knowledge required.
MUSC 165 Jazz Explorations This course is intended to introduce students to the cultural context, instrumentation, theory, form, and analysis of jazz from its early West African roots to contemporary times. Emphasis will be placed on listening to various artists and styles. No music reading or basic theory knowledge is required.
MUSC 205 Music Theory I: Common Practice and Popular Styles Building upon the skills acquired in MUSC 105, students use two voice counterpoint as a gateway to fluency in writing complete four-part phrases in tonal harmony. They will discover how these principles of voice-leading and harmonic grammar form the foundation of historic and contemporary musical styles. Aural comprehension skills are acquired from the concurrent lab for the course. MUSC-105 or permission
MUSC 207 Listening Across Cultures What does it mean to be a knowledgeable music listener? An expert listener? A native listener? Hip hop has its "heads," French opera had claqueurs, and Syrian tarab has the sammi'a (expert listeners), but is the act of listening the same across cultures, or is there something to the local perception of music that goes beyond style and genre? Questioning the adage that "Music is the universal language," this course will examine how people assign meaning and power to music. Analyzing music from around the world, we will attune our ears to the ways in which people across cultural borders conceptualize music, sound and the act of listening. No music reading or basic theory knowledge is required. Sophomores Only
MUSC 208 Music and Identity Music serves multiple roles: a force for social transformation, a flag of resistance, a proclamation of cultural identity, a catalyst for expressing emotion, an avenue to experiencing the sacred. Students will look at identity through the lens of contemporary and traditional American music and will consider how race, ethnicity, age, gender, national identity, and other factors express themselves in and are shaped by music. The ability to read music or understand basic music theory is not required; a love of music and an interest in American culture are essential. This course is a Shared Passages Sophomore Seminar. Sophomores only
MUSC 263 The Evolution of Symphonic Music On account of its capacity to blend heterogenous yet complementary sounds, and the sheer scale and complexity of its ambition, the symphony orchestra stands as one of the great achievements of musical thought, continuously fascinating and moving listeners. We will examine a broad range of music written for this ensemble over a period of nearly 300 years, as well as the cultural contexts that shaped them: from the eponymous Symphony to collaborative contexts such as opera, ballet, and film, touching on composers from Beethoven to William Grant Still to living legend John Williams. This course, like most at the 200 level within the Music Department, anticipates that students are able to read music and know basic music theory, equivalent to MUSC 105. MUSC-105 or instructor permission
MUSC 264 History of American Music This course is a survey of the history and development of music in the United States, from precolonial musical practices through the present. The majority of the course will be devoted to trends in popular music in the U.S., though we will also devote time to sacred and concert music traditions, necessarily touching on the broader context of musical cultures in the Americas.
MUSC 2XX TBD
MUSC 305 Music Theory II: Chromaticism and Modernism Building upon the skills acquired in MUSC 130, students will study techniques of modulation, as well as expressive and coloristic devices leading to late 19th century chromaticism, leading into 20th century practices. These elements will be part of further study of popular and art song form, theme and variations, rondo and sonata. Class meetings will include both lecture and workshops. Coordinated aural comprehension skills are acquired from the concurrent lab for this course. MUSC-205 or permission
MUSC 315 Sound & Culture in the Middle East An introduction to the popular culture and cultural politics of the modern Middle East, as heard through the medium of sound. Exploring the varied soundscapes and musical cultures of the region, we will examine how sound shapes, reinforces, critiques, and transforms social life, from the local to the international level. Listening to music as both an aesthetic object and a site for the contestation of ideas, we will learn about the ways in which music is used to articulate an array of competing visions: of the nation, colony and post-colony; religion, gender, and sexuality; globalization, hybridity, and modernity. Prior experience with music notation or theory is not necessarily required for this course, but students must have taken either MUSC-105 or ANSO-103 or received instructor permission. MUSC-105 or ANSO-103 or have received instructor permission.
MUSC 376 Conducting A study of the general rudiments of ensemble conducting through an emphasis on the orchestral literature. After an introduction to critical score-reading concepts (analysis skills, transposition, special terms, historical background), the remainder of the course is dedicated to practical application, with students receiving weekly podium time in front of a small laboratory ensemble. Offered spring quarter, even years MUSC-105 or permission
MUSC 377 Music Arranging This course will provide students with knowledge necessary to create new musical arrangements from existing instrumental and choral works. Must have taken MUSC-175
MUSC 3XX TBD
MUSC 490 Arts Entrepreneurship Art Entrepreneurship will look at the business of the arts in the 21st Century. Explore themes of entrepreneurship through case studies of successful entrepreneurs and investigate the lessons learned from failed arts organizations. This course will be focused on tangible skills musicians and other artists will need to compete in the creative marketplace. Roles of nonprofit arts organizations and presenters will be investigated. Concepts studied will include but not be limited to: networking, digital media & marketing, non-profit leadership, organizational structure, non-linear career paths, project management, fundraising, budgeting, taxes & copyright, and audience engagement.
MUSC 4XX TBD
MUSC 593 Senior Integrated Project Each program or department sets its own requirements for Senior Integrated Projects done in that department, including the range of acceptable projects, the required background of students doing projects, the format of the SIP, and the expected scope and depth of projects. See the Kalamazoo Curriculum -> Senior Integrated Project section of the Academic Catalog for more details. Permission of department and SIP supervisor required.
MUSC 600 Teaching Assistantship

About Music Ensembles

All students at Kalamazoo College may participate in ensembles. Generally meeting twice a week for periods of an hour and a half, ensembles should not conflict with the regular course schedule. A student may earn up to 5 full units in music ensembles and applied music (See “About Applied Music”) combined toward graduation; as many as three of those may be applied to the Major or Minor, and at least one unit of ensemble credit is required for the Major.

Music Ensembles

MUSC E201 College Singers The largest choral organization on campus emphasizing diverse repertoire and varied performance experiences, including a major performance each quarter. Prerequisite: Vocal evaluation

MUSC E202 Bach Festival Chorus Participation in the annual College Festival in conjunction with the Kalamazoo community. Prerequisite: Audition

MUSC E204 Symphonic Band Emphasizing a variety of music for brass, woodwinds, and percussion; ability to play a band instrument required. Previous band experience expected.

MUSC E205 Jazz Band Performance of standard and contemporary jazz arrangements for band and/or small combo; music reading required, but no previous improvisational or jazz band experience needed. Prerequisite: Audition

MUSC E207 Kalamazoo Philharmonia A full symphonic orchestra that rehearses once weekly and performs at least one full program each quarter. Philharmonia members include community members and professional leaders in addition to students. Registered students also are required to participate in additional sectional rehearsals. Proficient string, wind, brass, and percussion players are invited to audition; previous experience is preferred. Prerequisite: Audition

MUSC E209 International Percussion Ensemble Performance and study of International percussion traditions from around the world. Students may choose to participate in West African drumming or Japanese Taiko. One college concert is presented each quarter.

MUSC E211 Improvisation Workshop For the inquisitive musician who desires to learn the why and how of jazz improvisation, theory, and composition, juxtaposed with intimate jazz ensemble playing with emphasis on improvisation.

MUSC E213 Bayati Middle Eastern Ensemble The Bayati Ensemble is a joint student-community chamber orchestra that performs a range of musical styles from Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, and related traditions. Some proficiency on an instrument/voice is assumed, but no audition is required.

MUSC E215 Pit Orchestra Offered during quarters in which the Theatre Department presents a musical.

About Applied Music

Professional performers and teachers from the community join with the regular faculty of Kalamazoo College to teach individual lessons for a wide range of instruments and voice. These courses are open to all students, regardless of level, and each accrues 1/5 unit per quarter of participation. A student may earn up to 5 full units in music ensembles (see “About Music Ensembles”) and applied music combined toward graduation; as many as three of those may be applied to the Major or Minor. With few exceptions, each full unit of applied music credit toward the Major or Minor must be achieved by study in the same instrument.

Though these courses meet by default for the equivalent of 30 minutes per week, students have the option of taking hour-long lessons as well; in this event, the amount of credit accrued is 2/5 unit per quarter.  Students can only register for hour-long lessons through a Permission to Add form, signed by their instructor or the Department Chair, and submitted to the Registrar. 

At the end of each quarter, every student taking applied music must play a hearing before a group of music faculty members. Attendance at two performance area classes and the applied music recital each quarter is also required of students enrolled in applied music.

Upon the recommendation of the instructor, very advanced students may present a department-sponsored recital.

An extra fee is charged for applied music instruction. Please see the section of the catalog entitled “Policies: Expenses, Refund Policies, Fees” for more information.

Applied Music courses

MUSC L217 Chamber Music Instrumental and/or vocal ensembles arranged with the music faculty. Offered by request.

MUSC L221 Group Music Production Fundamentals

MUSC L222 Music Production Prerequisite: MUSC-L221 or MUSC-L222 or Permission

MUSC L222H Music Production- Hour Lessons[AK1] 

MUSC L224 Composition

MUSC L224H Composition – Hour

MUSC L225 Jazz Arranging and Composition

MUSC L231 Piano

MUSC L231H Piano – Hour Lessons Prerequisite: Instructor permission required

MUSC L232 Jazz Piano

MUSC L233 Collaborative Piano

MUSC L233H Collaborative Piano- Hour

MUSC L234 Harp

MUSC L236 Organ

MUSC L241 Voice

MUSC L241H Voice – Hour Lessons Prerequisite: Instructor permission required

MUSC L242 Jazz Voice

MUSC L242H Jazz Voice

MUSC L251 Violin

MUSC L251H Violin – Hour Lessons Prerequisite: Instructor Permission Required

MUSC L252 Viola

MUSC L254 Cello

MUSC L255 String Bass

MUSC L256 Jazz Bass

MUSC L257 Group Guitar Fundamentals

MUSC L258 Classical Guitar

MUSC L258H Guitar – Hour Lessons

MUSC L259 Jazz and Popular Guitar

MUSC L259H Jazz Guitar – Hour Lessons

MUSC L261 Flute

MUSC L263 Oboe

MUSC L265 Clarinet

MUSC L266 Saxophone

MUSC L268 Bassoon

MUSC L271 French Horn

MUSC L273 Trumpet

MUSC L273H Trumpet- Hour Lessons

MUSC L275 Trombone

MUSC L276 Euphonium

MUSC L277 Tuba

MUSC L281 Percussion

MUSC L282 Mallet Percussion

MUSC L282H Mallet Percussion – Hour Lessons

MUSC L301 Advanced Conducting Prerequisite: MUSC-260