Making Music at Bard

General Requirements

Music Program offerings are grouped under the headings of workshops, courses, and ensembles. Special projects are for music majors only. The distinction between workshops and courses is that workshops are project oriented, allowing a student to enroll repeatedly in the same workshop, while courses cover specific material and one-time-only registration is anticipated. Workshops, courses, and ensembles are open both to music majors and nonmajors, and a number of courses are specifically aimed at stimulating the interest and listening involvement of the general student population.

Theory and History Requirements
for Music Majors:

• By moderation: two semesters of theory, two semesters of history

• By graduation: an additional two semesters of theory and of history

Moderation

Typically in the second year of study, the Bard student focuses on completing and passing the moderation requirement before entering an area of concentration. For the student who wishes to concentrate on music, the student must write two papers: one paper must focus on the student’s musical achievements and aspirations from the past to the point of moderation. The second paper must focus on the student’s musical aspirations for the future, including what direction they would like their studies to take at Bard. Students must also create their own concert by performing their own music or those of others, or having others perform a concert of their compositions.
Senior project

Each graduating senior must complete a senior project. The requirements of the project vary depending on the music students’ course of study while at Bard. Performance majors are required to complete two recitals in their senior year, one each semester. Composition majors must premiere their pieces in recitals in their senior year. Ocassionaly, particiation in the commencement concert has counted as half of the senior project. If students have a concentration in both composition and performance, their recitals must reflect that double concentration.


	General Requirements Music Program offerings are grouped under the headings of workshops, courses, and ensembles. Special projects are for music majors only. The distinction between workshops and courses is that workshops are project oriented, allowing a student to enroll repeatedly in the same workshop, while courses cover specific material and one-time-only registration is anticipated. Workshops, courses, and ensembles are open both to music majors and nonmajors, and a number of courses are specifically aimed at stimulating the interest and listening involvement of the general student population. Theory and History Requirements for Music Majors: • By moderation: two semesters of theory, two semesters of history • By graduation: an additional two semesters of theory and of history Moderation Typically in the second year of study, the Bard student focuses on completing and passing the moderation requirement before entering an area of concentration. For the student who wishes to concentrate on music, the student must write two papers: one paper must focus on the student’s musical achievements and aspirations from the past to the point of moderation. The second paper must focus on the student’s musical aspirations for the future, including what direction they would like their studies to take at Bard. Students must also create their own concert by performing their own music or those of others, or having others perform a concert of their compositions. Senior project Each graduating senior must complete a senior project. The requirements of the project vary depending on the music students’ course of study while at Bard. Performance majors are required to complete two recitals in their senior year, one each semester. Composition majors must premiere their pieces in recitals in their senior year. Ocassionaly, particiation in the commencement concert has counted as half of the senior project. If students have a concentration in both composition and performance, their recitals must reflect that double concentration. BACK TO TOP	Music Courses and Workshops MUSIC HISTORY COURSES (past and present courses) >>click here for current course list Introduction to Listening The History of Western Music to 1750 Intermediate Italian/Opera The Operas of Verdi The Operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Jazz in Literature I and II Music and Identity in the Caribbean: An Ethnomusicological Approach Topics in the History of Music New Musical Currents since Minimalism The Symphony from Sammartini to Branca Charles Mingus Profile Introduction to Experimental Music The History and Literature of Electronic and Computer Music The Music of Franz Joseph Haydn, 1732-1809 Twentieth-Century Music Performing Women Composers Music before 1600 Beethoven Tous les matins du monde: French Musical Culture from Louis XIV to the Revolution Music: High Culture, Low Culture, Popular Culture: An Economic/ Aesthetic History of the Musical Uses of Leisure Time in Twentieth-Century America The Life and Music of Dimitri Shostakovich The Literature and Language of Music Music Cultures of the Sixties and Seventies Studies in Keyboard Music, 1500-1750 Orpheus the Singer Music of the Baroque Era Jazz: The Freedom Principle I, II, and III Italian Lyric Poetry and Music from 1300 to 1650 World Music Seminar Symphonic Thought in the Nineteenth CenturyMusic THEORY COURSES (past and present courses) >>click here for current course list Explorations in Music Fundamentals of Music I and II Jazz Harmony I and II The Arithmetic of Listening Romantic Harmony Renaissance Counterpoint Counterpoint Harmonic Strategies of the Sonata Seminar in Stylistic Analysis Analysis of the Classics of Modernism Advanced Electronic Music and Arts Workshop Advanced Analysis Seminar Musical Electronics: Analog Synthesis and Processing Interpreting, Observing, Experiencing Score Reading and Instrumentation Workshops offered in recent years include the following: Songwriting Percussion Discussion Performance Class Composition Seminar The Art of the Improviser Electronic Music Integrated Electronic Music and Arts Voice and Vocal Repertoire for Singers and Pianists Classical Guitar BACK TO TOP