This is a limited-enrollment program requiring departmental admissions approval. Please see the college advisement center for information regarding requirements for admission to this major.
The BM in composition degree program teaches young composers to write with modern and experimental music vocabularies as well as historic vocabularies, write for diverse color combinations (including orchestral and electroacoustic), and recruit and rehearse players to perform their music.
The music composition major prepares the student for graduate study in composition and theory or may lead to a professional career in composing, arranging, or related fields.
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Acceptance as a music major; concurrent enrollment in Music 195, 197. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Development of aural skills through melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic dictation. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 193, 195, 197; concurrent enrollment in Music 198, 196. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 193. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Acceptance as a music major; concurrent enrollment in Music 193, 197. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Writing and analysis in diatonic harmony. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 193, 195, 197; concurrent enrollment in 194, 198. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Writing and analysis in diatonic and chromatic harmony. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Acceptance as a music major; concurrent enrollment in Music 193, 195. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Rhythm and pitch-reading skills using two systems of counting and melodic solfeggio singing with hand signs. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 193, 195, 197; concurrent enrollment in Music 194, 196. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 197. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Piano skills determined by entrance diagnostic exam; music major status. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Provides music majors with basic keyboarding ability in such areas as sight reading, technique, harmonization, and score reading. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 221; music major status. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 221. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 194, 196, and 198; concurrent enrollment in Music 295, 297. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 194. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 293, 295, 297; concurrent enrollment in Music 296, 298. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 293. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 194, 196, and 198; concurrent enrollment in Music 293, 297. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Extended chromatic techniques and introduction to twentieth-century concepts. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 293, 295, 297; concurrent enrollment in Music 294, 298. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Set theory, serialism, and late twentieth-century concepts. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 194, 196, and 198; concurrent enrollment in Music 293 and 295. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 198. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 293, 295, 297; concurrent enrollment in Music 294, 296. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Continuation of Music 297. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music major status, C- or higher in Music 194, 196, 198. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Physical techniques and musical understanding required to conduct an instrumental performance ensemble. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music major status, C- or higher in Music 194, 196, 198. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Physical techniques and musical understanding required to conduct a choral performance ensemble. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music major status. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Private instruction and studio class. |
| NOTE: | From one to four hours of daily practice. Fee. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Acceptance by audition to the School of Music. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Class instruction in voice technique. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music major status. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Private instruction and studio class. |
| NOTE: | From one to four hours of daily practice. Fee. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition and instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Training and experience in operatic choral music and stage movement. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition and instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Training and experience in operatic excerpts, chamber opera, and full productions for operatic soloists. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition and instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Auditioned chorus or orchestra for opera or music dance theatre productions. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition and director's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Participation as soloists, coaches, or directors in music dance theatre or opera performances. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition or director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Contemporary and traditional show music (Young Ambassadors) and ethnic music (Lamanite Generation). |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Includes Jazz Ensemble (big band), Jazz Lab Band (entry-level big band), and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Includes Jazz Ensemble (big band), Jazz Lab Band (entry-level big band), and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Traditional ensemble specializing in early jazz. Band occasionally tours off campus. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Playing and performing on the Balinese gamelan (percussion) instruments. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Audition. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music 260R or instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Accompanying and ensemble performance. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | Director's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Instructor's consent. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 294 & MUSIC 296 & MUSIC 298; Music major status; Music 201, 202 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Survey of musical genres, forms, styles, and performance practices from antiquity through the baroque. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 294 & MUSIC 296 & MUSIC 298; Music major status; Music 201, 202 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Survey of musical genres, forms, styles, and performance practices from the classic through the present. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 293, 295, 297. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Analytical study of forms from the common-practice period, including baroque contrapuntal structures and instrumental forms, classical sonata cycle, and romantic part forms. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring On Demand; Summer On Demand |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 194 & MUSIC 196 & MUSIC 198; Music major status; Music 201, 202 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Exploration of music making from a global perspective. |
| NOTE: | This course is part of a GE Mosaic. See ge.byu.edu/mosaic-list for more information. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 194 & MUSIC 196 & MUSIC 198; Music major status; Music 201, 202 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Survey of jazz history, emphasizing periods, styles, and artists through the analysis of published transcriptions and arrangements. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music 195 or instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Introduction to principles of recent art music; composition and performance of student works for one to five instruments. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music 188 or instructor's consent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Introduction to composition with digital audio and related media. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 287 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Invention and exploration of sound, control of multivoiced textures and larger forms, and recent art music. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MUSIC 222 & MUSIC 288 & MUSIC 294 & MUSIC 296 & MUSIC 298; Junior-level screening. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Composition lessons and seminars in principles and techniques of recent art music. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 294, 296, 298. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Scoring for standard orchestral instruments. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | C- or higher in Music 294, 296, 298. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Eighteenth-century contrapuntal styles and techniques, emphasizing those of J. S. Bach. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music 481 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | New techniques for standard and new instruments; analysis and listening. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Music 483 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Strict modal counterpoint in sixteenth- century style (Palestrina); includes species, text setting, and motet. |