The Music Minor is intended for students who are interested in supplementing their prior experiences in music. The curriculum includes core courses shared with all tracks of the Music Major, which provide structured study of skills-based musicianship, music theory, history, the study of other traditions, and performance studies. Students interested in pursuing a music minor should contact Dr. Susan Rice.
Prerequisite Course (must be completed prior to declaring the Music Minor):
MUSIC 0100 – Fundamentals of Western Music – 3 credits
- Students must earn a letter grade of B- or better in this course in order to declare a Music Major or Minor
- Students may elect to take the Fundamentals Exemption Exam in lieu of enrolling in MUSIC 0100. A passing grade of 85% is required in order for the exemption exam to meet this requirement. Students may only take the Fundamentals Exemption Test one (1) time in a single sitting. The test must be completed within 60 minutes after clicking the test link.
- Placement Exam Study Topics -notes in treble and bass clefs, major and minor key signatures, intervals, triads and their inversions, seventh chords and their inversions, major and minor scales, time signatures and rhythm, Roman numerals
Download the Course Requirement Checklist
Required Courses [20 credits]
credits course number & name
3 MUSIC 0222: Music History 1
3 MUSIC 0411: Theory 1
1 MUSIC 0412: Musicianship 1
1 MUSIC 0416: Musicianship 2
3 MUSIC 1310: Introduction to Global & Popular
Music
3 MUSIC 0711: History of Jazz -OR-
MUSIC 1326: Afro-American Music in the US
1 MUSIC ____: Performance course (1 per semester)
1 MUSIC ____: Performance course (1 per semester)
1 MUSIC ____: Performance course (1 per semester)
NB: Performance courses are either private lessons or ensembles and must include at least one world music ensemble, selected from the following:
MUSIC 0615: Carpathian
MUSIC 0660: African Drumming
MUSIC 0690: Gamelan
3 MUSIC ____: One Elective course from 1200, 1300 or 1400 level
Elective options include the following courses:
MUSIC 1220: Medieval & Early Renaissance
MUSIC 1224: Later Renaissance & Baroque
MUSIC 1226: Classical & Early Romantic
MUSIC 1228: Late Romantic & Early 20th Century
MUSIC 1230: Music since 1945
MUSIC 1242: Major Composer
MUSIC 1252: History of Performance Styles
MUSIC 1332: Music in Latin America
MUSIC 1340: Music in Africa
MUSIC 1352: Music in East Asia
MUSIC 1421/1422: Composition 1/2
MUSIC 1431: Instrumentation & Orchestration
MUSIC 1441: Electronic & Computer Music 1
MUSIC 1442: Electronic & Computer Music 2
You can view complete descriptions for Department of Music courses by visiting courses.as.pitt.edu.