Department of the Arts, Music program

The Music major, which is designed to prepare students for transfer in Music to four-year institutions, is a curriculum that culminates in an Associate of Arts degree. Numerous courses in the program fulfill Core Curriculum requirements for general students, and students enrolled in other majors are encouraged to participate in any course or performing ensemble for which they qualify.

Students completing this major will be able to:

  • perform appropriate musical repertoire competently in both solo and ensemble environments
  • identify and analyze in both written and aural formats the musical forms, styles, genres, and compositional techniques inherent in representative Common Practice repertoire
  • analyze and construct diatonic and chromatic harmonies using techniques of Roman Numeral harmonic analysis, figured bass, and related symbolic nomenclatures
  • employ music technology productively in both practical and creative contexts
  • sight-sing melodies accurately and take musical dictation by applying compatible solfege methodologies

Students entering as Music majors 1) must successfully pass the Music Fundamentals Test to qualify for entrance into the standard Music Theory course sequence, 2) must schedule an interview with a representative of the Music Area, and 3) must perform an audition on their principal instrument (or voice) for placement into the Applied Lesson course sequence. Contact the Music Area (215-968-8047) for complete information and scheduling of these preliminary requirements.

Registration for private applied lessons [courses with the "MUSL" prefix] is restricted to students enrolled in the Music major degree program and additionally requires Music Area approval. However, courses with MUSA and MUSC prefixes are open to all students who have satisfied any published prerequisite. Students must own or purchase an instrument (a onetime expense of $500-$5000) and buy music as required for study (up to $100 per semester).

Bucks County Community College is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).