Music

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2018-19 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The Department of Music grants a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Music and also a minor in Music. The department is dedicated to a liberal education in the arts and humanities and thus involves students in all aspects of the study of music-theoretical and creative studies, historical and cultural studies, music and technology, and performance. The curriculum is responsive to the interests of a diverse student body, and the program offers a broad and flexible program.

The major may serve as preprofessional training for the student seeking a career in music or provide a lasting source of enrichment for the student with other career goals. Prospective majors are asked to demonstrate a minimum standard of musical literacy in a placement test. Since the program is offered by a department of music rather than a school of music, a performance audition is not required to declare the major.

There are a large number of double majors in the department representing fields such as molecular and cell biology, rhetoric, physics, theater, dance, and performance studies, political economy of industrial societies, English, and business administration, just to name a few.

Course of Study Overview

Lower division studies are intended to provide grounding in the skills of musicianship and harmony and a broad background in the literature and practices of European and a variety of other music. Upper division students may choose from an extensive selection of elective courses to create an individual course of study according to their own interests. The department offers an honors program in which a major in the senior year may develop a special honors project working with a faculty adviser in any area of music studies.

Students without keyboard proficiency are strongly urged to enroll in two semesters of Course Not Available (MUSIC 405) in their first semesters in the major program.

Course Placement Procedure

Students who plan to major in music or wish to take music major classes must complete the Music Placement Procedure before beginning music major classes. Students may pre-enroll in classes before the Musicianship Placement Exam and make adjustments to their schedule during the add/drop period if necessary. For detailed information regarding the placement tests, please see the Placement Procedure page on the department's website.

Declaring the Major

To declare the Music Major, prospective students must:

  • Place into MUSIC 52A Musicianship I or higher via the Musicianship Placement Exam, and enroll in the course of placement.
  • Complete courses in at least 3 of the following areas of study, and receive a grade of C or higher in each course:
    • Musicianship and Harmony
    • MUSIC 70 History of Music I
    • MUSIC 80 Studies of Musics of the World
    • Performance

An Undergraduate Orientation is held once before the beginning of each semester. The orientation reviews important information such as placement exams, major requirements, program planning, major resources, and student life. It is imperative that prospective music majors make every possible effort to attend.

Students should submit the Intent to Declare the Music Major form to the Undergraduate Advisor and create a program plan as soon as possible after placement.

Honors Program

The Department of Music offers an individualized program leading to the BA degree with honors. Students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 overall and 3.5 in the major may apply to enroll in the honors program in the last two semesters of their undergraduate study. Under course MUSIC H195, students undertake a special project exceeding the scope of regular coursework for one or two semesters. Application forms with more detailed criteria for approval can be obtained from the department office and must be submitted by 12 p.m. on the Friday of the third week of classes in the semester in which the project is started.

Minor Program

For information on declaring the minor, please see the Minor Program page on the department's website.

Visit Department Website

Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.

General Guidelines

  1. All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
  2. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science.
  3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Major Requirements

Musicianship & Harmony

Musicianship: minimum of two courses starting with the course of placement
MUSIC 52AMusicianship I3
MUSIC 52BMusicianship II3
MUSIC 152AAdvanced Musicianship I3
Harmony: minimum of two courses starting with the course of placement
MUSIC 53AHarmony I3
MUSIC 53BHarmony II3
MUSIC 153AAdvanced Tonal Harmony3
or MUSIC 153B Twentieth-Century Harmony

History & Culture

Lower Division
MUSIC 70History of Music I4
MUSIC 80Studies of Musics of the World4
Upper Division
MUSIC 170Topics in History, Culture, and Analysis3
or MUSIC 170A Topics in Research and Performance
And select one of the following
MUSIC 130BAfrican American Music4
MUSIC N130BAfrican American Music4
MUSIC 131ACourse Not Available4
MUSIC 132Music of the Middle East4
MUSIC 133CMusic and Theater in Southeast Asia4
MUSIC 133DMusic of Central Java4
MUSIC 134ACourse Not Available4
MUSIC 134BCourse Not Available4
MUSIC C134CCourse Not Available4
MUSIC 135AMusics of the Caribbean4
MUSIC 136Course Not Available4
MUSIC 137ACMusic of the Civil Rights Era4
MUSIC C138Art and Activism4
MUSIC 139Topics in Musics of the World4
MUSIC 139ACCourse Not Available4
MUSIC 180Seminar in Ethnomusicology: Selected Topics3

Performance

Select at least three classes from the following:
MUSIC 140Javanese Gamelan2
MUSIC N140Course Not Available2
MUSIC 141University Symphony Orchestra2
MUSIC 142University Wind Ensemble2
MUSIC N142Course Not Available2
MUSIC 143Gospel Chorus2
MUSIC 144University Chorus2
MUSIC 145University Chamber Chorus2
MUSIC 146BBalinese Gamelan2
MUSIC N146BBalinese Gamelan2
MUSIC 147Course Not Available2
MUSIC 148African Music Ensemble2
MUSIC N148African Music Ensemble2
MUSIC 149University Baroque Ensemble2
Or the Music 150 series provided that students are in an ensemble in conjunction with their 150 lessons (see department website for details).

Upper Division Elective Requirements

Select additional Music courses to reach a minimum of 24 upper division units. The remaining units may be selected from courses numbered 100-129 with an M suffix or Music 130-189.

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

  1. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
  2. A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
  3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
  4. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
  5. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
  6. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which the student plans to graduate. If students cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, they should see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
  7. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements

Lower Division
See below for information regarding substitutions for and exemptions from the lower division requirements.
MUSIC 20ABasic Musicianship2
MUSIC 25Introduction to Music Theory3
Select one of the following:4
MUSIC 26AC
Music in American Culture [4]
MUSIC 27
Introduction to Western Music [4]
MUSIC 29
Music Now [4]
Upper Division
Select five upper division courses, numbered between MUSIC 100-MUSIC 149, MUSIC 158-MUSIC 159, and MUSIC 164-MUSIC 165
At least one of the five courses must be a performance ensemble
At least one of the five courses must not be a performance ensemble

Substitutions

Courses for the Music major may be substituted for the equivalent minor course if the student has placed in MUSIC 52A Musicianship I or higher on the Musicianship Placement Exam:

Exemption from Lower Division Requirements

MUSIC 20A may be waived by examination for minors who have all of the following:

  • Mastery of written music theory fundamentals (key signatures, major and minor scales, diatonic intervals and primary triads in context, rhythm, tempo and conducting patterns in simple and compound meters);
  • Ability to conduct and perform at sight a rhythmic passage in simple meter, possibly including figures articulating the beat division and/or subdivision and including syncopation;
  • Ability to sing at sight (without the aid of an instrument) with correct movable-do solfege, accurate relative pitch relationships, good rhythm and steady tempo a diatonic melody in any key while conducting.

To request a Music 20A/B waiver exam, see the Minor Program page on the Music Department website. 

College Requirements

Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please review the College of Letters & Sciences page in this Guide. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages. 

University of California Requirements

Entry Level Writing

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley. 

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university, should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

Berkeley Campus Requirement

American Cultures

All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composition

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses by the end of their second semester and a second-level course by the end of their fourth semester.

College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements

Breadth Requirements

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

  • 120 total units

  • Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units

  • Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department
Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your BA degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Plan of Study

Below is a typical plan of study for music majors who are admitted as a Freshman. Each student's program will vary based on experience and interest. Students should familiarize themselves with the Music major requirements before making a program plan, and consult the Undergraduate Advisor should any question arise. A sample program plan for transfer students is available on the Music Department website.

Please note that the sample program plan below include only courses required for the major. All courses are subject to change every semester. Students must check the Online Schedule of Classes for the most up-to-date class offerings.

Freshman
FallUnitsSpringUnits
MUSIC 52A3MUSIC 52B3
MUSIC 53A3MUSIC 53B3
MUSIC 40511MUSIC 40511
 7 7
Sophomore
FallUnitsSpringUnits
MUSIC 704MUSIC 804
Performance course22Performance course22
 6 6
Junior
FallUnitsSpringUnits
MUSIC 170 or 170A3MUSIC 180 (Or one course from MUSIC 130–139)3
Performance course22Upper division Music course3
 5 6
Senior
FallUnitsSpringUnits
Upper division Music course3Upper division Music course3
Upper division Music course3Upper division Music course3
 6 6
Total Units: 49
1

 Strongly recommended for those without keyboard experience.

2

 A minimum of three semesters of performance ensembles (or three performance ensembles) are required. Please see an adviser in the Department of Music for additional information.

Student Learning Goals

Berkeley music majors are expected to do the following:

  1. To acquire knowledge and understanding of music in an integrated way—through historical and cultural studies, musicianship and theory, and performance. These studies prepare students to pursue a career in some aspect of music or to maintain music as a central part of their lives.
  2. To cultivate musical competency, including literacy (the use of music notation in reading, performing, composing, analyzing, and hearing music).
  3. To develop skills of critical thinking and writing about music by taking courses on past and present musical cultures in European and other heritages.
  4. To create music by performing, composing, and improvising.
  5. To pursue personal interests by selecting upper division courses including independent studies and honors projects.

Advising

Zoe Xu, Undergraduate Adviser
104 Morrison Hall
510-642-2678
musicadvising@berkeley.edu
Advising by appointment: https://calendly.com/zoexu

Academic Opportunities

Performance Opportunities in the Department of Music

All ensembles are open by audition to members of the community. Please see the department's website for further information.

Javanese Gamelan (MUSIC 140)

Traditional music of Indonesia performed on the Music Department's gamelan, Khyai Udan Mas. Public performances may also feature Indonesian shadow play.
Instructor: Midiyanto
Sections for beginners and for advanced students
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Morrison Hall

University Symphony (MUSIC 141)

Bold programming and high artistic standards have made this one of the country's finest university orchestras. It is not only a preprofessional training orchestra but also a major performing ensemble in the Bay Area as well.
Instructor: David Milnes
Auditions: Held during first week of instruction
Location: Hertz Hall

University Wind Ensemble (MUSIC 142)

Performing course for the study and practice of traditional and contemporary wind band repertoire.
Instructor: Robert Calonico
Auditions: Call 510-643-9644, or stop by Room 53 César Chavez Center to schedule an audition or for more information.
Location: César Chavez Center

Gospel Chorus (MUSIC 143)

Music of the African American gospel tradition with particular emphasis on contemporary performance techniques.
Instructor: Mark Wilson
Auditions: Held during the first week of instruction
Location: 125 Morrison Hall

University Chorus (MUSIC 144)

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as "very impressive in sonority, quality of tone, and expressiveness." From Slavonic chant to choral-orchestral repertoire to contemporary music, this large chorus performs an exciting variety of literature.
Instructor: Nikolas Nackley
Auditions: Held during the first week of instruction
Location: Hertz Hall

Chamber Chorus (MUSIC 145)

Focusing on lesser-known choral works, this small ensemble also sings and records with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
Instructor: Magen Solomon
Auditions: Held during the first week of instruction
Location: Hertz Hall

Balinese Gamelan (MUSIC 146B)

Learn to perform music suited to Balinese gamelan Semar Pagulingan, Pelegongan, Baleganjur, or Gender Wayang. Classes will consist of instruction on playing technique and memorization of pieces taught by ear in the traditional Balinese manner.
Instructor: Lisa Gold
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Morrison Hall

African Music Ensemble (MUSIC 148)

Music of West Africa taught by a Ghanaian master drummer.
Instructor: C.K. Ladzekpo
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Hertz Hall

Baroque Music Ensemble (MUSIC 149)

Instrumental and vocal performances of Renaissance and Baroque music.
Instructor: Christine Brandes
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Hertz Hall

Jazz Improvisation (MUSIC 164)

A study of the fundamental principles in improvisation designed for performers with the aim in developing skill in improvisation.
Instructor: Myra Melford
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Morrison Hall

Nu Jazz Collective (MUSIC 165)

This advanced small ensemble of improvisers will explore a range of repertoire including music by innovative jazz composers of the 1960s and 70s as well as contemporary works and original student compositions and arrangements.
Instructor: Myra Melford
Auditions: Come to first class meeting
Location: Morrison Hall

Courses

Music

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Jeanne Bamberger, Adjunct Professor. Music cognition and child development.

Franck Y. Bedrossian, Associate Professor. Composition, computer music.

Benjamin Brinner, Professor. Indonesia, Java, Bali, Israel, musical memory, situated musical cognition, musical interaction, improvisation, gamelan, music and oral narrative.
Research Profile

Edmund Campion, Professor. Music, composition, musical application of computer technologies.
Research Profile

Delia Casadei, Assistant Professor. Voice and politics in Italian 20th-century music.

Carmine Cella, Assistant Professor. Music and Technology.

Cindy Cox, Professor. Composition, music analysis and theory, post-tonal music, piano, music and live electronics, text-setting.
Research Profile

James Davies, Associate Professor. Musics and bodies, cultural performance, romanticisms, nineteenth-century music, histories of science, pianists and pianos, singers and voice, music pedagogy and training, South Africa, colonial melodrama, township opera.
Research Profile

Jocelyne Guilbault, Professor. Cultural politics, Caribbean, popular and traditional musics, nation, diaspora, cultural entrepreneurship.
Research Profile

Matthew Hough, Assistant Teaching Professor.

Nicholas Mathew, Associate Professor. Beethoven, Haydn, music in Vienna, music and politics, music and urban culture, aesthetics, piano performance, historical performance practices.
Research Profile

Myra Melford, Professor. Jazz composition and improvisational practices.

David Milnes, Professor. Music, directing, orchestral conducting technique, music ensemble.
Research Profile

Tamara C. Roberts, Assistant Professor. Aesthetic, political, and spiritual potential of performance, Afro-Asian music and music of enslaved Africans in the U.S., Puerto Rico, intercultural percussion performance, women’s drumming communities, diasporic connections in African American and Afro-Caribbean vernacular traditions, and the technology and politics of spiritual musical practice.

Mary Ann Smart, Professor. Staging of opera, 19th-century music, opera, opera and politics, 19th-century Italy, music and gender, singers and voices, Verdi, Wagner, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini.
Research Profile

Maria Sonevytsky, Assistant Professor. Sovereignty and wildness in post-Soviet Ukrainian ethno-music, the legacy of Soviet cultural policies on music after socialism, folklore and nuclear experience after Chornobyl.

Ken Ueno, Associate Professor. Music composition, noise, electronic music, Asian music, music of Japan, extended vocal techniques, overtone singing, musical culture of Japan, experimental improvisation.
Research Profile

Emily Zazulia, Assistant Professor. Medieval and Renaissance Music, the intersection of musical style, complex notation, and intellectual history.

Lecturers

Carla Brunet, Lecturer.

Robert Calonico, Lecturer.

Majel Connery, Lecturer.

Lisa Gold, Lecturer.

Benjamin Goldberg, Lecturer.

Rama J. Gottfried, Lecturer.

Candace Johnson, Lecturer.

C. K. Ladzekpo, Senior Lecturer.

Deirdre Loughridge, Lecturer.

Midiyanto Midiyanto, Lecturer.

Michael Orland, Lecturer.

David Pereira, Lecturer.

Doniel Mark Wilson, Lecturer.

Robert Yamasato, Lecturer.

Emeritus Faculty

Richard L. Crocker, Professor Emeritus.

Christy Dana, Senior Lecturer Emeritus.

Mary Kay Duggan, Professor Emeritus.

Edwin E. Dugger, Professor Emeritus.

Richard Felciano, Professor Emeritus.

+ Daniel Heartz, Professor Emeritus.

Marika Kuzma, Professor Emeritus.

Davitt Moroney, Professor Emeritus. Music, musicology, music performance, Italian Music.
Research Profile

+ Anthony A. Newcomb, Professor Emeritus.

John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus. Music, music bibliography, Handel, French nineteenth-century opera.
Research Profile

Karen Rosenak, Senior Lecturer Emeritus.

+ Michael C. Senturia, Professor Emeritus.

Richard Taruskin, Professor Emeritus. Nationalism, music, musicology, theory of performance, Russian music, twentieth-century music, theory of modernism, analysis.
Research Profile

Bonnie C. Wade, Professor Emeritus.

Olly W. Wilson, Professor Emeritus.

Contact Information

Department of Music

104 Morrison Hall

Phone: 510-642-2678

Fax: 510-642-8480

music@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Edmund Campion

104 Morrison Hall

campion@cnmat.berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Adviser

TBD

104 Morrison Hall #1200

Phone: 510-643-8724

http://music.berkeley.edu

musicadvising@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Adviser

Zoe Xu

104 Morrison, #1200

Phone: 510-642-2678

http://music.berkeley.edu

musicadvising@berkeley.edu

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