School of Music

Music majors & non-music majors welcome.


For music majors, we have a two-year program that specializes in performance and culminates in an Associate of Music degree which transfers to many colleges and universities. For non-majors, we have a variety of ensembles, private lessons, and listening-oriented music history courses which satisfy General Education Requirements.

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Mission & Handbook

The School of Music at BCCC provides students with a comprehensive and individualized education to prepare them for lifelong success as professional and nonprofessional musicians while enriching the cultural life of our diverse community.

School of Music Handbook

The Music Major

Private Lessons

Students develop musicality in their applied area by taking four sequential college-level private lessons for one hour weekly, known as Principal Lessons. Students must master their assigned repertoire to advance to the next level by passing a mandatory jury examination at the end of the term. The adjudication panel is comprised of faculty members and private instructors. A Performance Class is a co-requisite course with Principal Lessons. In this environment, students perform before an audience of their peers, guided by an instructor, and learn to listen critically to each other and provide constructive commentary.

Music Theory

Essential musicianship skills are developed in a four-semester sequence of courses in both theory and ear training. These co-requisite courses explore the primary rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic principles indispensable to all musicians. Students will advance from diatonic and chromatic harmony through contemporary idioms and gain proficiency in analysis, composition, sight-singing, and dictation.

Ensembles

Music performance is a primary focus of our program; therefore, students are encouraged to participate in as many ensembles as they like. Repertoire for any given ensemble is diverse in style, character, native origin, etc. Each ensemble presents an end-of-semester concert and may also perform for other functions on campus or at external venues. Music majors must take one ensemble per semester. Concert Choir is required as one of four total ensembles and is to be taken during the first semester.

Piano Proficiency

All music students must take Group Instruction in Piano, which is designed to address practical keyboard skills (sight-reading, harmonization, improvisation, transposition, scales, chord progressions, and elementary repertoire) that can be applied universally and productively across the curriculum. Students must pass a Piano Proficiency Exam before they graduate. It is possible to retake this course multiple times, or conversely, as student may wish to hone his/her piano skills by enrolling in a weekly ½ hour private secondary piano lesson.

Music History

Our program provides ample opportunity to explore a wide range of music repertoire through listening-based survey courses such as Introduction to Music (standard music appreciation of Western art music), World Music, History of Jazz and American Pop Culture: History of Rock.

Getting Started in the Music Major

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Music Scholarships

Scholarships are administered by the Foundation Office and the Financial Aid Office for use at Bucks County Community College.

Music for Non-Majors