Studies & Degrees in Theory and Composition

Choose where you would like to study Theory and Composition:

The history of music is long and cannot be tackled in a single article. It is important to note, however, that music evolved from its earliest purpose of keeping and teaching the history or culture of tribes, to become an artistic and individualistic expression of one’s personality or mood. Music has also become a tool for scientists to study the development of the human mind especially in the part biology cannot analyze. With this in mind, it will come as no surprise that degrees in music are popular among students who are interested in understanding and making music.

Theory and Composition is one of the degrees often taken by students interested in music. It is a program in music that is designed for students who want to develop their creativity and to gain broad and deep knowledge in music. Students who want to take this program will learn how to compose music by understanding how melody, harmony, and rhythm come together by understanding the language of music. Classes will involve many training sessions that will sharpen the students’ listening skills. Students will also learn how to write down chords and melodies and to analyze the structure of musical pieces. This program also involves activities such as reading, writing, performing, discussing, and listening to different kinds of music in order to learn from them.

This program is a combination of two specializations in music. The first one, music composition, offers courses that prepare students to become composers who have enough creative vision, depth, and knowledge to write music. It is difficult to become a successful composer; it requires innate talent and music inclination. With the right exposure and training, however, students can develop creative, critical, aesthetic, and intellectual musical skills. They will learn about the history of music, the basic and advanced fundamentals of conducting, and performance which requires students to perform a piano piece. Other courses such as humanities, philosophy of music, communication, social sciences, and even math are required to broaden the students’ knowledge and to prepare them for the professional life after graduation.

Music theory, the other half of this program, focuses on providing theoretical knowledge that will accompany the students’ applied musical skills. Students will be able to research the traditional disciplinary boundaries of music. They will learn about the Schenkerian theory, theory and analysis of the 20th century, contemporary music, history of music theory, musical perception, musical cognition, computing and music, jazz, and popular and ethnic music. They will also have to attend symposia that will be the venue for the students to present their papers and researches. Students will also be given a chance to edit and publish their music theories through their respective university or school journals. Contemporary applications of music such as in multimedia presentations will be studied through programming languages such as C, C++, Java, etc. Students will be able to produce MIDI files that are often used as acoustic or as background music in web pages.

Graduates of this program will find many opportunities waiting for them because of their excellent practical skills, creativity, and broad knowledge of contemporary production. Job opportunities available to graduates are, but not limited to, the following: composer, art administrator, music teacher, librarian, musician and singer, and recreational therapists.