It Is Available To Novices Or Experts
The study of music is much more than learning how to sing or play an instrument. In our middle school Music Connections course, for example, students explore how music affects culture, develop analytical and evaluative skills in music listening, and investigate the various purposes of music. In our high school Music Theory course students learn how to read music and hone their listening skills by learning how to recognize intervals and tonality. Beginners and advanced students can find a music course to fit their needs.
As you can see, studying music can have a significant impact on students and their ability to memorize, to increase creativity, to improve discipline, mental capacity, and their opportunity for collaboration. Music classes are available for students of all talent levels, too.
Meet Some Of The Harvard/nec Students
A few of the first graduates of the joint program: George Li, Sandy Cameron, Bong-Ihn Koh, Danielle Rabinowitz, Charlie Albright, Julia Glenn
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Mixing it up Musically: students on their experience in the program
Overview
The Berklee College of Music/Harvard program is a dual degree five-year program of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard College and a Master of Music or a Master of Arts at Berklee College of Music. The program will benefit musically and intellectually talented students who wish to pursue a contemporary music education at Berklee and a rigorous liberal arts education at Harvard.
During the first three years of the program, students will pursue the AB curriculum in the concentration of their choice at Harvard and take private instruction at Berklee. Ensemble participation at either institution is strongly recommended. Students must pass the appropriate instrumental proficiency at Berklee at the end of each semester to determine continued progress in their musical study. The proficiency at the end of the third year also serves as an audition and interview confirming the studentâs readiness to begin the Master of Music or Master of Arts program at Berklee.
Application Process
No transfer students are eligible, including current Berklee students. Please note: Boston Conservatory courses or majors are not eligible for this program.
Costs
Financial aid may also be granted by Berklee for the fifth year of study.
Housing
Academic Advising
What Does Science Have To Say
Weve gone over how music works for me, but Im a sample size of one. What does the research have to say?
Well, as I alluded to in the intro the answers are mixed.
For example, one study done at the University of Maryland in 2013 tested 32 students on several different math quizzes done with or without music. They also tested different types of music, using music at both low intensity and high intensity.
What they found was that the highest scores were achieved in the silence condition, with the low intensity music beating out the high intensity track.
However, I should note that the low intensity track was a classical piano piece, while the high intensity track was a song by the metalcore band Demon Hunter. Having listened to them since I was about 12 years old, I can tell you that I wouldnt choose to listen to them while taking a math test.
Still, that point isnt relevant to the fact that silence won out over both types of music in this study.
However, another study done in France with 249 participants found that a group who watched a lecture while listening to classical music scored higher on a quiz than the group who watched the lecture in silence.
Currently, it seems the research is bringing up conflicting answers. Part of the reason could be the relatively small sample sizes to my knowledge, there hasnt yet been a truly large-scale study of musics effect on the brain. This is definitely an area ripe for more research.
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Music Can Put Us In A Better Mood
You may have heard of the Mozart effect the idea that listening to Mozart makes you smarter. This is based on research that found listening to complex classical music like Mozart improved test scores, which the researcher argued was based on the musics ability to stimulate parts of our minds that play a role in mathematical ability.
However, further research conclusively debunked the Mozart effect theory: it wasnt really anything to do with maths, it was really just that music puts us in a better mood.
Research conducted in the 1990s found a Blur Effect where kids who listened to the BritPop band Blur seemed to do better on tests. In fact, researchers found that the Blur effect was bigger than the Mozart effect, simply because kids enjoyed pop music like Blur more than classical music.
Being in a better mood likely means that we try that little bit harder and are willing to stick with challenging tasks.
Programmatic Accreditation For Bachelor’s Programs In Music
Regional and national accreditation determines the quality and consistency of an institution. Many music bachelor’s degrees go a step further with a programmatic accreditation status.
Programmatic accreditation evaluates programs based on specific, discipline-related standards. The National Association of Schools of Music provides programmatic accreditation for undergraduate and graduate music degrees, according to set standards concerning artistic and academic quality.
Accreditation from NASM makes it easier for students to feel secure in the offerings of a prospective music program, though it bears reminding that a school doesn’t necessarily need programmatic accreditation in order to deliver an excellent education. There are no professional or personal penalties for attending a non-NASM-accredited bachelor’s program in music.
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Music Production College Programs: What You Should Know
Are you interested in studying music production? Are you obsessed with how music is effectively presented live and/or recorded?
This article will help you zoom in on your specific interests and career goals. Find out what you need to know before you apply to music production programs, and learn what schools expect from their applicants.
In a follow up article, students and recent graduates working in a variety of production-related settings will share their insights and recommendations to help you figure out your next steps.
It Will Help You Focus More
Rather than distracting college students, a Stanford study found that music moves brain to pay attention. Researchers utilized musical compositions from the 1800s in their study and found that music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory . They believe that music choice was influential in brain processing, revealing, The goal of the study was to look at how the brain sorts out events, but the research also revealed that musical techniques used by composers 200 years ago help the brain organize incoming information . Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven can help students categorize information, which is an influential asset to studying.
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Theater And Drama: Marketing Your Passion For The Stage To Admissions Officers
If youve ever worked on a play, you know that it can be a lot of fun. What you may not have considered, though, is how well it can fit into your college application. Theater requires extensive research, interpersonal and organizational skills, concentration and perseverance.
Of course, these traits arent reserved for actors only technicians, crew heads, stage managers and directors have heavy involvement in production too. Be sure to make your theatre experience known on your application, and look for as many participation opportunities as possible. Lead roles are probably more notable on your applications than bit parts, but dont forget to seek out leadership positions as well. Stage manager, dance captain, and assistant director are just a few of the great leadership options available.
Canada Music Schools & Colleges
Trying to find the best music schools in Canada? Take a look at some great schools worth your consideration.
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The School of Music is located in Harvey Denton Hall on the campus of Acadia University in the beautiful town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Our facilities include digitally enhanced classrooms equipped with laptop network drops, a digital recording studio, a midi lab, and an electronic keyboard lab. We offer many opportunities to perform in large and small ensembles including a touring Wind Ensemble, annual opera and music theatre productions, as well as a new music festival.
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Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus artists, leaders, and thinkers to unleash their creative potential.
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Cape Breton Universitys Bachelor of Arts Community Studies Music Major focuses on traditional and tradition-based popular music, with particular emphasis on local music traditions like Celtic, Acadian and First Nations. The program is designed for students who have a passion for a broad range of music and want to work with music.
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Courses In A Bachelor’s In Music Program
Whether you enroll in a general bachelor’s program in music or a program with a specialized concentration, expect to take several essential courses to enhance and develop skills in listening to, analyzing, and appreciating music. Your school’s exact course content may vary from the sample information listed below.
Basic music theory courses introduce students to fundamental written music concepts including key signatures, meter, rhythm, scales, intervals, triads, and chords. Students learn how to perform Roman numeral and figured bass analysis on staff paper. Advanced theory courses build on these skills with additional concepts like counterpoint and phrasing.
Typically coordinated alongside music theory courses, aural learning courses enhance students’ aural skills through ear training techniques and sight-singing with solfege. In identification and dictation assignments, students discern intervals, chords, and triads by ear and learn to write out melodies, harmonies, and rhythms on a staff as they hear them.
Designed for the music major without extensive keyboard experience, basic applied piano courses introduce students to keyboard fundamentals. A combination lecture and group practice environment helps students learn their way around the piano and develop the skills to play scales, chords, and basic melodies and basslines.
Music Theory And Composition
Some schools may separate these into two distinct majors others may include music arranging and/or editing within this major. Most music majors will find that they are required to take some music theory classes in order to graduate. But those who want to focus on the relationship of melody, harmony, and rhythm combined with the design and structure of chords as well as on creating their own compositions will want to consider majoring in this field. Typical requirements: composition, theory, aural or ear training, ethnomusicology, performance, and music history.
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How Much Is A Bachelor’s In Music
Although prices range depending on the school you select, according to College Board, current annual undergraduate tuition costs sit around $10,000 for in-state students at public universities, $26,000 for out-of-state students at public universities, and $35,000 for students at private universities. Beyond tuition, students should expect to shell out another large amount of cash for housing, whether they decide to live on campus or not.
The average cost for public university housing comes out to $7,000 annually, but this figure can increase depending on the geographic area and the type of housing arrangement you desire . Online students or students who already live close enough to their campus to commute can save money in this area. Colleges also charge for parking passes, bus fees, library and technology fees, and athletic/extracurricular fees.
After big-ticket costs of tuition, room/board, and fees, students still need to cover the cost of essential school supplies and textbooks. Music majors must also consider the additional, unique expenses they may incur for standard equipment as well as instrument maintenance and repair.
What Kind Of Careers Can You Get With A Music Degree
Your choice of major in college should lead you into the kind of career you envision for your future self. This doesnt mean it will happen immediately, but earning your music degree should have a real-world benefit, especially in connection to the many valuable skills youve gained, and also the strength of your network. Finding a music job isnt the easiest thing, but to be fair, most things are hard. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!
Youve probably heard the term gig economy to describe many kinds of employment today. In fact, the term gig comes from music, originally called a gigue, which meant an event where musicians would play for dancers. Nowadays it refers to the way people are hired: not as employees, but as independent contractors. Some people call themselves freelancers, which means the exact same thing.
Many music grads set themselves up in business as sole proprietors, to ply the art and craft of music as entrepreneurs. Since there are so many different things musicians tend to do as professionals, this seems to suit many musicians well. Musicians are uniquely prepared to survive and thrive in the gig economy.
Its important to understand the tax, financial, and lifestyle implications of being self-employed earning your living, and most music programs try to prepare their graduates in this way since they know it will help them to reach their career and life goals.
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Additional Fees And Charges Information For Music
Students may choose to have instrumental or voice tuition as part of their course, though please note that performance is not compulsory. With advice from your tutors, you can choose your own instrumental tutors. You will need to pay for these lessons yourself, but the money will be refunded by the Music Faculty at the end of term, up to £275. This usually covers the full cost of tuition.
Students can also apply to take part in a Faculty-funded scheme with the Royal Academy of Music, which provides 8 hourly lessons and participation in master-classes and performance classes at the RAM.
Music Can Distract Us
On the other hand, music can be a distraction under certain circumstances.
When you study, youre using your working memory that means you are holding and manipulating several bits of information in your head at once.
The research is fairly clear that when theres music in the background, and especially music with vocals, our working memory gets worse.
Likely as a result, reading comprehension decreases when people listen to music with lyrics. Music also appears to be more distracting for people who are introverts than for people who are extroverts, perhaps because introverts are more easily overstimulated.
Some clever work by an Australia-based researcher called Bill Thompson and his colleagues aimed to figure out the relative effect of these two competing factors – mood and distraction.
They had participants do a fairly demanding comprehension task, and listen to classical music that was either slow or fast, and which was either soft or loud.
They found the only time there was any real decrease in performance was when people were listening to music that was both fast and loud .
But while that caused a decrease in performance, it wasnt actually that big a decrease. And other similar research also failed to find large differences.
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Proven To Improve Brain Functions
Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to listen to music during a study session is because music is proven to help improve cognitive performance. Basically, music helps your brain function! Background music may enhance performance on cognitive tasks. One older study found that listening to music allowed test takers to complete more questions in the time allotted and get more answers right. More recent research suggests that whether or not music improves cognitive function depends on whether the music first improves a persons emotional state . If you want to improve brain performance while studying, evidence now shows that you must first improve your emotional state by listening to music that you enjoy!
Musical activity serves as a cognitive exercise for the brain which trains it for more challenges in the future. Therefore, people who have musical training early on, specifically before age seven, have healthier brains and are less likely to suffer from debilitating diseases like Alzheimers or Dementia. But you dont have to wait for a certain age before benefitting from music. Regardless of whether youre a freshman or senior, you can start exercising your brain now, simply by having your favorite device and earphones handy for any study session.
What Can You Do With A Degree In Music
I often see this question asked about music degrees and what exactly someone can do with one. Thats honestly an open-ended question, but the honest answer to that is it depends. Like any other degree from an institution of higher learning, there are plenty of things one can do with a music degree.
Much of it depends on what you want to do with music. Is your quest to become a famous performer, do you like producing beats for the radio, or maybe you just want to teach in the public school system. The answer to that question is crucial because it will help determine which degree track within the music you should take.
Here is a list of common music degrees offered at most colleges and universities.
- Music Performance
- Talent Scout
- Vocal Coaching
For many of the jobs listed above, there are degrees that cater specifically to those interests. For example, a concert pianist may want to pursue a performance degree with their principal instrument. Perhaps you want to work with patients and enter the music therapy field.
Then there is the study of music, its origins and historical importance. For that, you may want to pursue a degree in musicology. From within each degree is even deeper levels of concentration. Students have the ability to choose a base degree title, and then cater their study to the specific area of interest.
Most music degrees include the following courses as a standard.
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