Bachelor of Arts in Music (Piano Performance)
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with an emphasis in Performance is designed for those students who wish to pursue a career as a performer, establish a music studio, or develop the foundation for graduate study in music. Pursue your passion through private lessons, ensembles, and recitals combined with other music studies including theory, history, and piano.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Collaboration - work effectively with others toward a common goal.
- Analysis - think and understand in patterns.
- Time-management - handle multiple projects simultaneously.
Admissions
Auditions
If you are interested in pursuing a music degree at Texas Woman’s University, you will need to complete an application as well as an entrance audition. You also may choose to compete for a number of scholarships that are available to new and transferring music students each year. These are awarded based on musical excellence, as verified through a performance audition or music theory/sight singing assessment, and are supported by teacher recommendations.
Step-by-Step Guide
- All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.
- Fill out the Music Entrance and Scholarship Audition Application Form and submit online.
Please fill out the form completely before submitting. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. - A letter of recommendation must be emailed from your current private teacher or ensemble director to musicrecruiter@twu.edu and received prior to the audition.
- Audition.
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See the Music audition dates website.
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Your total audition performance time will average 7–10 minutes in length.
- Singers should memorize two contrasting pieces from vocal literature of the classical genre.
- Instrumentalists should prepare two selections from the standard repertoire for your instrument. The audition may include scales and sight reading.
- Pianists should perform pieces representing at least two different style periods (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century).
- A live audition is preferred, but a high-quality DVD may be sent to Texas Woman’s University, P.O. Box 425768, Denton, TX 76204-5768 and marked “Attention: Entrance Audition” OR online links may be emailed to musicrecruiter@twu.edu. The deadline for receipt of the audition video is February 15, 2021.
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- Participate in a placement evaluation.
- Transfer students:
- If your performance audition time is before 3 p.m., plan to stay approximately 1 hour afterward for a music theory/sight singing assessment.
- If your audition time is 3 p.m. or later, report for the music theory/sight singing assessment 90 minutes prior to their audition.
- First-time in college (FTIC) students:
- If your performance audition time is before 3 p.m., plan to stay approximately 30 minutes afterward for a music theory/sight singing assessment.
- If your audition time is 3 p.m. or later, report for the music theory/sight singing assessment 60 minutes prior to their audition.
- Transfer students:
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 62 SCH
Program Code: MUSIC.BA; CIP Code: 50.0901.00
Texas Core Curriculum
Code | Title | SCHs |
---|---|---|
ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
Mathematics | 3 | |
Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
Creative Arts | 3 | |
HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
Total SCHs | 42 |
Courses Required for Major
Code | Title | SCHs |
---|---|---|
MU 1521 | Aural Skills I | 1 |
MU 1531 | Aural Skills II | 1 |
MU 2521 | Aural Skills III | 1 |
MU 2531 | Aural Skills IV | 1 |
MU 1523 | Music Theory I | 3 |
MU 1533 | Music Theory II | 3 |
MU 2523 | Music Theory III | 3 |
MU 2533 | Music Theory IV | 3 |
MU 3313 | Music History I | 3 |
MU 3323 | Music History II | 3 |
MU 3401 | Voice Class | 1 |
MU 3542 | Conducting I | 2 |
MU 4512 | Instrumental Arranging | 2 |
MU 4723 | Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint | 3 |
Total SCHs | 30 |
Piano Performance
Special Requirement: A grade of "B" or higher for courses to be counted toward the degree
Code | Title | SCHs |
---|---|---|
Applied Lessons (10 sch advanced) | 18 | |
Music Ensembles (advanced) | 4 | |
MU 4913 | Independent Study (Piano Pedagogy) | 3 |
MU 4913 | Independent Study (Piano Literature) | 3 |
MU 4911 | Independent Study (Accompanying / 4 semesters required) | 4 |
Total SCHs | 32 |
Departmental Requirements
Code | Title | SCHs |
---|---|---|
Foreign Language (6 SCH in one language required) | 6 | |
Performance Juries (8 juries completed) | ||
MU Electives | 7 | |
MU 3713 | Music and World Cultures | 3 |
Total SCHs | 16 |
Recommended Plan of Study
First Year | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
MU 1112 | Music and Wellness | 2 | |
MU 1521 | Aural Skills I | MUSI 1116 | 1 |
MU 1523 | Music Theory I | MUSI 1311 | 3 |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument | 2 | ||
UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: The First Year Experience | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
Elective | 1 | ||
SCHs | 14 | ||
Spring | TCCN | ||
MU 1531 | Aural Skills II | MUSI 1117 | 1 |
MU 1533 | Music Theory II | MUSI 1312 | 3 |
MU 3401 | Voice Class | 1 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument | 2 | ||
ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
Mathematics Core | 3 | ||
Elective | 1 | ||
SCHs | 15 | ||
Second Year | |||
Fall | TCCN | ||
MU 2521 | Aural Skills III | MUSI 2116 | 1 |
MU 2523 | Music Theory III | MUSI 2311 | 3 |
MU 4911 | Independent Study | 1 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument | 2 | ||
HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
Elective | 1 | ||
SCHs | 15 | ||
Spring | TCCN | ||
MU 2531 | Aural Skills IV | MUSI 2117 | 1 |
MU 2533 | Music Theory IV | MUSI 2312 | 3 |
MU 4911 | Independent Study | 1 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument | 2 | ||
HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
SCHs | 14 | ||
Third Year | |||
Fall | TCCN | ||
MU 3542 | Conducting I | 2 | |
MU 3313 | Music History I | 3 | |
MU 3542 | Conducting I | 2 | |
MU 4512 | Instrumental Arranging | 2 | |
MU 4911 | Independent Study | 1 | |
Large Ensemble (upper level) | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument (upper level) | 2 | ||
Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core | 3 | ||
SCHs | 16 | ||
Spring | TCCN | ||
MU 3323 | Music History II | 3 | |
MU 4512 | Instrumental Arranging | 2 | |
MU 4911 | Independent Study | 1 | |
MU 4913 (Piano Literature) | Independent Study | 3 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument (upper level) | 2 | ||
Social & Behavioral Sciences Core | 3 | ||
SCHs | 15 | ||
Fourth Year | |||
Fall | TCCN | ||
MU 3703 | Women in Music | 3 | |
MU 3713 | Music and World Cultures | 3 | |
MU 4723 | Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint | 3 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument (upper level) | 3 | ||
POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
SCHs | 16 | ||
Spring | TCCN | ||
MU 4913 (Piano Pedagogy) | Independent Study | 3 | |
Large Ensemble | 1 | ||
Applied Music: Primary Instrument (upper level) | 3 | ||
POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
Elective | 3 | ||
Elective | 2 | ||
SCHs | 15 | ||
Total SCHs: | 120 |