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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
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Music Studies Minor

Organize sounds (and studies) to achieve perfect harmony

Hear, identify, and investigate rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, timbre, texture. Read and realize musical notation. Gain an understanding of compositional processes, aesthetic properties of style, and the ways these shape and are shaped by artistic and cultural forces. Gain an acquaintance with a wide selection of musical literature, the principal eras, genres, and cultural sources.

Expand your major with a Musical Studies minor!

The minor in Music Studies provides the opportunity to conduct focused study on music theory, history and literature. The minor may also serve as an important adjunct to other studies such as speech pathology and audiology, speech communication, or broadcasting.

Some students choose to add the music studies minor as a balancing influence to coursework in their majors; others relate music studies directly to their major. For example, a recent Schreyer Honors College history major did her thesis on song during the Civil War.

You will register for core courses in music theory, history and literature, and then select a focus area for your upper-level courses.

School of Music student playing the guitar on stage during the Mardi Gras Jazz Concert at the Recital Hall.

Does this sound like you?

You have skills and an interest in music theory and music history and would like to continue playing or singing in ensembles while pursuing a degree outside music.

Sound right? Then Music Studies sounds like it could be right for you. 

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