Music students in class singing in front of microphones.

: Music students in class singing in front of microphones.

Music Technology, Minor

Music Technology Minor

Better recordings, production, and acoustics through technology

Develop skills applying technology to music production and performance. Become an acoustic consultant, audio/sound engineer, recording engineer, mixer, music editor, or sound designer. The Music Technology minor is the place to start.

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Man wearing headphones using a computer with multiple screens to engineer audio tracks for a video clip

Engineer your future with a Music Tech minor!

Administered by faculty from the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Music, School of Theatre, and Department of Integrative Arts, the minor in Music Technology is appropriate for undergraduate students seeking to apply domains of knowledge from their majors or general education programs to the fields of audio production and digital technology in music.

The program, which is part of the Music Technology–ROARS Studio, consists of prescribed foundation courses in musical acoustics, digital audio, sound design, and audio recording. Supporting course work will enable you to focus in advanced topics such as music software programming, multi-media, or entertainment systems.

Does this sound like you?

You are interested in recording, sound production, and acoustics and have a background in music and computer software.
You’re majoring in music, theatre sound design, integrative arts, film production, information science and technology, or computer science (although the Music Tech minor is open to all majors).

If so, Music Technology sounds perfect for you.

Application Details

Application to the Music Technology Minor

Students wishing to complete the Music Technology minor should complete the following process:

Schedule or complete INART 50 and INART 258A with a grade of C or higher (MUSIC 8 can be waived for students who demonstrate experience with music theory and/or performance).
Request to add the minor in Lionpath. From your Lionpath home base, go to the Planning & Degree Progress menu and choose Update Academics. You can then click "Add a minor" and choose Music Technology. (You will need to follow the prompts to confirm and submit multiple times.) The College of Arts and Architecture will verify your enrollment in INART 50 and 258A and approve your request within a few days.
THEA 484 is offered every semester, and THEA 285 is offered in spring semesters only. Once you have declared the minor in Lionpath, you should be able to self-enroll in these courses.

Questions about course enrollment may be sent to A&A Advisor Margaret Higgins at mah68@psu.edu.

Supporting Courses

Below is a list of preapproved supporting courses, but any course in the university that meets the spirit of this requirement in the judgment of the Committee may be used to satisfy this requirement. Some courses have prerequisites; students should consult the instructors to ensure that they meet eligibility requirements before planning their courses.

: ACS 97G Acoustics in Everyday Life, offered every spring semester (open enrollment, fulfills GN)

DART 205 Creative Coding: Scripting for Art and Design (open enrollment through World Campus only, may be requested one week before classes begin)

MUSIC 197G * Sound Design for Game Audio, offered asynchronously every spring semester (open enrollment, fulfills GA).

MUSIC 420 Song Writing and Recording (self-enroll with prerequisite INART 258A)

MUSIC 437 Music Information Retrieval, offered in fall semester even-numbered years including FA24, FA26, FA28 (self-enroll with prerequisite INART 50 or 50Z)

MUSIC 451 Computer Programming for Musicians, offered in spring semester alternating even-numbered years including SP24, SP26, SP28. On your assigned enrollment date, email Dr. Burghart Rice at sgbr745@psu.edu to request enrollment.

MUSIC 452 Computer Music Synthesis, offered in spring semester alternating odd-numbered years including SP25, SP27, SP29. On your assigned enrollment date, email Dr. Burghart Rice at sgbr745@psu.edu to request enrollment.

MUSIC 458 Electronic Music Composition (offered every spring semester). On your assigned enrollment date, email Dr. Sekhon at bss5477@psu.edu to request enrollment.

MUSIC 459 Electronic Music Composition II (offered in fall semester odd-numbered years including FA25, FA27, FA29). On your assigned enrollment date, email Dr. Burghart Rice at sgbr745@psu.edu to request enrollment.

MUSIC 497 * sec 2 Sound Design for Game Audio, offered asynchronously every spring semester (open enrollment).

THEA 485 Sound for Theatre Production, offered every fall semester. On your assigned enrollment date, email Margaret Higgins at mah68@psu.edu to request enrollment.

*only one Sound Design for Game Audio class, either MUSIC 197G or 497, may be used toward the minor

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Next Steps

Program Requirements & Courses Questions? Contact A&A Advising