Music

Information: (717) 245-1568

Music Department Office: 2nd floor, Weiss Center

Advice to New Students 

Welcome to Dickinson! A good place to start for all new students interested in music is the Music Department Web page, www.dickinson.edu/departments/music/ that provides information about classes, private study, ensembles, and the music culture at Dickinson in general. Students will also find here the phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all music faculty. Whether you are interested in the major, or a more selective participation in the department’s many offerings, the information below will help you get started.

Music Classes

With one exception, 100-level music classes are open to Dickinson students without prerequisites, and will satisfy the Division I distribution requirement. MUSIC 125 (Theory I), which satisfies the QR (quantitative reasoning) requirement, is the one exception--the prerequisite for this class is MUSIC 115 (Fundamentals of Music) or permission of the instructor. Students contemplating a major in music who also wish to study abroad junior year should try to begin the four-year theory sequence (MUSIC 125-126, 245-246) in the first year in order to complete this sequence prior to going abroad. Simultaneous enrollment in MUSIC 115 and MUSIC 125 is possible.

Outside of MUSIC 100 (the Art of Music), which is intended for non-majors, the 100-level courses in music serve both majors and non-majors, but this is typical of many 100-level classes at Dickinson, and non-majors will not find themselves at a disadvantage in these classes.

Co-curricular Ensembles

All co-curricular music ensembles at Dickinson (orchestra, jazz band, symphonic band, brass ensemble, choir, and collegium) are non-credit bearing and open to all students by audition. The auditions are brief and friendly, and intended only to assess a student’s playing level or voice type for purposes of placement in the ensemble. Auditions for both choral and instrumental ensembles take place around the first week of classes; exact times and places will be posted around campus, and students can sign up at Student Activities night, or by contacting the Music Dept. office (x1568). Rehearsals take place at regular weekly intervals for all ensembles (these times are listed at www.dickinson.edu/departments/reg/05fa/05FAmusicinfo.htm), and regular attendance is required. Lockers for instrument storage are available to all students participating in ensembles (come to the Music Dept. Office).

Private Study (Performance Studies)

Private study in music is offered in voice and a great variety of instruments, either as half-hour or full-hour lessons. All beginning voice students must register for 113A, voice class, after completion of which they proceed to private lessons. Performance Studies (formerly called Applied Music) is taken for credit (half credit for half-hour lessons, full credit for one-hour lessons), and satisfies the Division I distribution requirement if taken for a full hour. A performance studies fee is assessed (for the current fee schedule, go to http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/finops/studentaccounts.html), and Performance Studies scholarships are available from the Music Department to offset the cost of these lessons. To apply for a scholarship, a student must have the approval of their Performance Studies instructor, and submit a brief letter (or e-mail, blyth@dickinson.edu) of application to the department chair explaining financial need and why the student wishes to study. To register for Performance Studies, a student must FIRST meet with the appropriate instructor and obtain clearance to register and obtain from them a signed Performance Studies Registration form (available form the Music Dept. office, instructors, or the Registrar’s office); otherwise they will not be able to request the course on-line.

Practice rooms are located on the 3rd floor of the Weiss Center, and lockers for instrument storage are available to all students enrolled in private study (call 245-1568, or come to the Music Dept. Office).

Student Music Society

The Student Music Society at Dickinson is open to all students interested in participating in campus musical culture. The Society sponsors many activities, including an informal concert series, performances of student compositions, weekly lunchtime meetings with guest artists or lecturers, and trips to off-campus concerts and lectures. Most recently the Society sponsored a trip to the Kennedy Center inWashington, D.C. to hear a performance of Benjamin Britten’s "War Requiem".

Introductory Courses that fulfill Distribution Requirements

Division IC: All 100-level music courses, including Performance Studies (lessons) if taken for a full hour (two semesters of half-hour lessons will not fulfill this requirement).

“CC” (Comparative Civilizations): MUSIC 109, World Music

“QR” (Quantitative Reasoning): MUSIC 125, MUSIC 245

U.S. Diversity: MUSIC 106, Music in the United States

In addition, the departments of Music and Theatre & Dance offer an interdisciplinary major in Dance and Music. See www.dickinson.edu/bulletin/dance.html for information on the major.

For additional information, see: www.dickinson.edu/bulletin/music.html

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Updated November 15, 2005