Music: General
Program Description
The Associate in Arts degree in Music is a comprehensive course of study preparing the student to transfer to a four-year institution in music or a music related field, or to enter the music industry or a related field upon completion. Foothill's Music Department offers a wide variety of courses to satisfy the diverse interests and needs of its students. In addition to core courses in comprehensive musicianship and history/literature, the department also offers courses such as Music of American Cultures, Music & Media: Hendrix to Hip-Hop, and many others. The department's award-winning faculty are active as composers, authors, performers, arrangers, and publishers in the Bay Area and throughout the U.S. The department has some of the newest and most comprehensive facilities in the country. Our performance facilities have been newly renovated and all of our classrooms are equipped with Steinway pianos and/or top of the line sound reinforcement/multimedia delivery systems. The Interdisciplinary Electronic Arts Center has many new features such as a new media classroom with MIDI keyboard stations fully equipped with the latest in recording and sound production design.
Learn more about the program on the Music website.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Through the study of music history/literature, students examine music masterpieces from multiple eras and cultures, synthesizing information and making judgments as they evaluate how music reflects individual composers' lives, as well as the contemporary social/historical context in which the compositions were created and performed.
- Through music theory/composition, students analyze the structure of music and learn to create their own original works satisfying specific and complex compositional requirements.
- Through music performance, students learn how to apply and express their historical, theoretical, and artistic understandings in a presentation addressing an appropriate audience.
- Using this three-lens framework, students increase their community/global consciousness as they learn to appreciate how music is a potent tool for understanding individual and cultural uniqueness within the larger context of our common humanity.
Career Opportunities
Career prospects in the music industry are diverse and abundant. With the advent of digital music delivery systems and alternative media, music is an integral part of the media revolution. Students have the opportunity to enter the industry in a variety of positions directly and indirectly related to this media revolution. Careers are not localized: due to the growth of new media and the communication available via the internet, opportunities exist in many locations.
Award Type(s)
- AA = Associate in Arts Degree
- CA = Certificate of Achievement
Units Required
- Major: 43
- Certificate(s): 25
Associate Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| English Proficiency | ||
| Select one of the following: | ||
| ENGL 1A | COMPOSITION & READING | 5 |
| ENGL 1AH | HONORS COMPOSITION & READING | 5 |
| ESLL 26 | ADVANCED COMPOSITION & READING | 5 |
| or equivalent | ||
| Ethnic Studies | ||
| Any course in the ETHN (Ethnic Studies) subject code, currently approved for Area F of CSU GE and Area 7 of IGETC | ||
| Mathematics Proficiency | ||
| College-level math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra | ||
A minimum of 90 units is required1 to include:
- Completion of one of the following general education patterns: Foothill General Education, CSU General Education Breadth Requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
- Core courses (35 units)
- Support courses (8 units)
- 1
Additional elective course work may be necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement for the associate degree.
Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a grade of "C" or better is required for all core and support courses used for the degree or certificate.
Core and Support Courses
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| Select seven courses from the following: | 35 | |
| GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | ||
or MUS 2AH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | ||
or MUS 2BH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | ||
or MUS 2CH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| WORLD MUSIC: ROOTS TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL FUSION | ||
| THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP I | ||
| THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP II | ||
| THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP III | ||
| Support Courses | ||
| Select eight units from the following: | 8 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC | ||
| HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE | ||
| MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES | ||
or MUS 8H | HONORS MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES | |
| MUSIC & MEDIA: HENDRIX TO HIP-HOP | ||
| MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS | ||
| FUNK, FUSION & HIP-HOP | ||
| HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC: 1970-PRESENT | ||
| BEGINNING CLASS PIANO | ||
| INTERMEDIATE CLASS PIANO | ||
| ADVANCED CLASS PIANO | ||
| CLASS VOICE I | ||
| BEGINNING CLASSICAL GUITAR | ||
| INTERMEDIATE CLASSICAL GUITAR | ||
| ADVANCED CLASSICAL GUITAR | ||
| BEGINNING ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES | ||
| INTERMEDIATE ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES | ||
| ADVANCED ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION | ||
or THTR 47A | INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION | |
| INTERMEDIATE MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP | ||
or THTR 47B | INTERMEDIATE MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP | |
| ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP | ||
or THTR 47C | ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP | |
| ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP II | ||
or THTR 47D | ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP II | |
| SINGING TECHNIQUE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE | ||
or THTR 48B | SINGING TECHNIQUE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE | |
| MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE FOR SINGERS | ||
or THTR 48C | MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE FOR SINGERS | |
| Total Units | 43 | |
Certificate Requirements
Certificate of Achievement in Music History and Literature
- Units: 25
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MUS 2A | GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | 5 |
| or MUS 2AH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| MUS 2B | GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | 5 |
| or MUS 2BH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| MUS 2C | GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | 5 |
| or MUS 2CH | HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES | |
| MUS 2D | WORLD MUSIC: ROOTS TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL FUSION | 5 |
| MUS 8 | MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES | 5 |
| or MUS 8H | HONORS MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES | |
| Total Units | 25 | |