Help and advice for
incoming freshmen:
freshman.affairs@yale.edu

Yale College
Dean's Office
P.O. Box 208241
New Haven, CT
06520-8241   USA

Music

The Department of Music offers courses in music history, music theory, music technology, composition, and performance. Students may take most introductory courses without prerequisite. These include:

MUSI 110a or b, Introduction to the Elements of Music

MUSI 112a, Listening to Music

MUSI 130a, 131b, Introduction to the History of Western Music

MUSI 295a, Practical Applications in Music, Multimedia Art, Video, and Technology I

Freshmen with appropriate preparation are welcome in more advanced courses. Courses at the 200 level assume the ability to read music; courses at the 300 level assume music theory at the level of MUSI 211a or b or equivalent; courses at the 400 level are primarily for juniors and seniors.

Students interested in music—whether or not they are considering the Music major—are encouraged to take courses in music theory. Students are assigned to the appropriate course through the music theory placement test, which will be given at the beginning of both the fall and spring terms. Students who have taken the AP tests in music must still take the placement test. The courses in the music theory sequence are:

 

MUSI 209a or b, 210a or b, 211a or b, Elementary Studies in Analysis and Composition I, II, and III

MUSI 310b, 311b, Intermediate Studies in Analysis and Composition I and II

MUSI 410a, Advanced Studies in Analysis and Composition

Additional courses in music technology and music composition that are open to qualified freshmen are:

MUSI 312, Composition Seminar I

MUSI 390b, Practical Applications in Music, Multimedia Art, Video, and Technology II

MUSI 412, Composition Seminar II

Voice and instrument lessons are available to qualified students. Students who want to take lessons must audition in the fall. Advanced students are eligible to take lessons for credit beginning with enrollment in MUSI 360a or b, Performance: First Term. To qualify for credit, students must play at a sufficiently high level and be taking or place out of (by the music theory placement test) the appropriate theory course, as described in the YCPS.

Test dates and audition information will be printed in the Calendar for the Opening Days.