Music Education Major (Bachelor of Music)

Major Requirements

This major prepares students to be recommended by the Concordia College department of education for Minnesota licensure to teach music in grades K-12. To be eligible to complete this major, the student must be admitted to the teacher education program. (See education pages for program information, requirements and course descriptions.)

The requirements for a major in music education leading to a Bachelor of Music degree are 42 credits (instrumental emphasis) or 50 credits (vocal emphasis) in music, plus 20 private instruction credits and ensemble participation, and 39 credits in education (instrumental emphasis) or 35 credits (vocal emphasis):

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Music Core Courses
MUS 111	Materials of Music I	1
MUS 112	Materials of Music II	1
MUS 115	Rhythm Performance and Hearing	1
MUS 116	Tonal Singing and Hearing	1
MUS 211	Tonal Theory	4
MUS 222	Music In/As Social Life	4
MUS 232	History of Western Music: Medieval to the Mid-19th Century	4
MUS 315	Post-Tonal Theory and History	4
MUS 363	Global Materials and Processes	4
MUS 394	String and Woodwind Techniques	2
MUS 395	Brass and Percussion Techniques	2
MUS 450	Technology Capstone	4
Contextual Studies Courses
Select at least one of the following:		4
MUS 408	Contextual Studies II - Genre
MUS 409	Contextual Studies II - Period
MUS 410	Contextual Studies II - Topic
Non-Music Electives
12 credits from non-music elective courses ¹		12
Teaching Requirements
EDUC 211	Methods of Teaching General Music (required methods of teaching course)	4
Successful completion of the secondary/K-12 required coursework (see Education: Curriculum in Secondary/K-12 Education)		31
Concentration		30-34
Music education majors must choose one concentration from the following:
Vocal
Strings
Winds/Brass/Percussion
Total Hours		113-117

Concentrations for a Major in Music Education

Vocal Concentration

Vocal Concentration requires 34 credits:

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
MUS 121	English Diction	1
MUS 122	Italian Diction	1
MUS 123	German Diction	1
MUS 124	French Diction	1
MUS 425	Choral Conducting I	2
MUS 426	Choral Conducting II	2
MUS 331	Teaching Choral Music	4
MUS 482	Senior Recital/Project	2
Private Instruction
20 credits of private instruction:		20
16 credits in major instrument instruction
4 credits in piano/minor instrument instruction
Ensemble
8 semesters in ensemble ²
Total Hours		34

strings Concentration

Strings Concentration requires 30 credits:

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
MUS 427	Instrumental Conducting I	2
MUS 428	Instrumental Conducting II	2
EDUC 392	Methods of Teaching Instrumental Music	4
MUS 482	Senior Recital/Project	2
Private Instruction
20 credits in private instruction:		20
16 credits in major instrument instruction
3 credits in piano/minor instrument instruction
1 credit in other string instrument instruction
Ensemble
8 semesters in ensemble ²
Total Hours		30

Winds/brass/percussion Concentration

Winds/Brass/Percussion Concentration requires 30 credits:

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
MUS 427	Instrumental Conducting I	2
MUS 428	Instrumental Conducting II	2
EDUC 392	Methods of Teaching Instrumental Music	4
MUS 482	Senior Recital/Project	2
Private Instruction
20 credits in private instruction:		20
16 credits in major instrument instruction
4 credits in piano/minor instrument instruction
Ensemble
8 semesters in ensemble ²
Total Hours		30

¹: Bachelor of Music students whose primary instrument is piano are required to take MUS 473 Methods and Materials for Teaching Piano and MUS 474 Piano Repertoire in place of one credit of non-music electives.
²: Participation in an appropriate ensemble as designated by the music faculty and as related to the major area of study is required each semester of enrollment.

In order to receive the endorsement of the music department, music education students must pass the piano proficiency exam prior to, or during the semester preceding student teaching.

Instrumental music education majors must demonstrate competence in voice, usually accomplished through taking MUS 431 Voice Class, which may count as one of the 1-credit courses required for a minor instrument. String education majors with violin or viola as their primary instrument are required to take one semester of private instruction on cello/bass. String education majors with cello or bass as their primary instrument are required to take one semester of private instruction on violin/viola. It is highly recommended that vocal music education students register for MUS 121 English Diction.

Degree and Graduation Requirements
In addition to the program-specific requirements listed above, all students must complete the graduation requirements specified for their degree. See the Degree and Graduation Requirements section for more information.

Suggested Four-Year Plan

The four-year plan detailed below is a suggested coursework sequence. This plan may need to be adapted based on course offerings as well as individual student circumstances, such as transfer credit and study away experiences.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall		Hours
FYS 110	Engaged Citizenship Seminar	4
COM 110 or ENG 110	Communicating to Engage or Writing to Engage	4
MUS 111	Materials of Music I	1
MUS 115	Rhythm Performance and Hearing	1
MUS 116	Tonal Singing and Hearing	1
MUS 121	English Diction (Voice Students Only)	1
MUS 122	Italian Diction (Voice Students Only)	1
MUS 125	Voice Technique I (Instrumental Students Only)	1
MUS 130	Class Piano I (or Piano Lessons)	1
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	17
Spring
COM 110 or ENG 110	Communicating to Engage or Writing to Engage	4
EDUC 211	Methods of Teaching General Music	4
MUS 112	Materials of Music II	1
MUS 222	Music In/As Social Life	4
MUS 131	Class Piano II (or Piano Lessons)	1
WELL 110	Engaging in Lifelong Wellness	1
MUS 123	German Diction (Voice Students Only)	1
MUS 124	French Diction (Voice Students Only)	1
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	19
Second Year
Fall
MUS 232 or MUS 211	History of Western Music: Medieval to the Mid-19th Century or Tonal Theory	4
EDUC 212 or PSYC 212	American Education in a Diverse World or Educational Psychology	4
MUS 230	Class Piano III (or Piano Lessons)	1
Non-Music Elective (or REL 200)		4
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	15
Spring
PSYC 212 or EDUC 212	Educational Psychology or American Education in a Diverse World	4
MUS 211 or MUS 232	Tonal Theory or History of Western Music: Medieval to the Mid-19th Century	4
MUS 425 or MUS 427	Choral Conducting I or Instrumental Conducting I	2
REL 200	Christianity and Religious Diversity (or Non-Music Elective)	4
MUS 231	Class Piano IV (or Piano Lessons)	1
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	17
Third Year
Fall
EDUC 352	Technology, Instruction & Ecology of the Secondary Classroom	4
EDUC 392 or MUS 331	Methods of Teaching Instrumental Music or Teaching Choral Music	4
MUS 426 or MUS 428	Choral Conducting II or Instrumental Conducting II	2
MUS 394 or MUS 395	String and Woodwind Techniques or Brass and Percussion Techniques	2
MUS 363 or MUS 315	Global Materials and Processes or Post-Tonal Theory and History	4
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	18
Spring
EDUC 221	Teaching in the Middle School	2
EDUC 425	Education of the Exceptional Child	2
MUS 395 or MUS 394	Brass and Percussion Techniques or String and Woodwind Techniques	2
MUS 315 or MUS 363	Post-Tonal Theory and History or Global Materials and Processes	4
Non-Music Elective		4
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
EDUC 399	Orientation to Student Teaching (taken the semester before student teaching)	0
	Hours	16
Fourth Year
Fall
EDUC 499	Student Teaching: Music ^*	12
EDUC 420	Knowledge, Literacy and Inquiry ^*	2
EDUC 488	Assessment and Reflection on Student Teaching Practice ^*	1
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
	Hours	17
Spring
MUS 450	Technology Capstone ^*	4
MUS 482	Senior Recital/Project ^*	2
MUS 4xx - Contextual Studies II ^*		4
REL 3xx ^*		4
Major Instrument Lessons		2
Ensemble
Minor String Inst. Lessons (String Students Only) ^*		1
	Hours	17
	Total Hours	136

* can be taken in either first or second semester

Academic Catalog 2024-2025