Music Minor (General)

The study of music at Franklin & Marshall College is as deeply embedded in the creation and performance of music as it is in the understanding that music is inextricable from the worlds it is a part of. The Department of Music provides an approach to music that models the very essence of the liberal arts: an inherently interdisciplinary pursuit that hones processes of critical inquiry and analysis while simultaneously fostering and nourishing the creative mind.

The Music major at F&M is designed to allow students with varying backgrounds in music to thrive and carve their own individual paths. Courses cover genres and cultures from around the world and can be divided into three interrelated areas: music history and culture, music theory and composition, and performance. The major is bookended by MUS 210 - Music, Society, and Culture , a gateway course designed to introduce students to foundational questions, issues, and methodologies in music studies, and by a 400-level senior project that serves as the culmination of one’s studies. By way of its emphasis on electives, the major gives students an opportunity to gain depth in a category of their choosing and allows students considerable agency in designing a trajectory most in line with their strengths, areas of interest, and post-college plans. Past majors have conducted grant-funded archival research and fieldwork throughout the world; presented at academic conferences; attended internationally renowned music programs throughout North America, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia; performed solo recitals in F&M’s own world-class Barshinger Center for Musical Arts; and conducted orchestras in programs featuring their original compositions.

Many students choose to complete a major or minor in music whether or not they intend to undertake a career in music. The writing, analytical, critical thinking, and creative skills that the major and minors foster undoubtedly play a pivotal role no matter a student’s post-college trajectory. Students who have graduated with degrees in Music not only have gone on to Ph.D. programs in Musicology, Ethnomusicology, and Composition and successful careers in performance and the music industry but have also gone on to careers in medicine, law, and computer science (to name only a few). The majority of courses in the Music Department are open to students with no formal background in music while all of its ensembles are open to the entire student body. At the same time, there are many offerings in the academic and performance realms for students who have already made music an important element of their lives.