Composition Major (B.Mus.) (124 credits)
Offered by: Music Research (Schulich School of Music)
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Program credit weight: 124
Program Description
The Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.); Major in Composition program offers students a solid grounding in the basics of classical music composition for instruments and voices, with or without electronics. This is achieved through lecture courses and tutorials (private composition lessons in the third and fourth years of the program). The study of topics related to music theory helps to hone students' compositional technique, while the study of topics related to music history helps to develops students' critical thinking skills. Free elective courses allow students either to focus on an area of secondary interest as a minor degree, or to pursue a broader range of course offerings, either within or outside the Schulich School of Music. To ensure consistent performance throughout their program, students are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in courses given by the Composition Area.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites - Freshman Program (32 credits)
32 credits selected as described below, in consultation with the Program Adviser:
22 credits of Prerequisite Courses
4 credits of Large Ensemble
6 credits of Non-Music Electives
Prerequisite Courses
22 credits, all of the courses below:
Note: Students who can demonstrate through auditions, placement tests or equivalencies that they have mastered the material in any of the courses below will be exempt from them and may proceed to more advanced courses.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 186 | Western Musical Traditions. | 3 |
Western Musical Traditions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present. Emphasis on key musical concepts and genres in their historical context and aural recognition of style. | ||
| MUIN 180 | BMus Practical Lessons 1. | 3 |
BMus Practical Lessons 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 181 | BMus Practical Lessons 2. | 3 |
BMus Practical Lessons 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical examination in clarinet techniques. | ||
| MUPD 135 | Music as a Profession 1. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Music Professional Development: An introduction to information, resources, and skills related to physical, mental, and professional well-being for the musician and scholar. | ||
| MUSP 140 | Musicianship Training 1. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rhythm and metre basic subdivisions and conducting patterns; intervals, chords, and scale patterns; non-modulating tonal melodies with treble and bass clefs; harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures. | ||
| MUSP 141 | Musicianship Training 2. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and syncopations; triadic and seventh chord voicings and disjunct pitch collections; chromatically embellished melodies adding alto clef; simple modulating harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures. | ||
| MUSP 170 | Musicianship (Keyboard) 1. | 1 |
Musicianship (Keyboard) 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Harmonic, melodic and rhythmic analysis at the keyboard through the study of rudiments, repertoire, chorale/score reading, transposition and harmonization. | ||
| MUSP 171 | Musicianship (Keyboard) 2. | 1 |
Musicianship (Keyboard) 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Building chordal fluency. Harmonic vocabulary including sequences, chromaticism and modulation. Chorale and score reading with transposing instruments and alto/tenor clefs. | ||
| MUTH 150 | Theory and Analysis 1. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Diatonic chords and harmonic progressions, focus on outer-voice framework, cadences, embellishments, building chordal fluency in common-practice tonality, applied chords. | ||
| MUTH 151 | Theory and Analysis 2. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Sequences and modulation, chromatic vocabulary, analysis of simple theme types (sentence, period, hybrids) and fugal techniques. | ||
Required Courses (61 credits)
Composition
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUCO 241 | Tonal Composition 1A. | 3 |
Tonal Composition 1A. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A writing course based upon the stylistic concepts and resources of European music (Classical to late-Romantic styles), designed to develop control of factors such as phrase structure, melodic shape, rhythm, linear continuity, economy of means, and basic contrapuntal procedures. Extensive analysis of characteristic forms. | ||
| MUCO 242 | Tonal Composition 1B. | 3 |
Tonal Composition 1B. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced writing course based upon the stylistic concepts and resources of European music (Classical to late-Romantic styles), designed to develop control of factors such as phrase structure, melodic shape, rhythm, linear continuity, economy of means, and basic contrapuntal procedures. Extensive analysis of characteristic forms. | ||
| MUCO 245 | Composition 1A. | 2 |
Composition 1A. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 20th- and 21st-century techniques and approaches. Basic parameters such as pitch, rhythm and timbre, and their inter-relationship at all structural levels. Notation and score preparation. Performance practice. Analysis of selected 20th- and 21st-century scores. Writing of short pieces for solo instruments and small ensembles, including voice. | ||
| MUCO 246 | Composition 1B. | 3 |
Composition 1B. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. More advanced 20th- and 21st-century techniques and approaches. Basic parameters such as pitch, rhythm and timbre, and their inter-relationship at all structural levels. Notation and score preparation. Performance practice. Analysis of selected 20th- and 21st-century scores. Writing of short pieces for solo instruments and small ensembles, including voice. | ||
| MUCO 261 | Orchestration 1. | 3 |
Orchestration 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of the instruments of the western orchestra, including performance techniques, used in different combinations. Score reading and notation. Analysis of excerpts of the repertoire from the point of view of instrumental writing and timbral combination. Reduction of orchestral scores for piano; scoring and transcription of piano works for different ensembles. Instruments studied: strings, harp, woodwinds, standard keyboards. Orchestration: scoring for string quartet, string ensembles, woodwind quintet and ensembles, small orchestra. | ||
| MUCO 340D1 | Composition 2. | 2 |
Composition 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Composition tutorial. Weekly hour-long private composition lessons. Students are required to complete, at a minimum, a five-minute composition in each of the fall and winter semesters, or the equivalent (for example, a 10-minute composition completed over the course of both semesters). Works may include acoustic instruments and/or voices, with or without electronics. Goals may include advancement of technique, study of relevant repertoire and development of a personal musical style. | ||
| MUCO 340D2 | Composition 2. | 2 |
Composition 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUCO 340D1 for course description. | ||
| MUCO 341 | Digital Studio Composition 1. | 3 |
Digital Studio Composition 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Composition with MIDI, audio recording, digital audio signal processing software and hardware. Creation of small-scale composition studies using technological resources in the context of electroacoustic music. The hands-on activities will include critical listening and evaluation of electronic and computer music repertoire. | ||
| MUCO 342 | Digital Studio Composition 2. | 3 |
Digital Studio Composition 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced composition with MIDI, audio recording, digital audio signal processing software and hardware. Creation of complete electroacoustic pieces and/or production of audio media materials. | ||
| MUCO 360 | Orchestration 2. | 3 |
Orchestration 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Reduction of orchestral scores for piano. Scoring and transcription of piano works for different ensembles. Instruments studied: brass and percussion. Orchestration: brass ensembles, percussion ensembles and combinations. Scoring for full orchestra. | ||
| MUCO 440D1 | Composition 3. | 2 |
Composition 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Composition tutorial. Continuation of MUCO 340. Students may work with the same instructor, or choose to work with a different instructor. | ||
| MUCO 440D2 | Composition 3. | 2 |
Composition 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUCO 440D1 for course description. | ||
| MUCO 460 | Orchestration 3. | 2 |
Orchestration 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analysis of advanced orchestration techniques. Various orchestration theories and practices used by composers, particularly in the twentieth century including the study of extended techniques. | ||
| MUCO 541 | Advanced Digital Studio Composition 1. | 3 |
Advanced Digital Studio Composition 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced topics in digital studio composition. Aesthetics and poetics of electroacoustic composition. Analytical approaches to this repertoire. Use of digital signal processing and synthesis techniques. Creation of complete pieces incorporating music technology which may include a live performance component. | ||
| MUCO 575 | Topics in Composition. | 3 |
Topics in Composition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Pitch systems, harmonic concepts and compositional techniques from the late 19th Century to the present. | ||
Theory
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 251 | Theory and Analysis 4. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 4. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Expanded harmonic resources of the 19th century (e.g., advanced chromaticism including enharmonic reinterpretation and symmetrical division). Analysis of characteristic small and large forms. Writing and analytical skills with a goal toward perceiving how levels of musical structure interact. | ||
| MUTH 350 | Theory and Analysis 5. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 5. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Exploration of 20th and 21st century organizations of pitch, rhythm, timbre etc. Written and analytical skills for the purpose of gaining insight into the compositional techniques and aesthetics of this repertoire. | ||
Musicianship
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUSP 240 | Musicianship Training 3. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and two-part work; additional chordal voicings and pitch collections; melodies modulating to closely-related keys adding tenor clef; harmonic progression including applied chords; two-part keyboard-style passages. | ||
| MUSP 241 | Musicianship Training 4. | 2 |
Musicianship Training 4. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Changing metres; chord voicings and atonal pitch collections; modulating tonal melodies and score reading of transposing instruments; harmonic progression including chromatic chords; two-part passages. | ||
| MUSP 346 | Post-Tonal Musicianship. | 2 |
Post-Tonal Musicianship. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Extended tonal and post-tonal harmonic and contrapuntal structures, rhythmic practices of the 20th and 21st century, score reading. | ||
Music History
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 286 | Critical Thinking About Music. | 3 |
Critical Thinking About Music. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Examination of various periods and styles: e.g., central works from different traditions, the interaction of music and society, performance practice, and music's relation to other arts. | ||
Performance/practical lessons
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUIN 280 | BMus Practical Lessons 3. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 281 | BMus Practical Lessons 4. | 2.5 |
BMus Practical Lessons 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical instruction on an instrument or voice. | ||
| MUIN 283 | BMus Concentration Final Examination. | 1 |
BMus Concentration Final Examination. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Assessment of student's progress in the practical area. | ||
Professional Development
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPD 235 | Music as a Profession 2. | 1 |
Music as a Profession 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of the responsibilities and skills required of professions in music and of the varied career paths leading from a music degree. | ||
Complementary Courses (13 credits)
Music Theory
3 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 202 | Modal Counterpoint 1. | 3 |
Modal Counterpoint 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Polyphonic techniques of the Renaissance period studied through analysis of works by Palestrina and others and through written exercises in two to three voices. | ||
| MUTH 204 | Tonal Counterpoint 1. | 3 |
Tonal Counterpoint 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The contrapuntal techniques of Baroque composers studied through detailed technical analysis of their works and through written exercises in strict style. | ||
Music History
6 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUHL 385 | Early Twentieth-Century Music. | 3 |
Early Twentieth-Century Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development of European, Russian, and American music from the 1890s until the early 1940s, tracing its roots in late 19th-century Romanticism and following its evolution in central Europe, France, and the United States. The music of major innovators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ives, and Varèse will be discussed. | ||
| MUHL 391 | Canadian Music. | 3 |
Canadian Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Survey of music in Canada from the 16th Century to the present. Current musical organizations and institutions, and contemporary Canadian music will be stressed. Time permitting, brief reference will be made to the folk music of indigenous and immigrant groups. | ||
| MUHL 392 | Music since 1945. | 3 |
Music since 1945. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Appearance and evolution of such post-war phenomena as total serialism, "chance" music of various kinds, and electronic music as seen in major figures such as Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage and others in Europe and the United States. Important developments during the 1960s. Rise of "minimalism" and "neo-Romanticism" during the 1970s and 80s. | ||
Performance/ensemble
4 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 563 | Jazz Vocal Workshop. | 2 |
Jazz Vocal Workshop. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Vocal workshop for jazz musicians. | ||
| MUEN 572 | Cappella Antica. | 2 |
Cappella Antica. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 8 to 12 voices specializing in early music. N.B. This ensemble may substitute as a Basic Ensemble in programs that specify Choral Ensemble, with Departmental approval. | ||
| MUEN 573 | Baroque Orchestra. | 2 |
Baroque Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Open to singers and instrumentalists, this ensemble specializes in chamber music primarily of the Baroque era. | ||
| MUEN 587 | Cappella McGill. | 2 |
Cappella McGill. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 16 voices performing challenging repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. Since the expectation is a level of performance equivalent to a professional chamber ensemble, singers wishing to join this group should have had considerable ensemble experience, and advanced vocal and sight-reading skills. | ||
| MUEN 590 | McGill Wind Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Wind Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Large ensemble for wind instruments. | ||
| MUEN 592 | Chamber Jazz Ensemble. | 2 |
Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This ensemble will deal with the extensive repertoire of music which exists for small jazz orchestra (9-13 instruments). | ||
| MUEN 593 | Choral Ensembles. | 2 |
Choral Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students enrolling in Choral Ensembles will be assigned to one of the above groups. | ||
| MUEN 594 | Contemporary Music Ensemble. | 2 |
Contemporary Music Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for contemporary music - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 595 | Jazz Ensembles. | 2 |
Jazz Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for jazz - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 597 | McGill Symphony Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Symphony Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for orchestral instruments. | ||
Elective Courses (18 credits)
3 credits of non-Music Electives.
15 credits of Free Electives.
Recommended But Not Required Courses
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUCO 542 | Advanced Digital Studio Composition 2. | 3 |
Advanced Digital Studio Composition 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Further advanced topics in digital studio composition culminating in a complete large-scale work incorporating music technology, including computer-assisted composition, analysis/resynthesis techniques, and new gestural controllers for live performance of digital musical instruments. | ||
| MUHL 388 | Opera After 1900. | 3 |
Opera After 1900. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Major early twentieth-century works by Debussy, Strauss, Schreker, Bartók, Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Opera in Europe between the Wars including operas of Berg, Milhaud, Krenek, Hindemith and Weill. Politics, sociology, and literature in relationship to musical style. Approaches since 1945 in selected works by Britten, Henze, Zimmermann, Ligeti, Somers and Glass. | ||
| MUTH 302 | Modal Counterpoint 2. | 3 |
Modal Counterpoint 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Continuation of Modal Counterpoint I. Study of more advanced techniques through further analysis and written exercises in three or more voices. | ||
| MUTH 304 | Tonal Counterpoint 2. | 3 |
Tonal Counterpoint 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Further analysis and written exercises with special emphasis on fugal techniques in free style. | ||
| MUTH 322 | Topics in Post-Tonal Analysis. | 3 |
Topics in Post-Tonal Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in advanced analysis of post-tonal music. | ||
| MUTH 528 | Schenkerian Theory and Analysis. | 3 |
Schenkerian Theory and Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the principles and graphing techniques of Schenkerian theory, analysis of tonal works from 1700-1900, and study of prolongational techniques in relation to formal types. | ||
| MUTH 538 | Mathematical Models for Musical Analysis. | 3 |
Mathematical Models for Musical Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical topics and analytical applications selected from the following: serial theory, atonal set theory, contour theory, similarity metrics, transformational networks, elementary group theory and generalized interval systems, neo-Riemannian theory, atonal voice-leading and geometry, scale theory, models of tuning and temperament and information theory. | ||
| MUTH 539 | Topics in Advanced Writing Techniques. | 3 |
Topics in Advanced Writing Techniques. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced writing skills, including intensive four-part harmonization, advanced harmonic vocabulary and syntax, post-tonal counterpoint. | ||