Theory 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 Theory program requires 124 credits and features coursework centered in the development of models and methods of musical languages. How specific pieces of music are put together and how this may be generalized to relate to the way other pieces of music are composed. Theory incorporates a combination of writing skills and analysis. Specialization in such subjects as the application of mathematical models to music analysis and Renaissance-style counterpoint.
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 Ensembles
6 credits of Non-Music Electives
Prerequisite Courses
22 credits, select 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 (25 credits)
Theory
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 250 | Theory and Analysis 3. | 3 |
Theory and Analysis 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Compositional resources of late 18th and early 19th century music. Analysis of forms common to the period c. 1770 - 1840, including Classical sonata forms in several media. | ||
| 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
| 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 (40 credits)
Theory
6 credits selected from:
| 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
6 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 321 | Topics in Tonal Analysis. | 3 |
Topics in Tonal Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in advanced analysis of tonal music. | ||
| 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 426 | Topics in Early Music Analysis. | 3 |
Topics in Early Music Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Music from before 1700 is analyzed using recently developed techniques as well as materials gathered from treatises contemporaneous with the music. The implications of analysis for performance are considered. | ||
| MUTH 541 | Topics in Popular Music Analysis. | 3 |
Topics in Popular Music Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Different approaches to the analysis of popular music. Issues of transcription, notation, analytical pertinence, aesthetics, hermeneutics, and semiotics will be explored through transcription exercises, readings, and analysis of selected recordings. | ||
6 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUTH 526 | Methods in Tonal Theory and Analysis. | 3 |
Methods in Tonal Theory and Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical topics and analytical applications in tonal music. Topics include some of the following: reduction, prolongation, voice-leading/linear models,motive/Grundgestalt, schema, partimento, and phrase rhythm/hypermeter. | ||
| 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 529 | Proseminar in Music Theory. | 3 |
Proseminar in Music Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the discipline of music theory, including modern music theory and analysis. | ||
| 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. | ||
12 credits selected from courses not taken above and the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
Music History
6 credits from courses with a prefix of MUHL or MUPP.
Performance
4 credits selected from:
| 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 (27 credits)
9 credits of non-Music Electives.
18 credits of free Electives.