Musicianship courses and experiences are at the heart of every degree program at the Mary Pappert School of Music. Undergraduates take a comprehensive suite of six foundational courses that bring together elements of music theory, musicology, music history, and ear training to provide the toolbox of fundamental skills you’ll need for whatever career path in music lies ahead for you. No matter what kind of music you’re interested in, we’ve got you covered – our curriculum ranges across musical genres from jazz to pop to classical to hip hop and beyond.
Both undergraduate and graduate students also choose from a wide variety of specialized courses that dive deep into advanced topics. Some recent examples include:
- Gender and Sexuality in Music
- J.S. Bach
- Adaptive Ensemble: Cuban Jazz
- Modern Musical Languages
- Songwriting
- Musics of Africa and the African Diaspora
- Music and Disability
Our musicianship faculty are performers, composers, scholars, historians, creatives, and critical thinkers. We’ve traveled to Ghana to learn from traditional musicians and create new jazz albums in response. We’ve worked with biologists and technology experts to reveal the music-making potential of plants. We’ve created environmental soundwalk installations on campus and at institutions across Pittsburgh. We’ve presented and published cutting-edge research on musical cultures of the past, present, and future. And we bring all of these experiences into our teaching, helping students to discover and pursue their own musical and intellectual passions.
For non-majors, and as additional electives for some music majors, we also offer engaging introductory courses in which students might delve into the history of rock & roll, explore hip hop through the lens of social justice, discover the musical and cultural richness of jazz, or learn the fundamentals of music by playing the guitar.
