What Classes Do Music Performance Majors Take?

If you’re considering majoring in music, you probably have a big question in your head: “what classes do music performance majors take?”

Today I’ll walk you through the main classes required for a music performance degree, along with some more niche classes I took.

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What is a Music Performance Major?

A music performance major focuses on teaching you to play your instrument as well as you can, along with having a broad understanding of music.

I majored in viola performance, so my classes were focused on classical music; not that I had much of a choice: many colleges keep everything rooted in the classical tradition with traditional styles of teaching. I was fine with that, but depending on your interests and goals, the outlook of certain colleges can be problematic.

A music performance degree is a good choice if you want to perform full time, maybe as a soloist, orchestral, or chamber musician. It’s also great if you want to teach private lessons or go on to get a graduate degree in something more specific like conducting or musicology since you’ll get a great, in-depth overview of music.

That being said, this article is speaking from my own experiences, so if you’re interested in jazz performance or something more modern, some of these classes will be a little different for you.

What Classes do Music Performance Majors Take?

Now, here’s an overview of the classes music performance majors have to take!

Lessons

You’ll be in school to get as good as you can at your instrument, and lessons are the way to get there! You’ll generally have hour-long, weekly lessons every semester.

This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to find a teacher who inspires you and who you get along with. You’ll be spending at least an hour with them every week for four years!

Learn more about what to look for in a college!

At the end of each semester, you’ll have something called “juries”. A jury is basically your final exam for lessons. A jury feels a lot like an audition: you play about 10 minutes’ worth of music for a few teachers who act as judges.

It’s an opportunity for you to play what you’ve been working on over the semester (plus a sightreading excerpt) and to receive feedback from teachers, as well as a final grade for your lessons.

Juries can feel really scary, especially at first, but they really help you grow and become more comfortable under pressure. It’s really not that bad!

Then, probably in your junior and senior year, you’ll be required to put on recitals. I had to perform a half recital (30 minutes) my junior year, and a full recital (1 hour) my senior year.

A recital gives you great experience in solo performing, and it acts as your jury for that semester. A few teachers will attend and give you a grade and feedback.

Studio Class

Studio class is a group class where you meet with your instrumental lesson teacher and all their other students (so for example, your viola teacher and all the viola students).

Studio class is generally held weekly, and is an opportunity to perform for each other, learn how to give and receive constructive criticism, and talk about instrument-specific topics.

I loved studio class, and it really helped me grow as a performer and learn how to listen and give feedback to others.

Ensembles

Yes, ensembles count as classes! Although, they’re usually only about one credit each despite taking more like 5-8 hours a week. (But that’s a conversation for a different time…)

As a viola performance major, I had to take orchestra and chamber music every semester. Depending on the type of instrument you play, you may need to take orchestra, wind ensemble, jazz band, etc.

Aside from giving you more playing experience, ensembles give you a chance to learn from the conductor and the perspective they have to offer. It also gives you a chance to collaborate with others and become a team player, which are just great life skills to have overall!

Music Theory

Next up is music theory. A lot of people don’t like music theory, but it’s really important to learn, I use a lot of what I learned in these classes in my career as a private teacher, and even just when I play music for fun!

Music theory teaches you the rules for traditional music, and how composers used and broke these rules, and then eventually re-wrote them. Understanding these concepts will help you learn music faster, and understand music at a deeper level.

Music theory also involves aural training; usually called ear training. This is where you learn how to write melodies down through dictation, identify intervals and chords, and sight sing (sing just on sight without hearing the music first). These classes can feel scary, but I promise they really do help!

Having a strong musical ear is one of the best things you can have as a musician, whether you perform, teach, or write music!

Music History

You’ll also be required to take music history classes, where you learn about how music has evolved over the last few centuries, along with the prominent composers of each era and what made their music unique.

Understanding the characteristics and nuances of music from different historical eras will make you a better musician. If you receive a piece of music to play on the spot, maybe at a gig or audition, and you know who wrote it, you’ll be able to perform it in a more authentic way just by knowing context about the composer’s music and the time they lived in.

Performance Seminar

Performance seminar is a class where all music performance majors meet and perform for each other. For me, this class was held weekly, and helped me feel more comfortable with performing in front of my peers.

Piano Class

I know you might not be majoring in piano or even know how to play it, but piano class is generally required of most music majors!

Learning the piano is a great skill that you can use in so many different situations. It’s helpful as a music theory tool, and is a great visual to understand intervals.

It is SO helpful to be able to pick out a melody on the piano if you play an instrument like the viola where you are in charge of intonation. If I’m learning something really difficult on the viola and I’m not 100% sure of the intonation, I can play the melody on the piano to hear what it should actually sound like.

Piano class is generally a group class where you learn the basics of piano. Music performance majors at my school had to take two semesters of it. Other schools will require more or less semesters, and others will require one-on-one piano lessons rather than group classes.

I came into college with about 13 years of piano lessons under my belt, but I still had to take one semester of piano because I didn’t know some of the music theory that was taught in the second class. For me, it was an easy, relaxing class that helped ease me into college my first semester.

Conducting

Next, you’ll need some conducting classes. You may be thinking, “but I just want to play the violin in a string quartet!”, but conducting classes help you internalize music better and they teach you an important skill that you might actually need: conducting!

Being able to conduct is more than just moving your arms to the right pattern in time with the music; you’ll understand how to lead a group of musicians and get your ideas across.

Even if you play violin in a string quartet, you’ll have to show others your ideas and weave in and out of the ensemble. Learning conducting, while it’s a different skill, will help you understand how to show others the musical ideas in your mind. I promise, it’s an important skill to have!

Now, as a private music teacher, I sometimes teach group lessons, masterclasses, and sectionals. I sometimes have to conduct during these sessions to keep everyone playing together at the same time, and to have the students execute the ideas I’m teaching.

Music Career, Business, and Entrepreneurial Classes

These classes are a mixed bag from school to school. Many colleges have an old fashioned view of music careers and don’t require (or in some cases, offer) classes on building your career. Other schools are more forward-thinking and offer entrepreneurial classes.

No matter what kind of music career you pursue with your music performance degree, you will be at least somewhat of an entrepreneur.

A music career is different from an office job or teaching in a school; you’ll likely have to create your own opportunities. Performing, private teaching, and offering your creative services isn’t usually done by finding who’s hiring, submitting your resume, and completing a job interview; instead you might have to reach out to venues or leave your teaching flier in local businesses or network with other musicians to get asked to play wedding gigs.

Having at least basic business skills under your belt will help you market yourself, manage money, and feel confident in your career.

If these classes aren’t required at the school you choose, I highly recommend taking these classes anyway, or finding courses outside of the music department that you can take to learn this information. I promise, these are skills that matter and you really should graduate with some business/self employment knowledge.

Pedagogy Classes

Finally, you’ll probably have to take a pedagogy class. These classes can vary widely between schools and the traditions they like to follow.

In undergrad, my pedagogy class was a one-on-one class with my viola teacher, who talked to me about her teaching philosophy and had me observe lessons. In grad school (at a completely different college), I took two semesters of a group class where we learned about different teaching methods and philosophies and observed many different lessons.

If you graduate with a music performance degree, you’ll probably teach at least one lesson in your lifetime. And if you don’t, then observing lessons for pedagogy classes will probably teach you at least one new thing about your instrument!

Gen Eds

One more thing: depending on the school you choose, you may have to take more or less gen eds (general education classes like English, math, etc.).

I didn’t have to take many for my degree, but the number of gen eds you have to take varies by school and by the number of AP or dual enrollment classes you’ve taken before college.

What I took for my Music Performance Degree

Now that you know the basics, here are the exact classes I took for my music performance degree in viola!

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I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions about what classes to take, please let me know in the comments! I’m also happy to make more videos like this for different music majors. Feel free to request a video!