Music

B.M. in Performance

The Bachelor of Music in Performance prepares undergraduates for a performance career and for private studio teaching. This program of study provides a balanced performance curriculum of orchestral excerpts and solo and chamber repertoire, together with performance in both orchestra and wind ensemble throughout the four-year degree.

Students intending to major in the Music Performance program must perform an audition on their principal instrument (includes Voice) as outlined in the Required Undergraduate Audition Repertoire section of this website and complete a theory and aural skills examination.

View additional information on undergraduate admissions and auditions.

Degree Requirements

The following is the current course of study for the degree. Current students should refer to the SMU Catalog (maintained by the Registrar's Office) listings under their year of matriculation to find their degree plan.

The Meadows School requires three term credit hours of coursework within the Meadows School but outside the Division of Music. Music electives may not be used to fulfill this requirement. The Meadows elective/corequirement is indicated in parentheses in each program of study outlines below.

Requirements for the Degree	Credit Hours
	Orch	Organ	Piano	Voice
UC/GEC Requirements	varies	varies	varies	varies
Music Arts and Skills MUAS 1020 Music Pathways: Exploring Meadows and Your Future (all performance majors: one enrollment fall term of first year)	0	0	0	0
Music Arts and Skills MUAS 1010 Recital Attendance (all performance majors: each term of residence except fall first year)	0	0	0	0
Composition and Theory MUTH 1129 Musicianship I MUTH 1130 Musicianship II MUTH 1229 Music Theory I MUTH 1230 Music Theory II MUTH 2129 Musicianship III MUTH 2130 Musicianship IV MUTH 2229 Music Theory III MUTH 2230 Music Theory IV	12	12	12	12
Composition and Theory MUTH 3350 Form and Analysis	3	3	3	3
Composition and Theory MUTH Elective (at the 3000 level or above)	3	3	3	0
Music History and Literature MUHI 1202 Introduction to Music in World Societies MUHI 3301 Survey of Music History I MUHI 3302 Survey of Music History II	8	8	8	8
Music History and Literature MUHI Elective (at the 4000 level or above)	3	3	3	3
Class Instruction for Performance PERB 1131 Class Piano PERB 1132 Class Piano PERB 2131 Class Piano (or 1233 Advanced Class Piano) PERB 2132 Class Piano (or 1234 Advanced Class Piano)	4	4	4	4
Private Studies 3200	16	16	16	16
Recitals (instrumental recitals) MURE 3101 Junior Recital MURE 4201 Senior Recital for Voice Majors	3	3	3	0
Recitals (voice recitals) MURE 3001 Junior Recital MURE 4101 Senior Recital for Voice Majors	0	0	0	1
Conducting MUCO 3208 Fundamentals of Choral Conducting or MUCO 3209 Fundamentals of Instrumental Conducting	2	2	2	2
Performance Ensembles PERE Choral Ensemble (each term of residence)	0	0	0	6
Performance Ensembles PERE Large Ensemble (orch: each term of residence)	6	6	3	0
Performance Ensembles PERE Chamber Ensemble	3	1	2	0
Class Instruction for Performance PERB 3116 Contemporary Music Workshop (Vocalists may substitute MREP 5210 20th Century Song Literature)	1	1	1	1
For Orchestral: MPED 4305 Introduction to Instrumental Pedagogy or MPED 4308 String Pedagogy I (MPED 4303 Guitar Pedagogy is required for guitar majors)	3	0	0	0
For Orchestral: One from the following (two terms): MREP 5130 Guitar Repertoire MREP 5140 Orchestral Repertoire - Woodwinds MREP 5150 Orchestral Repertoire - Brass MREP 5160 Orchestral Repertoire - Strings MREP 5170 Orchestral Repertoire - Percussion	2	0	0	0
For Organ: MPED 5114 Organ/Harpsichord Pedagogy		1
For Organ: MUAC 2101 Techniques of Vocal Accompanying MUAC 2102 Techniques of Instrumental Accompanying		2
For Organ: MUHI 4320 Organ History/Literature MUHI 5207 Organ Survey		5
For Piano: MREP 4114 Piano Repertoire MREP 4115 Piano Repertoire			2
For Piano: MUAC 2101 Techniques of Vocal Accompanying MUAC 2102 Techniques of Instrumental Accompanying			2
For Piano: MUAC 3100 (three terms) Practicum in Collaborative Accompanying			3
For Piano: MUPD 4125 Piano Pedagogy Practicum MUPD 4126 Piano Pedagogy Practicum MUPD 4396 Piano Pedagogy I MUPD 4397 Piano Pedagogy II			8
For Piano: PERB 1001 Departmental Performance Class (each term course is offered)			0
For Piano: PERB 1011 Sight Reading for Pianists I PERB 1012 Sight Reading for Pianists II			1
For Voice: Second Language (two terms)				8
For Voice: MPED 5216 Vocal Pedagogy I				2
For Voice: MPED 5217 Vocal Pedagogy II (or two additional terms of PERB 2117)				2
For Voice: PERB 2117 Meadows Opera Workshop or PERE 4150 Meadows Opera Ensemble (two terms)				2
For Voice: PERB 2106 Diction - Italian PERB 2107 Diction - German PERB 2108 Diction - English PERB 2109 Diction - French				4
For Voice: VOIC 3015 Vocal Coaching VOIC 3116 Vocal Coaching VOIC 4017 Vocal Coaching VOIC 4118 Vocal Coaching				2
Music Electives	11	10	5	5
Community Experience MSA 1001 or MSA 1101	0-1	0-1	0-1	0-1
Free Electives (hours vary as needed to meet University residency and degree requirements	varies	varies	varies	varies
	122*	122*	122*	122*

*GEC students are required to complete a minimum of 124 term credit hours (orchestral, organ) or 125 term credit hours (piano, voice), and are exempt from three hours of Perspectives and an additional three hours of either Perspectives or Cultural Formations.

Guitar majors follow the orchestral instruments curriculum and are required to take only four credits of large ensemble. Percussionists take 16-20 credits of applied study. Elective hours are reduced accordingly.

Piano majors may earn an emphasis in piano pedagogy by substituting MUPD 5325, 5326 for MUPD 4125, 4126.