Carnegie Mellon University
School of Music

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Music Major FAQ

All major ensembles in the School of Music are courses for which registration is mandatory. You cannot participate in a major ensemble without being registered for it. 

If you are an undergraduate or graduate instrumentalist in a performance program, you will be assigned to 57418/57818 Major Instrumental Ensemble, which includes the CMU Philharmonic, Wind Ensemble, Contemporary Ensemble, and Opera Orchestra. All positions will be assigned by faculty. Some instrumental areas will have ensemble auditions. If your area has an audition, you will be informed. 

If you are an undergraduate voice major, you will audition for the 57417/57817 Major Vocal Performance Ensemble. Undergraduate Composition majors, those in the Music Performance tracks for bagpipe, guitar, and piano majors, and graduate students who are not in an instrumental track may choose to audition for 57419/57819 Chorus. 

All major ensemble courses meet Tuesdays through Fridays from 4:00 to 6:30pm. A detailed Rehearsal/Concert Calendar is available here.

Instrumental Ensembles
The concert dress for all CMU major instrumental ensembles is “elegant concert black.”  This includes black suits and dress shirts, long black skirts and elegant black tops, formal slacks, gowns, jumpsuits, blouses, formal shirts, black socks, and black closed-toed shoes.  

With respect to the concert dress outlined above, students are encouraged to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable and empowered to make music. This policy aims to support all students in rehearsal and concert spaces. We support trans and gender nonconforming students in choosing concert attire that empowers them, and we support students who dress in alignment with their culture or religion.

Vocal Ensembles
For men, a tuxedo. For women, a floor-length black dress or a black blouse with a floor-length black skirt. Dresses should not have sequins or be strapless.

For more information, see the University Student Employment Website. 

For more information, see the university Graduate Housing Website. 

If you have questions about what health history and health insurance forms you need to submit or how you can request a waiver of the university health insurance charge, for more information, see the university Student Health Insurance Website.

For more information, see the university Transportation Services Website.

On the Current Students page, scroll down to Undergraduate or Graduate Degree Requirements and click on the webpage that applies to your degree level and major.
There is no required computer for the School of Music. You have the option of using the computers that are available in the computer clusters across campus or of bringing a computer of your own. On this completely wireless campus, a laptop is particularly versatile and increasingly preferred. Both Apple and Windows computers are used by faculty, staff, and students in the School of Music. If you are a music and technology major or you are interested in music technology, note that the vast majority of music studios, producers, electronic musicians, etc. use Apple computers. So if you're interested in music production, or working on software for musicians, an Apple computer makes good sense. There are other areas of the industry where some PC-only software is used, i.e. CAD software for music instrument manufacturing - so it depends on the area in which one is most interested.

Yes. Go to Computing Services for instructions and support.

School of Music lockers are available on A level of the College of Fine Arts and Hall of the Arts buildings.

Please visit this link to read the Locker Terms of Use and to complete the online locker request form.

School of Music practice rooms are available in the hallways at each end of the mezzanine floor of the College of Fine Arts as well as in the Hall of the Arts. They are accessed by use of a Carnegie Mellon student id card that has been authorized to work in the card lock for the door to each hallway. If you have received your Carnegie Mellon student ID card, you should have access to the practice rooms. If your ID card doesn’t work in the card lock, email Rich Kawood rkawood@andrew.cmu.edu for assistance.
All students are initially charged full-time tuition. Your tuition charge will be adjusted after the 10th day of class.

For more information, see the Billing & Payments website. If you anticipate difficulty in paying your bill, contact the Assistant Directors of Enrollment Services at The HUB for counseling prior to the deadline.

Yes, there are fees that may be applicable to you: Student Activities, Technology, Transportation. In addition, if you don’t qualify for a waiver of the university health insurance charge, that fee will be applicable to you.
No, there is no additional tuition charged for additional units above 60.

If you need financial aid or student account counseling or assistance, please contact the Assistant Directors in the HUB. The HUB is located in the basement of Warner Hall. The Assistant Directors can be reached via phone at 412-268-8186 or via email at thehub@andrew.cmu.edu. You can also go to the HUB Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30-4:30 and Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30-4:30 for walk-in assistance.

You can find more information on the Graduate Student Financial Aid Website.

All graduate students are required to attend the orientation meeting scheduled on the morning of the Friday preceding the first day of the fall semester.

You are invited to attend the university graduate orientation meeting. Please see the Graduate Student Orientation Website for more information

If you are unable to attend this meeting, note that a member of the Graduate Student Assembly will be present at the School of Music orientation meeting to introduce you to the university graduate student activities. If you are an international graduate student, you are required to attend the international graduate orientation meeting. Please find more information of the Office of International Education's Website. 

For more information, see the Department of Modern Languages Placement Testing Information website.
You will meet with the Keyboard Studies instructor on the Friday of undergraduate orientation week to discuss placement. You will be required to sightread and you will be interviewed about your piano experience. Preparing and playing a piece of your choice is optional.

Music Support courses are faculty-designated academic courses within the School of Music. An updated list is distributed during registration advising and is posted on the Current Students page of the School of Music website.

General Studies courses are all courses outside of the School of Music. Search the CMU Schedule of Classes for all available options.

Elective courses are any courses taken that are not a requirement for the major. These can be within Music or from other university units. Search the CMU Schedule of Classes for all available options.

All new graduate degree students must take placement tests in music history and music theory (harmony and counterpoint) before the beginning of the fall (or their first) semester. Voice majors must also take placement tests in French, German, and/or Italian. If deficiencies exist, you will be asked to take the applicable course or courses during your first and/or second semester(s). These courses do not count towards your degree requirements. If you wish to do independent work this summer to review for these tests, especially note the following information:

History

This test determines whether new graduate degree students possess sufficient knowledge of music history at the undergraduate level to successfully pursue their graduate curricula, to be completed in 90 minutes. Students who fail are required to enroll in Music History for Graduate Students I, Music History for Graduate Students II, or both. Results of the test will be emailed to each student.

Listening IDs: You will hear six excerpts of music characteristic of a composer or style and be asked for 1) the first and last name of the composer, 2) date of composition, and 3) stylistic reasons for your answer. Each excerpt will be played only once. 2 points each, 12 points total.

Score IDs: You will be shown four score excerpts and asked for 1) the first and last name of the composer, 2) date of composition, and 3) stylistic reasons for your answer. 2 points each, 8 points total.

Essays: You will write two brief essays, selected from given essay topics and write detailed responses. Budget 10 minutes per essay (20 minutes total). 10 points each, 20 points total.

Multiple Choice: You will answer 60 multiple choice questions that test composers’ stylistic characteristics, musical innovations, common compositional techniques, basic repertory and genres, terms associated with all of these, and broader knowledge of history and culture in which these musical developments occurred. Budget 1 hour. 1 point each, 60 points total.

For review, studying Richard Taruskin and Christopher Gibbs, The Oxford History of Western Music (College Edition) and/or another major music history textbook and/or online resources, is suggested.

Theory. This test determines whether new graduate degree students possess sufficient knowledge of music theory at the undergraduate level to successfully pursue their graduate curricula, to be completed in two hours. Students who fail are required to enroll in Music Theory and Analysis for Graduate Students. Results of the test will be emailed to each student.

You will be asked for a complete harmonic analysis of a piece of classical music.

For review, studying the current edition of Piston’s harmony text and/or another major music theory textbook and/or online resources, is suggested.

Language (voice majors only) These tests determine whether new graduate voice degree students possess sufficient knowledge of French, German, and/or Italian, to be completed in two hours for each test. You must take the tests for the languages (French, German, Italian) that you have not chosen to take during your graduate program. Students who fail are required to enroll in the applicable language course. Results of the test will be emailed to each student.


Each test contains a translation exercise. Dictionaries may be used.

For review, practicing with texts of your choice is suggested.

CMU and the School of Music accept external credits from other institutions and standardized test organizations within certain restrictions and parameters. There is no guarantee, however, that CMU or the School of Music will accept all credits. 

Processing Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge Credit scores is handled through the CMU HUB, which has detailed instructions here. Incoming students should ensure that their scores are always sent by July 1.

Please note that AP Music Theory cannot be applied to any curricular requirements for music theory courses, but it can count towards elective units. Also, AP courses cannot be applied toward the First-Year Writing requirement.

High school courses taken for dual enrollment will be evaluated on an individual basis. In addition to transcripts, syllabi from dual enrollment courses are required for evaluation. Again, not all courses are guaranteed for acceptance, especially if the course is outside of the School of Music. 

For transfer credits to be considered, students must submit official transcripts according to the process outlined by the Office of Enrollment Management here. Once in residence, students will work with the Senior Academic Advisor in Music to determine how external credits apply to their CMU requirements. In addition to transcripts, students should provide course descriptions from their former institutions. Syllabi are highly recommended. 

 

For more information, see the Degree & Enrollment Verifications website.