All students enrolled in the Full-Time, Comprehensive, or Essentials programs will receive private 1-hr weekly studio lessons.

MAJOR STUDIOS

Instrumental majors receive a private studio lesson each week where they work on technique and the preparation of repertoire appropriate for college auditions. Voice majors receive a one-hour private studio lesson and an additional half-hour private vocal coaching session each week through the summer where they work on technique and the preparation and presentation of classical repertoire. Composition majors receive a private studio lesson each week and explore several areas of music composition including theory, orchestration and electronic music, both in classes and in individual instruction. Music Technology students receive a private studio lesson with recording technology faculty to study the use of computers for analyzing and creating music.

Students may major in any of the following:

MINOR STUDIOS

Through the Minor Studio Option, students may take introductory or advanced lessons in any of the offered Major Studios.  Students also have the ability to double the number of studio lessons by registering for the minor studio in their specified major instrument.  Additional fees apply.

Students may minor in any of the following:

This course deals with common-practice harmony.  It includes triads and their inversions, tonality and modality, non-harmonic tones, cadences, and the basic concepts of modulation.  Following a placement test the first week of classes, material will be adjusted to meet the prior skill levels of the students.

All students are automatically enrolled in Music Theory.

This course improves the student's ability to analyze music aurally and to sing at sight in traditional meters and tonalities using the "fixed do" system.  Solfège is the integration of the three cognitive skills: reading music, hearing music, and writing what one hears. Following a placement test the first week of classes, material will be adjusted to meet the prior skill levels of the students.

All students are automatically enrolled in Solfège.

Each week, rotating guest faculty members present a topic of their choice.  Lessons cover a wide variety of subjects (from pre-baroque polyphony to the ballets of Stravinsky, to the history of American music), ensuring that students are exposed to depth as well as breadth. 

Students in the Full-Time or Comprehensive Program are automatically enrolled in Music History Seminar.

Students learn and practice the skills necessary to write a successful resume and put together a digital portfolio necessary for college music auditions. 

Students in the Full-Time or Comprehensive Program are automatically enrolled in the Music Resume & Portfolio Workshop.

Weekly meetings of all Pre-College music students featuring talks with faculty and Q&A sessions with current college students.

Students in the Full-Time or Comprehensive Program are automatically enrolled in Convocation.

July 9rd Week 1: Lance LaDuke welcomes our 2020 Pre-College students to Carnegie Mellon School of Music.

July 16th Week 2: Q+A and performances with CMU Musicians. Today's Convocation features John Quinlan, BCSA Computer Science and Oboe Performance ‘23 and Annalise Rodgers, BHA in Trumpet Performance and Environmental and Sustainability Studies.

July 23th Week 3: Q+A and performances with CMU Musicians. Today's Convocation features Shambhavi Mishra, BHA Humanities Analytics & Music Composition ’22 with a minor in Sonic Arts and Kaya Giroux, BFA Voice Performance ’22

July 30th Week 4: Q+A and performances with CMU Musicians. Today's Convocation features Carlos Ortega, BFA Music and Technology ’23 and Elizabeth Hur, BFA, Violin Performance ’23.

August 6th Week 5: Undergraduate Admissions Session with School of Music Director of Recruitment & Enrollment Megan Grady.

August 13th Week 6: Closing Convocation with Dr. Stephen Neely, Director of CMU School of Music Pre-College, Carnegie Mellon Assistant Professor of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Dalcroze License, and past President of the Dalcroze Society of America.

NEW FOR 2021! Movement and Mindfulness for Musicians (MMM) is a survey of three different forms of physical movement and mind practice designed to connect kinesthesia with musicality, improve confidence and expression, reinforce posture and alignment awareness, and provide an opportunity to step away from the computer and get moving in the stiff-necked times of online learning. Three different guest educators will offer introductory classes in Yoga, Movement for Musicians/Body Mapping, and Alexander Technique. No prior experience required—all backgrounds and skill levels are welcome.

July 7, 12, 14 Yoga for Musicians with Anne Moskal 
July 19, 21, 26, 28 Movement for Musicians with Michele de la Reza
August 2, 4, 9, 11 Alexander Technique for Musicians with Lisa Levinson

Students in the Full-Time or Comprehensive Program are automatically enrolled in MMM.

The Summer Pre-College acknowledges the value of ensemble coursework. Group Workshops are offered for instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, and music technology students. Students in the Full-Time or Comprehensive Program are automatically enrolled in one group workshop related to their concentration.

Note: These courses require a minimum enrollment. If you enroll in a course that is canceled, replacements or refunds will be given.

Acting/Monologue Workshop

Learn the basics of acting necessary for voice majors. Structured improvisations, monologues, scene work, songs, and arias will provide a platform for the development of stage presence and effective communication.

Jazz Multitrack Ensemble

Lead by Grammy-award-winning saxophonist Eric DeFade, virtually collaborate with student musicians from various cities to create music using multitrack recording apps.

Composers/Music Technology Forum

Composition and music technology students meet in the forum to hear guest lectures, participate in discussion, and present student works or works-in-progress. 

Instrument-Specific Seminars

Instrumental majors meet in the seminars to explore concepts and techniques of performance and discuss topics relative to their instrument. (Woodwind Seminar, Brass Seminar, Piano Seminar, String Seminar)