Integrated Writing Requirement

The undergraduate major in American Musical Cultures emphasizes writing as a core element in developing students’ intellectual and professional lives. Student writing includes critical, analytical, ethnographic, historical, and creative dimensions. In the Music Program, the concept of “writing” includes the writing of texts (scholarly essays, grants, documentary scripts, and lyrics), musical notation (music compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions), and multimedia (films, websites, and audio recordings).

The American Musical Culture major and Music minor develop students’ writing skills through fundamentals courses. MUSC 1041/1042 (Music Theory) are hands-on, drill-based classes in which students develop an understanding of and proficiency in practical music theory through a comprehensive approach. The central goal is to integrate hearing and performance with notation and analysis. In MUSC 1051/1052 (Recording Arts), students develop their composition and editing skills by creating and critically analyzing multi-track recordings, engaging with technical documentation, and reflective listening journals. MUSC 1061 (Writing about Music) is a writing workshop that introduces students to the various types of writing associated with music, including music journalism, script writing for radio/film documentaries and musical theater, non-fiction essays, scholarly articles, music-inspired fiction, and the basics of grant writing for non-profit performing arts groups and fellowship applications. In MUSC 1071 (Filming Music), students learn to articulate visual ideas for musical performances, crafting film scripts and editing decisions that emphasize rhetorical strategies through sound and image.

Upper-division courses further develop students’ writing skills by providing opportunities for conducting and presenting original research in diverse fields: musicology, ethnomusicology, media studies, journalism, and/or composition. In addition, each AMMC major must complete a capstone project during the senior year. Some opt to write a thesis that proposes an original research question; others present their research findings through a film/radio documentary, a senior lecture recital, or a professional music journalism/music industry portfolio linked to an intensive internship experience.