Mission and Goals

Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes for the music program at York College.

Mission

The York College music program enables students to a wider understanding of music making in their environments, throughout history, and around the globe. Students in the program connect their musical background with a variety of musics through performance, analysis, composition, and production. Graduates of the program will be effective musical leaders who can then apply their acquired skills in their chosen musical endeavors.

Program Goals

1. Demonstrate foundational skills in performing on the piano and performing as part of an ensemble.
2. Analyze music, both aurally and visually, in order to recognize, interpret, and create musical structures across different genres.
3. Develop a foundational understanding of the evolution of music making in the Western classical traditions, as well as an alternative history of music making in non-Western and popular music traditions.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate foundational skills in performing on the piano and performing as part of an ensemble.Demonstrate the ability to independently practice and improve the performance of level-appropriate repertoire.Perform foundational repertoire on the piano with accurate rhythm and technique.Successfully prepare for and improve one’s performance within an ensemble.
2. Analyze music, both aurally and visually, in order to recognize, interpret, and create musical structures across different genres.Analyze harmonic function in both Western classical and popular music traditions.Apply the principles of harmonic function by composing music that successfully demonstrate diatonic and chromatic musical structures.Accurately sing a notated melody by using solfège, and accurately transcribe a heard melody or harmonic progression by using musical notation.
3. Develop a foundational understanding of the evolution of music making in the Western classical traditions, as well as an alternative history of music making in non-Western and popular music traditions.Demonstrate an understanding of the broad stylistic periods in music history, including Western classical, non-Western and popular music traditions.Demonstrate an understanding of the major aspects of ethnomusicological research.Articulate change or continuity over time in the practice, preservation, and dissemination of music, and support arguments with appropriate evidence.Demonstrate the ability to research topics related to Western classical, non-Western, or popular music traditions by using appropriate research tools.