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Jazz and Improvisation
Expand Your Creativity
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Jazz and Improvisation is for musicians pursuing careers in jazz, studio recording, and performance in contemporary idioms (popular, world, experimental). The core classes in jazz and improvisation provide innovative learning opportunities covering jazz harmony, theory and improvisation, history and analysis, composition, arranging, and global improvisation. In addition, students choose elective classes that provide opportunities across disciplines to engage in creative ideation and problem-solving through sound production. Students who graduate from this program will have a competitive edge as they enter the professional world or apply to graduate programs in jazz and contemporary improvisation.
Students in this program will benefit from instruction and mentorship from some of the leading jazz and improvisation artists in the United States and beyond. UD faculty in this program include members of well-established, internationally esteemed jazz, contemporary, and Broadway ensembles that perform regionally in New York, Philadelphia, and across the United States and abroad. In addition, students collaborate with guest artists and clinicians. Most importantly, students benefit from an innovative, student-centered curriculum. In addition to numerous big-band and jazz chamber opportunities, students discover and create through hands-on application, for example, by learning jazz harmony at the keyboard, and by studying jazz theory and improvisation with instruments in hand.
RELATED MAJORS
AREAS OF STUDY
Core courses music theory, aural skills, class piano, and music history
Specialized training in jazz theory, jazz history and analysis, improvisation, global styles, composition, and arranging
Private weekly lessons in classical and jazz styles
Large jazz bands and small jazz combos
Independent research and public performance preparation
CAREER OPTIONS
Performing Artist
Higher Education
Freelance Musician
Recording Artist
Teaching (private studio or affiliated institute)
Arts Advocate and Reviewer
Artistic Director
Military Bands
Pit Orchestra or Session Musician
Church Musician
Composition and Arranging
Song Writing
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Jazz Studies
Improvisation
New Music
Performance
Conducting
Teaching
Composition
Musicology
Music Theory
Music Entrepreneurship
What’s special about this program?
Bachelor of Music degrees are rigorous and competitive programs where students get conservatory-like experiences. Qualified students incorporate minors, Honors Degrees, Degrees with Distinction, Service-Learning, study abroad, and research. The Bachelor of Arts in Music degree offers students increased flexibility for a unique and more personalized music education.
We maintain a low student-to-faculty ratio and small classes, providing access to a passionate, invested and highly accomplished faculty comprised of professionally active performers, composers, educators, theorists and musicologists. The study of music at Delaware is enriched by nearly 300 performances each year by faculty, students, ensembles and guest artists. Additionally, the vast musical resources of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York City are easily accessible to our majors.
Get Involved
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Xi Mu Chapter)
Sigma Alpha Iota (Eto Rho Chapter)
National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)
American String Teachers Association (ASTA)
The Jazz Educators and Performers Association (JEPA)
Music Management Student Assoc (MMSA)
College Music Society (UD Student Chapter)
Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic
American Musicological Society, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
A cappella and other musical groups
Nationally Connected Organizations
Sample curriculum
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| ENGL 110 - First-Year Writing | MATH 113 - Contemporary Mathematics or higher |
| MUSC 151 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music I | MUSC 152 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music II |
| MUSC 175 - Class Piano: Elementary I* | MUSC 178 - Jazz Harmony at the Keyboard |
| MUSC 184 - Music Fundamentals: Theory and Fluency* | MUSC 186 - Aural Skills II |
| MUSC 185 - Aural Skills I | MUSC 195 - Foundations of Music Theory |
| MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble | MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble |
| UNIV 101 - First Year Experience I | Breadth Requirement |
| Breadth Requirement | |
| Breadth Requirement | |
| Credits: 17 | Credits: 15 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 211 - Music, History, and Ideas | MUSC 212 - Narratives of Western Classical Music |
| MUSC 251 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music III | MUSC 252 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music IV |
| MUSC 285 - Aural Skills III | MUSC 286 - Aural Skills IV |
| MUSC 293 - Jazz Theory and Improvisation I | MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble |
| MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble | MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble |
| MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble | Foreign Language Requirement |
| Foreign Language Requirement | Elective (from approved list) |
| Credits: 16 | Credits: 13 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 296 - Post-tonal Music: Theory and Analysis | MUSC 382 - Private Study in Jazz and Improvisation II |
| MUSC 381 - Private Study for Jazz and Improvisation I | MUSC 391 - Jazz Composition and Arranging |
| MUSC 390 - Jazz History and Analysis | MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble |
| MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble | Elective (from approved list) |
| MUSC 491 - Global Improvisation | MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble |
| MUSC 213 or MUSC 314 or MUSC 315 or MUSC 316 or MUSC 317 | MUSC 411 or MUSC 314 or MUSC 315 or MUSC 316 or MUSC 317 |
| Elective (from approved list) | |
| Credits: 17 | Credits: 14 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 401 - Senior Recital | |
| Breadth Requirement | MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble |
| MUSC 430 - Chamber Ensemble | MUSC 483 - Private Study in Jazz and Improvisation IV |
| MUSC 482 - Private Study in Jazz and Improvisation III | MUSC 477 - Jazz Ensemble |
| MUSC 492 - Jazz Pedagogy | Elective (from approved list) |
| Elective (from approved list) | Elective (from approved list) |
| MUSC 411 - Topics in Music History | |
| Elective (from approved list) | |
| Credits: 16 | Credits: 14 |
Go Global at UD
This major is eligible for the following program:
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