Consider how and why Black musicians have persistently asserted and negotiated relationships with Africa—whether as a homeland or as a space of fantasy—and the fluidity of these relationship over time. Use musical examples and literature to explore politics of origin.
What You’ll Study in the Bachelor’s Degree in Music
At Reed College, we believe that music enriches the life of the mind, body, and soul. As a music major at Reed College, hone your performance skills through private lessons—including with a wide range of instruments, from the accordion or the bassoon to the oud or the sitar—and public performances for both voice and instrument. Delve into courses that focus on music theory, music history, and ethnomusicology.
Roadmap to the BA in Music at Reed
Develop a broad range of skills for the interpretation and understanding of music, participate in performance activities, and learn in an academic community that believes all music is valuable.
Year One
Begin Your Reed Journey
Start your music studies by taking a beginning music course or auditioning for one of Reed’s performance groups. Explore the breadth of Reed’s offerings by taking a course outside of your major. And, of course, participate in the great tradition of Humanities 110, Reed’s yearlong first-year course aimed at introducing you to a variety of histories and academic fields while helping you to build your writing and critical thinking skills.
Year Two
Increase Your Musical Knowledge
Continue your musical studies with courses that examine music theory or a specific culture’s musical heritage. Choose additional electives from the music department to learn more about the rich world of music from many perspectives.
Further your appreciation and understanding of music by exploring music throughout Portland. A multitude of choruses, orchestra, ensembles, and other live musical groups host performances throughout the year in the city.
Year Three
Take Private Instruction and Deepen Your Knowledge
If you haven’t already started private instruction in voice or instrument, junior year is a great time to hone your performance skills. Fees for private instruction are waived for junior and senior music majors. Dive into the world of musical composition and learn more about the history and cultural roots of music.
Through your classes, gain experience with literary theory, build critical thinking skills, and engage in close readings to better understand texts as you prepare for your junior qualifying examination.
Apply for grants to pursue musical instruction, such as the Kahan Music Performance Summer Fellowship, the Kaufman Music Achievement Award, or the Rothchild Summer Stipend.
Year Four
Showcase Your Musical and Research Skills
Spend your final year at Reed completing your senior thesis. The thesis may be an extended historical, ethnomusicological, or analytical project, which may include a performance; or a creative thesis in music, which must include a printed score, a recording of a performance, and an analytical essay.
Enroll in additional classes that enhance your knowledge of music history and ethnomusicology, such as Music and the Black Freedom Struggle and Electroacoustic Composition. By the time you graduate, you will be able to interpret and understand music from a range of angles and perform either in an ensemble or as a soloist.
Why Study Music at Reed College?
Excellent Practice and Performance Spaces
The Performing Arts Building houses the music, dance, and theatre departments. The practice room suite boasts 14 soundproofed practice rooms containing 10 grand pianos, 3 studio uprights, 2 harpsichords, and a percussion room; the music rehearsal hall seats 120 for lectures, master classes, and film screenings; and the performing arts resource center houses music scores and media.
Tango at Reed College
Reed College hosts North America’s leading tango workshops for musicians, providing the immersive learning environment needed to play, arrange, compose, improvise, and teach tango music. The program attracts participants from throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and beyond who are eager to learn, explore, and experiment with tango music in meaningful ways.
Fellowship and Grant Opportunities
Enrich your understanding of music through funded opportunities to dive into musical performance and composition. Apply for Reed grants, such as the Kahan Music Performance Summer Fellowship, the Kaufman Music Achievement Award, or the Rothchild Summer Stipend, which can help fund your work.
Our Music Courses
Music 254 - Africa in the Black Musical Imagination
Music 316 - Composition: Songwriting and Storytelling
Develop skills in song composition by drawing on a range of genres and styles, including rock, rap, blues, opera, music-theatre, folk, protest, and jazz standard. Examine relevant models of these styles to inform composition and hone musicianship skills, culminating in the creation of your own arrangement for a final concert.
Music 410 - Post-Tonal Theory and Beyond
Using written exercises, analysis, and composition, delve into post-tonal music theory and trends in contemporary music. Focus theoretical approaches to better analyze and discuss music drawn from a broad spectrum of styles and origins.
Careers for Music BA Graduates
Graduates of the music major pursue a variety of careers:
- Audio Visual Technician, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
- Caseworker, Australian Red Cross
- Professor of Media Arts, Film, Animation, University of the Arts
- Professor of Music & MacVicar Faculty Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Orchestra Librarian, The Women’s Philharmonic
- Violinist, Oregon Symphony Orchestra
Learn More About Career Paths and Possibilities
Graduate Program Placement for Music Majors
Graduates of Reed’s music department continue their studies at many renowned universities, including these:
- Brandeis University
- California Institute of the Arts
- Cornell University
- Juilliard
- University of Oregon
- University of Tennessee-Memphis
Our Music Department Faculty
Meet our dedicated music department professors who are experts in topics from music history to ethnomusicology to electroacoustic music. Perform, learn, and compose as you study multiple perspectives on the impacts of music.
