Composition Studies (Undergraduate)
contact Dr. Christopher Hopkins
Majoring in Music Composition at ISU
Applied study in music composition is offered as a concentration for the Bachelor of Music degree. Students who are accepted to this program will have private tutorials in composition that prepare them to compose in advanced musical forms that are modeled on Classical Music with extensions into twenty-first century concepts.
There are two stages of study:
After acceptance by audition with a composition portfolio (see below Step by Step Guide through Undergraduate Composition Studies, Step 1), students engage in preliminary studies in Music 290C. These studies focus on developing basic skills in composition, and require completion of assigned technical exercises and score study in addition to guided work in in original composition. This first stage concludes with submission of a portfolio of work drawn from composition studies. This portfolio will demonstrate preparation to continue into more advanced studies. Review of this portfolio coincides with the continuation exam required for all majors in the Bachelor of Music degree program.
Following acceptance to advanced studies, students commense a second stage of study, composing in more advanced forms with the expectation to work more independently and to develop a higher degree of originality in their musical style. Score study at this stage will be assigned according to the needs of the particular composition project and the overall career projectory of the student. This second stage of study culminates in a senior recital of original compositions that is organized by the student and presented publicly in the departmental concert series.
Performance Studies Requirements for Composition Majors
Given the Classical Music model of composition studies, students are required to audition for concurrent studies in an instrument or voice at the level required for the concentration in music performance. Composition majors must pass a continuation examination in both composition and performance. While composition majors are required only to produce their senior recital in composition, many students choose to continue their performance studies in a dual-concentration major, in which case they produce two complete senior recitals, one each in composition and performance.
Career Expectations on Completing the Program
A bachelor of music with a composition emphasis is not normally considered a terminal degree that leads immediately into a full-time career as a professional composer upon graduation. Students should anticipate making a commitment to further study in a graduate degree program, or in a professional apprenticeship. Composers should expect that early in their career they necessarily will augment their composing activities with related work in the music industry, such as performing, teaching, and technical production.
Programs of Study
For the specific course requirements and sample schedule of studies see Music Degrees and Requirements Overview.
Transfer Students
If you are a transfer student from another program in composition, it is essential that you contact the composition faculty directly for evaluation of your current portfolio of completed compositions. You will be advised as to your acceptance in composition studies, in either Music 290C or 490C.
A Step by Step Guide through Undergraduate Composition Studies
STEP ONE: Preparing and Submitting your Audition Materials for Entrance to Composition Studies
Prospective music majors who are interested in the composition emphasis are highly advised to submit their audition portfolio in composition no later than their general audition in an instrument or voice, and to make such an interest in studying composition clear in their application materials. Late submission of the composition audition portfolio may delay acceptance to composition studies.
Here is what to do:
Prepare a portfolio of your best current work in composition and submit this directly to the composition faculty via email as electronic documents or link to a file sharing service (see below for details). If your primary interest in musical studies at ISU is music composition, you are advised to submit this portfolio prior to taking the general instrumental/vocal audition for a music major.
The typical portfolio has three brief (4-12 page) compositions notated in musical score. If the compositions are longer and written for larger ensembles then a good portfolio could possibly include just two compositions. Where there are recordings to go with the compositions, even rendered from virtual instruments via MIDI, these are helpful and please submit these together with the scores.
Prepare your scores as PDF files, either produced with notation software or scanned from manuscript. Send corresponding audio recordings as MP3. Video recordings of live performances are acceptable, but send these only as a link through a file sharing service such as Dropbox or link to a sharing service Vimeo or YouTube.
Send directly to Dr. Hopkins, who will notify you directly of provisional acceptance to composition studies (Music 290C) pending two other requirements (1) your general acceptance to ISU and (2) your general acceptance to the major in music following an audition in performance. Refer to the Future Student Information page for how to audition for the required performance studies.
STEP TWO: Your Preliminary Studies in Composition (Years 1 & 2)
For the first four semesters as a composition student you are guided through foundation studies in composition (Music 290C). You learn techniques of thematic development and counterpoint, and expand your vocabulary in rhythm and harmony. You work in forms such as sectional theme and variations, harmonic variations, a sonata movement, and song cycle. You progress from writing for a solo instrument to writing for small ensembles, gaining experience with the orchestral instruments and voice. Because it is important that you develop basic technique of composition, during this preliminary stage of study your original work will be assigned in these general classes of form and instrumentation. You will also be expected to extend your knowledge of musical styles beyond the scope of your courses in music theory and music history.
You are expected to work with your fellow music students to produce performances of the compositions you complete in composition lessons.
STEP THREE: Preparing your Continuation Audition
Along with the regular requirements for continuation exams, you select four or five of the compositions from your work in 290C to present with the continuation exam. This portfolio will provide the necessary evidence of your preparation to work in larger forms with a greater variety of instrumentation, and thus will be your audition for entry into advanced studies in the concentration in composition.
Your applied music instructor and academic advisor will specify the requirements for the continuation exam beyond the composition portfolio.
STEP FOUR: Your Advanced Studies in Composition (Years 3 & 4)
Following a successful continuation exam and second audition in composition, you now work with greater independence regards style and form, although your studies in composition will still emphasize learning from the Classical Music models. Composition takes up the larger portion of your musical studies, as reflected by earning twelve credits as opposed the four in preliminary studies. Consequently, greater productivity and depth of creative reworking of materials and form is a firm expectation.
You will produce a recital of 4-5 of your original compositions, which should include your own involvement in the performances. If the recital includes computer music compositions, these need to be presented as a performance in the context of the recital itself. The normal expectation is that the compositions performed on your senior recital will have been written in your final two years of composition lessons. Your composition recital program must be approved by the composition faculty.
During your advanced studies, you will be advised about strategies for successful acceptance to graduate studies and professional apprenticeships.
Graduate Composition Studies
Composition is available (by audition) as an area of study within two interdisciplinary programs: Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies and Human-Computer Interaction. Students enroll in either 590C (acoustic composition) or 590I (electronic music). In general, a level of advancement equivalent to that of a graduating senior in the composition emphasis is required for graduate studies in acoustic composition. Graduate students interested in computer music composition should have technical knowledge and experience equivalent to students at ISU who have completed Music 346 and Music 446.
Other Opportunities in Composition at ISU
Students with exceptional talent in composition but whose degree programs have another major or emphasis may audition for Music 290C, subject to faculty availability. These students must work in composition at the same level as those who are working for concentration in composition. It is a requirement of composition study in general that a student has had advanced experience playing a musical instrument beyond participation in secondary school or collegiate ensembles (for example study in private lessons and having performed solo literature).
In addition to courses in composition, the ISU Music Department offers courses in creative digital music, sound synthesis for electronic music, and computer music programming, in which composition plays a significant role. An open-access 24-workstation lab provides software for notation, MIDI and audio sequencing (Pro Tools), audio editing/mixing (Audition, Pro Tools), and computer music programming (Max, Processing), along with an impressive suite of virtual instruments, all of which have direct application to music composition. See Music Technology.
Frequently Asked Questions (Composition)
I primarily improvise. Why do I need to submit notated scores for an audition?
Composition begins with improvisation of some kind, either directly on an instrument or by means of purely imaginative thought. But composition as taught in the Classical Music mode, is different in how it ultimately develops musical ideas outside of the real-time performance. It’s a technique that relies on communicating through notated scores. This is why a portfolio of compositions notated in musical score is a requirement to begin study in composition. I suggest that you notate your improvisations, and try to develop them in a set of variations. This will give you an idea of how your improvisations can become compositions of the kind emphasized in our degree program.
I know that muisc notation software is provided in the music computer lab. Am I required to use notation software, and in particular one or the other notation software, for composition?
You are not required to use any computer technology to assist your process of composition. If you have good facility at the keyboard enough to play multiple parts from score, then you can bring in your work to composition classes this way, and play from a hand-written score. It is normal however to learn to be proficient with music notation software, as this provides an aural model of your composition to play in class as well as to provide a much more facile way to prepare professional quality scores and parts quickly.
The first semester theory sequence provides the basic instruction for using Finale. However, Dr. Hopkins requires students working toward a concentration in composition to use Dorico Pro 3.5 or later, as this has a better flow as a composition environment and is more easily customizable advanced features. Unless you already are very proficient with other music software, you should plan to learn the software supported at ISU.
Finale Notepad, MusScore, and Sibelius First do not have the advanced scoring features that are necessary to use in composition lessons. Take advantage of the resources available to you in the music computer lab! 2021-2022 academic year: please enquire about access to software to use from your own computer.
I want to be an electronic music composer. Can I take composition and just compose electronic music?
The short answer is no. Your best option at ISU is to take music technology courses and develop your basic skills in electronic music this way, primarily through completing Music 346 and 446. If you show particular skill in computer music and have created interesting creative projects, you may submit a portfolio of these as an audition for Music 490I Electronic Music and focus on advanced electronic music composition. This opportunity is subject to availability of the instructor. You may instead be interested in the Minor in Music Technology, which has a strong emphasis in creative projects in composition and performance.
I have written several songs and even produced my own album. Can I use these as an audition, and work toward a composition degree emphasizing songwriting?
We do not offer coursework in popular songwriting. You should consider why it is in the first place that you are thinking to do degree work in music composition, when this really is not necessary for persons with gifts in songwriting to become successful songwriters. The most direct path into a songwriting career, beyond simply learning from lots and lots of doing, is to become knowledgeable about music more generally, so that you understand better the music you hear and can draw from this more productively into your own imagination and experimentation. There is a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree, as well as a Minor in Music, both of which would supply musical studies that could help your songwriting while also obtaining the personal growth experience afforded by the college degree. The minor easily combines with a major in another subject that interests you, which could support additional career options.
Another option to consider is to become more knowledgeable about business. While home-grown music productions certainly can eventually make it big, to develop a sustained career it would be wise to know both the creative and business sides of things. For a collegiate music business program, there is no substitute for being already in the leading locations for the music industry. These programs are close to opportunities afforded by a large entertainment industry centers, such as Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, or other metros like Boston or Miami, that have special collegiate programs related to the music industry (with majors in songwriting and arranging, recording and live sound,and music business).
Will a degree in composition from ISU prepare me for a career as a media composer, writing music for film and video games? A lot of this seems like Classical Music to me even though it is not about writing for concert performances.
The composition degree at ISU can prepare you musically, but not to be fully ready professionally for a career in the entertainment industry. There have been students working in the ISU’s composition program with a goal to become film and video game composers, and who have then gone on then to graduate programs that emphasize preparation for the entertainment industry. They learned in the Classical Music tradition to become a solidly skilled composer, and learned the creative side of using music technologies (electronic music and programming). However, it should be clear that study of composition at ISU is not a direct path, and that eventually the more specific methods of working in composing for entertainment media will need to be learned in a more specialized program, or simply on the job. For many if not most persons, especially those working remotely (perhaps online) away from the entertainment centers, the career is freelance, from one contract to the next, not really a full-time career. However, many media composers succeed in developing a fulltime career by being broadly versatile, working also as sound editors, game programmers, and recording engineers, especially when they reside and work in major entertainment centers that provide frequent opportunities for meeting producers and collaborating with other media composers.