| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 01132004 | Faculty of Humanities | Department: School of the Arts |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 5 years | Total credits: 566 | NQF level: 08 |
This BMus degree is a five-year programme (extended curriculum programme) and consists of the existing number of regular modules for the standard four-year degree in addition to four foundational modules in the first year of study. The first year of the programme offers foundational support in Academic and Quantitative Literacy and Academic Information Management and competence in music performance and music (theory and aural) literacies which are critical and unique skills required in music studies.
Important information for all prospective students for 2025
The admission requirements below apply to all who apply for admission to the University of Pretoria with a National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Independent Examination Board (IEB) qualifications. Click here for this Faculty Brochure.
Minimum requirements | |||
Achievement level | |||
English Home Language or English First Additional Language | APS (Grade 11) | APS (NSC/IEB completed) | Additional music requirements: |
4 | 26 | 26 | Music: 4 (50-59%) or Grade V Practical and Grade III Theory (UNISA/Royal Schools/Trinity) or a comparable standard and a practical audition and theoretical test passed with at least 50%
|
* To retain admission, candidates must obtain an APS of at least 26 in the NSC.
Admissions for the Bachelor of Music [5-year programme] will take place in July, September and Ad-hoc.
If you are admitted to this programme, you may not be considered for any other degree programme within the Faculty, except for the Bachelor of Music 4-year degree.
Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
Applicants currently in Grade 12 must apply with their final Grade 11 (or equivalent) results.
Applicants who have completed Grade 12 must apply with their final NSC or equivalent qualification results.
Please note that meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee admission.
Successful candidates will be notified once admitted or conditionally admitted.
Applicants should check their application status regularly on the UP Student Portal at click here.
Applicants with qualifications other than the abovementioned should refer to the International undergraduate prospectus 2025: Applicants with a school leaving certificate not issued by Umalusi (South Africa), available at click here.
International students: Click here.
Transferring students
A transferring student is a student who, at the time of applying at the University of Pretoria (UP) is/was a registered student at another tertiary institution. A transferring student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance. Students who have been dismissed from other institutions due to poor academic performance will not be considered for admission to UP.
Closing dates: Same as above.
Returning students
A returning student is a student who, at the time of application for a degree programme is/was a registered student at UP, and wants to transfer to another degree at UP. A returning student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance.
Note:
Closing date for applications from returning students
Unless capacity allows for an extension of the closing date, applications from returning students must be submitted before the end of August via your UP Student Centre.
Please note the following:
Academic literacy
Students with an achievement level of 5 or 6 or 7 for English Home Language or an achievement level of 6 or 7 for English First Additional Language or the foreign qualification equivalence, as per the conversion table, may apply for an exemption from ALL 110 and 125.
Foundation in Practical music
Students choose a first and a second instrument from the following: Voice, piano, keyboard, organ, harpsichord, violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, percussion, harp, guitar, recorder, saxophone and ensemble. Jazz and/or classical streams are allowed, according to availability.
Attendance modules
Students selected for the BMus five-year degree must pass all the modules at the end of the first year of study. The registration of students who do not comply with this requirement, will be suspended and no readmission will be considered, in which case a foundation certificate of attendance might be a possibility. Students will only be promoted to the second year of study, or be eligible for admission to the second year of the BEd programme, after successful completion of all the first-year modules.
Minimum credits: 56
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
All major-, minor-, chromatic scales, modes, intervals, chords in all inversions, primary chord progressions, basic modulations, rhythmic and melodic sight-singing/dictation, based on the movable doh system, in Western and African music.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Repertoire, stylistic considerations, instrumental technique and performance demands.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Classical and jazz: Melody, harmonic concepts, diatonic triads, cadences, diatonic seventh chords, secondary dominants, contrapuntal techniques in a two-part texture, phrase structures, one-part, binary, ternary forms; inventions and variation forms.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Repertoire, stylistic considerations, instrumental technique and performance demands.
Minimum credits: 132
Module content:
Find, evaluate, process, manage and present information resources for academic purposes using appropriate technology.
Module content:
Apply effective search strategies in different technological environments. Demonstrate the ethical and fair use of information resources. Integrate 21st-century communications into the management of academic information.
Module content:
This module intends to equip students to cope more confidently and competently with the reading and understanding of a variety of texts, to apply these skills in a variety of contexts and to follow the conventions of academic writing.
Module content:
This module equips students to understand and use a range of discipline-specific terminology; apply the strategies of critical and comprehensive reading to their own academic literacy; apply the conventions of academic writing to their own writing, using the process approach, to produce intelligible academic texts and use the correct referencing technique as required by the faculty.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
All major-, minor-, chromatic scales, modes, intervals, 3 and 4 part chords in all inversions, primary and secondary chord progressions, basic modulations, rhythmic and melodic sight-singing/dictation, based on the movable doh system, in Western and African music.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module is intended to equip students with a) language and research skills, academic writing, assignment writing, plagiarism, referencing, and an introduction to Musicology, and b) providing music students with knowledge and skills for optimal development as performing artists. Specific strategies for health promotion as well as the prevention of injury will be focused on. A variety of health-related topics will include: the role of nutrition and rest, dealing with stress, music performance anxiety, musculoskeletal health and hearing health.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Technical work, solo recital including ensemble playing, and sight-reading.
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles, and chamber/ensemble works comprising 25% of repertoire selection. Compulsory is the performance of a South African (solo or ensemble) composition of an acceptable standard.
In jazz: Students enrolled for MEI 100 (jazz), must take MME 100 (jazz) & MTI 100 (jazz ensemble).
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
*Requires knowledge of music notation.
Baroque, Classical and Introduction to Jazz: A historical musicological approach to the development and contexts of Western art music during the Baroque and Classical era, and an introduction to the history of jazz, through in-depth critical listening and reading of representative major composers, musical genres, styles and forms.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Classical and jazz: Melody, harmonic concepts, diatonic triads, cadences, diatonic quartads, secondary dominants, contrapuntal techniques in a two-part texture, phrase structures, one-part, binary, ternary forms; inventions and variation forms.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Piano: The methodology of basic elements of piano tuition as well as relevant repertoire up to grade 3 level of all recognised examination boards. Evaluation of beginner and technical books for beginner tuition.
Jazz: Technical skills and methods relevant to jazz improvisation, common forms and chord sequences, elements of style and repertoire. (Compulsory with MEI 100 (jazz))
Classical voice: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for Italian; Italian diction for singers; practice methods; physiology and anatomy of the vocal mechanism; vocal hygiene; methodological concepts such as dynamic body alignment and breathing for singing; Baroque repertoire studies.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module introduces music students to develop their own in-depth understanding of both music and learning. Students will also explore levels of formal, nonformal, and enculturative music learning to understand musical identity in different world cultures and global music environments.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Repertoire, stylistic considerations, instrumental technique and performance demands for successful participation in a jazz ensemble.
Minimum credits: 138
Elective module (Optional – not part of the prescribed credits)
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
All major-, minor-, chromatic-, whole tone-, pentatonic scales, modes, intervals, 3 and 4 part chords in all inversions, recognition of chromatic chord progressions and improvisation, modulations, rhythmic and melodic sight-singing/dictation based on the movable doh system, in Western and African music.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Technical work, solo recital including ensemble playing, and sight-reading.
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles, and chamber/ensemble works comprising 25% of repertoire selection. Compulsory is the performance of a South African (solo or ensemble) composition of an acceptable standard.
In jazz: Students enrolled for MEI 200 (jazz), must take MME 200 (jazz)
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
*Requires knowledge of music notation.
The Romantic era, Twentieth century Art music, Jazz: A historical musicological approach to the development and contexts of Western art music that spans the Romantic era, twentieth century, and jazz, through in-depth critical listening and reading of representative major composers, musical genres, styles and forms.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Modulation with any key relationship, general chromatic chords, complex chord structures, contrapuntal techniques in a three-part texture, rondo form, sonata form, canon, fugue.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Piano: The methodology of basic elements of piano tuition as well as relevant repertoire up to grade 3 level of all recognised examination boards. Evaluation of beginner and technical books for beginner tuition.
Jazz: Technical skills and methods relevant to jazz improvisation, common forms and chord sequences, elements of style and repertoire. (Compulsory with MEI 100 (jazz)
Classical voice: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for German; German diction for singers; phases of phonation; reducing tension in the vocal mechanism; voice classification and opera styles; singing recitativo; classical vs contemporary singing; Classical repertoire studies.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module will direct students to develop their understanding of the embodied nature of music learning and knowing, enabling them to create inspiring music experiences in a teaching and learning environment.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, and recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Repertoire, stylistic considerations, instrumental technique and performance demands for successful participation in a jazz ensemble.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Composition and orchestration
Digital notation and introduction to orchestration techniques.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
This module is the start of a series of modules that form part of an elective programme aiming to prepare, equip and train the student with music-technology related skills and specialisations. It is designed to provide a thorough introductory audio-related engineering and programming skillset for the candidate. The student enrolled in the elective programme does so with the intention to be trained as an expert in the music-technology field and related disciplines.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Specialisation in either Western, African or jazz ensemble music – the history, general repertoire knowledge, collaborative performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Jazz styles, analysis and improvisation concepts through practice and performance of relevant jazz repertoire.
Minimum credits: 120
Select three elective modules.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Technical work, solo recital including ensemble playing, and sight-reading.
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading, performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles, and chamber music/ensemble works comprising 25% of examination repertoire selections. Compulsory is the performance of a South African (solo or ensemble) composition of an acceptable standard.
In jazz: Prerequisite is MEI 200 (jazz).
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
*Requires knowledge of music notation.
The twentieth-century. A historical musicological approach to the development and contexts of music in the 20th century, including Western Art music, Indigenous Art music, Pop and Jazz, through in-depth critical listening and reading of representative major composers, musical genres, styles and forms.
Module content:
This module provides guidelines and opportunities so that students can become successful music educators, leading them to choose appropriate content, teaching strategies and skills in order to teach in a variety of milieus, communities and contexts. Opportunities are provided for you to grow your potential as musician and as music educator.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Introduction to acoustic and electroacoustic compositional practices, advanced notation, film scoring and vocal writing.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Specialisation in either Western, African or jazz ensemble music – the history, general repertoire knowledge, collaborative performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Jazz styles, analysis and improvisation concepts through practice and performance of relevant jazz repertoire. Prerequisite is MME 200 (jazz) and MEI 200 (jazz).
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
This module is the second in a series of modules that form part of an elective programme aiming to prepare, equip and train the student with music-technology related skills and specialisations. It is designed to provide a thorough, post-introductory audio-related engineering and programming skillset for the candidate. The student enrolled in the elective programme does so with the intention to be trained as an expert in the music-technology field and related disciplines.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Classical theory: Procedures of Romanticism
Jazz theory: Analysis and theory of contemporary jazz
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
An overview of music entrepreneurship by exploring concepts such as entrepreneurship, macro-and micro economic environments, how to create a business venture, project management, marketing, writing a business plan, basic accounting and financial management. It aims to prepare students for a portfolio career approach by managing the many facets of being a musician.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Piano: Advanced elements of tuition. The schools of technique, rubato and agogics, practice methods, memory function, study of the repertoire of all style periods up to Teachers’ Licentiate level of all recognised examination boards.
Classical voice: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for French; French diction for singers; general musicianship; stage presence; professional collaboration; introductory concepts of singing pedagogy; Romantic repertoire studies.
Module content:
This module provides guidelines and opportunities so that students can become successful music educators, leading them to choose appropriate content, teaching strategies and skills in order to teach in a variety of milieus, communities and contexts. Opportunities are provided for you to grow your potential as musician and as music educator.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
An introduction into the field of Music Psychology with an emphasis on the science of Musical Learning. The module will focus on musical development; the neurophysiology and plasticity of the musical brain; motivation for learning; and, the role of practice. The contents of this module will provide insight into students' own and musical experiences and provide a context for improving various aspects their musicianship.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In all instruments: Technical work, sight reading and recital pieces of contrasting styles.
Minimum credits: 120
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Portfolio of acoustic or electroacoustic compositions.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
In Chamber Music: Specialisation in either Western, African or jazz ensemble music – historic background, collaborative instrumental performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles.
In Jazz: Jazz styles, analysis and advanced improvisation concepts through practice and performance of relevant jazz repertoire. Jazz performance students must take MEI 403.
Prerequisite is MSC 300 (jazz).
In Music Therapy: An introduction to music therapy theory and practice.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Aspects of music technology: This module is the third and final in a series of modules that form part of an elective programme aiming to prepare, equip and train the student with music-technology related skills and specialisations. It is designed to provide an advanced and thorough, audio-related engineering and programming skillset for the candidate. The student enrolled in the elective programme does so with the intention to be trained as an expert in the music-technology field and related disciplines.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Technical work, solo recital including ensemble playing, and sight-reading.
In all instruments: Technical work, sight-reading, performance skills, recital pieces of contrasting styles, and chamber music/ensemble works comprising 25% of examination repertoire selections. Compulsory is the performance of a South African (solo or ensemble) composition of an acceptable standard.
In jazz: Prerequisite is MCS 300 (jazz) and MEI 300 (jazz)
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Public recital of a combination of solo (75%) and ensemble (25%) works.
In all instruments: Performance and stage deportment skills, memorisation techniques, June – 30 minutes test recital, November – 60 minutes public recital comprising contrasting solo works of an advanced technical standard. Chamber music compositions have to constitute 25% of the programme content. Compulsory is the inclusion of a South African (solo or ensemble) composition of an appropriate standard.
In jazz: Prerequisite is MCS 300 (jazz) and MEI 300. Jazz performance students must take MCS 401.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Philosophy of Music: An historical and systematic musicological approach to the Philosophy of Music through in-depth critical reading of representative major philosophers over time, from the Ancient Greeks to the present, as well as critical scrutiny of concurrent musical development.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection.
Classical theory: Capita selecta: Procedures of the twentieth century.
Jazz theory: Analysis and theory of contemporary jazz
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
*Compulsory membership of UP concert choir or Tuks Camerata
Practical and theoretical aspects of choir conducting.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Piano: Advanced elements of tuition. The interpretation of style elements from the Baroque period to contemporary repertoire with focus on the Baroque and Classical tuition, study of Classical and Baroque repertoire Gr 7 and 8 level of all recognised examination boards.
Classical voice: Advanced elements of tuition (continuance of MME 100, 200 & 300). Philosophy of teaching voice; practicing and self-regulation; teaching young voices; teaching breath management, resonance, registration, jaw and tongue position; expressive singing through use of the text; twentieth-century repertoire studies.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Philosophical grounding and didactics of music education. The module is designed for subject specialists to think critically and deeply about music teaching and learning. Your knowledge and practical teaching skills will be enhanced through opportunities of community music engagement.
Module content:
The aim of the module is to present a broad overview of how psychological research, models and theories have been used to explain a range of musical behaviours including the development of
musical ability and expertise, musical performance, emotional responses to music, and music listening behaviours.
Requirement: An interest in psychology, and prior experience in formal music training or experience in choir singing.
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