Music

Music majors participate in a curriculum that extends beyond the classroom and practice room to create a complete musical education. Students are expected to:

• Enroll in Class Piano or Applied Piano until keyboard proficiency requirements have been satisfied.
• Participate in a weekly music seminar or forum that encourages professional growth and artistic development.
• Attend a specified number of approved concerts each semester to broaden their musical understanding and exposure to live performance.

Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities available through the Lee College Music Program, including participation in the Lee College Choir, instrumental ensembles, and applied private lessons on voice or virtually any musical instrument. These experiences provide valuable performance opportunities while helping students develop confidence, discipline, collaboration, and professional musicianship.

The Music Field of Study Curriculum is a carefully structured sequence of lower-division courses designed for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music or Music Education. Built to streamline transfer to four-year universities, the curriculum provides a strong musical foundation while maximizing the transferability of academic credits across Texas public institutions.

Whether you plan to perform, teach, compose, or simply deepen your understanding of music, Lee College offers a wide range of fully transferable courses for both music majors and non-majors. Beyond developing musical ability, these courses cultivate discipline, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration, skills that are valuable in virtually every profession.

Applied Music (MUAP: Piano, Voice, Instrumental)

• Private instruction is one of the defining experiences of music education. Working one-on-one with experienced faculty, students develop technical proficiency, artistic expression, and confident performance skills while receiving individualized instruction tailored to their instrument or voice.

• Applied music also fosters qualities that extend well beyond music itself. Students strengthen self-confidence, discipline, perseverance, and the ability to focus deeply on long-term goals, skills that contribute to success in any academic or professional environment.

Ensemble Participation

• Music is inherently collaborative. Through participation in ensembles, students learn how to rehearse effectively, communicate clearly, and work toward shared artistic goals. Whether performing in choir, band, orchestra, or chamber ensembles, students develop leadership, teamwork, accountability, and mutual respect while experiencing the unique rewards of creating music together. These experiences mirror the communication and interpersonal skills that employers consistently value across every profession.

Music Theory, Sight Singing, and Ear Training

• Music Theory, Sight Singing, and Ear Training form the academic core of the music curriculum. Students learn to analyze musical structure, strengthen aural perception, improve sight-reading, and develop a deeper understanding of harmony, melody, rhythm, and musical form.
• These courses sharpen analytical thinking, problem-solving, and critical listening while teaching students to interpret and respond thoughtfully to increasingly complex musical ideas. The intellectual skills developed through theory and ear training provide a strong foundation for continued study in music and many other disciplines.

Cognitive and Academic Benefits of Music Study

• Research in neuroscience consistently demonstrates that studying music strengthens cognitive development and supports lifelong learning. Music students often experience improvements in memory, verbal reasoning, mathematical thinking, concentration, and pattern recognition while developing the discipline and persistence required to master complex skills.
• These cognitive benefits extend well beyond the rehearsal room, supporting academic achievement, creative problem-solving, and professional success across a wide range of careers and fields of study.

View Program Learning Outcomes

A degree in music opens the door to an extraordinary variety of careers that combine creativity, performance, education, technology, business, and service. Whether your passion is performing on stage, teaching the next generation of musicians, composing original works, or supporting artists behind the scenes, the Music Field of Study provides the academic and artistic foundation needed for continued study and professional success.

While many of these careers require additional education or specialized training beyond the associate degree, the Music Field of Study prepares students to transfer successfully into bachelor's degree programs and continue working toward their professional goals.

Music Performance

• Performers have opportunities across a wide range of musical styles and settings, including classical, jazz, popular music, opera, musical theatre, church music, commercial entertainment, and freelance.

Public Music Education

• Music educators inspire future generations by teaching in elementary and secondary schools as choir, band, and orchestra directors and classroom music teachers.

Church Music

• Church musicians serve their communities as music ministers, choir directors, organists, worship leaders, and other leadership roles within faith-based organizations.

Independent Music Instruction

• Many musicians build rewarding careers by teaching private lessons in piano, organ, voice, and band or orchestral instruments while maintaining active performance careers.

Music Therapy

• Music therapists use music as a therapeutic tool to improve physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being in healthcare, rehabilitation, and educational settings.

Music Composition

• Composers and songwriters create original music for concert performance, recording artists, film, television, radio, theatre, video games, and other multimedia productions.

Music Technology

• Professionals in music technology design and develop software, digital tools, applications, recording systems, and emerging technologies that support musicians, educators, and the music industry.

Instrument Maintenance and Repair

• Specialists in instrument maintenance help musicians perform at their best through careers such as piano tuning and repair, organ maintenance, and instrument servicing.

Performing Arts Medicine

• This specialized field focuses on the health and wellness of musicians by preventing, diagnosing, and treating performance-related injuries while supporting long-term artistic careers.

Music Publishing and Editing

• Music publishing professionals work with composers, arrangers, educators, and publishers to edit, prepare, protect, and distribute musical works for performance and publication.

Music Business and Touring

• Music business professionals coordinate the many aspects of an artist's career, including marketing, promotion, contracts, touring logistics, and business operations.

Concert and Artist Management

• Concert and artist managers oversee bookings, scheduling, negotiations, promotion, and career development while helping performers build successful and sustainable professional careers.

• MUSI 1311 — Music Theory I (fall only)
• MUSI 1116 — Sight Singing and Ear Training I (fall only)
• MUSI 1181 — Piano Class I or MUAP 1169 — Applied Piano (keyboard proficiency)
• MUEN 11XX — Ensemble (select from list below)
• MUAP 12XX — Applied Music (Freshman Level)
• ENGL 1301 — English Composition I
• Oral Communication Core Course

• MUSI 1312 — Music Theory II (spring only)
• MUSI 1117 — Sight Singing and Ear Training II (spring only)
• MUAP XX69 or MUAP XX70 — Applied Piano (keyboard proficiency)
• MUEN 11XX — Ensemble (select from list below)
• MUAP 12XX — Applied Music (Freshman Level)
• MUSI 1307 — Music Literature
• HIST 1301 — History of the United States to 1877
• GOVT 2305 — Federal Government

• MUSI 2311 — Music Theory III (fall only)
• MUSI 2116 — Sight Singing and Ear Training III (fall only)
• MUAP XX69 or MUAP XX70 — Applied Piano (keyboard proficiency)
• MUEN 21XX — Ensemble (select from list below)
• MUAP 22XX — Applied Music (Sophomore Level)
• HIST 1302 — History of the United States Since 1877
• Mathematics Core Course

• MUSI 2312 — Music Theory IV 3 (spring only)
• MUSI 2117 — Sight Singing and Ear Training IV (spring only)
• MUAP XX69 or MUAP XX70 — Applied Piano (keyboard proficiency)
• MUEN 21XX — Ensemble (select from list below)
• MUAP 22XX — Applied Music (Sophomore Level)
• GOVT 2306 — Texas Government
• Life and Physical Sciences Core Course

• Concert Choir
• Chamber Choir
• Baytown Jazz Band
• Chamber Ensemble 

Students who first enrolled in Music Field of Study courses prior to Fall 2018 should not be required to repeat content or unnecessarily accumulate semester credit hours. These students are transitioned to the revised Field of Study Curriculum, with previously completed courses applied to the revised requirements under the same terms that apply to a student transferring from one institution to another. The student then completes the remaining requirements under the current curriculum.

Keyboard proficiency is a requirement for most baccalaureate degrees in music, and instruction in keyboard skills is generally offered in the first two years of undergraduate study. Community college degree plans are, therefore, strongly encouraged to include group piano or applied piano lessons, even though they are not part of the Field of Study Curriculum for Music. Keyboard courses approved for transfer concentrate specifically on developing skills for passing keyboard proficiency examinations; courses that concentrate primarily on performance literature do not qualify. Completion of keyboard proficiency courses does not necessarily satisfy the requirement at a receiving institution.

Transferring students who have completed the Field of Study Curriculum must satisfy the competency and proficiency requirements of the receiving institution. Diagnostic assessment of transfer students is permissible only if the receiving institution routinely conducts the same assessment of native students at the same point in the program. Should a transferring student fail to demonstrate proficiency, the student may be encouraged, but not required, to retake relevant courses.

Completion of the Field of Study Curriculum does not prevent a receiving institution from requiring additional lower-division courses necessary for specialized programs such as jazz studies, performance, composition, or music therapy. The Field of Study courses are those common to lower-division study for most music degrees; receiving institutions may require degree-specific coursework, such as vocal diction, by agreement between institutions.

The Field of Study Curriculum for Music serves as the basis for structuring the associate degree. Each two-year college determines which courses from its approved general education core curriculum, together with the Field of Study Curriculum, constitute a 60-semester-credit-hour transfer block. Students complete the remaining general education core curriculum in effect at the receiving institution

Students pursuing the Associate of Arts (AA) degree are strongly encouraged to connect with the Transfer Department early and often to ensure a smooth transition to a four-year university.

• Visit the Transfer Page to access resources and connect with advisors.
• Explore guidance on Transferring to a University, including an easy-to-follow checklist.
• Review detailed University Partner Transfer Maps to see how your Lee College courses merge seamlessly into bachelor's degree programs.

Taking advantage of these resources will help you stay on track and make informed decisions about your future.