Bachelor of Arts, Major in Popular Music Studies
- General Information
- Module Requirements
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Audition Information (links to a new page)
This BA program, the only four-year degree at a Canadian university with a major in popular music, trains creative musicians who have a broad understanding of music within society. Courses are offered in songwriting, arranging, and desktop music production, as well as the critical study of songs, recordings, styles, artists, and the place of popular music in contemporary culture. Students in the program will have an opportunity to compose, arrange, perform, record, and produce their own songs in the courses on songwriting and desktop music production.
Western, between the Faculties of Music and Information & Media Studies, has six specialists in popular music studies, three of whom make their academic home in Music. Music is also a partner in Western’s multimedia centre which houses six project rooms and a classroom with 28 fully equipped digital audio workstations for students to learn desktop music production and post-production (all workstations and project rooms feature Mac computers, and software at the centre includes Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Final Cut, and Soundtrack).
Musicians interested in the major in Popular Music Studies may audition on electric guitar, electric bass, keyboard, drums, or as a singer (please contact us if you play an instrument not listed).
Click here for Module Requirements
The major in Popular Music Studies may be taken on its own or in combination with other majors and minors in the University (for example, Film Studies, Comparative Literature and Culture, Media, Information and Technoculture, etc.). A full list of majors and minors at Western, and admission requirements for them, may be found in the Academic Calendar.
[Please note that the terms major and module are used interchangeably in this document.]
1. What faculty and facilities do you have?
Western, between the Faculties of Music and Information & Media Studies, has six specialists in popular music studies, three of whom make their academic home in Music. Music is also a partner in Western’s multimedia centre, and the centre houses six project rooms and a classroom with 28 fully equipped digital audio workstations for students to learn desktop music production and post-production (all workstations and project rooms feature Mac computers, and software at the centre includes Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Final Cut, and Soundtrack). We use Logic to teach desktop music production.
2. What courses are in the module?
Like other majors at Western, the module in Popular Music Studies consists of 6.0 full-year courses or the equivalent in half-year courses:
2.0 courses:
- Music
- 2700a/b, Post World War II Popular Music
- 2701a/b, Musical Theatre
- 2702a/b, Introduction to Jazz
- 1171a/b, Music in Global Contexts II
2.5 courses from:
- Music
- 2734a/b, Analysis of Popular Songs and Recordings
- 2736a/b, Introduction to Desktop Music Production
- 3730a/b, Popular Music: Genre Studies
- 3731a/b, Popular Music: Composer/Artist Studies
- 3737a/b, Topics in the Popular Music Industry
- 3733a/b, Topics in Jazz I
- 3735a/b, Popular Music Songwriting
- 4733a/b, Topics in Jazz II
1.5 courses from:
- Comparative Literature & Culture
- 2205F/G, Intro. to Literary Theory
- 2273F/G, Postmodernism
- English
- 2017, Reading Popular Culture
- Film Studies
- 2152F/G, Contemporary American Cinema
- 2154E, Film Comedy/Film Genres
- 2158F/G, Contemporary Canadian Cinema
- 2200F/G, Film Theories, Criticisms, Histories
- 2253E, American Cinema
- 2270F/G, Film Aesthetics
- Sociology
- 2132a/b, Theories of Mass Communication
3. May this major be combined with other majors or minors at Western?
The major in Popular Music Studies may be taken on its own or in combination with another major or minor (i.e. Film Studies, Comparative Literature and Culture, Media, Information and Technoculture, Chemistry, French, etc.). We strongly encourage students to combine Popular Music Studies with another subject, and a full list of majors and minors at Western, as well as admission requirements for them, may be found in the Academic Calendar. Please note that like other majors at Western the module in Popular Music Studies occupies just six courses out of a total of twenty courses for an undergraduate degree.
4. Would you describe the admission process?
The following four items will be required of students who have applied for admission to the Popular Music Studies module:
- Completion of an Information Sheet (questionnaire) for the BA with Major in Popular Music Studies. Students will be asked about their current background and abilities. It will also ask why they wish to enter the program and how it will help them achieve their goals.
- Applicants to the Bachelor of Arts (Major in Popular Music Studies) program will be asked to submit evidence of their musical ability in the form of a DVD. The guidelines for what to submit on DVD can be viewed here.
- Two Letters of reference.
- Applicants must take the online Theory Placement Test.
The Theory Placement Test contains written questions at the level of the Royal Conservatory’s Grade III harmony (intervals, clefs, rhythmic notation, transposition of melodies, chords, chord progressions, harmonic analysis, and simple forms), as well as questions which test basic aural ability, that is, recognition of intervals, chords, and simple melodic and chord progressions.
5. What instrument may I audition on?
Musicians interested in the major in Popular Music Studies may submitted recorded auditions on electric guitar, electric bass, keyboard, drums, or as a singer (please contact us if you play an instrument not listed). Recorded audition requirements for specific instruments are listed here.
6. Do I need to follow the audition requirements strictly?
Yes. Prepare for each component of the audition thoroughly and make sure that you are following the most recent set of requirements (contact us if you are unsure). Please note that guitarists may use effects pedals for their solo, but we require the accompaniment and scales to be played with no effects, except for a small amount of reverb.
7. If I fall short on the Theory Placement Test, may I still be admitted?
Entry to all our programs is competitive, so it is best for you to do as well as you can on each aspect of the admission process. Please find a theory teacher to help you prepare for the test.
However, the test is a diagnostic one, and as long the other aspects of the interview/audition are acceptable to us and you have the necessary high-school average for entry to Western and you are offered admission, you may take our summer correspondence course to achieve the appropriate level in Theory. We also have a first-year course that covers the material.
8. If I am applying as a vocalist or on an instrument other than keyboard/piano, what level of piano is expected?
The ability to play the piano is not a requirement for entry to the BA, Major in Popular Music Studies. If you are not a pianist, we will not ask you to play the piano for us at the audition.
9. Is it possible to do a live audition?
No. The audition requirements must be recorded on video and submitted in DVD-R format (please note that DVD-R is the only format we will accept). Each segment of the requirements must be recorded in a single take with no effects or pitch correction applied to the recording. Guitarists, however, may use effects pedals for their solo, but we require the accompaniment and scales to be played with no effects, except for a small amount of reverb.
10. What is the difference between your two programs in Popular Music? Is the first year the same in both programs?
Students who pursue the Popular Music stream of the BMus in Music History enter the Faculty through the audition process as a classical musician and receive weekly lessons on their classical instrument and perform in ensembles, as well as take traditional classical theory and general integrated musicianship (i.e., this program is for students who want to study both classical and popular music but are trained primarily in classical music).
The BMus degree begins in first year with a range of music courses common to all students in BMus programs.
Students who pursue the BA with a Major in Popular Music Studies enter the Faculty through the audition process as a popular musician, and the program is intended for popular musicians with no training in classical music. Students in the BA program are not required to take courses in classical music, and performance opportunities are much more informal, mainly occurring in the courses in songwriting and recording. Please note that this is not a performance program and no lessons on instruments are provided.
The BA Major begins in second year and occupies years 2-4 of the degree. The first year is a general year quite different from the first year of the BMus programs. In the BA program, very few music courses are taken in first year.
11. Within the BA, Major in Popular Music Studies, how much emphasis is put on the historical and theoretical aspects of popular music, as opposed to creative work and performance?
The program trains creative musicians who have a broad understanding of music within society. Courses are offered in songwriting and desktop music production (which includes aspects of arranging), as well as the critical study of songs, recordings, styles, artists, and the place of popular music in contemporary culture. Students in the program will have an opportunity to compose, arrange, record, and produce their own songs in the courses on songwriting and desktop music production.
We have two streams of courses in the program: creative (songwriting, desktop music production) and historical/cultural/theoretical (genres, periods, etc). Both streams are important to the development of the complete musician so that knowledge complements practice. Please note that this is not a performance program and no lessons on instruments are provided.
12. Are lessons on instruments or in voice part of the program?
No. We have never wished to formalize training in performance, as most people active in the field learned their craft informally. We firmly believe that transcribing from recordings and acquiring techniques from other musicians in an informal setting remains the best approach to gaining performance skills in popular music. The auditions ensure that students enter the program with a level of skill that will enable them to succeed in the music industry.
13. Will the program allow me to specialize in a specific style of music or will I be expected to study music I don’t particularly like?
We define popular music broadly, and our courses cover styles from the 1950s to the present. We expose students to a wide variety of genres to enable them to understand how popular music developed, but please be advised that we focus primarily on top-40 styles. Students also take courses in jazz, musical theatre, and world music.
14. Do you provide rehearsal space for rock bands?
No. The Faculty of Music does not have sufficiently soundproofed rooms for rock bands. Students must make their own arrangements for rehearsal space.
15. If I am accepted into the program while in my final year of high school, do I have to re-apply at the end of first year to enter the module?
No, but you must submit an Intent to Register form towards the end of first year. Although students enter the module in their second year of study at Western, applicants who pass the interview/audition when applying for admission to the University will be guaranteed a place in the module, as long as they complete first-year requirements at Western with a mark of at least 60% in each of the following courses: Music 1170a/b (Music in Global Contexts I); English 1020E (Introduction to Literature and Composition) or 1022E (Intensive Introduction to Literature and Composition) or 1024E (Forms of Fiction); and Film 1020E (An Introduction to Film) or Comparative Literature & Culture 1020 (Western Culture across the Ages).
16. What high-school average is required for admission to Popular Music Studies at Western?
At the moment, the minimum average is 80%.
17. How do I apply to the BA, Major in Popular Music Studies?
New applicants to the University should apply through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) by selecting “MN:BA Music” (click Select Programs >By University >The University of Western Ontario >MN:BA Music >Subject of Major Interest >Popular Music Studies).
Students already enrolled at Western who wish to transfer to the program should contact the office of the Associate Dean (Academic) in January to arrange an interview/audition in advance of the Intent to Register period.
18. What is the deadline for submitting material for my application to the Pop Music Module?
March 15.
19. When do I find out if I have been admitted to the program?
Music completes all interview/auditions by the end of April, and we endeavour to let people know the results of their audition as soon as we can. Students usually receive an informal letter from us in advance of formal notification by the University (only the Registrar’s Office may make an offer of admission).
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