Crane for Non-Music Majors: Music Classes for Everyone

Crane regularly offers a number of courses designed for non-music majors, including those listed below. Not all of these are offered every semester; check the course schedule to find out which are in the schedule for any particular term. Note that some of these courses will fulfill the Pathways requirements, either Thinking Aesthetically (TA) or Connecting Globally (CG). For more information about these courses, consult the academic catalog.

• MULH 101: Crane Live!
• MULH 110: Music Through the Ages
• MULH 161 Global Pop Music and Urban Cultures
• MULH 204: Introduction to Musical Theater
• MULH 261: Music of Africa
• MULH 340: The Music of the Beatles
• MULT 101 Music Theory for Non-Music Majors
• MULP 101/106 Piano Lessons for Non-Music Majors
• MULP 107: Voice Lessons for Non-Music Majors
• MUAP ensembles - see the next FAQ

Other courses, not listed here, may be also be offered. The subject codes (for example, "MULP") can inform you if non-music majors can enroll in a course. Look for subject codes that being MUL_ or MUA_ . Courses designed for non-music majors have an "L" or "A" as the third letter in their course subject code (L = Liberal Arts Students and A = All Students), while the last letter of the code refers to the subject of the course (H=music history, for example).

Courses with a third letter of "C" (for example, "MUCP") are restricted to music majors only, so these courses are not generally available to non-music majors.

Crane ensembles are open to all students at SUNY Potsdam. Some ensembles require a placement audition, some do not. 

• Choral auditions are heard by one or more choral ensemble directors at designated times; contact the Coordinator of Choral Ensembles, Dr. Nils Klykken, for more information.
  • Note that MUAP 356 Homser Choir and MUAP 357 Eclectic Ensemble do not require an audition
• Instrumental ensemble auditions for the ensembles below are heard by the studio teacher(s) of each instrument (for example, the flute teacher hears all flute auditions and decides ensemble placement and seating). Please see the Crane School's faculty list for the names of any specific instrumental instructors.
  • MUAP 370: Crane Wind Ensemble
  • MUAP 387: Crane Symphonic Band
  • MUAP 388: Crane Concert Band
  • MUAP 362: Crane Symphony Orchestra
• Both MUAP 392 Jazz Band and MUAP 374 Crane Jazz Ensemble require an audition. Contact Dr. Seungyoung Hong, Jazz Program Head, for information.
• You can also email Crane@potsdam.edu for assistance in getting in touch with the appropriate faculty member.

Auditions are usually held over the first two days of classes each semester. You will want to contact faculty well ahead of time, as they often give our audition materials prior to the audition, so that students can prepare for their audition.

There is a complete list of all of our ensembles here, but not all of these ensembles are offered every semester. We advise students to check the course schedule to find out which are in the schedule for any particular term. 

Please come to our concerts! All members of the campus community (as well as in the larger community) are invited to attend any of the numerous concerts the Crane School presents each week of the semester. Almost all of these events are free. These include student recitals, faculty performances, student ensemble concerts, operas, musical theatre productions, guest artists of all kinds, and much more. For a calendar of events, please see our events webpage or the campus events calendar. (While it is always best to attend concerts in person, many concerts are also live-streamed. 

Crane, SUNY Potsdam and the community also sponsor the Community Performance Series which brings world famous artists and ensembles to campus. Tickets are required for these events. For more information, call the CPS Box Office, located in the Performing Arts Center Lobby, at (315) 267-2277.

The Crane School of Music does not offer a generic music minor. Of the several minors we offer, there is one which does not require you to be a music major: the Music Business Minor. This minor is open to any student on campus. Students interested in this minor must get approval to add this minor from Dr. Timothy Yip, the Music Business Program Head. Typically, this should be done in the first or second semester. 

With one exception, all music majors have to successfully audition into a program before they can declare that major. The Crane School offers these majors:

• Bachelor of Science in Music Business - no formal audition is required, although some musical experience,broadly defined, is required. Speak with Program Head Dr. Timothy Yip if you wish to be considered for this major.
• Bachelor of Arts in Music
• Bachelor of Music in Music Education
• Bachelor of Music in Performance
• Bachelor of Music in Music Business
• Bachelor of Music in Musical Studies - Composition
• Bachelor of Music in Musical Studies - Music Theory
• Bachelor of Music in Musical Studies - Music History

About the audition process for current SUNY Potsdam students:

Each year, we have a small number of SUNY Potsdam students who are not currently music majors audition (or re-audition) to enter Crane. If you auditioned for us in the past and were not accepted, we recommend that you contact the faculty who auditioned you. Some faculty are willing to share their observations about your audition and recommend ways to improve your skills. Please note that, as with any auditioning student, there is no guarantee you will be accepted into The Crane School of Music. Not only will your audition have to be at a high enough level for admission, but the availability of studio space in your area is also a factor. Preparing for the audition is an important part of ensuring success. 

Detailed information about auditions can be found online here. Make sure you register for an audition through the link for "Current SUNY Potsdam students" on that page by the published deadline. Students are only permitted to audition once per audition "season" (November through March). Note that students auditioning for Crane who are already enrolled at SUNY Potsdam must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher to be eligible to declare a music major. (For those students in their first term at SUNY Potsdam, final approval to become a music major will not occur until after Fall semester grades are published.)

Coursework:

• SUNY Potsdam students who plan to audition for Crane should consider the requirements of the music degree they wish to pursue when they select their courses. For example, certain required courses in the Bachelor of Music degrees fulfill two general education requirements (TA and CG) and for two majors (Music Education and Music Business) there is a required course which fulfills SW. Details of the program requirements can be found on the degree plans page.
• We encourage non-music majors interested in Crane to enroll in MULT 101: Music Theory for Non-Music Majors in their first semester, as this course will help your musical skills as you prepare for your audition.
• Students who want to be music majors should also perform in a Crane ensemble (see FAQ #2, above). "Like" ensembles (such as Trombone Choir or Percussion Ensemble) are ideal places to meet and play along side students who are already music majors on your primary instrument.
• Voice or piano students may also wish to register for one of the "Lessons" courses (see FAQ #1, above), although even for students in those classes, it is advisable to hire a private teacher to work with throughout the semester, leading up to your audition. Faculty who teach your instrument can assist you in finding an appropriate teacher in the area. Those lessons would be non-credit-bearing and would likely come at an out-of-pocket cost. (See the next FAQ as well.)

Although the courses mentioned above are useful, they will typically not count toward degree requirements for music majors, nor will they speed up your progress to graduation should you become a music major. Bachelor of Music degrees take 4 years, starting from the semester you become a music major (assuming that you do not have transfer hours in music from another institution, some of which may count towards a degree at Crane). There are a number of reasons for this; for example, most degrees require students to take 7 or 8 semesters of studio lessons, and studio lessons can only be taken one-at-a-time during the fall or spring semesters. However, our experience is that most students who start a Bachelor of Music degree in their second semester graduate in a total of 4 years. 

Due to limited studio space, we can only offer private lessons with faculty to music majors, except in rare cases, so the simple answer to this FAQ is "no." We do offer some classes which allow students to take lessons either in a group (Class Piano and Class Voice) or one-on-one with music majors, under faculty supervision (see FAQ #1). 

Some faculty are available to give lessons privately, but those arrangements would have to be made between the student and the faculty member as to availability, frequency and costs. No college credit would be earned for these private lessons.

Polices about The Crane School of Music facilities can all be found the Crane Student Handbook. For these kinds of questions, see the "Building Regulations" section, which also includes information on building hours and access.

• Storage space for instruments: There are instrument lockers in the Crane Music Center, but these are generally only available to music majors, as we only have so many of these. However, some if a non-music major student is in a credited ensemble and needs a locker, we will do our best to provide that. Questions about lockers should be addressed to the Crane Instrument Technician (for contact information, see the Crane faculty webpage.  
• Practice Rooms: See the Crane Student Handbook, under the "General Practice and Practice Room Policies" section.
• Instruments: Crane cannot provide non-music majors with instruments. This includes percussion instruments, although percussionists in ensembles will have access to necessary percussion equipment for ensemble rehearsals. There are many places you can rent instruments, but locally the nearest store is Brick and Mortar Music, in downtown Potsdam. We also recommend renting instruments from Sweetwater Sound, which has a robust rental apparatus.