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Jazz and Improvisation

Expand Your Creativity
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Jazz and Improvisation is for musicians pursuing careers in jazz, studio recording, and performance in contemporary idioms (popular, world, experimental). The core classes in jazz and improvisation provide innovative learning opportunities covering jazz harmony, theory and improvisation, history and analysis, composition, arranging, and global improvisation. In addition, students choose elective classes that provide opportunities across disciplines to engage in creative ideation and problem-solving through sound production. Students who graduate from this program will have a competitive edge as they enter the professional world or apply to graduate programs in jazz and contemporary improvisation.
Students in this program will benefit from instruction and mentorship from some of the leading jazz and improvisation artists in the United States and beyond. UD faculty in this program include members of well-established, internationally esteemed jazz, contemporary, and Broadway ensembles that perform regionally in New York, Philadelphia, and across the United States and abroad. In addition, students collaborate with guest artists and clinicians. Most importantly, students benefit from an innovative, student-centered curriculum. In addition to numerous big-band and jazz chamber opportunities, students discover and create through hands-on application, for example, by learning jazz harmony at the keyboard, and by studying jazz theory and improvisation with instruments in hand.
RELATED MAJORS
AREAS OF STUDY
Core courses music theory, aural skills, class piano, and music history
Specialized training in jazz theory, jazz history and analysis, improvisation, global styles, composition, and arranging
Private weekly lessons in classical and jazz styles
Large jazz bands and small jazz combos
Independent research and public performance preparation
CAREER OPTIONS
Performing Artist
Higher Education
Freelance Musician
Recording Artist
Teaching (private studio or affiliated institute)
Arts Advocate and Reviewer
Artistic Director
Military Bands
Pit Orchestra or Session Musician
Church Musician
Composition and Arranging
Song Writing
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Jazz Studies
Improvisation
New Music
Performance
Conducting
Teaching
Composition
Musicology
Music Theory
Music Entrepreneurship
What’s special about this program?
This major can be personalized to fit the academic and professional pursuits of each student, individualized to incorporate minors, Honors Degrees, Degrees with Distinction, Service-Learning, study abroad and research. We maintain a low student-to-faculty ratio and small classes, providing access to a passionate, invested and highly accomplished faculty comprised of professionally active performers, composers, educators, theorists and musicologists. The study of music at Delaware is enriched by nearly 300 performances each year by faculty, students, ensembles and guest artists. Additionally, the vast musical resources of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York City are easily accessible to our majors.
Get Involved
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Xi Mu Chapter)
Sigma Alpha Iota (Eto Rho Chapter)
National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)
American String Teachers Association (ASTA)
The Jazz Educators and Performers Association (JEPA)
Music Management Student Assoc (MMSA)
College Music Society (UD Student Chapter)
Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic
American Musicological Society, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
A cappella and other musical groups
Nationally Connected Organizations
Sample curriculum
UNIV101 | First Year Experience |
ENGL110 | Seminar in Composition |
MATH113 | Contemporary Mathematics (or higher) |
MUSC151/152 | Private Study I/II |
MUSC175 | Class Piano I |
MUSC178 | Jazz Harmony at the Keyboard |
MUSC185/186 | Aural Skills I/II |
MUSC195 | Music Theory I |
MUSC430/477 | Jazz Ensemble I or II |
University Breadth Courses |
MUSC251/252 | Private Study |
MUSC285/286 | Aural Skills III & IV |
MUSC196/295 | Music Theory II & III |
MUSC211 | Music History & Ideas |
MUSC293/491 | Jazz Theory & Improvisation/Global Improvisation |
MUSC430/477 | Jazz Ensemble |
MUSC | Music Elective |
Foreign Language Requirement | XX105/XX106 |
University Breadth Courses |
MUSCC296 | Music Theory IV |
Music History: Narratives & Period | Music History Narratives: Choose 1 from MUSC212 or MUSC213 Music History Period: Choose 1 from MUSC314, MUSC315, MUSC316, MUSC317 |
MUSC381/382 | Private Study in Jazz and Improvisation I/II |
MUSC390 | Jazz History and Analysis |
MUSC391 | Jazz Arranging and Composition |
MUSC430/477 | Jazz Chamber Ensemble |
MUSC | Music Elective |
Foreign Language Requirement | XX107 |
University Breadth Courses | Multicultural Requirement |
Elective Courses | 6 Credits: Must come from approved list |
MUSC401 | Senior Recital |
MUSC407 | Contemporary Music Literature |
MUSC411 | Topics in Music History |
MUSC430/477 | Jazz Ensemble |
MUSC482/483 | Private Study in Jazz & Improvisation |
MUSC492 | Jazz Pedagogy |
MUSC | Music Elective |
University Breadth Courses | |
Elective Courses | 6 Credits: must come from approved list |
Go Global at UD
This major is eligible for the following program:

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