Students of the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major acquire experience in all important aspects of composition. The study programme encompasses analyses of contemporary music and the reflective teaching of compositional techniques, as well as practical work in a variety of projects, such as workshops and concert performances of the students’ own works.
Overview
The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major lays the educational foundations for a career as a professional composer.
The aim of the study programme is to nurture and produce versatile and multifaceted musical personalities. To this end, students will gain extensive experience in all areas of composition, learn to master different compositional techniques, and acquire the ability to critically assess their own artistic processes and output.
In addition to solid general music education knowledge and skills, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse, as well as write and speak competently about the practice of music in general. They will also acquire a range of other skills that will qualify them for a career as a professional composer. A FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music constitutes pathway to postgraduate study, e.g. a Master’s degree programme.
The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is an undergraduate degree programme aimed at students who wish to pursue a career as a professional composer.
The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is not a professional qualification. Those wishing to pursue a career as a professional composer must follow up their undergraduate studies with a Master’s degree programme in composition/music theory or another programme that leads to the necessary professional qualification.
Core curriculum
Major module (125 CP): Individual tuition in composition Individual tuition in music theory Seminar on Composition/Music theory (Kolloquium) Analysis, Comp/MT major (different eras) Analysis, Comp/MT major (20th/21st century) Composition Introduction to the history of music notation Instrumentation Electronic music – aesthetics and technology Music acoustics (for Composition/Music Theory major)
Complementary courses
Practical module (20 CP): Choir/chamber choir Piano (compulsory) Improvisation Movement
Theory module, applied (18 CP): Ear training II + III Ear training (for Comp/MT major); advanced ear training Musical form Early music performance
Theory module (15 CP): Music teaching Musical acoustics Organology History of music Music research
Elective courses
Personalised module(2 CP): Courses/activities chosen from the elective courses available.
In order to be considered for entry to the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music programme with a Composition major, applicants must hold a school-leaving qualification (Swiss Baccalaureate, Swiss Professional Baccalaureate or equivalent); exceptions may be made for applicants with exceptional artistic talent. They must also pass the entrance examination and win a place on the programme (numbers are limited). Applications will not be considered from individuals who already hold an undergraduate music degree or similar qualification from a Swiss education provider. Only applicants who have submitted the required registration documentation duly completed and on time will be invited to take the entrance examination. Applicants must also be sufficiently proficient in the German language from the outset (e.g. German B1 certificate).
General information about the entrance exam, aptitude test and exam dates can be found on the Entrance Exams page.
Portfolio (to be submitted 6 weeks prior to the entrance exam):
a short biography
a minimum of one piece of analytical work
a minimum of three compositions
a written analysis (format and length of applicant’s choosing)
optional: stylistic exercises, concepts, computer-music programmes, projects, essays, other documentation, examples of music theory or scientific research work, etc.
The entrance exam is divided into three parts:
Written exam (approx. four hours):
Short composition exercise using the resources (incl. electronic materials) and concepts provided.
Oral exam & audition
analysis of a brief piece from 20th/21st century (preparation time: 60 mins)
short oral presentation of one composition from the applicant’s portfolio
listening assignment: detailed commentary (e.g. techniques used, pitch, rhythms and timbres) on an audio recording of a piece of music from the 20th/21st century
performance on the piano of one short piece of music of the applicant’s choosing
optional: second instrument audition
discussion with the interview panel
Ear training test Written and oral test. The level of difficulty corresponds to that of the ear training test at the end of the first year of the Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Vocal/Instrumental major.
The application window is open from mid-December to the end of February. Information days on the degree programmes are held in mid-January. More information about the info days at musikstudium-basel.ch
Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Musik, Studienrichtung Komposition
Study mode:
Full time
ECTS points:
180
Start of semester:
Beginning of September
Duration:
6 semesters
Teaching language:
German, C1 level in German required
Place:
Campus Musik-Akademie Basel
Stay abroad:
Possible, not curricular
Application fee:
200 CHF
Semester fee:
700 CHF for Swiss citizens and students with legal place of residence in Switzerland | 1000 CHF for students from EU-/EFTA-countries | 1250 CHF for students from third countries
