B.F.A. in Music Technology, Entrepreneurship & Production
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Technology, Entrepreneurship & Production (MTEP) is designed to provide professional training for students who aim to succeed as creative entrepreneurs in the music industry. The program features a practical teaching and learning approach grounded in the real world of music production and marketing, and follows a learning community/cohort model that places peer collaboration and interdisciplinarity at the center of the educational experience.
Comprising courses from the Schools of Performing Arts; Visual Arts, Communications, and Digital Technologies; Business; and the College of Liberal Arts, the MTEP curriculum ensures that students develop facility with a variety of technologies designed to create, produce, distribute, and promote music.
As a student in this program, you will work with professionals in the music industry through internships and guest artist residencies as well as projects associated with Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, the T. Denny Sanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, and local recording studios.
Qualities that Set Our Program Apart
- You will work with some of the most talented and successful musicians and teachers in the New York metro area. Our faculty members are active musicians and teachers, and they represent some of the most cutting-edge and high profile people in the profession.
- Our proximity to New York City and connection to Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post will give you direct access to a wide variety of outstanding professional music-making in the form of concerts, workshops, master classes and collaborative projects. Recent musical artists who have worked with our students include: the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Chanticleer Choral Ensemble, Shanghai String Quartet, Bobby McFerrin, United States "President's Own" Marine Band, New York Voices, United States Air Force Band, guitarist David Leisner, flutist Sir James Galway, jazz artist Paquito D'Rivera, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
- You will have an opportunity to make music as a soloist, chamber musician and large ensemble member both on campus, and as part of our domestic and international touring program.
For admission to the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, evidence of prior music training experience and suitable music aptitude are expected. Auditions and placement exams are required for all programs. Deficiencies discovered through the placement exams may require remedial coursework. Acceptance into the music program is also contingent upon acceptance to LIU Post.
Find out more about MTEP and Deep End Entertainment Productions (our student-run record label) at bandcamp.
Auditions for Admission
Please see the Music Auditions page for how to schedule an audition and audition requirements.
Program Curriculum
| Course # | Course Name | Credits |
| Required Musicianship Core Courses (12 credits) | ||
| MUS 107A | Music Theory/Keyboard Harmony I | 3 |
| MUS 107B | Music Theory/Keyboard Harmony II | 3 |
| MUS 108A | Aural Skills I | 3 |
| MUS 108B | Aural Skills II | 3 |
| Required Music Technology Courses (12 credits) | ||
| MUS 14A | Introduction to Music Technology | 3 |
| MUS 14B | Sequencing and Production | 3 |
| MUS 14C | Music Notation Software | 3 |
| MUS 214D | Digital Audio Workstation | 3 |
| Required Music Creation and Production Courses (15 credits) | ||
| MUS 200 | Culture of Rhythm and Production | 3 |
| MUS 201 | Foundations of Recording | 3 |
| MUS 203 | Songwriting I | 3 |
| MUS 204 | Songwriting II | 3 |
| MUS 206 | Composition and Arranging for Media | 3 |
| Required Music Entrepreneurship Courses (13 credits) | ||
| MUS 130 | Professional Development for a Music Career | 1 |
| MUS 205 | Business and Legal Aspects of Music Industry | 3 |
| MUS 207 | Music Operations & Distribution | 3 |
| MUS 278 | Music Industry Internship I | 3 |
| MUS 279 | Music Industry Internship II | 3 |
| MUS 208 | Publicity and Promotion in the Performing Arts | 3 |
| Required Music History/Literature Courses (9 credits) | ||
| MUS 24 | History of Rock | 3 |
| MUS 28 | History of Jazz | 3 |
| MUS 46 | Introduction to World Music | 3 |
| Required Entrepreneurship Courses (9 credits) | ||
| CGPH 26 | Web Design for Everyone | 3 |
| MKT 11 | Marketing Principles and Practice | 3 |
| PR 38 | Social Media Tools | 3 |
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Required Music Making Fundamentals Courses (12 credits)
Eleven (11) credits are required from the following MUS ensembles or studio lessons |
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Ensembles offered every Fall and Spring for 1 credit..
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Lessons offered every semester for 1 or 2 credits.
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| Taken for six (6) semesters | ||
| MUS 4 | Music Convocation | 0 |
| Required Culminating Experience (6 credits) | ||
| MUS 299 | Capstone | 3 |
| MUS 298 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| Course # | Course Name | Credits |
| Required Core Courses
(32-33 Credits)
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| POST 101 | Post Foundations | 1 |
| FY | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| ENG 1** | Writing 1 | 3 |
| ENG 2** | Writing 2 | 3 |
| MTH 5 | Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 |
| Choose one course from each of the five below course clusters and one additional course from one of the clusters. | ||
| Scientific Inquiry & the Natural World |
4 | |
| Creativity Media & the Arts | 3 | |
| Perspectives on World Culture | 3 | |
| Self, Society & Ethics | 3 | |
| Power, Institutions & Structures | 3 | |
| One additional course from one of the five above clusters | 3 | |
| General Elective (3 Credits from Any Course) | ||
* Some courses may count as core and others as electives.
** In addition to ENG 1 and 2, students take at least 3 more writing intensive (WAC) courses as part of their major, core, or elective courses. ENG 303 and 304 can satisfy the ENG 1 and 2 requirement for students in the Honors College.
| Credit Requirements | |
| Total Major Requirement Credits | 85 |
| Total Elective Credits | 3 |
| Total Core Requirement Credits | 32-33 |
| Total Degree Credits | 120 |
Courses
CGPH 26 Web Design for Everyone
This is an introductory course in Internet Website design. The course is designed for non-design students who want to create basic Websites without extensive knowledge of html and css or graphic design software. The course introduces the student to Wordpress as an authoring tool for Web development. Basic Web page layout techniques and digital image preparation methods are covered. The course focuses on using and manipulating pre-built Web page templates.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 4 Music Convocation
This non-credit course brings all Music Majors together to observe and participate in artist presentations and master classes. Must be taken by all Music Majors every semester except for Music Education Majors in their senior year while they are student teaching.
Credits: 0.00
MUS 14A Introduction to Music Technology
This course introduces students to digital music production, digital audio editing, sequencing and music notation at the computer.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 14B Sequencing and Production
This course is a continuation of MUS 14A centering on MIDI sequencing and includes explanations and demonstrations of recording and arranging techniques for creating dynamic musical sequences in any musical style.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 14C Music Notation Software
This course is a continuation of MUS 14A in which advanced features of notation software are studied including score input options, editing tools, layouts, and part extraction.
Credits: 3.0
MUS 24 History of Rock Music
This course centers on the development of Rock music from the 1950s to the present. This course fulfills the Perspectives on World Cultures thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 28 History of Jazz
This course centers on the musical and historical evolution of Jazz and its many styles, performers and composers.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 46 Introduction to World Music
This course explores the music, cultures, and customs associated with various indigenous peoples from around the globe. Course materials examine musical styles and forms through lectures, discussions, and attendance at live performances. This course fulfills the Perspectives on World Cultures thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 106A Basic Keyboard I
This course centers on the development of basic piano skills including fingerings, hand and body posture, scales, arpeggios, triads, progressions, beginner musical selections, and technical exercises.
Credits: 1.00
MUS 106B Basic Keyboard II
This course is a continuation of Basic Keyboard I. Requirements include performing My Country `tis of Thee in six (6) different keys, singing My Country `tis of Thee while playing a basic standard chord accompaniment, and writing and performing an original piano composition that includes mixed meters.
Credits: 1.00
MUS 107A Theory/Keyboard Harmony I
This course focuses on music theory and keyboard harmony including four-part writing, harmonization, and transposition. Requirements including performing and notating 1) London Bridge, Silent Night, and Happy Birthday with appropriate chords; 2) diatonic circle of fifths and falling fourths progression; and 3) root position triads in close and open positions in six (6) different keys. Students compose an original simple four-part composition that includes open and close position chords.
Credits: 2.00
MUS 107B Theory/Keyboard Harmony II
This course is a continuation of Music Theory/Keyboard Harmony I. Requirements include identifying at sight and by ear all non-chord tones in standard melodies from the classical repertory including standard folk tunes such as London Bridge, Silent Night, and Happy Birthday. Students notate diatonic circle of fifths, root position seventh chords in four voices in six (6) major keys and demonstrate a vocal improvisation to London Bridge while playing a standard chordal accompaniment at the piano. Students compose and harmonize a simple melody that includes non-harmonic tones.
Credits: 2.00
MUS 108A Aural Skills I
This course focuses on diatonic singing using the Moveable DO, LA-based minor solfege system. Students learn intervals, triads, rhythmic clapping, conducting while intoning rhythms, and singing while playing the piano. Compound and simple meters are stressed. Regularly assigned ear training examples will be completed using a digital ear training program.
Credits: 2.00
MUS 108B Aural Skills II
This course is a continuation of Aural Skills I.
Credits: 2.00
MUS 130 Professional Preparation for a Music Career
This course is an overview of skills needed to make the transition from college study to professional life. Sessions cover identifying and researching publications and competitions; preparing resumes, cover letters, publicity photos and demo recordings; and planning a debut concert; and establishing a Web presence.
Credits: 1.00
MUS 200 Culture of Rhythm and Production
This course examines rhythm as an essential cross-cultural and unifying agent. A hands-on course, students have the opportunity to experience rhythms of diverse cultures through learning traditional hand-drumming patterns and songs from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and other cultures of the African-American diaspora.
The evolution and widespread trajectory of the rhythms of the African diaspora through the Caribbean, South America and North America affected some of the most iconic musical forms of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 201 Foundations of Recording
Basic acoustic and technological foundations of audio recording will be the focus of this class in order to give students an understanding of the theoretical principles that guide the field of audio engineering. The science of acoustics, soundwaves and studio construction will be considered, along with functions of the recording console.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 203 Songwriting 1
Fundamentals of songwriting are introduced such as form, meter, rhyme, metaphor, and theme. These tenets of the songwriting craft are examined through careful study of exemplars from diverse traditions as well as genre-driven student projects including those centered on blues, songs of protest, jingles, and more.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 204 Songwriting 2
This workshop-model course explores more fully the songwriting process. Focus is on student-created works, which evolve naturally in a nurturing, safe, supportive environment. Student work is documented in performance and through the recording process. Guest lecturers share their work and provide feedback on student works.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 205 Business and Legal Aspect of the Music Industry
This course explores business and legal aspects of the Music Industry from both the perspective of the producer and the artist. Topics covered include basic accounting, contracts, copyrights, and intellectual property law.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 206 Composition and Arranging for Media
This course explores composition and arranging for diverse media including film, television, website, video games, and other digital platforms. A brief history of film/television scoring provides a foundation for the creation of student compositions and/or arrangements for media. Both technical and aesthetic aspects of the process are addressed. A final composition/arranging project is required.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 207 Music Operations and Distribution
This course examines both traditional (record labels) and non-traditional (do-it-yourself) modes of the commercial distribution of music. This broad approach addresses both artist and producer distribution perspectives.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 214D Digital Audio Workstation
This course puts to use the fundamental technologies introduced in the first three courses in the Music Technology sequence including sequencing, sampling, and basic live audio recording and mixing processes employing contemporary software/hardware configurations.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 278 Music Industry Internship 1
This course is a one-semester internship with a not-for-profit Music Industry organization in the great New York City area. The organization may be a music presenter, record label, agency, new media specialist or otherwise involved in the Music industry. A weekly minimum of 10 site-based hours is required as well as a campus-based, one-hour, weekly seminar with the cohort and university internship advisor. A final creative project is required.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 279 Music Industry Internship 2
This course is a one-semester internship with a profit-driven Music Industry organization in the great New York City area. The organization may be a music presenter, record label, agency, new media specialist or otherwise involved in the Music industry. A weekly minimum of 10 site-based hours is required as well as a campus-based, one-hour, weekly seminar with the cohort and university internship advisor. A final creative project is required.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 298 Senior Thesis
The Senior Thesis documents the senior Capstone Project. A one-hour, weekly, campus-based meeting with the university thesis advisor guides the documentation process. A SO-page, written thesis is required. Student collaboration within the cohort is encouraged, but not required.
Credits: 3.00
MUS 299 Capstone
The Capstone Project comprises the development, execution, and analysis of a major project spanning the senior year. A university project advisor guides, oversees, and evaluates the project. The scope and sequence of the Capstone Project is broad ranging from the creation/promotion/documentation of a major artistic work (an album/video/performance) to a music business project involving the creation of a business entity designed to produce and bring to market an artistic work. A one-hour, weekly, campus-based seminar with the university project advisor and cohort is required. Student collaboration within the cohort is encouraged, but not required.
Credits: 3.00
PR 38 Social Media Tools
Social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have become platforms for brands and organizations to connect and communicate directly with their audiences and are now integral parts of well-rounded public relations campaigns. Students will learn about the various networks and apps available, how to leverage them effectively using best practices, and strategically integrate these platforms into an overall communications plan with appropriate listening and measurement metrics.
Credits: 3.00
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