Composition and Music Theory programme
The aim is to give students a broad introduction to music theory and music in general, as well as to provide them with practical composing skills or scientific competence. Upon completion of the programme, students will be able to carry out tasks that require artistic creativity or special expertise in music and to fulfil the demanding role of a music pedagogue.
The major subject may be either composition or music theory. In each subject, the aim of the study is a comprehensive knowledge of music theory and history. The possession of this knowledge provides a base for music education from which it is possible to seek out the new, break barriers, reform traditions, and expand one's image of the world. In the composition course, the aim is to make students conscious of the composition process by introducing them to historical models and by combining analysis with personal work. It is important to find a balance between technique and expression.
This programme leading to a Sibelius Academy Master’s degree is organised in two cycles. Those accepted in the course are entitled to study in the 5.5-year programme leading to a Master’s degree in Music. The students complete a Bachelor’s degree in Music after three years of study, and can continue their studies towards a Master’s degree in Music without a separate entrance examination. If the student has already completed a bachelor-level degree in music elsewhere in Finland or abroad, the student may apply directly to the 2.5-year Master's programme. The Bachelor’s degree in Music requires 180 ECTS credits. The Master’s degree in Music is 150 ECTS credits. At the beginning of studies, an individual study plan (HOPS) is prepared for each student, and the studies take place in HOPS-based courses. The following fields of study are included in the plan:
- Composition
- Music theory and music analysis
- Aural skills
- Music history
- Methodology and research
- Instrumental and vocal studies
- Instrumentation
- Music aesthetics
- Pedagogy
Within the framework of the individual study plan, students are entitled to study other courses included in Sibelius Academy programmes as their minor subjects.
In the Composition and Music Theory programme, students can combine their music theory skills and practical musicianship in a meaningful way. In addition to the major subject, instrumental studies and skills are required of all students.
In the study of Composition, the focus is on the personal teaching of composition, which is supported by harmony studies, courses in music analysis, and a variety of composition projects. In Music Theory as a major subject, of greatest importance are the analysis of music using different methods, introduction to the styles and techniques of different eras, the techniques of writing scores, music research, and music history. A Master’s degree from the Composition and Music Theory programme also gives the student the skills and abilities required for doctoral studies.
Studying Composition and Music Theory at Sibelius Academy provides excellent opportunities to reach deeply into Western music. If you wish to reflect on, research, and analyse the essence, styles, techniques, genres, forms, and expressive content of music, and if you also want to develop your own instrumental skills, you will obtain the best tools for these pursuits through what this programme has to offer.
In Composition, students find their own direction in a dialogue between practising the techniques of composers from different eras and forming their own musical language. Through different orientations of music analysis and by means of scoring or pastiche writing, students research music history as well as the musical structures, forms and means of expression (topos and character analyses) of its different eras. It is also possible to look deeply into music history and study the values and repertoires prevalent in musical life as a decisively broader field, and to question the one-dimensional concept of history. Students can also study music teaching and its research or the methods of music psychology research.
In 2008, graduates of the Composition and Music Theory programme took part in an employment questionnaire under the heading 'Intohimona musiikki' [passion for music]. The questionnaire in PDF-format (Finnish only)
