Descriptions of Courses in

The Department of Music Education

1.   Specialized and Supportive – Specialized Courses:

 "Piano and Chants" Courses

Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are six consecutive courses, that are taught in Digital Piano Laboratories. These courses are the backbone of the major in music education. Their importance emerges when implementing practical studies and when studying applied music subjects such as Harmony and musical analysis. These courses aim to prepare the student to be able to perform the musical notations of the chants, marches, folk games required in the schools of the Ministry of Education, in addition to performing several exercises and musical compositions that help to expand the student's perceptions, abilities and knowledge of the musical culture in general.

            In the first course of the piano and chants lab, the student gets to know the piano instrument, the right way of sitting facing the piano, hand positions and the use of fingers and begins to sight read the music, which is reading the musical notation and applying it directly on the piano. (Note that the student learns to read music notation also in the first music theory and solfege course which coincides with the first piano and chants course with different methods and goals). The difficulty level of the musical notation varies and develops according to the level of each piano and chants course to fulfill the goals of the courses. In the last two courses the student should sing and play at the same time some of the required school chants.

Here are the registration details of the "Piano and Chants" courses:

"Music Theory and solfege" Courses

Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are four consecutive courses in which the student studies the basics of musical language that pave the way for studying all the specialized courses at the Music Education Department. These courses aim to gradually develop the rhythmic and listening perception of the student so that he will be able to read, sing the music notation, analyze the music intervals and chords, and perform various rhythmic structures through exercises and dictations. These courses also aim to acknowledge the student with musical performing terms.

            The contents of the third and fourth courses of Music Theory are divided into Western and Eastern Music Theories, where the student begins to know the basics of Eastern Arabic Music alongside the Western.

Here are the registration details of the "Music Theory and Solfege" courses:

"Various Instruments" Courses

Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are four consecutive courses. They aim to enhance and vary the student's musical abilities and skills, broaden his knowledge of musical culture, refine his personality, which could match his chosen musical instrument. Thus, the courses are planned as follows:

·      In the first three courses the student learns how to play a chosen by him musical instrument beside studying the piano as an obligatory instrument.

·      In the fourth course, the student studies how to perform some school percussion instruments (snare drum, xylophone, and timpani) as to be able to take part in a school music band or to form it.

Here are the registration details of the "Various Instruments" courses:

"Harmony Courses"

Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are three consecutive courses. They aim to introduce the student to the science of Harmony which means the science of combining the sounds together, as Harmony is the foundation of the construction of any musical work. These courses work as a link between all courses of the music education program.

            Each Harmony course is divided into theoretical and practical sections. The student performs theoretical (written) and practical (by playing the piano) harmonic exercises through which he learns the laws of the sequence of relationships between musical chords and how to set simple accompaniment for simple school melodies on the piano. Thus, the Harmony courses would help the student understand the constructions of the musical accompaniments that are written for school chants and folk popular games, what improves his performance of the required chants and games. The Harmonny courses also pave the way to analyze and understand the different musical scores that are given in other courses like the western History and Analysis courses.

Here are the registration details of the Harmony courses:

"Choir and Computer" Courses

Supportive – Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

They are two consecutive courses, each divided into two different study sections as defined in the title:

·      Choir: which is a collective singing in two or more voices. The Choir aims to develop the students' ability to read and sing the musical notation, to improve their perceptions and esthetical approach to music and broaden their musical knowledge. The students will be acquainted with international academic choral music of different eras. They will also be urged to sing in various foreign languages and use the international music terminology and symbols.

·      Computer: The computer courses aim to enable the students to benefit from the modern technological development in the field of music through the music notation computer programs (Sibelius, Finale and Music Score) choosing one or two programs to use. The courses indirectly acknowledge the student with orchestration and composition through implementing different scores of western and Eastern music, including how to add writing in Arabic and English languages to the score for school chants or choir music or others.  

Here are the registration details of the Choir and Computer courses:

 "Muashahat and Flok Arts" and

"Eastern Music Analyses and Folk Arts" Courses

 Supportive – Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are two consecutive courses, each divided into two different study sections as defined in the title:

·      In the Muashahat section of the first course the student studies the history of the Eastern Arabic Music, learns how to appreciate the Arabic music by listening to it and singing some old Arabic songs.

·      In the Eastern music Analyses section of the second course, the student learns how to analyze the Arabic scales "makamat", the construction of the instrumental and singing forms and analyzes different classical Arabic music scores. The student also learns the different Arabic music rhythms and understands how they differ from the Kuwaiti Folk rhythms that he learns in the other section of the course.

·      The sections of the Folk Arts in both courses present the history of Folk Musical Art in the Gulf in general and particularly in Kuwait as a theoretical Basis. The most important is that the student learns how to play on the various popular percussion instruments and how to perform the most important Kuwaiti folk rhythms with his peers as a teamwork following the existing rules.

Here are the registration details of the above described two courses:

"History and Analyses" Courses

Supportive – Specialized, Applied, Mandatory

            They are two consecutive courses, each of them is divided into two sections as noted in the title. They aim to develop the student's knowledge and understanding of the diversity of musical methods of composing, broaden his perception of the worldwide music forms and the vast diversity of musical writing styles through the ages. They also aim to raise the level of the student's taste to always look for purposeful music that transcend the spirit and morals.

·      In the history section the student studies the history of Western music and its development through the various historical eras, from ancient times to the twentieth century, passing by Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods.

·      In the Analysis section the student studies the classical musical compositional Forms and the harmonic rules that define them.

These two courses contribute to developing the local Kuwaiti music by introducing high examples of the International Classical Music. 

Here are the registration details of the two History and Analyses courses:

2.    Courses offered by The Department of Music Education to other departments in the College: 

"Music Appreciation" Courses

Offered to all students.

(Optional General Culture course, Applied)

            This course is designed for all students of the College of Basic Education. It aims to give the students a general knowledge of music to develop their musical taste and appreciation for the great musical works of great composers. It aims to refine the students' general culture, of which the music is an important part.

            In this course, the students are introduced to the elements of music, basics of music notation and musical forms with a brief introduction to the history of Western and Arabic music, passing through biographies of some famous composers and listening to their most important works.

Here are the registration details of the "Music Appreciation" courses:  

"Eurhythmic" Course

Offered to Physical Education Specialty

(Supporting – Specialized course, Applied, Mandatory)

            This course is designed for the students of Physical Education Specialty aiming to develop their rhythmical senses and performances.

            In this course the students learn some dynamics and symbols of rhythmic music notation and apply them in practical exercises. The students are urged to present eurhythmic performances, where they must show different expressions and exact application of rhythms, what would be very beneficial to them in their work as teachers of physical education, especially when implementing sport shows in the schools' different stages.

Here are the registration details of the Eurhythmic course:

3.   Courses offered by The department of Music Education affiliated to the

Department of Curriculums and Teaching Methods:

"Teaching Methods of Music Education" Course

(Professional preparation course, Applied, Mandatory)

            This course is designed for the students of Music Education as a link between what has been studied in the General Educational and the Psychology courses related to child psychology and its different stages of development          and what has been studied in the Specialized Musical courses.  This course aims to guide the student, as a future teacher of music education to the latest methods of teaching in his domain to develop his ability to deal with children and young person, according to the stage hie is teaching with understanding and flexibility, and to help him to crystalize his ideas using Kinetic Stories, Musical Games, Singing and the use of music percussion instruments.   

            The course focuses on the importance of music in Education, the characteristics of good music in general, and the characteristics of children's music. The course also introduces the student to the prescribed curricula distributed over the different school stages.  

Here are the registration details for the "Teaching Methods of Music Education" course:

"Practical Education – Music" Course

(Professional preparation course, Applied, Mandatory)

This course is taught in the schools of the Ministry of Education in the State of Kuwait for a full semester/ five days a week, where the student – teacher applies everything, he has previously learned in practice by providing him with model lessons with different objectives.  In this course the student gains actual personal practical teaching experience in addition to learning from experienced teachers in school where he is practicing, so that he feels ready to begin his work as a teacher of Music Education as soon as he obtains his bachelor's degree.

Here are the registration details for the "Practical Education - Music" course:

"Research Seminar – Music" Course

(Professional preparation course, practical, Mandatory)

The student studies this course simultaneously with the practical education course. It aims to stimulate the student's ability to innovate and refine his personality and self-confidence as a teacher of Music Education. This course is concerned with discussing teaching methods and discussing the pros and cons to remedy the different situations that the student may suffer from during his practical teaching course. It contributes to providing the student with a comprehensive experience for his work in teaching by presenting his experiences, listening to the experiences of his peers, and informing him of what is new in his field of work.

Here are the registration details for the "Research Seminar - Music" course: