Music Education

The Music Education program at California State University, East Bay prepares students to become successful, career-ready music teachers. Coursework in music education can count toward our B.A. in Music and provides a direct pathway to the California Single Subject Teaching Credential. Students gain hands-on experience through coursework in conducting, instructional techniques, world music, and technology, and through observation and teaching hours in Bay Area classrooms.

Completion of our Single Subject Matter Preparation Certificate Program in Music (catalog information) streamlines students into the California Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music (catalog information), authorizing instruction in any area of music from kindergarten through high school.

Our graduates teach throughout California and beyond as band, orchestra, and choir directors, elementary general music teachers, and instructors of music theory, composition, technology, and classroom guitar or piano. Many also continue to perform, compose, and maintain private teaching studios alongside their school positions.

The certificate can be obtained in three ways:

1. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music at CSUEB. Students must be admitted into the B.A. in Music degree to start the certificate, and follow the B.A. in Music application requirements.
2. While pursuing a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Music at CSUEB. Students must be admitted into the M.A. in Music degree to start the certificate, and follow the M.A. in Music application requirements.
3. As a stand-alone graduate-level certificate, for applicants who already hold a bachelor's degree. These applicants apply directly through CSUApply.

The certificate courses are divided into four categories, as follows. Course descriptions and prerequisites are in the University Catalog.

Music Education Core Courses

The following ten (10) units are required of all music education students:

• MUS 304 - World Music and Culture. Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-3
• MUS 331 - Foundations of Music Education. Units: 3
• MUS 335 - Technology for Music Educators. Units: 3
• MUS 495 - Music Education Practicum. Units: 1

Conducting

Six (6) units of developmental basic skills in conducting, as well as more specific skills for choral and instrumental settings, are required:

• MUS 341 - Basic Conducting. Units: 3
• MUS 441 - Intermediate Conducting. Units: 3

Secondary Techniques

Six (6) units in performance and pedagogy of standard orchestral instruments, voice, and guitar are required:

• MUS 231 - Basic String Techniques. Units: 1
• MUS 232 - Basic Woodwind Techniques. Units: 1
• MUS 233 - Basic Brass Techniques. Units: 1
• MUS 234 - Basic Percussion Techniques. Units: 1
• MUS 235 - Basic Guitar Techniques. Units: 1
• MUS 236 - Basic Vocal Techniques. Units: 1

Music Teaching and Learning

These required nine (9) units focus on specific disciplines within music teaching and learning. They prepare future music educators to teach in a variety of K-12 areas, including instrumental, choral, and elementary music teaching settings.

• MUS 431 - Elementary Music Teaching Methods. Units: 3
• MUS 432 - Instrumental Music Teaching Methods. Units: 3
• MUS 433 - Choral Music Teaching Methods. Units: 3

Courses that double count

Seven certificate courses may also fulfill Music Elective requirements in the B.A. in Music: MUS 331, MUS 335, MUS 341, MUS 431, MUS 432, MUS 433, and MUS 441. MUS 304 World Music and Culture counts as a required B.A. course and as a certificate course. 

Roadmaps

Sample plans showing when certificate courses are offered and how they fit alongside a degree. Course offerings change from year to year, so confirm your own plan with Dr. Eros and a Music Department advisor before registering.

• Certificate in Music Education, 2-Year Rotation: when each certificate course is offered across the two-year cycle, 31 units.
• B.A. in Music with the Certificate, 4-Year: first-year entry through the degree and the certificate, eight semesters.
• B.A. in Music with the Certificate, 2-Year Transfer: Music ADT transfer entry through both, four semesters.
• FAST 4+1 B.A./M.A. with the Certificate: both degrees and the certificate across five years.

Rachael Denny

Rachael Denny (MAME) began serving as a fieldwork supervisor in 2023.  Ms. Denny is a 30+ year veteran teacher with a specialty in Music Education, particularly General Music and Early Childhood Music.  She holds certifications in Orff Schulwerk from the Orff Institut in Salzburg, Austria, CSU Los Angeles, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She also has experience with Kodaly pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse..  In addition to her work with CSU East Bay, Ms. Denny is the Department Chair for Young Musicians at Pasadena Conservatory of Music, the course director for the Los Angeles Orff Teacher Education Course, and a musicianship teacher for the Los Angeles Children's Chorus.

Zack Pitt-Smith

Zack Pitt-Smith studied woodwind and jazz performance at Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music. He earned a B.A in Ethnomusicology from Brown University and a M.A. in Music Education from San Francisco State University. Zack has been the director of bands at Edna Brewer Middle School in Oakland for fifteen years. He directs the Oakland Eastside All-Star Ensemble (OEASE) and serves on the local and state boards of directors for California Music Educators Association (CMEA) as Multicultural Representative and Urban Schools Programs Representative. He was recognized as the Oakland Teacher of the Year in 2013 and is a semifinalist for the 2022 Music Educator Grammy Award. Zack is an active performer throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, most frequently with his Brazilian instrumental choro ensemble Grupo Falso Baiano and Oakland Samba Revue.