What Zim College of Music offers

 In the late 1960s college moved to its present location at the Civic Centre in Rotten Row and thus the institution began. By then most of the music being taught was purely Western and to a majority of white Zimbabweans.
However, this was to change a few years after Independence in 1980 when more contemporary and African forms of music could be taught. By 1988, the college had fully geared itself for this cause and in 1989, the first batch of Ethnomusicology students were enrolled. Over the years, many graduates have been churned out and some are working professionally in the academic world while others have pursued music administration and performance as a career.
Some of the most notable names from the ZCM graduands include Manuel Bagorro, former HIFA director, soloist Jeanette Micklem, mbira players Dumi Maraire, Ephat Mujuru, teachers Jabulani Moyo, Clayton Ndhlovu, Dumi Ngulube, James Chimombe, Isaac Kalumbu, Filbert Marova, Louis Mhlanga, Jethro Shasha, Simangaliso Tutani and researchers Joyce Jenje-Makwenda and Keith Goddard.
Today, 23 years later, the college has now become a truly versatile institution offering a wide range of music courses to all people across the board. Most popular among the course being offered are the individual tuition programme as well as the Saturday short courses.
The individual music tuition programme caters for those who want to learn an instrument at their own pace and incorporates training of individual instruments of Western and African origin, including piano and keyboard (classical and jazz), woodwind instruments (clarinet, flute, recorder), brass (saxophone, trumpet, trombone), percussion (traditional and classic), voice training, guitar (pop, jazz, rock, classical). Variations of the mbira instrument and ngoma (drums) are also taught by qualified staff.
The 10-week Saturday Pop Workshop is also popular with memebrs of the public. This course offers an opportunity for music lovers, who cannot afford to pay the fees for individual tuition but would like to pursue a part-time music career. It enables to study rudiments of theory of music and to play marimba, mbira, electric, rhythm and bass guitar, ngoma, hosho, keyboard, drums, voice and general stage performance in Zimbabwean popular music perspectives.
There is no age limit to these courses however, but children who may want special classes can be catered for in the Adventures in Music programme. This programme is for children between the ages of five and 10 who either too young to attend formal music training or, in terms of physical development, to learn certain instruments. The programme employs both Western and Zimbabwean instrumentation, using musical concepts that promote cultural tolerance and understanding.
While the public programmes are popular, the college takes serious consideration of its value to the academic side of music. In this respect, it now offers, with an endorsement from Africa University, Bachelor of Music degree programmes in Ethnomusico-logy, Jazz Studies, and Bandmaster-ship.  These are post-graduate degrees offered to professional musicians, researchers and music conductors        in orchestras such as the police, army or military bands. Music teachers           at schools and those who have         experience in the field are not exempted.
To attain this qualification, candidates must have a two-year national Certificate in Music or Associated Board of Royal Music Schools with passes in Theory of Music Grade 5 and should have practical experience with an instrument at Grade 5.
Bachelor’s degrees are the highest qualification offered by the college so far but candidates can also enroll for a one-year National Certificate in Music and for this one needs five O’ Level passes, plus A’ Level or Diploma in Education.