Global Arc

MUS 103 is an introduction to Western music, involving works from around 1200 to the present. The course explains the basic elements of Western music -- rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, form -- and historically significant styles and genres of composition. The course includes lectures on the symphony, ballet, and opera.

An introduction to the fundamental materials of a variety of musics, including Western concert music, jazz, and popular music. Course activities center around interrelated theoretical, compositional, and analytical projects that serve to explore issues of music theory, style, and creativity. Two lectures, two preceptorials.

An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship.

An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. Prerequisite: ability to read music.

This course will present an overview of the great conductors of the recorded age, conducting the iconic symphonic repertory for which, in each case, they were most admired. Performance practice style, and its evolution throughout the 20th century will be investigated in detail. The impact of these conductors' out-sized gifts on the musical culture of their time will also be a focal point of the course. Issues of tempo, phrasing, color and handling of structural matters all bear on the larger concerns of the development of musical style. The course will be run as a seminar, with students making presentations each week.

An introduction to the principles of voice leading and linear construction through a series of systematic compositional exercises. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 106 or equivalent.

An introduction to the syntactic structure of the music of the 18th and 19th centuries through exercises in analysis and composition. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 205 or equivalent.

A continuous cycle of creation, discussion, and response based on the creative musical activity of the students. Varieties of kind and style--notated composition, multimedia music, multitracking, and improvisation--are encouraged. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

This course concerns artistic collaboration--specifically, the invigorating and unruly process of two or more artists working together. Course work includes two kinds of activity: (1) analysis of seminal artistic collaborations, including examples of film, video, opera, dance, and other collaborative works that resist disciplinary categorization; and (2) active, cooperative creation of new work. From these completmentary perspectives of analysis and practice, we will consider some of the larger questions raised by interactive art-making, such as the identity of the artwork, notions of authorship, and the fluidity of disciplinary boundaries.

Whether through work songs, field hollers, spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, soul music, or gospel music, the African American folk music tradition is a distinct reflection of the African American experience throughout the history of America. It is the individualized approach to storytelling, the societal and cultural influences upon the artist, and the function of the music for both the artist and community that has cultivated a legacy of core musical elements, values, and performance practice that exist within these diverse styles. This course will explore these characteristics through historical inquiry and practical application.