O P T I O N S

For Advanced Undergrads and Grads

Courses offered by the CEMT Department

Spring 2010

Musicology and Ethnomusicology

MUS 343: MUSIC CULTURES OF THE WORLD

An introduction to a variety of non-Western music cultures toward the goal of understanding the roles music plays in human life. Geographical areas covered include Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas.  Perspectives gained from the study of non-Western Music cultures are applied to explorations of musical experiences in students’ lives. Class consists of lecture, discussion, small group activities, directed listening, viewing   of videotapes, and demonstrations of select musical instruments.

GE Core: GPR, GE Marker: GN Instructor: Dr. Gavin Douglas

No prerequisite

Time: TR 3:30-4:45

MUS 434: MUSIC IN AMERICAN CULTURE

The course is a survey of music in America throughout the past two centuries and in contemporary life. We will explore many well-known genres of popular music as well as many traditions of subcultures within and around the United States. American music is both traditional and innovative, each generation incorporating new ideas that mix with older forms, often in surprising ways. This course will therefore not look only at distinct cultures but at the intercultural interactions that have made American music so rich and exciting. The primary objectives of the course are to acquaint students with the diverse musical styles and genres of multicultural America, to broaden students’ understanding of music in the social and cultural life of the United States, and to encourage students to listen to and think critically about a wide variety of music.

Instructor: Dr. Revell Carr Time: TR 9:30-10:45

MUS 526: OVERVIEW OF WESTERN MUSIC HISTORY

This course, designed for graduate students, is a one-semester review of the history of European and American art music from Ancient Greece to the present. Assignments will include readings from the text and other sources, and close study of music. Evaluations will be based on a student’s preparation of assignments, participation in class discussions, and performance on exams. There is no term paper.

Instructor: Dr. Kailan Rubinoff Time: TR 3:30-4:45

MUS 533: TWENTIETH-CENTURY MUSIC: 1890-1950

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Music 533 addresses the practices, theories, and contexts of Western art music from approximately 1890 to1950.  Beginning with the twentieth century’s Romantic legacy, we will survey aesthetic movements of the period and their representative musical works.  We will also study in detail works by several significant composers of the early twentieth century:  Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Ruth Crawford.  Readings will include some primary source documents and a few journal articles.  Course requirements include attendance, participation in class discussion, a research paper, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Prerequisite:  Music 333 or permission of instructor.

Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Keathley Time: MWF 12:00-12:50

MUS 538: THE SYMPHONIC TRADITION

This course will examine the symphony as a genre and the institution of music from the Baroque precursors to its modern manifestations with the main focus being the music of Beethoven to Mahler. Readings, lectures, and discussions will focus on the theoretical, formal, historical, and social aspects with an emphasis on in-class listening. As a final project, all students will submit a formal research paper and present it to the class. Other smaller assignments and presentations will be spread throughout the semester. Prerequisite: MUS 333 or permission of the instructor.

Instructor: Mr. Robert Gutter Time: MWF 12:00-12:50

MUS 606A – Seminar in MUSIC history: Music of Spain and Latin America

This seminar considers selected vernacular and Western art music traditions of Spain and Latin America. Topics will include the influences of colonialism and migration, political and religious influences, technology, nationalism, modernity/modernism, and reception. Because there are too many traditions to do any of them justice in one semester, we will sample a few tapas in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Students may study musics in other regions of Latin America or the Iberian Peninsula for their seminar papers. Reading will include historical, cultural, and analytical studies, including some interdisciplinary scholarship. Other course requirements include weekly listening, participation in class discussion, and a substantial, well-researched seminar paper that will also be presented orally.

Prerequisite: MUS 602 or permission of instructor

Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Keathley Time: T 5:00-7:50

MUS 606 B: SEMINAR IN MUSIC HISTORY: Music and Narrative

This course explores the concept of seeing and hearing images, concepts, stories, that is, narrative in music. Our focus will be to understand the relationship between music, narrative, and image for the past 200 years with am emphasis on multimedia in the 20^th century. We will begin by examining 18^th-century philosophies of rhetoric and 19^th-century concepts of absolute and programmatic music, in relation to symphonieisi and opearas; and end with discussions of music in cinema and the YouTube phenomenon from the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The majority of the course will focus on the manifestation of musical narrative in 20^th-century multimedia such as film (including drama, comedy, musical, avant-garde, and cartoons such as Fantasia). Overall, this course historically surveys music and media together with the concept of narrative and attempts to understand why we “hear” the way we do.

Class meetings will involve discussions of readings, musical scores, and screenings of brief segments of relevant films and other visual media . Evaluation will be based on individual and/or group presentation of a ssignments, in-class participation, and a research paper and final presentation. There are no exams.

Prerequisite: 602 (or 601) or permission of instructor

Instructor: Dr. Joan Titus Time: M 5:00-7:50

MUS 606 C: SEMINAR IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY: Representations of the “Other”

Some cultural theorists have argued that humans instinctively mimic people or cultures that they perceive as “Others,” perhaps as a way of understanding, perhaps as a means of control. This course will explore this process of mimesis, which is found in music all over the globe––from Hindi cinema to Hawaiian hula, as well as from Western art music composers and the current global popular music industry. This class will examine ways that people perform “Other-ness” in their music, theater and dance, with readings and discussions on issues like appropriation, acculturation, Orientalism, and globalization. Students will research on a topic of their choice for a paper and conference-style presentation, and will lead discussions based on course readings.

Prerequisite: 602 (or 601) or permission of instructor

Instructor: Dr. Revell Carr Time: W 5:00-7:50

Theory

MUS 510: ADVANCED TONAL ANALYSIS

In this course, we will analyze selected major compositions in the tonal repertoire by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Wagner, among others. A particular focus of the course will be analytical writing—on how to synthesize and present the data mined in an analysis. To address this task, students will read analytical and theoretical writing, learn how to use musical examples and figures, and write their own analytical essays, including a substantial analysis paper. Theoretical topics will include form, phrase rhythm, hypermeter, chromatic harmony, and motive. The relationship of analysis to performance will also be addressed. Prerequisite: for undergraduate students, MUS 202 and MUS 206; for graduate students, graduate standing in music theory.

Prerequisite: MUS 206 and 301

Instructor: Dr. Adam Ricci Time: TR 9:30-10:45

MUS 611: SEMINAR IN MUSIC ANALYSIS: Romantic Era

This course will explore musical masterworks of the 19^th century from Beethoven through Wagner, Brahms and Mahler. Using various techniques of analysis, we will study aspects of harmony, voice leading, and tonality, form and process, rhythm and meter, and texture in works that represent both vocal and instrumental genres. . Requirements include one analytical paper and seminar presentation.

Instructor: Dr. Kent Williams Time: MWF 10:00-10:50

MUS 662: SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS

This course provides an introduction to the theories and analytical methods of Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935) and his followers. Schenkerian analysis is a reductive process that reveals the hierarchical structure of tonal music.  It can greatly enhance one's aural and visual perception of tonal masterworks and provide a basis for further research concerning problems of interpretation and pedagogy.  Assignments will include analyses, readings in the primary and secondary literature, and class presentations.  The final project will be an in-depth analysis of a short tonal piece. 

Prerequisite: MUS 507, 508, or equivalent. 

Instructor: Dr. Guy Cappuzzo Time: TR 9:30-10:45

Composition

MUS 553: COMPOSITION

Students not majoring in composition who wish to advance their skills as composers may elect to study privately with a member of the composition faculty. Since there will be a limited number of openings, the student should speak to the faculty member with whom he or she wishes to study prior to registering. Preference will be given to those with prior compositional experience. The student receives 1 credit hour for ½-hour lesson.

Instructors: Drs. Mark Engebretson and Alejandro Rutty

MUS 115: INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITION

Beginning instruction in music composition in a class setting. Students will compose music for their classmates to perform, and study a wide array of compositional techniques from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods.

Prerequisite: Music Major in Composition or permission of instructor

Instructor: Dr. Mark Engebretson                               Time: MW 9:00-9:50

MUS 350/550: ELECTRONIC MUSIC

An introductory, project-oriented course in electronic studio techniques.  Students will explore basic acoustical principles, classic tape techniques, analog voltage-controlled synthesizers, MIDI, digital sound and technology, and the history of the medium.  Individual studio time allows students to work on class and personal projects/compositions.  Sonic experimentation and stylistic eclecticism are encouraged.  A student needs to have a working knowledge of Windows or Mac operating system.  Prerequisites:  350: Junior standing or permission of instructor; 550: Graduate standing (higher project standards apply).

Instructor: Dr. Alejandro Rutty Time: TR 3:30-4:45

Ensembles

MUS 377: OLD-TIME MUSIC ENSEMBLE

This ensemble will explore a variety of American vernacular music traditions and techniques. Repertoire will be driven by the interests of the participants but will consist of vocal and instrumental genres of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including work songs, spirituals, ballads, jug band blues and dance music. Students will study traditional musical practices such as instrumental heterophony, learning melodies by ear, and “lined out” singing. The ensemble is open to all students, but “folk” instruments are preferred, including: voice, violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, banjo, mandolin, ‘ukulele, steel guitar, flute, tin whistle, ocarina, accordion, concertina, dulcimer, and other instruments with instructor’s approval.

Instructor: Dr. Revell Carr Time: T 5:00-6:50