Music
The Department of Music offers a music program of exceptional quality and diversity. In this varied course of study — where music is approached as a liberal and fine art rather than as an isolated, separate subject — students may pursue practical and creative music making or study musical traditions and individual works. Music courses are open to all students in the university.
We offer students the opportunity to develop performance skills in voice or instruments through private instruction or through participation in small or large ensembles. Private music lessons with our prominent faculty, including members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, are available in voice, piano, organ, guitar, and all orchestral and jazz instruments.
Music majors can explore critical issues of tradition, individual composers, compositional craft, aesthetic interpretation, and music's social and cultural significance through a wide range of courses, from introductory classes to highly specialized seminars. Instruction is available in jazz, popular music, world musics, the history and literature of Western music, ethnomusicology, music theory and analysis, musical composition, and electronic music. All performance and creative and academic endeavors in music are supported by a thorough grounding in musicianship and keyboard skills.
Music majors may take advantage of study abroad programs in music in Italy, England and France. Summer research projects under faculty direction are also available.
Several options are available for students interested in music: the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in music, the Bachelor of Music degree, a minor in music, and a minor in jazz studies. Students may take the AB degree in combination with a major in another field or as their primary major in a broad liberal arts education. Majoring in music can prepare students well for graduate work and for a variety of musical careers and other professions.
Performance Opportunities
Ensembles: The department sponsors numerous performing ensembles that draw members from the university and the surrounding community. Students must audition for admission to the ensembles. All ensembles are available for graded credit, for credit/no credit, or off roster. Ensembles give one or more public performances each semester. Students who are enrolled for credit in one of the department's ensembles may be entitled to a scholarship that covers a portion of the fee for music lessons.
Vocal Ensembles: Concert Choir
Instrumental Ensembles: Jazz Band, Chamber String Ensembles, Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Combos
Lessons: Students may take lessons in voice, piano, organ, guitar, and all orchestral and jazz instruments in the appropriate course sequences. A separate fee is charged for private instruction. Music majors and minors receive a scholarship to cover all or a portion of the fee, respectively. If students enroll for credit in one of the department's ensembles, they are entitled to a scholarship for a portion of the fee for each semester in which they are enrolled. In addition, the department has a limited number of partial scholarships that are based on need and merit.
Contact: | Jessica Flannigan |
Phone: | 314-935-5566 |
Email: | flanniganj@wustl.edu |
Website: | http://music.wustl.edu/undergraduate |
Chair
Patrick Burke
PhD, University of Wisconsin
Endowed Professors
Todd Decker
Paul Tietjens Professor of Music
PhD, University of Michigan
Dolores Pesce
Avis Blewett Professor of Music
PhD, University of Maryland
Professor
Jeffrey Kurtzman
PhD, University of Illinois
Associate Professors
Patrick Burke
PhD, University of Wisconsin
Ben Duane
PhD, Northwestern University
Robert Snarrenberg
PhD, University of Michigan
Christopher Stark
DMA, Cornell University
Alexander Stefaniak
PhD, Eastman School of Music
Paul Steinbeck
PhD, Columbia University
Assistant Professors
Lauren Eldridge Stewart
PhD, University of Chicago
Esther Kurtz
PhD, Brown University
Professor of the Practice
William Lenihan
BMus, University of Missouri-Columbia
Senior Lecturer
Amanda Kirkpatrick
MM, University of Missouri-Columbia
Lecturers
Christopher Douthitt
MFA, Princeton University
Amy Greenhalgh
MA, Oxford University
Professors Emeriti
Hugh Macdonald
PhD, Cambridge University
Craig Monson
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Becoming a Music Major: Students who plan to declare a major in music should consult with the department as early as possible. Students interested in pursuing a music major should begin the appropriate course sequences in music theory, music history, keyboard skills and musicianship. All music majors must complete a senior capstone, which could take the form of a thesis, recital, lecture-demonstration, composition portfolio or 400-level course.
The Bachelor of Arts in Music Major
Total units required: 45
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Music 121C & Music 122C | Classical Theory I and Classical Theory II | 6 |
or Music 121J & Music 122J | Jazz Theory I and Jazz Theory II | |
Music 221C | Classical Theory III | 3 |
Music 321T | Music Theory IV: Topics in Music Theory | 3 |
Music 3012 | Music History II: The Invention of Classical Music, 1700-1850 | 3 |
Music 3014 | Ethnomusicology | 3 |
Choose two of the following three courses: | 6 | |
Music History I: Music in Europe from the Earliest Notation to 1700 | ||
American Popular Music and Media | ||
Music History III: Classical Music in Flux, 1850 to the Present | ||
Music 2231 | Musicianship I (should be taken concurrently with Music 221C) | 1 |
Music 2241 | Musicianship III (should be taken concurrently with Music 321T) | 1 |
Two semesters of Keyboard Skills; course placement determined by piano faculty | 2 | |
Performance courses: private lessons, small ensembles, and/or large ensembles | 4 | |
Also required: | ||
Music 4992 | Senior Capstone: Performance, Composition, or Theory (or Music 4993 or Music 4994) | 3 |
or an approved 400-level Music course | ||
Lower-level elective units (courses, lessons, and/or ensembles) | 7 | |
Upper-level elective units (courses, lessons, and/or ensembles) | 3 | |
Total Units | 45 |
The Bachelor of Music Major
Total units required: 74-78
Declaration of this major must be approved by the department before the end of a student's sophomore year. In addition to the required courses, majors must complete a minimum of 12 to 30 units in advanced courses, depending on the area of concentration. Students may earn the BMus degree with concentration in performance, composition, music theory, or music history and culture, or they may pursue a general program that combines two or more of these areas.
Each concentration requires a major senior capstone, such as a thesis, recital, lecture-demonstration or composition portfolio. All majors must also pass a keyboard proficiency examination.
Required courses:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Music 121C & Music 122C | Classical Theory I and Classical Theory II | 6 |
or Music 121J & Music 122J | Jazz Theory I and Jazz Theory II | |
Music 221C | Classical Theory III | 3 |
Music 321T | Music Theory IV: Topics in Music Theory | 3 |
Music 2231 | Musicianship I (should be taken concurrently with Music 221C) | 1 |
Music 2241 | Musicianship III (should be taken concurrently with Music 321T) | 1 |
Music 3231 | Advanced Musicianship | 3 |
Music 3011 | Music History I: Music in Europe from the Earliest Notation to 1700 | 3 |
Music 3012 | Music History II: The Invention of Classical Music, 1700-1850 | 3 |
Music 3017 | Music History III: Classical Music in Flux, 1850 to the Present | 3 |
1 unit of keyboard skills per semester as necessary to complete Music 2242 | 1-4 | |
Music 4991 | Senior Project: Musicology or Analysis | 3 |
or Music 4992 | Senior Capstone: Performance, Composition, or Theory | |
or Music 4993 | Senior Honors Capstone: Musicology or Analysis | |
or Music 4994 | Honors Project: Performance, Composition or Theory |
Lesson and Ensemble Requirements: In addition to the courses listed above, BMus students must also register for music lessons and at least one ensemble every semester once the major has been declared. Students with a performance emphasis must take at least 2 units of music lessons per semester; all others must take at least 1 unit per semester.
Elective courses: Each of the five BMus concentrations includes additional requirements, as follows:
Performance Emphasis:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Upper-level music history elective (other than Music 3011, Music 3012, and Music 3017) | 3 | |
Music 424 | Analysis II | 3 |
400- or 500-level music theory elective | 3 | |
Music 439 | Diction I (Vocal performance majors only) | 3 |
Junior half-recital | 0 | |
Total Units | 12 |
Theory Emphasis:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Music 424 | Analysis II | 3 |
400- or 500-level electives | 12 | |
Upper-level music history elective (other than Music 3011, Music 3012, and Music 3017) | 3 | |
Music 401 & Music 402 | Elementary Technique of Electronic Music: Synth Lab and Advanced Techniques in Electronic Music: Studio Songwriting | 6 |
or Music 429 & Music 430 | Composition and Composition | |
Total Units | 24 |
Composition Emphasis:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Upper-level music composition (Music 429, Music 430; repeatable) | 12 | |
Upper-level music history elective (other than Music 3011, Music 3012, and Music 3017) | 3 | |
Music 424 | Analysis II | 3 |
400- or 500-level music theory electives | 6 | |
Music 401 & Music 402 | Elementary Technique of Electronic Music: Synth Lab and Advanced Techniques in Electronic Music: Studio Songwriting | 6 |
Total Units | 30 |
History and Culture Emphasis:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Upper-level music history electives (other than Music 3011, Music 3012, and Music 3017) | 15 | |
Music 424 | Analysis II | 3 |
400- or 500-level music theory electives | 6 | |
Total Units | 24 |
General Emphasis:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Upper-level music history electives (other than Music 3011, Music 3012, and Music 3017) | 6 | |
Music 424 | Analysis II | 3 |
400- or 500-level music theory electives | 6 | |
Elective units | 9 | |
Total Units | 24 |
Senior Honors: Music majors are encouraged to work toward Latin Honors. To qualify, students must have an outstanding academic record and satisfactorily complete a senior honors capstone project, including an oral examination with a faculty committee. Project proposals are due at the end of the junior year.
The Minor in Music — General Studies
Units required: 18
Required courses:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Music 121C & Music 122C | Classical Theory I and Classical Theory II | 6 |
or Music 121J & Music 122J | Jazz Theory I and Jazz Theory II | |
One of the following courses: | ||
Music 3011 | Music History I: Music in Europe from the Earliest Notation to 1700 | 3 |
or Music 3012 | Music History II: The Invention of Classical Music, 1700-1850 | |
or Music 3014 | Ethnomusicology | |
or Music 3015 | American Popular Music and Media | |
or Music 3017 | Music History III: Classical Music in Flux, 1850 to the Present | |
Lower-level electives | 3 | |
Upper-level electives | 6 | |
Total Units | 18 |
Additional Information
Special scholarships are available for lessons and ensembles.
Students whose interests are not served by these requirements may apply to the department chair with an alternative proposal.
The Minor in Jazz Studies
Units required: 18
Required courses:
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Music 121J & Music 122J | Jazz Theory I and Jazz Theory II | 6 |
Music 105 | History of Jazz | 3 |
Music 3023 | Jazz in American Culture | 3 |
Music 3091 | Jazz Improvisation I | 3 |
One of the following courses: | ||
Music 3015 | American Popular Music and Media | 3 |
or Music 3017 | Music History III: Classical Music in Flux, 1850 to the Present | |
or Music 3021 | Music of the African Diaspora | |
or Music 3235 | Compositional Craft in Film Scores and Musical Theatre | |
or Music 3236 | Music Arranging for the Multi-Genre Artist | |
or Music 3237 | The Art of Popular Song: From Folk and Musical Theatre to Rock and Contemporary A Capella | |
or upper-level applied music in jazz | ||
Total Units | 18 |
Additional Information
Other upper-level credits in music or kindred studies (e.g., African and African-American Studies) may be approved at the discretion of the department chair.
Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for L27 Music.
L27 Music 100G Guitar Lessons: Pre-registration
Guitar lessons are comprised of multiple tracks of study including classical, popular music, and jazz guitar. Students are placed in a study of their choice, or upon advice of the guitar faculty. Classical guitar is the study of art music as composed for the classical nylon-string instrument over centuries of traditions. Popular guitar studies include music styles such as blues, rock, folk and country, while the jazz guitar track suits well students interested in jazz music and who are engaged in the jazz studies program. Each area of study is designated by differentiated curricula and syllabi available to each student. Bass Guitar lessons are administered similarly with studies in all forms of popular music and jazz. Half-hour lessons are 1.0 unit and hour lessons are 2.0 units, no other units will be accepted. Once you have registered for this course please sign up for a placement appointment through the department's website, you will be transferred to the appropriate course and section number following this appointment. See department website for lesson fees.
Credit variable, maximum 2 units.
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L27 Music 101E Introductory Survey of Western Music I
A survey of "art" music in Western culture from the Middle Ages to the mid-18th century. Emphasis in the first term is on sacred and secular music of the church, court and middle-class society in its historical and cultural context. Regular listening and writing assignments are designed to develop the capacity to hear perceptively and write critically about the music studied. No prior knowledge of musical notation required. This course is not recommended for music minors or majors. For a one-semester course covering Western classical and popular music and music from other cultures, refer to Music 114E.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 1021 Musics of the World
This course provides an introduction to the field of ethnomusicology as well as a survey of selected musics from around the world. We will investigate not only musical sound itself but how music interacts with other cultural domains, such as religion/cosmology, politics, economics, and social structure. The course will use case studies from regions around world (such as Indonesia, India, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America) to illustrate the conceptual problems and methodologies raised by the cross-cultural study of music, as well as acquaint you with the rich variety of music around the globe.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L27 Music 1022 Popular Music in American Culture
American popular music from 1800s to the present, with emphasis on technology, social and political contexts, and popular music as a realm of interracial encounter. Musics covered include early jazz, classic blues, swing, classic pop, rock and roll, soul, disco, hip hop and the changing relationship between popular music, film, and television.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1023 Beethoven in His Time and Ours
Ludwig van Beethoven composed some of the most significant works of Western classical music, and he continues to make his mark as the prototypical "troubled genius" and as a symbol for a wide range of political causes, the subject of numerous films, and classical music's main representative in American pop culture. We begin with an exploration of Beethoven's life, music, and historical context, and we continue by tracing how, after his death, Beethoven became a cultural hero whose image took on a life of its own. Throughout, we unravel the interaction of music, culture, and mythmaking. No previous musical experience required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1024 Mozart: The Humor, Science and Politics of Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most recognized composers of "classical" music. A child prodigy of astonishing precocity, he has come to symbolize genius for Western culture — a composer whose music embodies superhuman, even utopian beauty and perfection. In this course, we learn that there was more to Mozart. Mozart was a lover of codes and puzzles who delighted in the science of music, a sampler of non-Western music, and a musical humorist whose comedies make provocative statements — ranging from cynical to poignant — about politics, gender and morality. Our focus works include Mozart's symphonies, piano music, string quartets, and such comedies as The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. We also explore Mozart's afterlife — how his music has figured in film, literature and popular culture. This course is open to all undergraduates. No previous musical course work or experience is required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1026 First-Year Seminar: You Never Heard Such Sounds in Your Life: American Avant-Garde Music
This first-year seminar introduces students to the fascinating history of avant-garde music making in the United States. A series of case studies will address a number of important avant-garde musicians and schools of thought spanning the early 20th century to the present. In exploring avant-garde music, students will encounter new ways of thinking about art's place in the world and broaden their notions of music itself. No previous training in music is required. Course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1027 First-Year Seminar: Sound On: Listening in/to Digital Culture and Music
What does 21st-century life sound like? The aim of this course is to interrogate, denaturalize, and critique familiar experiences and technologies of contemporary listening: from earbuds and mobile devices to streaming services and social media to the ambient music of capitalism and the (mediated) persistence of live performance. Readings in musicology, sound studies, and media theory will be examined alongside students' contemporary lived musical experience. Musical and sonic exercises in close, situated listening as well as examinations of distracted, ubiquitous listening will form some of the primary materials of the course. Analyses of both readings and activities will result in the production of a collaborative weekly digital newsletter as well as culminating projects by individual students. This course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 102E Introductory Survey of Western Music II
A survey of “art” music in Western culture from the middle of the 18th century to the present. Music of composers from Haydn and Mozart to George Crumb and John Cage are studied in its historical and cultural context. Regular listening and writing assignments are designed to develop the capacity to hear perceptively and write critically about the music studied. No prior knowledge of musical notation required. This course is not recommended for music minors or majors.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 103E Theory I: Introduction to Music Theory
Vocabularies and skills basic to music theory introduced through concentrated work in notation, the development of specific compositional skills, and musical analysis. Concepts of musical structure and aesthetic experience are explored through the study of music from three periods of the western tradition: medieval liturgical chant, music of the Classical period, and music of the early 20th century. Ability to read musical notation required. Keyboard skills desirable. Music 103E is the entry-level course for all music minors and majors.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 104E Music Theory II
A systematic introduction to the basic principles of tonality as manifested in western European music of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Topics include pitch, time, line and linear elaboration, counterpoint, harmony, phrase, form and chromaticism. The principles are explored through both musical composition and interpretation of musical art works. Prerequisite: Music 103E.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 105 History of Jazz
History of jazz to the present, including its African elements.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 107 Listening Laboratory
Optional analytical listening sessions to supplement Music 101E and 102E respectively. Taped listening assignments. Required of music majors and of students in the first-year seminar section. Concurrent registration in Music 101E or 102E is required.
Credit 1 unit. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 109 Ragtime
A history of ragtime music: survey of composers and performers. Emphasis on St. Louis and the music of Scott Joplin. University College students should register for U24 109 Section 02.
Credit 2 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 1091 Jazz Theory I
Jazz Theory I introduces the jazz music language as a preparation for the study of improvisation. The course study consists of basic music theory including music-reading skills and notation, scales, intervals and triads. An introduction to extended tertian chords as derived from the 21 modes of the major, melodic and harmonic minor scales forms the basis of the jazz harmonic language. The study of chord progression and chord substitution, song form and the blues prepares the student for a detailed study of the modern jazz language.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1092 Jazz Theory II
Jazz Theory II outlines the harmonic, rhythmic and improvisational practices from the Bebop period of the late 1940s to the jazz music of the present day. Discussions include intermediate to advanced chord substitution, quartal and bitonal harmony, modal improvisation, pentatonic scales and polyrhythmic drumming, concentrating on the work the major improvisers of the 1950s to 1970s. Prerequisite: Music 1091.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 109M Mathematics and Music
An elementary introduction to the connections between mathematics and musical sound. Review of integers, ratios, prime numbers, functions, rationality, exponents, logarithms, trigonometry. Review of scales, clefs, key signatures, intervals, time signatures. Frequency and pitch. The connection between intervals and logarithms. Tuning and temperament, just intonation. Scales and modular arithmetic. The mathematics of harmony; the sound of the low prime numbers and their roles in harmony. Harmonics, partials and overtones. Numerical integration and basic Fourier analysis. The nature of complex tones. Analysis of instrument sounds. Human vowels and formants. Prerequisites: two years of high school algebra, and trigonometry.
Same as L24 Math 109
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM, AN Arch: NSM Art: NSM
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L27 Music 113 Fundamentals of Music
This course provides a broad overview of music fundamentals designed to enhance the student's experience of music as well as provide a foundation for further study in music theory. Students become acquainted with the basic vocabulary and building blocks of music: intervals, rhythms, scales, triads, chords and harmony.
Credit 2 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 114E Exploring Music: Legendary Performers: Virtuosos, Divas & Rockstars
Every generation boasts a handful of musicians that stand out from the crowd-remarkable performers that achieve legendary status, command the highest fees, and set the standard against which all others are measured. But how far back can we trace this phenomenon? And what does it take to become a musical superstar? In this class, we will address these and other questions. Focusing on legendary performers from a wide array of musical traditions spanning history and the globe, we will learn to think and write about music and performance. Introduction to fundamental musical concepts will also enhance students' listening experience and provide them with a foundation for further study. Barring any restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the class will attend live performances, including a concert by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Hall. No previous musical background required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 115 Reading Music
Elements of music notation for those with little or no music-reading skill. Designed to develop a basic acquaintance with the principles of notation for students enrolled in introductory courses, applied music and ensembles as well as those with a general interest in learning to read music.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 1161 First-Year Seminar: Writing About Music
This course explores the various ways in which writers from the 18th century to the present discuss music. Issues include respect for a tried and true musical "canon," music as an imitative vs. absolute art form, and a focus on performing virtuosity/spectacle vs. musical content. In addition to reading what previous authors have written, students write on a regular basis about examples from classical, popular and non-Western music and critique each others' work. Ability to read music is not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 1162 First-Year Seminar: Bruce Springsteen's USA
This course examines the career and work of Bruce Springsteen as songwriter, singer, rock musician, pop star, and public figure. Conducted in seminar format, the primary course materials are Springsteen's recordings and videos, as well as the many interviews he has given. Selections from the vast body of popular and academic scholarship on Springsteen also informs class discussions. The course is limited to freshmen.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1163 First-Year Seminar: Youth in Revolt: Popular Music as Protest
When is popular music also protest music? In this course we will listen to music linked to the mid-century Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Black Power, the wars in Iraq, Occupy Wall Street, and the recent confrontations between protestors and the police. While exploring genres such as rock, soul, pop, punk, hip-hop and grunge, we will ask how popular musics might express or embody various forms of protest in American life. Selections from contemporaneous testimonials, alternative presses, interviews, and popular and academic writing will also inform our discussions.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1164 Love Songs and Laptops: Rediscovering Medieval Music in the Digital Age
Using our laptops as portals into the past, students will gain first-hand experience as historical detectives. In this seminar, we will explore the world of medieval love — from the chivalrous and courtly to the bodily and obscene — as represented in books of songs from the 15th century. Scrumptiously decorated and preserved, five interrelated songbooks from central France, known as the "Loire Valley Chansonniers" contain the majority of love songs from this period. Working from digitized versions of the songbooks, online editions, and modern audio recordings, we will address the following questions: What do the songbooks tell us about the culture in which they were created? How do the graphic decorations that frame each song interact with its music and lyrics? Lastly, by contextualizing these digital sources with respect to the growing interest in the interface between the humanities and digital technology, we will discuss what we can gain from these developments and what — if anything — we stand to lose. Ability to read music not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1165 First-Year Seminar: On Broadway - Musicals, Race, Place
The Broadway theatres are closed, but pressure to make these stages more racially and ethnically diverse when they re-open is strong. This course looks at the history of the Broadway theatres and the ways this coveted theatrical real estate in midtown Manhattan has played host to white and non-white performers in the signature American theatrical genre: the musical. Using digital and archival research tools, including an abundance of maps, our study stretches from the creation of the Theatre District at the turn of the 20th century to the present. We will examine groundbreaking and all-too-typical shows — from "Show Boat" to "Hamilton" — and look closely for how systemic racism has played out on Broadway stages for Broadway's mostly white audience. We will produce original research and explore digital humanities methods related to questions of racial inequality in commercial popular culture. This course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, SC BU: BA, HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 117 Women and Music: From Bingen to Beyonce
An examination of women in music from the twelfth-century nun Hildegard of Bingen to Beyonce. The course will consider significant women composers and performers, as well as music-making within women's institutions. Ability to read music not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 119 Guitar Class I
Jazz Guitar Class I introduces the fundamentals of music as a preparation for the study of jazz proper, guiding the student to the development of an operational musical language on the instrument. This performance practice class consists of basic music theory realized on the guitar including major and minor diatonic and pentatonic scales, triads in all positions and inversions, seventh chords and an introduction to extended tertian chords. As well, music reading, rhythmic skills and basic performance techniques are emphasized. The course culminates in the reading of jazz lead-sheets where students play the melody in all positions of the key and also play the harmony from chord symbols. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the private lesson fee will be prorated accordingly.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 120 Guitar Class II
Jazz Guitar Class II reinforces the materials of Music 119 including scales and triads in all positions, while introducing new materials including 9th, 11th, 13th and altered chords. An introduction to improvisation, this course stresses making music in real time through the embellishment of melody, the study of arpeggio, the modes of the major scale and idiomatic devices of the jazz language. The course stresses the development of strong rhythmic skills while furthering a proper technique. Jazz Guitar II culminates in the reading of jazz lead-sheets where the student improvises in fundamental ways. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the private lesson fee will be prorated accordingly.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 121C Classical Theory I
Introduction to vocabularies and skills basic to music theory through concentrated work in notation, the development of specific compositional skills, and musical analysis. Concepts of musical structure and aesthetic experience are explored through the study of music from the Western classical tradition. Ability to read musical notation required. Keyboard skills desirable. Students who register for Music 121C are required to register for one of the subsections.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 121J Jazz Theory I
Introduction to the jazz music language as a preparation for the study of improvisation. The course of study consists of basic music theory including music-reading skills and notation, scales, intervals and triads. An introduction to extended tertian chords as derived from the 21 modes of the major, melodic and harmonic minor scales forms the basis of the jazz harmonic language. The study of chord progression and chord substitution, song form, and the blues prepares the student for a detailed study of the modern jazz language. Students who register for Music 121J are required to register for one of the subsections.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 122C Classical Theory II
A review of diatonic harmony and followed by a study of chromatic harmony and issues of tonality and form. Topics include tonicization and modulation, chromatic voice-leading, modal mixture, altered and extended chords, modulation to foreign keys, and elaboration of diatonic sequences. Work involves written and class-related exercises, analysis of 18th- and 19th-century works, and model composition. Students who register for Music 122C are required to register for one of the subsections. Prerequisite: Music 121C.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 122J Jazz Theory II
A study of the harmonic, rhythmic, and improvisational practices from the Bebop period of the late 1940s to the jazz music of the present day. Discussions include intermediate to advanced chord substitution, quartal and bitonal harmony, modal improvisation, pentatonic scales, and polyrhythmic drumming, concentrating on the major improvisors of the 1950s-1970s. Students who register for Music 122J are required to register for one of the subsections. Prerequisite: Music 121J.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 1232 Keyboard Skills I
An introduction to basic techniques of keyboard harmony using intervals, scales and root position chords. Transposition and sight-reading skills developed. Prerequisite: permission of instructor for nonmajors. One and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 1242 Keyboard Skills II
An introduction to basic techniques of keyboard harmony using intervals, scales and root position chords. Transposition and sight-reading skills developed. Prerequisite: permission of instructor for nonmajors. One and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 128 Selected Area for Special Study
In-depth study in areas of special interest.
Credit 3 units. BU: HUM
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L27 Music 129 Composition Workshop
An introductory course in contemporary music composition, with a 30-minute private lesson and weekly master class.
Credit 2 units.
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L27 Music 130 Composition Workshop
An introductory course in contemporary music composition, with a 30-minute private lesson and weekly master class.
Credit 2 units.
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L27 Music 1313 Digital Audio and Multitracking: An Introduction to Electronic Music
This course is an exploration of the foundational techniques of electronic music through hands-on, project-based learning. Our primary goal will be to learn to be creative in the recording studio. To that end, we will build proficiency in audio manipulations, recording and production techniques, sampling, MIDI sequencing, and signal processing. We will learn to use a variety of technical tools, chief among them the digital audio workstation, the microphone, and WashU's unique collection of analog synthesizers. Along the way, we will train our ears to recognize subtle qualities of recorded sound, and we will learn to compose with audio as an expressive medium. All genres and musical backgrounds welcome.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 159 Piano Class
Intended for students with little to no formal musical training. An introduction to keyboard fundamentals through the study of note reading, intervals, technique and repertoire. Students may self-enroll or be placed by audition. There is a $150 lab fee for the course. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the fee is prorated accordingly.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 160 Piano Class
Continuation of L27 159. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the fee will be prorated accordingly. Prerequisite: L27 159 or permission of instructor.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 177C Voice Class: Fundamentals of Singing Technique
Voice Class teaches basic techniques of bel canto vocal production that apply to singing solo repertoire and singing in choral ensembles. Basic techniques include breathing in singing, resonance, articulation and registration. Study of the International Phonetic Alphabet, very basic skills for reading music and vocal health issues also are included. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the private lesson fee will be prorated accordingly.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 178C Voice Class II: Fundamentals of Singing Technique
Voice Class teaches basic techniques of bel canto vocal production that apply to singing solo repertoire and singing in choral ensembles. Basic techniques include breathing in singing, resonance, articulation and registration. Study of the International Phonetic Alphabet in English and Italian, skills for reading music, in-depth study in musical interpretation, and acting skills. More advanced work in poetic analysis and line reading. Prerequisite: Music 177C or approval by instructor by audition. Note: If a class does not have three students enrolled at the end of the drop/add period, it will be cancelled. Pending studio space, enrolled students may then opt to take private lessons for the remainder of the semester, and the private lesson fee will be prorated accordingly.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 221 Music Theory III
Concentrated study of the principles of tonal counterpoint and their application to the interpretation of Bach keyboard suites. Class work includes both writing and analysis. Prerequisite: Music 104E.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 2211 Opera Projects
Students may contract with a faculty supervisor for credit for work on opera productions or research. Contracts must be signed by the student and the faculty supervisor before the work can commence. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
Credit variable, maximum 2 units.
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L27 Music 2212 Opera Projects
Students may contract with a faculty supervisor for credit for work on opera productions or research. Contracts must be signed by the student and the faculty supervisor before the work can commence. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
Credit variable, maximum 2 units.
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L27 Music 2213 Singers Performance Workshop: Broadway and Musical Theater
This course develops performance skills for young singers in musical theatre that will help them prepare music for rehearsal, performance, and audition. The semester's work includes musical, vocal, and diction coaching as well as research and dramatic analysis. The course will culminate in the preparation and performance of both solo and ensemble pieces. Prerequisite: Audition and permission of instructor.
Credit 1 unit. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 221C Classical Theory III
A synthesis of the knowledge gained in Theory I-II as it applies to the detailed analysis of 18th-, 19th-, and selected 20th-century works (Bach through Bartok). Prerequisite: Music 122C or 122J.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 222 Music Theory IV
Continuation of Music 221 with study of 18th- and 19th-century harmonic, textural and structural procedures (Bach through Brahms). Prerequisite: Music 221.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 2231 Musicianship I
Basic ear training, sight singing and dictation skills. Three hours a week. Prerequisite: Music 104E.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 2232 Keyboard Skills III
Intermediate skills in score reading as well as the introduction of inversions, figured bass and improvising melodies. Prerequisites: Music 1242 and permission of instructor for nonmajors. One and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 2241 Musicianship III
Continuation of Music 2231. Intermediate-level ear training, sight singing and dictation skills. Prerequisite: Music 2231. Two and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 2242 Keyboard Skills IV
Intermediate skills in score reading as well as the introduction of inversions, figured bass and improvising melodies. Prerequisite: permission of instructor for nonmajors. Concurrent registration in Music 2231 and 2241 required of all music majors. One and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 227 Selected Area for Special Study
In-depth study in areas of special interest. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 228 Selected Area for Special Study
In-depth study in areas of special interest. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 230 Composition
An intermediate course in contemporary music composition, with a 30-minute private lesson and weekly master class. Prerequisite: Music 229 or permission of instructor.
Credit 2 units.
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L27 Music 231C Small Chamber Ensembles
Students interested in performance of chamber music are organized into various ensembles and assigned a coach. A public chamber music concert is given once each semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Consult course listings for more information.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 232W Wind Ensemble
A group of select woodwind and brass players who form brass and woodwind choirs and smaller ensembles such as quintets and quartets. The weekly rehearsals are coached. The ensembles perform on student recitals and at various campus functions.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 233 Jazz Band
Study of the literature of big band jazz. Concerts presented each semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: admission by audition. Two and one-half rehearsal hours a week.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 234S Symphony Orchestra
Performance and reading of works for orchestra. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: admission by audition. Two and one-half class hours a week including sectionals.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 235F Flute Choir
Weekly two-hour rehearsals of flute ensemble literature of many styles, Bach to bop. Developing skills of tone production, technique, intonation, sight reading and musicianship. One performance per semester required. Prerequisite: admission by audition. Special fee applicable.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 236J Jazz Combo
Students are placed in small combos for regular, weekly coaching. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: permission of department.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 237 Concert Choir
Concert Choir takes an academic and artistic approach to the study and performance of choral literature from a variety of historic and modern sources. May be repeated for credit. Please see the department's website for audition dates.
Credit variable, maximum 2 units.
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L27 Music 238 Chamber Choir
Study and performance of advanced repertoire for small vocal ensemble from Renaissance to the present. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: audition and consent of instructor.
Credit variable, maximum 1 units.
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L27 Music 295 Independent Study
Supervised independent study in areas in which there are no current course offerings. Student must submit to the department chair an outline of the work to be covered, the number of credit hours requested for the work, and the name of the instructor who will be asked to supervise the work. Class hours variable, depending on credit.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 296 Independent Study
Supervised independent study in areas in which there are no current course offerings. Student must submit to the department chair an outline of the work to be covered, the number of credit hours requested for the work, and the name of the instructor who will be asked to supervise the work. Class hours variable, depending on credit.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 298 Directed Internship
Students receive credit for a faculty-directed and approved internship, usually with a music professional or musical organization. The primary objective of the internship is to obtain professional experience outside of the classroom. Students obtain a Learning Agreement from the Career Center and have it signed by the Career Center, the faculty sponsor, and the site supervisor, if appropriate. A final written project is to be agreed upon before work begins, and this will be evaluated by the faculty sponsor at the end of the internship. Credit should correspond to actual time spent in work activities (e.g., 8 to 10 hours per week for 13 or 14 weeks to receive 3 units of credit, or 1 or 2 credits for fewer hours worked). Refer to current semester listings for faculty selections in this course.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 299 Performance Project
Students may contract with a faculty supervisor for credit for work on musical performance projects or research on musical performance. Contracts must be signed by the student, the faculty supervisor and the department chair before the student's work on the project commences. Consult department for faculty selections in this course.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 3011 Music History I: Music in Europe from the Earliest Notation to 1700
This course presents a study of music history and literature from the Middle Ages to 1700. Composers treated include Machaut, Dufay, Josquin, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. Prerequisite: Music 121 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3012 Music History II: The Invention of Classical Music, 1700-1850
This course is a historical and critical exploration of "classical music." During our focus period -- the long 18th and 19th centuries -- musicians and audiences invented what we now know as the culture of classical music, creating some of its canonic musical works and developing its core institutions and belief systems. In this course, we will work inside and beyond the score. We will engage in intensive listening and analysis, from songs to symphonies. We will also consider broader cultural issues, particularly the following: How did the culture of classical music reflect the social ambitions of privileged musicians and listeners? What and who got marginalized within this culture, and how can we discover more inclusive, diverse histories of classical music? Prerequisite: Music 3011 or Music 104E.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, WI Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3014 Ethnomusicology
This course provides an introduction to the field of ethnomusicology, defined broadly as "the study of music in-or as-culture" or "the study of people making music." We will explore the varied ethnographic, anthropological, historical, and music-analytical approaches that ethnomusicologists have employed to explain the vital role of music-making in diverse human societies. We will seek to understand the social significance of a variety of musical practices, drawing on ethnomusicological scholarship to address music's performance, circulation, and reception. Case studies from around the world will demonstrate the multiple ways that sound shapes-and is shaped by-issues of cultural practice and representation, ideologies of authenticity, intersectional identities, cultural memory, ideas and structures of tradition, colonialism and post-colonialism, transnationalism and globalization. Our case studies will introduce students to a number of important musical genres and traditions, including (in the order in which they appear in the class): Mbira (Zimbabwe), Andean Kena music (Peru), Jazz (U.S.), Samba (Brazil), Gamelan (Java), Funk (U.S.), Egyptian musics, Ottoman-Turkish classical music, Karnatic Music (South India), Gisaeng music (Korea), Ngoma (South Africa), Agbekor (Ghana), Hip Hop (U.S.), and Noise (Japan).
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: BA EN: H
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L27 Music 3015 American Popular Music and Media
This course considers the history of American popular music as delivered by successive mass media platforms in the industrial and post-industrial eras: from mass-produced sheet music in the mid nineteenth century to digital music and video on the internet. Historical contextualization and in depth analysis of musical scores and various kinds of audio recordings and audiovisual texts will be at the center of the course. Topics to be considered include: the history of sound recording technologies and formats; the role of electronic mass media structures (radio, film, television, the internet); urbanization, national commercial music centers (New York, Hollywood, Nashville), and the importance of regional sounds in a national context; the formation and transformation of select genres (rock, country, various black musics); legal frameworks relating to music as a commodity (copyright, sampling); the impact of visual media on music dissemination, performance, and meanings; and how recorded media of all kinds have transformed the act of listening. Issues of race, gender, sexuality, personal, and national identity will be considered across the course.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3017 Music History III: Classical Music in Flux, 1850 to the Present
This course is a study of music history and literature from 1850 to the present. Composers treated include Mahler, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, Copland, Shostakovich, Cage, Reich, and Gubaidulina. Prerequisite: L27 3012 or L27 122C.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3020 Music of the Caribbean
Wanna get away? This and other tourism slogans depend on a popular conception of regions such as the Caribbean as distant and desirable, simple places out of sync with the modern world. This course critiques constructions of the Caribbean through engaging ethnomusicological literature representing the diversity of the region. It is a topical appraisal of Caribbean music, emphasizing history and memory, tourism, and cultural influence. The chosen readings are not meant to represent the entire region; rather, they are intended to prompt ideas and questions about regional discourses.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3021 Music of the African Diaspora
This course explores musical cross-fertilization between the African continent and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. Beginning with traditional musics from selected regions of the African continent, the course examines the cultural and musical implications of transnational musical flows on peoples of the African diaspora and their multicultural audiences.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L27 Music 3022 Native American Musical Traditions of the Western United States
Exploration of music and its historical and contemporary contexts among Native American cultures of the Southwest and the Northern Plains, chiefly Navajo and Lakota, but with some considerations of Pueblo, Shoshone and other nations. Examinations of intertribal pow-wow movements, crossover musics, European appropriation and refashioning of Native American culture in Hollywood and elsewhere.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 3023 Jazz in American Culture
This course will address the role of jazz within the context of twentieth-century African American and American cultural history, with particular emphasis on the ways in which jazz has shaped, and has been shaped by, ideas about race, gender, economics, and politics. We will make use of recordings and primary sources from the 1910s to the present in order to address the relationship between jazz performances and critical and historical thinking about jazz. This course in not a survey, and students should already be familiar with basic jazz history.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SC, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3024 From Cage to Glass and Beyond
Explores the various directions composers took in the second half of the 20th century, including "chance" music of John Cage, minimalism of Philip Glass and postmodernism. Includes concert attendance. Prerequisite: Ability to read music is advisable but not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3025 Women of Music
Popular music and art music around the world, from the perspective of women. The roles of women as creators, performers, sponsors and consumers. The representation of women in music and how it relates to cultures of the past and present.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SD EN: H
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L27 Music 3027 Close Harmony: A Cappella Musical Traditions
An examination of ensemble music for unaccompanied voices. Although it focuses on the Western art tradition (e.g., Renaissance sacred and secular polyphony), it also addresses genres of "world music" (Yankton Sioux choral peyote songs, Makwayera singing of Zimbabwe) and less "high style," more popular unaccompanied vocal textures (e.g., shape-note, barbershop, spirituals, the Comedian Harmonists, male gospel quartets, doowop). Study of the historical and cultural contexts of the various musical types balances examination of representative musical works. Prerequisite: the ability to read music, permission of instructor; Music 103 is highly recommended, but not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3028 Music of the 1960s
The music of the 1960s played a significant and widely noted role in an era of global political and social upheaval. This course surveys a broad range of music produced during the decade, spanning the world but with emphasis on Anglo-American popular music. While a music course traditionally deals with a single genre such as "world music," classical or jazz, this course analyzes several genres together to show how each influenced the others and how all were informed by broader social and cultural concerns. The course thus both familiarizes students with diverse musical traditions and introduces them to a new way of thinking about music and culture. Topics discussed include the transnational music industry; the contested concept of "folk" and "traditional" music; music and political protest; music and migration; and music's relation to ethnic and class identity.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3029 Game of Thrones, Game of Tones: Medieval Music in the Age of HBO
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3030 Love Songs and Laptops: Rediscovering Medieval Music in the Digital Age
Using our laptops as portals into the past, students will gain first-hand experience as historical detectives. In this course, we will explore the world of medieval love — from the chivalrous and courtly to the bodily and obscene — as represented in books of songs from the 15th century. Scrumptiously decorated and preserved, five interrelated songbooks from central France, known as the "Loire Valley Chansonniers" contain the majority of love songs from this period. Working from digitized versions of the songbooks, online editions, and modern audio recordings, we will address the following questions: What do the songbooks tell us about the culture in which they were created? How do the graphic decorations that frame each song interact with its music and lyrics? Lastly, by contextualizing these digital sources with respect to the growing interest in the interface between the humanities and digital technology, we will discuss what we can gain from these developments and what — if anything — we stand to lose. (Ability to read music not required.)
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3031 Music and Healing
In this course, we broadly consider issues of music and healing, drawing from the fields of medical ethnomusicology, medical anthropology, music therapy, and psychology. Our case studies are multi-sited, as we interrogate musical healings and healing music from diverse global and historical perspectives. We approach our study of musical practices with the understanding that the social, cultural and political contexts where "music" and "healing" are themselves created inform the sounds of the music and its various — and often conflicting — interpretations and meanings. We read a variety of academic literature and use media texts and listening examples to develop interdisciplinary and cross-cultural analyses of music and healing. Issues of national consciousness, postcolonialism, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, religion, dis/ability and the role of history/memory remain central to our explorations of music and healing.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD BU: BA EN: H
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L27 Music 3032 The Science of Singing
This course presents an introductory look at the physiology and acoustics of singing. Topics we will study include how the voice works in general and the different ways individual singers use their voices; how understanding this science can improve one's singing; how to maintain vocal health; how the voice changes across the life span; and psychological aspects of performing. The ability to read music is not required for this course.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Arch: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI
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L27 Music 3033 Music, Sound, and the Body
How do musicians use their bodies when creating music? How do audiences, listeners, and dancers feel music in their bodies and contribute to making sound? This course explores embodied perspectives on making, sensing, and moving to music and sound. Examining theories of the body and the senses as they relate to sound practices, the course draws on scholarship from ethnomusicology, anthropology, sound, dance and performance studies, music cognition and other fields. Case studies include EDM, reggae, and salsa dance; Afro-Brazilian and Buddhist religious practices; and music healing and therapy. Because centering the body means considering lived experience along intersecting axes of difference, course readings and discussions will focus on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and (dis)ability. Students will develop their own ethnographic project, and they will be asked to participate in music-movement workshops throughout the course. However, neither previous dance experience nor normative bodily ability are required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 305 Selected Area for Special Study
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3050 Music and Masculinity in the Movies of Martin Scorsese
This course considers the work of American filmmaker Martin Scorsese, with close attention to (1) how Scorsese uses music (and sound) to construct intense cinematic worlds and (2) how his film characters and plots represent various sorts of white American men. The consistent collision between Scorsese's interest in music as a driver of film style and content and his penchant for male-centered, frequently violent narratives makes him an ideal central figure for our study of white American masculinities at the movies over the last five decades. Films to be studied include "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," "Cape Fear," "The Departed," "Shutter Island," and "The Wolf of Wall Street." Required screenings.
Same as L53 Film 305
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3051 Text and Music
How do composers respond to the structure and meaning of text? Can spoken language become musical sound? Can musical sounds become textual signifiers? The course explores these questions by examining a broad range of texted music: Gregorian chant, Japanese Noh drama, English madrigals, Bach cantatas, 19th-century German lieder, operas by Mozart and Wagner, American musical theater, high modernist works by Schoenberg, Stockhausen, Berio and Lansky, as well as popular music. Some knowledge of music theory is required, and familiarity with German is helpful, though all texts are provided with English translations. A lot of listening and reading, several short and analytical assignments, three essays. Prerequisite: one year of music theory or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 3091 Jazz Improvisation I
An introduction to improvising music in the jazz tradition, including diatonic and chromatic harmony, extended chords, modes, and jazz scales. Exercises in basic aspects of the blues and in the styles of bebop and modern jazz. Prerequisite: Music 121J or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3112 Choral Music Before 1800
A study of choral music of the Western world, from the medieval period through the 18th century, examining both the repertoire itself and the evolution of the chorus. Topics include the development of various choral forms, the role of choral music in sacred and secular settings, the changing nature of choirs over the centuries, and the hallmarks of choral style and performance practice in the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods. Choral music for small and large forces, both for voices alone and with accompaniment, are surveyed. Works from each period are examined from textual, analytical and cultural perspectives. Composers studied include Palestrina, Monteverdi, Handel, J. S. Bach, Mozart and Haydn, as well as lesser-known contemporaries. Prerequisite: Ability to read music is helpful, but not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3113 Choral Music from Beethoven to the Present
A study of choral music of the Western world from the time of Beethoven to the present, examining both the repertoire itself and the evolution of the choral instrument. Topics include the development of various choral forms, the role of choral music in sacred and secular settings, the changing nature of choirs over the centuries, and the hallmarks of choral style and performance practice in the late Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods. Choral music for small and large forces, both for voices alone and with accompaniment, are surveyed. Works from each period are examined from textual, analytical and cultural perspectives. Composers studied include masters such as Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Britten, Stravinsky, as well as well-established present-day composers such as Lauridsen, Larsen and Whitacre. Prerequisites: Ability to read music is helpful, but not required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3132 Romantic Revolutions in European Music and Culture
The early 19th century in Europe witnessed sweeping changes in social, political and cultural life, but some of the most fascinating happened in music. This course considers intersections between Romantic thinking about music — which inspired an idealistic vision of the art form as a source of quasi-spiritual experience — and other contemporary "revolutions." To what extent was Romantic music a "holy art" that offered a refuge from the world? In what ways was it a worldly participant in larger currents in society and culture? By exploring these questions and more, students develop the skills and framework needed to incorporate works of music into their investigation of enduring issues in history and the humanities. Although this course requires listening and viewing of musical works, it is designed for students with intellectual curiosity but without prior musical background. We also require weekly readings, occasional presentations, three short papers and spirited class discussion.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 313E Introduction to Comparative Arts
Intro to Comparative Arts is an interdisciplinary, multimedia course that explores the relationship among the arts in a given period. In their written work, students will venture beyond the course material, alternately assuming the roles of artist, critic, and consumer. Students will attend (virtual and/or in-person) performances and exhibits. Ability to read music is not required.
Same as L16 Comp Lit 313E
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 317 Selected Area for Special Study
In-depth study in areas of special interest.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 320 The American Musical Film
Film musicals were crucial to the success of the American film industry from the dawn of sound film in the late 1920s to the demise of the studio system in the late 1950s. This course examines the American film musical from a variety of aesthetic, critical and historical perspectives, with particular attention to how the genre interacted with popular music and dance and the major political and social trends of the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. Required screenings.
Same as L53 Film 359
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3221 Music Cognition
An introduction to modern research on music perception and cognition. The course covers four main topics: the perception of key, the psychoacoustics of dissonance, the relationship between attention and musical meter, and the process by which melodies establish, fulfill, and deny expectations. Students read and discuss research from both cognitive science and music theory, in addition to completing several projects.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Arch: NSM Art: NSM BU: HUM
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L27 Music 3223 Computational Models of Music Theory and Cognition
We will study computational models that simulate the perception of several aspects of music: phase structure, meter, melody, key, harmony, counterpoint, and texture. In addition to reading about and discussing these models, students will work with them directly by running them on their own. We will also spend some class time on perceptual experiments related to the models we study. Although the course will focus on models of perception, emphasis will be placed on ones that are also pertinent to music theory, and these connections will be discussed.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3231 Advanced Musicianship
Individualized instruction in advanced ear training, sight singing and dictation skills. Prerequisite: Music 2241.
Credit 3 units. BU: HUM
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L27 Music 3232 Keyboard Skills V
Advanced skills in score reading, figured bass and improvisation, as well as drills, including seventh chords and modulation. Prerequisite: Music 2242. One and one-half class hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 3235 Compositional Craft in Film Scores and Musical Theatre
This course examines compositional techniques and aesthetics in two forms of popular music: film/television scores and musical theatre. Popular songs and other musical works associated with film, television, and musicals are analyzed from multiple perspectives, giving students insight into the sonic, visual, and dramatic techniques employed by major composers. Students engage with the material in rigorous yet practical ways, from analytical projects to deep-listening exercises. This approach emphasizes sonic experience and situated musicianship as the primary means of accessing complex concepts from music theory.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3236 Music Arranging for the Multi-Genre Artist
This course examines the practice of music arranging for numerous applications, including ensembles in jazz, rock, pop, a cappella, classical music, new music, and new media. Students analyze musical scores for small and large groups and compose arrangements in a variety of genres. Also learned are instrumentation, vocal ranges, basic orchestration, idiomatic instrumental techniques, chord voicings, and textures, all in the context of specific styles and genres. Overall, the course provides an introduction to industry-standard techniques of music arranging.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3237 The Art of Popular Song: From Folk and Musical Theatre to Rock and Contemporary A Capella
This course explores the art of songwriting through the lens of American popular music. Students examine landmark songs from multiple eras and create their own original songs in a variety of styles from the precursors of American music to folk, rock, pop, rhythm and blues, Broadway, and a cappella. The course materials include applied popular music theory while examining the musical languages of each genre. Through composing and arranging, listening and analysis, students gain insight into the sonic structure and cultural significance of popular music. The course also responds to students' individual interests and performance backgrounds, offering opportunities to write music for vocal ensembles, singer-songwriter formats, bands and electronic media. Traditional composition and contemporary production practices are examined in detail as students learn to critically listen and find their personal musical styles.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3238 Towards a New Music
Towards a New Music addresses the numerous possibilities for emerging music, including future musics in a reimagined world of the nature of music itself. In our study, music is situated as part of a web of metapatterns that explain the structure and nature of musical materials, the actions in composition and improvisation, and musical phenomena. Students are placed on a listener's journey of discovery to find the nature of music through philosophy, cognitive science, mathematics, biology, architecture and the structure of sound itself. Music theory topics both simple and advanced are discussed in ways appropriate for the novice as well as the advanced student. The course functions as a music theory and music literature study through the lens of the humanities. The course embraces both culture and nature, seeking out the grand-scale patterns that help explain the qualities of our musical endeavor. The course begins with the archetypal patterns of space, both structural/formal and relational, and then turns to the concepts that infuse the workings of time: a virtual sonic reality of space and time and the mind of music, revealed in thought-provoking and new contexts.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 325 Instrumentation and Orchestration
A study of the principles of instrumentation and orchestration. In-class assignments will aid in the understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the orchestral instruments. Analysis of orchestral scores will provide insight into efficient and creative use of the orchestra. Prerequisite: Music 121C or permission of the instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 326 Orchestration
A practicum in writing for orchestra and groups of orchestral instruments. Prerequisite: Music 325.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 3271 Analysis and Performance
This course develops music-analysis skills useful to performers, focusing on topics such as form, phrase structure, texture, orchestration, style identification as a stage, and ear training. Students will analyze pieces they are working on in lessons and ensembles and periodically perform these pieces in class. Prerequisite: Music 122C or 122J, as well as concurrent enrollment in lessons or an ensemble.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 328 History of the Film Score
This course looks at the role of music in Hollywood films from the beginning of the sound era to the present. Larger themes include the importance of technology, industry structures shaping the nature of scores, notable film music composers, the relationship between music, gender and genre, music's role in the adaptation of literary texts to film, the power of directors to shape the content of film scores, and the importance of popular music as a driving economic and aesthetic force in film music history. Films screened include From Here to Eternity, Stagecoach, High Noon, The Night of the Hunter, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Born on the Fourth of July, Casino, Jarhead and The Social Network. Required screenings.
Same as L53 Film 360
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 329 Advanced Composition Workshop I
A more advanced course in contemporary music composition, with a 50-minute private lesson and weekly master class. Prerequisite: Music 230 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 330 Advanced Composition Workshop
A more advanced course in contemporary music composition, with a 50-minute private lesson and weekly master class.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 330C Culture and Identity: The Voice: Singing Difference in the United States
This is a topics course that focuses on instances of identity and culture within the American scope. The topic varies by semester; see the Course Listings for a description of the current semester's offering.
Same as L98 AMCS 330C
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SD Arch: HUM Art: CPSC, HUM BU: BA EN: H
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L27 Music 3313 Interactivity and DSP: Laptop Music
This course is a project-based exploration of interactive "laptop music" using the Max/MSP programming environment. (Laptop not required; we have class desktops that will work, too.) It will cover the composition of interactive computer music as well as the theory and application of MIDI, synthesis, and digital signal processing. We will learn through weekly programming exercises, readings and tutorials, and engagement with scores, recordings, and software. For Midterm and Final Projects, students will design digital instruments and compose interactive pieces for the class to play as an ad hoc "laptop ensemble." Both pieces will be planned in advance and workshopped in class throughout the semester. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 334 Symphony Orchestra
This is a course for a select ensemble of about 75 players that performs a repertoire from the baroque to the modern periods in four public concerts a year. Collegiate member, American Symphony Orchestra League. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Admission by audition. Four rehearsal hours a week.
Credit 1 unit.
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L27 Music 339 Introduction to Conducting I
Fundamentals of conducting, including the study of transposing instruments and practice in score reading. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Credit 2 units.
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L27 Music 340 Introduction to Conducting II
Fundamentals of conducting, including the study of transposing instruments and practice in score reading. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Credit 2 units.
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L27 Music 3431 West African Music and Dance in Context
A West African dance course specifically focused on the Ivorian dance traditions of the Baule, Bete Dan, Lobi, Makinke, and Senufo peoples. The course addresses the relationship between music and dance as well as their social and cultural significance. Study of myths, art, costumes and masks as they relate to various dances and music is also included. A studio course with related reading material.
Same as L29 Dance 343
Credit 2 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: CPSC, HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3581 Musica Ebraica: Jewish Identities in Western Music from 1600 to the 21st Century
The course explores Western music from the 17th century to the 21st century through the prism of musical works that were written by Jews and for Jews and of musical compositions reflecting their composers' identifying themselves as Jews. Jewish art music from these periods will be examined against the background of musical development in general, the social, political, and religious context of the composers, and written reflections about Jewish music. Examples of Jewish art music will be analyzed through different approaches in order to determine the cultural interrelationships between Jews and non-Jews, Jewish cultural autonomy, and the perception of Jewishness in music.
Same as L75 JIMES 3581
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3582 Music in Jewish Culture and Society
The common term "Jewish Music" raises numerous questions that emanate from the difficulty to define "Jewish" identity of any given music. This course deals with various approaches to the definition of Jewish music, perceived as a cultural and sociological component in the Jewish communities throughout the diaspora. We survey the functions in which music is performed in traditional Jewish communities, especially Jewish liturgy, and the substantial vicissitudes in these musics after the European Enlightenment, European colonialism in north-Africa, and in the Mediterranean. We study the background and the different characteristics of selected Jewish communities — Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Italian, Yemenite, and others — as well as instrumental music, questions of gender, and the relationship between music and text. A secondary goal of this course is the study of the bibliography and discography of Jewish musics.
Same as L75 JIMES 3582
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H
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L27 Music 3583 The Soundtrack of Israeli History
This course explores connections between Israeli history, nationality and culture, and between Israeli art music. Such an encounter between reveals the reflection of, and responses to, local social developments in various historic and constitutive moments in Israeli history such as: the fifth Aliya (wave of immigration) in the 1930s, the statehood years, the waning of nationalistic sentiments in the late 1950s, the aftermath of Israeli wars, the negotiation between Israeli and Jewish identities, and even artistic expressions of postmodernity within the Israeli context. These histories are surveyed through historical studies as well as through their musics and against the background of developments in 20th-century music.
Same as L75 JIMES 3583
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H
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L27 Music 3585 Islam, Music, Muslim Media
How do Muslim individuals and communities understand and negotiate the relationship between sound and spirituality? How does Islamic philosophy challenge Western definitions of music? How do music and cultural practices reflect and shape diverse Muslim identities and political struggles? To what extent can we speak of an "Islamic world," musical or otherwise? In this course, we investigate Islamic musics and musical practices in the lives and experiences of Muslims throughout the world. We approach our study of Muslim musical practices with the understanding that the social, cultural and political contexts where music is created, disseminated and consumed inform the sounds of the music and its various — and often conflicting — interpretations and meanings. We engage with a variety of academic, musical and media texts to develop interdisciplinary analyses about Islam, music, sound experience and Muslim subjectivities. Issues of nationalism and transnationalism, class, race and ethnicity, gender and sexualities, colonialism and postcolonialism, history and memory remain central to our exploration of spirituality and religion in Muslim musical and cultural practices.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: IS EN: H
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L27 Music 3586 Combat Movie Music and Sound After Vietnam
This course considers the Hollywood combat movie genre after the Vietnam War (post 1975) by listening closely to how these always noisy films use music and sound effects to tell stories of American manhood and militarism. Centering on an elite group of prestige films — action movies with a message for adult audiences — the course examines thirty-five years of Hollywood representations of World War II, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and post-9/11 wars against terrorism. Close analysis of how combat film directors and composers have used music and sound in conjunction with the cinematic image are set within a larger context of ancillary texts (source materials, soundtrack recordings, published and unpublished scripts), media folios ( press kits, reviews, editorials, newspaper and magazine stories and interviews), and scholarly writing from across the disciplines. Films screened include Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Courage Under Fire, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, We Were Soldiers, Flags of our Fathers, The Hurt Locker, and Act of Valor, as well as pre-1975 combat films starring John Wayne. The ability to read music is not required. Required screenings. Prequisites: none.
Same as L53 Film 358
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 3951 Independent Study
Supervised independent study in areas in which there are no current course offerings. Student must submit to the department chair an outline of the work to be covered, the number of credit hours requested for the work, and the name of the instructor who will be asked to supervise the work. Class hours variable, depending on credit. Consult department for faculty selections in this course.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 3961 Independent Study
Supervised independent study in areas in which there are no current course offerings. Student must submit to the department chair an outline of the work to be covered, the number of credit hours requested for the work, and the name of the instructor who will be asked to supervise the work. Class hours variable, depending on credit. Consult department for faculty selection.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 401 Elementary Technique of Electronic Music: Synth Lab
Individual and small group instruction in "classical" procedures and relevant electronic technology. Prerequisite: open to music majors; to others by permission of instructor. Credit contingent upon completion of Music 402.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 402 Advanced Techniques in Electronic Music: Studio Songwriting
How does the act of recording and manipulating sound change the way we write songs? How can the tones and moods of a recording interact with notes and rhythms and words? We will look for answers through experiments in composition, collaboration, and critical listening. Topics will include beatmaking, sound collage, vocal manipulations, sampling, and virtual spaces. Formal training is not required, although we will engage (and learn) basic music theory concepts. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. EN: H
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L27 Music 4052 Music, Sound, and the Body
This course examines theories of the body, embodiment, and the senses as they relate to music and sound practices. Readings draw on scholarship from ethnomusicology, anthropology and geography of the senses, sound studies, dance studies, performance studies, and music cognition. If ethnomusicology is "the study of people making music," this course explores how people make and experience music and sound with their bodies, through the full range of their senses. We will consider questions surrounding the ways in which musicians, audiences, listeners, and dancers perceive and experience music in their bodies and contribute to the making of sound. By centering the body, we will necessarily consider lived experience along intersecting axes of difference such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and (dis)ability. Course readings and discussions will therefore focus on the social and political affordances and limitations of body-based practices and their theorization. Case studies will include a broad range of sound-movement practices, from electronic dance music and black social dance to Sufi and Buddhist religious practices, queer taiko drumming, and deaf music-making. Over the course of the semester, students will develop their own project exploring course themes, and they will be asked to participate in music-movement workshops throughout the course. This is an upper-level/graduate-level course, so some knowledge of music and/or dance concepts is assumed, but neither previous music/dance experience nor normative bodily ability are required.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 411 Music of the Medieval Period
An intensive survey of Western monophonic and polyphonic music from the beginnings of Christian chant to ca. 1450. Prerequisites: Music 3011 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 412 Music of the Renaissance Period
A survey of music literature from ca. 1450 to ca. 1600. Prerequisite: Music 3011 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 413 Music in the Baroque Era
An intensive survey of the primary musical forms and styles in 17th-century Italy, France, Germany and England. Prerequisite: Music 3012 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4131 Music in the 18th Century
Musical activity in Europe during the 18th century is the subject of this course, which brings the high baroque, galant and classical eras into a single narrative. Patronage, publishing, star performers and highly specific musical publics were central to the music-making across the century. How these forces shaped the professional and creative lives of major 18th-century composers is a principal theme of the course. A broad range of 18th-century instrumental and vocal music is surveyed, including works by Corelli, F. Couperin, Vivaldi, Rameau, Telemann, Handel, Hasse, Haydn, Mozart, D. Scarlatti and several members of the Bach family. Extensive listening assignments and score analysis are supplemented by readings drawn from recent scholarship and examination of 18th-century music publishing and other period sources in facsimile.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 414 Music of the Classic Period
An intensive survey of music literature from ca. 1750 to ca. 1830 with attention to the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and some of their predecessors. Prerequisite: Music 3012 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 415 Music in the Romantic Era: Aesthetics and Ideologies
This course explores pivotal developments in 19th-century thinking about music's cultural and aesthetic significance -- developments that reverberate well beyond that historical period. Rather than surveying repertoire, we will emphasize in-depth exploration of selected issues and music, reading important contemporary writings and grappling with challenging musical works. Our topics will include discourses about musical interiority, the post-Beethovenian symphony, the Lied tradition, performance aesthetics and the creative agency of the performer, intersections of music and literature, and canon formation and its consequences. Our topics will include, to cite but a few examples, discourses about musical interiority, the post-Beethovenian symphony, the Lied tradition, performance aesthetics and the creative agency of the performer, intersections of music and literature, and canon formation and its consequences.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 416 Contemporary Music
Survey of musical styles from the end of the 19th century to the Postmodernism of the 1980s. Developments in music considered in context of intellectual history of the century with specific attention to parallels with literature and visual arts. Readings from a variety of sources and extensive listening assignments. Prerequisite: Music 3013 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 4161 Divas, Monsters, Material Girls: Women in Music Videos
The stark black and white of Madonna's "Vogue" and the pinks and sparkles of "Material Girl." The lavish cinematic spectacle of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and the thinkpiece-launching intertextuality of Ariana Grande's "thank u next." The explosive surprise releases of Beyoncé's "BEYONCÉ" and "Lemonade" visual albums. Since MTV's advent in 1981, hit music videos have made a number of pop songs inextricable from the iconic imagery of their videos; ubiquitous digital devices and the rise of YouTube have only increased pop music's audiovisuality. Looking at and listening to female pop icons raises fraught questions of agency, representation, race, sexuality/sexualization, bodies, commodification, and capital. In this course, students will gain a vocabulary for talking about both the audio and visual parameters of music videos, and they will use this vocabulary to engage with critical frameworks for examining meaning, circulation, and reception in contemporary music videos. Assignments across the course will allow students to experiment with a range of writing and media genres, from critical close readings, micro-reception histories, mock (or real) thinkpieces, podcast episodes, and video essays.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: CPSC, HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4221 Introduction to the Analysis of 20th-Century Music
An introduction to theory and analysis of music from the 20th-century repertoire. In-class analysis and individual assignments emphasize aural understanding and tools for modeling pitch structures in post-tonal and 12-tone works. In the latter portion of the course focus turns toward works in which pitch structures play a smaller role. Prerequisite: Music 222 (for undergraduates) or Music 423 (for graduates).
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 423 Analysis I
A study of structural principles underlying music of all periods: motivic usage, melodic shape, varieties of texture and structure with an emphasis on fugue, variation forms and proportional forms such as rondo and sonata-allegro. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4232 Graduate Keyboard Skills
Graduate Keyboard Skills prepares students to take the Keyboard Skills exam.
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L27 Music 424 Analysis II
Continuation of Mus 423, concentrating on approaches to larger and more complex works of classically tonal music, including 18th-century symphonies and string quartets, late works by Beethoven, chamber music and symphonies of Brahms and symphonies of Mahler. Prerequisite: Mus 423 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 425 Counterpoint I
Concentrated independent study in 16th-century contrapuntal composition. Prerequisite: Music 222.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 426 Counterpoint II
Concentrated independent study in 18th-century contrapuntal composition. Prerequisite: Music 222.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 427 Selected Areas for Special Study
In-depth study in areas of special interest. Prerequisite: senior standing, graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 428 The Solo Song of Brahms
In-depth study in areas of special interest. Prerequisite: senior standing, graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4281 The Italian Madrigal
The most important musical genre of the late Renaissance, the madrigal, intersects with poetry, theater and the visual arts, and thus, constitutes an ideal point of entry to early modern Italy. This course explores the stylistic development of the madrigal from its origins in the early 16th century to its demise some hundred years later. The course is structured around close readings of madrigals by Verdelot, Arcadelt, Willaert, Rore, Wert, Marenzio, Luzzaschi, Fontanelli, Gesualdo and Monteverdi. Secondary readings focus on the relation between words and music; the construction of subjectivity; concepts of mode; theories of chromaticism; and performance practice, framed in the context of 16th-century society and culture. Prerequisite: Music 3011, graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4282 The "Crossover" Tradition in Anglo-American Music Theater
The musical stage in the United States and Britain has remained a vital artistic and commercial arena over the past 100 years despite the emergence of mass media formats such as film and television. Audiences continue to clamor for stage stories where actors sing or singers act, and composers, writers, producers and directors have created a stunning variety of musical theater styles to meet the demand. This course surveys important English-language operas, operettas and singer-centered musicals from the turn of the 20th century to the start of the 21st with an emphasis on "crossover" works that blur the lines between opera and the commercial musical stage. All the works included in the course continue to be performed today, forming a core repertory of music theater works in English that emphasize singers and singing. The overlapping, ever-changing spheres of the opera house and Broadway and West End theaters provide the geography of the course, which is peopled by performers, creators and audiences. In-class analysis of 14 works focuses on how the singing voice has been used as an expressive vehicle and how theater singers have adapted to an age of amplification and recording. Works studied include Carousel, Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera, Show Boat, Candide, Street Scene, The Pirates of Penzance, The Light in the Piazza, My Fair Lady, Albert Herring, Porgy and Bess, The Most Happy Fella, Margaret Garner and The Student Prince. In-class singing is encouraged as a means to get inside the musical and dramatic values of these works. Prerequisites: ability to read music, and graduate or upper-division standing.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 429 Composition
Concentrated independent work in composition and a weekly master class for experienced composers. Prerequisite: Music 330 or permission of instructor.
Credit variable, maximum 3 units.
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L27 Music 430 Composition
Concentrated independent work in composition and a weekly master class for experienced composers. Prerequisite: Music 429 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4311 Black Experimental Music
Founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1965, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) united dozens of African American artists who were interested in experimental approaches to composition and improvisation. Their creative work, often described as black experimental music, would transform black-identified musical styles like jazz as well as white-identified styles of experimental concert music from which African Americans were often excluded-until the AACM intervened. In this course, we will investigate the Association's history by reading and discussing a wide range of texts about the organization, including books and articles written by AACM members themselves. We will also examine a number of important recordings and musical scores created by AACM artists, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Fred Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Joseph Jarman, George Lewis, Nicole Mitchell, Roscoe Mitchell, and Wadada Leo Smith.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4370 Music and Performance
In his 1998 book, Musicking, Christopher Small asserts that music is not a thing but an activity — something that people do. Starting from this premise, this course explores musical performance as a live event, one in which additional aspects of performance — dramatic enactments, costume, choreography, and stage design — also come into play. While recorded music plays an important role in our investigations, we focus on musical events that take place before and with live audiences. Exploring the choices of performers and the expectations of audience members in settings from gospel churches to Radio City Music Hall, this course moves through a wide variety of musical genres, including cabaret, blues, opera, protest song, musical theater, and rock. We examine artists whose work blurs the line between "music" and "theater," including George Clinton, Taylor Mac, and Gertrude Stein, as well as everyday people, such as the singers of the Civil Rights Movement, who used the power of live musical performance to change the course of human history. We also attend performances around St. Louis, guided by the interests of the class. Students with an interest in music, theater, dance, cultural history, American studies, and African-American studies are especially welcome.
Same as L98 AMCS 4370
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 439 Diction I
Principles of Italian, French, and German pronunciation covered in an interrelated approach; application of these principles to songs. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 4530 Presence in Performance: Alexander Technique and Mindful Movement for Performing Artists
This course provides group and individual instruction in principles and methods from Alexander Technique and other somatic arts for training mindful, embodied presence in performance. Mindful movement techniques are widely used by professional dancers, actors, and musicians to enhance performance skill and to address/prevent injury and chronic pain. Through a workshop process of guided learning, students gain awareness of subtle inefficiencies in coordination and balance that cause pain and limit ability. Students gain ability to self-assess and adjust problematic movement patterns to improve freedom and expression. Alexander Technique works at fundamental levels of movement coordination, and its methods are applicable to all performing art genres. Training is tailored to each individual student's needs, skills and goals. This course involves experiential learning supported with related readings, discussion, personal research projects and presentations. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; also open to undergraduate students studying at the 400 level in their discipline with permission of instructor.
Same as L29 Dance 453
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4539 Advanced Conducting I
Advanced training in conducting skills, including opportunities to conduct ensembles on campus. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 2 units. A&S IQ: HUM
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L27 Music 4540 Advanced Conducting II
Advanced training in conducting skills, including opportunities to conduct ensembles on campus. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 4561 Soundtrack Studies: Music, Voices, Noise
This course considers the interaction of film, sound and music from the silent era to the present by screening representative films from around the world and exploring current directions in scholarship from the disciplines of film studies and musicology. Topics include: historical and critical understandings of the sound track, major film sound theorists (such as Michel Chion), technological shifts (such as synchronized sound, Dolby and digital surround sound), the uses of Richard Wagner (both his music and his ideas), the relationship between a film genre (noir) and sound and music and the relationship between a musical genre (opera) and film, and the juxtaposition of popular and classical, Western and non-Western musical styles in art cinema. Films screened include Meek's Cutoff, Blow Out, Days of Heaven, Sous le toits de Paris, Love Me Tonight, Casablanca, Alien, Apocalypse Now, La cérémonie, Le Cercle rouge, The Pillow Book, The Scent of Green Papaya, and The Bourne Ultimatum. The course is in seminar format. Readings from recent scholarly work on film sound and music inform class discussions of the screened films. Close analysis of how music, sound and image interact in film making and the film experience lies at the heart of the course. The ability to read music is not required. A primary goal of the course is the development of specific listening skills that are useful when working in this area. Targeted writing assignments ask students to write about film sound and music from a variety of critical and historical perspectives. Prerequisites: graduate status or completion of Film 360 The History of the Film Score, or AMCS 360 or Music 328 and permission of the instructor. Required screenings.
Same as L53 Film 456
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4571 Soundtrack Studies: Music, Voices, Noise
This course considers American popular music as represented in audiovisual media from 1926 to the present. The relationship between the popular music industry (a commercial sphere oriented primarily toward the selling of sheet music and audio recordings) and audiovisual technologies (various screens and formats encountered in changing social and commercial contexts) will be explored along two complementary tracks: popular music performers as presented in performance-centered media and popular music as a narrative topic or resource in feature films. Three related analytical frames will shape our discussions: industrial and technological history (the material conditions for the making and distribution of popular music and moving images); the question of "liveness" in recorded audiovisual media; and the aesthetics of various popular music styles as translated into audiovisual forms and contexts. The course is in seminar format. The ability to read music is not required, but students with music reading or transcription skills will be encouraged to draw upon these tools. Prerequisite: Graduate status or completion of a 300-level FMS or Music course and permission of instructor.
Same as L53 Film 457
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4621 Ancient Greek and Roman Music
Music played a vital role in Ancient Greece and Rome. New resources and perspectives now allow us to appreciate the ancients' music better than ever before. This course addresses the nature of ancient music (instruments, melody and rhythm, modes), ancient attitudes toward music, and its contribution to public and private life. The focus throughout is on our ancient sources, both literary and archaeological.
Same as L08 Classics 462
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L27 Music 4991 Senior Project: Musicology or Analysis
Supervised research in music history or analysis culminating in a major paper. Required of Bachelor of Music students whose program focuses on music history or analysis. Prerequisite: senior standing.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 4992 Senior Capstone: Performance, Composition, or Theory
Supervised work in performance, composition or theory culminating in some combination of a paper, composition and/or performance. Required of Bachelor of Music students whose program focuses on performance, composition or theory. Prerequisite: senior standing.
Credit 3 units.
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L27 Music 4993 Senior Honors Capstone: Musicology or Analysis
Prerequisites: senior standing, a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and permission of the faculty supervisor, director of undergraduate studies, and the chair of the department.
Credit 3 units. EN: H
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L27 Music 4994 Honors Project: Performance, Composition or Theory
Prerequisite: senior standing, a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and permission of the faculty supervisor, the director of undergraduate studies and the chair of the department.
Credit 3 units. EN: H
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