This course surveys the rich musical heritage of the United States from the Colonial Period to the present. It explores many of the musical traditions whose collective heterogeneity defines a country of diverse musical narratives. Musical styles and genres explored include art music, concert music, popular music, musical theatre, sacred music, country, folk, jazz, and rock.
In this second semester of music theory study, students will learn about figured bass, secondary chords, mode mixture, the Neapolitan chord, augmented sixth chords, and modulation with and without pivot chords including enharmonic modulation. Students create two original compositions.
This course consists of an introduction to music theory through the study of scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, lead-sheet symbols, Roman numeral analysis, harmonic function and progression, non-chord tones, melodic analysis, form in popular music, phrases in combination, and accompanimental textures. Students create an original arrangement of an existing song.
Continuation of MUS 101, including further diatonic intervals and more complicated rhythms in sight singing and melodic dictation, and all diatonic harmonies in harmonic dictation.
Development of skills in sight singing, melodic and harmonic dictation, transcription, and keyboard harmony to improve overall musicianship and comprehension of music theory and literature.
This course surveys music-making practices in the Western hemisphere. Students will consider musics of various styles, historical periods, and cultural settings, with an emphasis on critical listening. Includes experiential learning opportunities such as attending performances either on or off campus.
This course is an introductory look at processes of music learning and music education models in American public schools. Students study the beginnings of American music education and study core concepts related to music education. Students participate in school-based placements that allow for direct experience with children developing their music skills and knowledge.
This course provides a condensed overview of the narrative and elements of the Western "classical" music canon from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. It covers the eras, composers, genres, styles, terms, and famous works that constitute the classical canon in the U.S.--a body of knowledge widely held to be the most important elements of music history for musicians to know about, study, teach, and perform.
Every opera's characters and situations reflect the times and societies in which they were created, and in performances decades or centuries later, they continue to adapt to reflect changing circumstances. A few operas go further, actually portraying people and events plucked from the history books, or even the headlines. This course considers a selection of operas "based on a true story." What is the true story, as far as we can discern? Who transformed the event into words, music, sets, costumes, and movement onstage?
This course will introduce students to methods and issues in the discipline of ethnomusicology, wherein music is studied among its complex intersections with daily life. The course introduces pathways for studying music ethnographically, rendering transparent how music can be explored as culture. Students will approach the study of ethnomusicology through a variety of world music case studies, and will have the opportunity to conduct their own ethnographic fieldwork.