MUSC 0010. Music in History, from Hildegard to Hamilton.

A study of a thousand years of music of Europe and America through CDs, DVDs, and YouTube. We'll explore how individuals, institutions, and societies create music, use it, experience it, pay for it, and control it. We'll discuss music and time, music and politics, music and identity. Still, the heart of the course is listening to great music, and learning how it works.

MUSC 0020. Popular Music in Society.

Critical survey of a variety of contemporary American popular music styles (including rock'n'roll, folk revival, heavy metal, progressive rock, reggae, punk, rap, world beat) and their sociocultural contexts. Aural analysis of musical examples and critical reading of media texts, with study of the music's relationship to commerce, racial and ethnic identity, subculture, gender, and politics.

MUSC 0021B. Reading Jazz.

This course will explore the musical aesthetics of jazz in texts about its world. Students will listen to music and read poetry, fiction, autobiography and criticism to investigate techniques (including improvisation, rhythm, timbre and articulation), which authors such as Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Charles Mingus, Stanley Crouch and Jack Kerouac employed to describe and support a creative community. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

MUSC 0021E. Good Vibrations: The Music of Everyday Objects.

This seminar will investigate the sonic properties of everyday objects and environments, and how they can transform into musical expression. Through a focus on listening and experimentation, the seminar will explore resonance, reverberation, field recording, feedback, circuit bending, archaeological acoustics, and other topics. Students will create individual and collaborative compositions and performance situations. No formal music background is required. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0021F. Popular Music and Society in Latin America.

This course examines how Latin American musics shape, and are shaped by, their social environment and the political histories of their homelands. Focusing especially on Cuban and Andean styles, it explores the way that sounds connect with the lived experiences of local audiences, the artistic and political goals that have motivated key performers, and the effect of their actions on broader social debates. Issues covered include the relationship between music, race, and national identity; sound as a medium for social politics; the roles of industrialization, migration, urbanization, and media dissemination in driving musical change. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

MUSC 0021G. Duke Ellington.

This class will be an examination of the life and work of Duke Ellington. We will use recordings, scores, films, autobiographies, interviews, oral histories and other primary source materials as well as biographical, theoretical and analytical readings to study Ellington's three careers: the composer, the performer and the band leader. We will analyze his work largely within the musical parameters of form, improvisation techniques, orchestration, instrumentation, rhythmic and chordal structures, and concepts of tone quality. Although musical literacy is not required for this course, students who so want may receive tutorials in the rudiments of theory and score reading. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

MUSC 0021H. Manifestos: Art, Politics and the Idea of Progress.

Ever since Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote their "Communist Manifesto" (1848), artists, activists and politicians have used manifestos to announce radical change and justify provocative new ideas or practices. This seminar examines the manifesto as a genre of writing with a particularly strong influence on artistic movements in 20th century Modernism. Looking at examples by poets, musicians, and visual artists, we consider how they are informed by visions of progress, social action, political efficacy, and artistic or historical necessity. Authors include Russolo, Apollinaire, Schoenberg, Munch, Klee, Kandinsky, Stravinsky, Dali, Borges, Artaud, Frank O'Hara, Duchamp, Mallarmé, and Boulez. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

MUSC 0021J. Stephen Sondheim and the American Musical.

This seminar considers the theater shows of Stephen Sondheim in relation to the history of the American musical. Through close study of selected scenes and shows, we examine how and why Sondheim and his collaborators “reinvented” the genre. Special emphasis will be given to Sondheim's critical skepticism concerning the myths, characters, and ethos of social optimism that have been central to the Broadway tradition. We examine links between the shows and post-WWII historical contexts, and consider the political implications of the circumscribed social universe—predominantly white, urban, and affluent—within which most of his shows take place.

MUSC 0021L. Music and War.

Where there is war, there is music – to incite violence and mobilize armies; to express resistance, protest and patriotism; to bear witness to pain and memorialize victims; to heal from trauma and to build peace. How can music fulfill such different roles? Beyond the notes and words, how does music exercise such extraordinary power, especially in times of conflict, suffering and survival? Using texts, audio recordings, films and iconographic materials, this course explores the ways in which people have made music in relation to militarized conflicts and considers more broadly the nature of music and sound in the human experience.

MUSC 0030. History of Jazz.

The development of jazz from its roots to the present. Focuses on the study of style types (including New Orleans style, early piano jazz, swing, bebop, and cool jazz) and their major instrumental and vocal exponents. Jazz as a social phenomenon is studied in relation to contextual aspects of folk, popular, and art music traditions in the U.S.

MUSC 0032. Music and Meditation (RELS 0032).

Interested students must register for RELS 0032.

MUSC 0033. From the Blues to Beyoncé: Popular Music in the U.S..

This course seeks to view U.S. cultural and social history of the last century through the lens of popular music. We will investigate the history popular music from its roots in the early twentieth-century to the present. We will examine the social, cultural and political contexts that gave birth to various genres of popular music by exploring the music through the lenses of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, advances in technology, and developments in the music business. No musical background is required. There are conference sections for this course that meet every week.

MUSC 0040. World Music Cultures (Africa, America, Europe, Oceania).

A survey of a variety of musical styles from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania outside the Western art music tradition. Introduces these musics in their historical, social, and cultural context, in an attempt to understand them in their own theoretical systems and aesthetic frameworks.

MUSC 0041. World Music Cultures (Middle East and Asia).

Introductory survey of several of the world's musical traditions, with an emphasis on East, South, and Southeast Asia. Expands powers of musical appreciation through lectures, guided listening, and active participation in music-making. Focuses on traditional music and its relations to dance and theatre, and to its social, religious, and historical contexts, but also includes popular music and the effects of modernization. No prerequisites.

MUSC 0043. Music of Africa.

How do Senegalese rappers mix traditional and African American musical meanings and traditions? How did drumming and dancing traditions become emblematic of the African continent abroad? How did South African musicians challenge apartheid? This course explores the diversity of popular and traditional musics on the African continent. Approaching music as inextricably linked to culture, students will explore how musics live in communities and interact with issues such as globalization, race, and nationalism. Framing their study within the fields of ethnomusicology, cultural anthropology, cultural studies, and history, students develop practical and theoretical bases for the study of music and culture.

MUSC 0044. East Asian Popular Music.

This course provides a critical overview of the production, reception, and circulation of East Asian popular music. The course applies broad themes—nationalism, race, gender, diaspora, technology, and globalization—to specific case studies in Japan, North and South Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, and areas outside of this region where the music circulates. Rather than approaching “East Asian popular music” as a distinctive category of music from a particular region, we will consider how such designations rely on certain ideas of origin, authenticity, and identity. Course materials include academic scholarship, music, music videos, documentaries, reviews, and journalistic accounts. No prerequisites.

MUSC 0045. Music, Nation, and Identity in the Middle East.

The Middle East, generally understood to include Iran, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and the Levant, is home to a diversity of musical traditions that mirrors the region’s diversity of religions, languages, and other cultural expressions. In this course, we will take an in­-depth look at several of these traditions; by listening closely to music and to the people who engage in it, students will be able to understand the always-­shifting role of music in several Middle Eastern societies. There are no prerequisites, but a background in music or a willingness to listen deeply will be very helpful.

MUSC 0063. Contemplative Music of India.

Contemplative Music of India provides a comprehensive overview of many important traditions within the contemplative musical heritage of India, including a detailed exploration of Vedic hymnology, the classical musical traditions of both North and South India (Hindustani and Carnatic musics), the devotional music of the medieval bhakti mystics, and the ecstatic modes of the Sufi saints. With these varied practices in mind, the class will explore the myriad ways in which South Asians have used music as a vehicle to achieve and sustain contemplative states of mind. The class is open to everyone regardless of musical background. Enrollment limited to 20.

MUSC 0064. Honky Tonk Heroes.

This course explores country music from its origins to the present day. We will trace its development through the careers of foundational artists like the Carter Family, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, and Willie Nelson, and evaluate the way that their legacy is reflected in the work of contemporary artists like Corb Lund, Hayes Carll, and Neko Case. Beyond the individual creativity of these figures, we will consider the way that country music has been shaped by the recording industry, the relation it has to race, gender, and political identities, and the international spread of the American country sound.

MUSC 0065. Music and Social Protest.

This class will explore music as a vehicle for social protest, including historical examinations of music within the U.S. labor and civil rights movements, music and political campaigns, contemporary activist street bands (with a field trip to the Providence HONK! festival), and other examples from global independence and social justice movements in Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Estonia, Indonesia, and others. Students will write: two short papers on the role of music within recent protest movements, a midterm essay, and a final research paper on a protest topic of their choice. No previous musical background necessary; open to all students.

MUSC 0066. The Guitar: Sound, Society, and Six String Studies.

This course treats the guitar as a point of entry into key sonic, social, and technical developments that have shaped music-making around the world over the last two centuries. Through reading, viewing, and listening assignments, we will study topics such as the craft of guitar making; its ecological relation to natural and synthetic materials; the sheer variety of guitar traditions that have emerged in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa; the meaning of virtual and video game guitars; and the instrument’s ever-shifting ties to race, class, gender, and sexuality.

MUSC 0068. Music in China Since 1900.

From the early 20th century until now, war, political movements, ideological and cultural shifts, and later economic booms have dramatically impacted music and musical life in China. This course examines various genres of music in China, both native and imported, including traditional instrumental music, propaganda songs, opera, ballet, standard and contemporary classical music, pop music, and communal activities like amateur choruses and calisthenics. This course will exercise critical listening and thinking and comparative analysis skills, with a mix of source readings, recordings, and historical background. No background in music or Chinese history is required.

MUSC 0071. Opera.

A survey of the history, aesthetics, and politics of opera from 1600 to the present day. Analyzes operas and scenes by Monteverdi, Purcell, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, and others. Ability to read music not required.

MUSC 0075. Jazz: Race, Power and History.

Explores jazz in relation to American history, discussing how economics, war conditionsm regional differences and race relations shaped the music an its public reception. With readings from A. Baraka, L. Levine, R. Ellison, L. Erenberg, E. Lott, G. Early, S. DeVeaux and others, we address how jazz embodies social and political values or expresses national character. Open to non-musicians. Music proficiency preferred but not required. Enrollment limited to 60.

MUSC 0080. Adaptation Culture: New Media <---> Traditional Theatres (TAPS 0080).

Interested students must register for TAPS 0080.

MUSC 0170D. Musical Youth Cultures (AMST 0170D).

Interested students must register for AMST 0170D.

MUSC 0200. Computers and Music.

Computers and Music examines the production, history and theory of music technology. The course tracks the development of musical inventions and their impact on musical thought and culture. Students completing Music 200 will gain a practical knowledge of electronic music based on first-hand experience with music production software to complete several creative assignments. Students will also gain an appreciation for the pioneering work done in previous decades in research, songwriting and performance. Finally, students will become familiar with the literature of electronic music and learn about the impact of technology on popular and experimental genres. The course combines synchronous online lectures with in-person lab sections. No special knowledge of music or technology is expected. Priority given to lower-level students and music concentrators. Upper-level students will be admitted as space allows, by permission of instructor.

MUSC 0202U. Under the Beat: Mapping Music in Providence.

In this course students will conceptually map music in Providence. From field research in/with music scenes, students will produce multimodal projects through ethnographic, analytic, and poetic writing, mixtape curation, and zine making. Projects will be triangulated on the keyword "under" (see underground, underrepresented, underappreciated, and misunderstood) and will be informed by studies across many disciplines and fields that establish popular music as a site of intersectionality (with ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, and disability).

MUSC 0210A. Introductory Topics in Interactive Performance and Composition: Performing with Media.

This studio course us for choreographers, directors, film-makers, designers or anyone interested in the collision between new media and performance. Through the creation of mew works we will explore practical issues, compositional strategies, and aesthetic aspects of hybrid performance. Students will create collaborative and independent multimedia works. Some instruction in video, sound, and advanced media software will be offered.

MUSC 0210F. Audio Recording and Production for Multimedia.

The understanding and use of multimedia materials is an important tool for an academic, not only to effectively present one’s research, knowledge and skills in their field of study, but also to realize their creative ideas. In this course students will acquire operational and theoretical knowledge in audio that enhances multimedia works. Home recording studio design, using smartphones in production, and basic video editing will be also covered. By the end of the course, students will create audio production for multimedia work suitable for their purposes—a documentary video in anthropology research or an art/music project are good examples.

MUSC 0220. MEME Ensemble: Making and Thinking With Vocality.

Practice based research, as defined by sound theorist Salomé Voegelin, is a circular generative space in which knowledge is produced both for and from the arts. In this course students will develop thoughts and pieces from within this generative space between theory and creative practice. Primarily engaging with the voice through different writers, theories, sonic practitioners, and artworks, throughout the semester students will compose pieces in collaboration with other participants of the group. Our main aim will be to allow ourselves to move towards and learn from what we make while developing a mutual language for working with voices in our practices. The course will culminate in a performance that will feature pieces students have developed throughout the semester. Basic knowledge of (any) DAW is necessary.

MUSC 0221. MEME Ensemble: Sensory Improvisations.

Improvisation is more than just spontaneous creation, it is a sustained practice of thinking, making, and sensing otherwise. In this ensemble course, we will explore how we can make sense of ourselves, each other, and our environment through improvisation and collaborative performance. Students will explore contemporary and historical approaches to improvisation across multiple modalities, including but not limited to music, dance, writing, visual art, theater, and social/community practice. Classes will focus on readings, discussions, and sensory improvisation exercises. This will be a highly collaborative class and by working together we will shape the course of our research and the shape of our performances. The course culminates in a presentation of works devised and performed by the ensemble. No pre-requisites to enroll. All types of artists, thinkers, and makers are welcome!

MUSC 0300. Listening, Agency, Collectivity.

What is listening? Why does it matter? How does it interface with the musics and sounds we encounter on a daily basis? This discussion- and writing-forward class delves into various forms of listening. We will consider listening as an active practice, both culturally mediated and self articulating. We will listen together to a wide variety of music and sound - including Billie Holiday, Chopin, Kendrick Lamar, onkyō, and some student-selected works - and use writing and discussion to unpack our individual assumptions and approaches to listening. No prerequisites; some musical experience preferred.

MUSC 0400A. Introduction to Music Theory.

An introduction to musical terms, elements, and techniques. Topics include notation, rhythm and meter, intervals, scales, chords, melody writing, harmonization, and form. Students will develop their musicianship skills, including sight-singing and keyboard, in labs which meet twice weekly. No prior musical experience is necessary. MUSC 0400A or 0400B may fulfill part of the theory requirement for the music concentration. Enrollment limited to 30. Permission granted based on questionnaire given in first class. Preference given to lower-level students.

MUSC 0400B. Introduction to Popular Music Theory and Songwriting.

An introduction to musical terms, elements, and techniques, with an emphasis on how they apply to Western popular music. Topics include notation, rhythm and meter, intervals, scales, chords, melody writing, harmonization, and form. Students will develop their musicianship skills, including sight-singing and keyboard, in labs which meet twice weekly. No prior musical experience is necessary. MUSC 0400A or MUSC 0400B may fulfill part of the theory requirement for the music concentration. Enrollment limited to 30. Permission granted based on questionnaire given in first class. Preference given to lower-level students.

MUSC 0450. On Songs and Songwriting.

A study of the art and craft of song from the perspective of the listener, writer, and performer. Students will examine a large range of music, from the middle ages to the present. Topics include: song and memory; declamation and delivery; melody and harmony; rhyme and rhythm; phrasing and form. Emphasis will be on both creation and interpretation as students develop their personal approach to songwriting. Some prior knowledge of music desirable. Course will culminate in a presentation of original songs by students enrolled in the class. Enrollment by application and limited to 19. Application form link: http://www.soundidea.org/mu450/Music450-questionnaire.pdf

MUSC 0460. Opera and Musical Theatre Wokshop.

This course will familiarize the student with the processes necessary to be an effective singing actor. Performance opportunities within the parameters of the class will both broaden the musical palette of the student and enhance his/her understanding of preparation, coaching, and performance. Enrollment is by audition. Enrollment limited to 16. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0505. The Humanities in Context: Literature, Media, Critique (HMAN 0800A).

Interested students must register for HMAN 0800A.

MUSC 0550. Theory of Tonal Music I.

Intensive study of the building blocks of tonal music traditions including western and popular music with focus on melody, harmony, counterpoint, keyboard skills, ear training, sight-singing from musical notation, and composition. Prior keyboard experience helpful but not required. A required placement exam is administered at first class meeting. Students who do not have experience reading music notation should take MUSC 0400 prior to MUSC 0550. MUSC 0550 is a prerequisite to many music courses and is a requirement for the music concentration.

MUSC 0560. Theory of Tonal Music II.

The objective of Music 560 is to advance the student's knowledge of the theory and practice of tonal music, with an emphasis on more advanced techniques of voice leading and harmony, such as modal mixture and chromaticism. Labs focus on mastery of related keyboard, score-reading, and aural skills. Form of tonal music will be studied, including sonata form.Exercises include four-part harmonization, analysis and composition in a variety styles and genres. Compositional assignments are given in order to encourage musical creativity and to illuminate theoretical concepts in the process. A more substantial final compositional project is due at the end of the semester and will be performed in class. MUSC 0560 is designed as part of a year-long comprehensive course in the theory of tonal music. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 0570. Jazz and Pop Harmony.

For students with knowledge of rudiments of music, including scales, intervals, key signatures, rhythm and meter. Keyboard skills strongly recommended. Intensive study of chord scales, chord progressions, modulation, voice leading, melody writing, harmonization, reharmonization, chord symbols, and lead sheet construction. Lab sessions will focus on ear training, keyboard exercises, and sight singing. Emphasis will be on the vocabulary of jazz theory and the repertoire will be American popular song. Course section is limited to 25 students.

MUSC 0600. Chorus.

Half credit each semester. A practical study of choral literature, techniques, and performance practice from Gregorian chant to the present, offered through rehearsals, sectionals, and performance. Enrollment is by audition, based on voice quality, experience, and music-reading ability. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0601. Chorus.

Half credit each semester. A practical study of choral literature, techniques, and performance practice from Gregorian chant to the present, offered through rehearsals, sectionals, and performance. Enrollment is by audition, based on voice quality, experience, and music-reading ability. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0610. Orchestra.

Half credit each semester. A practical study of the orchestra repertory from Bach to the present, offered through coaching, rehearsals, and performances. Enrollment is by audition. Students will be notified of audition results within the first seven days of the semester. Restricted to skilled instrumentalists. May be repeated for credit.

MUSC 0611. Orchestra.

See Orchestra (MUSC 0610) for course description.

MUSC 0620. Wind Symphony.

Half credit each semester. A practical study of the wind band repertory from Mozart to the present, offered through coaching, rehearsals, and performances. Enrollment is by audition. Restricted to skilled instrumentalists. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0621. Wind Symphony.

See Wind Symphony (MUSC 0620) for course description.

MUSC 0630. Jazz Band.

Half credit each semester. A practical study of jazz from the 1920s to the present through coaching, rehearsals, and performance. Seminars on arranging, ear training, and improvisation are conducted for interested students but the focus is on performance. Enrollment is by audition. Restricted to skilled instrumentalists and vocalists. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0631. Jazz Band.

See Jazz Band (MUSC 0630) for course description.

MUSC 0640. Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing Ensemble.

A dynamic introductory course on drumming, dancing, and singing of Ghana and the diaspora. Students learn to perform diverse types of African music, including Ewe, Akan, Ga, and Dagomba pieces on drums, bells, and shakers. No prerequisites. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0641. Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing Ensemble.

A dynamic introductory course on drumming, dancing, and singing of Ghana and the diaspora. Students learn to perform diverse types of African music, including Ewe, Akan, Ga, and Dagomba pieces on drums, bells, and shakers. No prerequisites. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 0642. World Music Ensemble.

This ensemble focuses on global percussive and song traditions, especially those of the African diaspora (based on instructor's vast musical experiences). Here western instrumentalists fuse with traditional musicians from every culture: bongo, gyil, ukulele, tabla, etc. Students will grow and develop their musical skills by learning new techniques on their own instrument, exploring a range of repertoire representing genres such as highlife, reggae, salsa, afrobeat, Afro-jazz, and global fusions. There will be unique opportunities to work on improvisation taking influence from Steve Reich, Tito Puente, Randy Weston, Hugh Masekela, Paul Simon, Miriam Makeba, Ghanaba, and Milton Nasimiento.

MUSC 0645. Brazilian Choro Ensemble.

Half credit each semester. Students will play this popular Brazilian style, which emerged in the late 19th century and is often compared to early jazz. Classes run according to the traditional roda model, a structured jam session where performers read through, improvise upon, and hone their abilities to play familiar tunes. Prior familiarity with choro music not required, but some instrumental expertise is. Ability to read notation preferred. Typical instruments include guitar, cavaquinho (Brazilian ukulele), mandolin, flute, and pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine), but others may participate on instructor approval. Enrollment limit 20.

MUSC 0646. Brazilian Choro Ensemble.

Half credit each semester. Students will play this popular Brazilian style, which emerged in the late 19th century and is often compared to early jazz. Classes run according to the traditional roda model, a structured jam session where performers read through, improvise upon, and hone their abilities to play familiar tunes. Prior familiarity with choro music not required, but some instrumental expertise is. Ability to read notation preferred. Typical instruments include guitar, cavaquinho (Brazilian ukulele), mandolin, flute, and pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine), but others may participate on instructor approval. Enrollment limited to 20.

MUSC 0650. Javanese Gamelan.

Half credit each semester. Instruction, rehearsals, and performances in the gamelan music of Java, on instruments owned by the department. No prerequisites. Enrollment limited to 18 students.

MUSC 0651. Javanese Gamelan.

See Javanese Gamelan, MUSC0650, for course description. Enrollment limited to 18 students.

MUSC 0670. Old-Time String Band.

Half course each semester. Instruction and ensemble playing. Music taught by ear. American (southern Appalachian Mountain) traditional music on violin (fiddle), 5-string banjo, mandolin, and guitar. Enrollment limited to 20 students.

MUSC 0671. Old-Time String Band.

Half course each semester. Instruction and ensemble playing. Music taught by ear. American (southern Appalachian Mountain) traditional music on violin (fiddle), 5-string banjo, mandolin, and guitar. Enrollment limited to 20 students.

MUSC 0680. Chamber Music Performance.

Half credit each semester. The practical study of the literature of chamber music through participation in a small ensemble. Regular rehearsals, coaching by department staff, and performances are required. Enrollment is by audition. Students will be notified of audition results within the first ten days of the semester. Restricted to skilled instrumentalists. May be repeated for credit.

MUSC 0681. Chamber Music Performance.

See Chamber Music Performance (MUSC 0680) for course description.

MUSC 0690. Middle Eastern Ensemble.

Instruction, rehearsals, and performances in music from Turkey. String players (violin, viola, cello, bass), percussionists, brass and reed instruments as well as singers are welcome. We will explore classical Ottoman music, a variety of Turkish, Greek, Kurdish and Sephardic Jewish folk music as well as Turkish Sufi music, Greek-Orthodox church music and Maftirim music in Hebrew. Students audition at first class. This is a half-credit course. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment limited to 24. Final class list will be determined after the first meeting. S/NC

MUSC 0691. Middle Eastern Ensemble.

Instruction, rehearsals, and performances in music from Turkey. String players (violin, viola, cello, bass), percussionists, brass and reed instruments as well as singers are welcome. We will explore classical Ottoman music, a variety of Turkish, Greek, Kurdish and Sephardic Jewish folk music as well as Turkish Sufi music, Greek-Orthodox church music and Maftirim music in Hebrew. Students audition at first class. This is a half-credit course. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment limited to 24. Final class list will be determined after the first meeting. S/NC

MUSC 0695. Gospel Titans, Divas, and Dynasties (AFRI 0690).

Interested students must register for AFRI 0690.

MUSC 0810. Applied Music Program: Instruction in Vocal or Instrumental Music.

Half credit each semester. Restricted to skilled musicians. Openings are limited. Enrollment and re-enrollment is by audition and jury. Lessons are given by consultants to the Applied Music Program. A fee is charged for enrollment. Copies of the Applied Music Program Guidelines giving detailed information are available online at www.brown.edu/music. May be repeated up to four times for credit.

MUSC 0825. Social Justice and the Musical Afrofuture (RELS 0822).

Interested students must register for RELS 0822.

MUSC 0890. The Romantic Generation.

Beethoven’s shadow looms large on the young romantic generation, setting off a collective anxiety of influence unparalleled in musical history. “what next?” seemed difficult to answer as Beethoven brought the abstract forms of sonata, symphony, and quartet to unreachable heights. The range of answers gave birth to a musical style that looked backwards into the Baroque for textural density and flow, abandoning the articulated symmetry of the classical phrase, while pushing the harmonic language, musical drama, and effect into new horizons. All the while, the search for alternative structures and points of musical departure, resulted in a new sort of interaction between music and other art forms. Schumann’s E.T.A Hoffman’s inspired character pieces, Berlioz’s program music, the proliferation of the Lied, Liszt’s Dante Sonata and Petrarca sonnets are telling examples of this search for a new musical style and context.

MUSC 0910. Medieval and Renaissance Music.

Western Music 1000-1700 Topics addressed - among many others! How was music notated before the staff was invented? What repertoire developed when Notre Dame was built- 1099? What did the Crusaders sing? What is Polyphony? What was sung for the dedication of the Florence Duomo in 1440? How did the rise of printing change music? What music drove the Pilgrims to distraction? What did Bach hear as a child? Why did Opera develop, and what sort of music was written for its first 100 years? A few of the composers studied: Hildegard, Machaut, Dufay, Josquin, Palestrina, Byrd, Gesualdo, Schütz, Purcell, and Monteverdi.

MUSC 0920. Baroque and Classic Music.

A history of music of the Baroque Era in European society from Monteverdi's opera to Bach and Handel studied through texts, scores, CDs, DVDs, and YouTube. We'll spend most of our time on these composers: Bach, Handel, Purcell, Monteverdi and Lully. Prerequisite: MUSC0550 or equivalent.

MUSC 0930. Romantic and Modern Music.

A history of European and American art music from Beethoven to the Postmodernists. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or permission of instructor.

MUSC 1001. Introduction to Generative Animation.

Interactive graphics are used in a variety of artistic pursuits from audiovisual performance to interactive installation. Students in this production course learn to program real-time animations and video processing in the Max/MSP/Jitter environment and apply these skills through the creation of video and multimedia work. Topics include video synthesis, audio-reactive visuals, OpenGL programming and generative art. This course does not have any prerequisites, though class size is limited and admission is determined by an entrance questionnaire completed at the first class meeting.

MUSC 1005. Arts Workshop for Practice and Practice-Oriented Research (LITR 1000).

Interested students must register for LITR 1000.

MUSC 1009. Black Music Performance (ARTS 1009)..

Interested students must register for ARTS 1009.

MUSC 1010. Advanced Musicianship I.

Training in advanced musicianship skills relevant to Western art music from the sixteenth Century to the present, including sight singing, ear training, score reading, keyboard harmony, improvisation, and musical transcription. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560 or MUSC 0570, or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1011. Advanced Musicianship II.

Continuation of MUSC 1010. Prerequisite: MUSC 1010 or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1020. Modal Counterpoint.

An introduction to contrapuntal techniques of the 16th century with particular attention to the music of Lassus and Palestrina. Two hours per week of ear training and sight singing. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560.

MUSC 1030. Tonal Counterpoint.

The contrapuntal techniques of the 18th century with emphasis on music of Bach. Written exercises in and analysis of several genres including fugue. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560 or permission of instructor.

MUSC 1040. Analysis of Romantic Musics.

This course introduces analytical approaches to both 19th-century Western European art music and more recent genres that have been influenced by its harmonic vocabulary and aesthetic aims. Building on students’ previous study of music theory, the course comprises three broad units, respectively centered around theories of Romantic form, chromatic harmony and voice-leading, and rhythm and meter.

MUSC 1050. Advanced Music Theory II.

A study of theories of Western art music since Debussy. Exercises in analysis and composition, focusing on works of Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Webern, Bartok and Ives. Students give presentations on selected later composers. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560 with grade of B, or the equivalent.

MUSC 1060. Analysis and Performance of Music.

Study of the implications of musical analysis for performance. Students prepare solo or chamber works for performance in a formal concert presented at the end of the course. Focuses on problems of interpretation and their resolution through analysis of musical structure. Short analytical assignments and an extended analytical project required. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560 or permission of the instructor and proficiency on a musical instrument.

MUSC 1100. Introduction to Composition.

Introduction to Composition explores a wide variety of compositional theories and practices with the goal of honing students’ technical skills and developing their unique compositional styles. Through creative assignments, readings, and listening, students will have the opportunity to observe and reflect on various compositional practices that may in turn be applicable to their own work. We also will address questions of musical craft including notation, technology, and instruments. To merge the gap between theory and praxis, in addition to our normal coursework we will conduct several reading sessions with hosted guest musicians, and we will conclude the semester with a final in-class concert. Prerequisite: MUSC 0560 or MUSC 0570 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20 students.

MUSC 1110. Seminar in Composition.

This is a seminar-based course with a creative component focusing on specific compositional techniques such as writing transitions and motivic development, and writing for specific kinds of ensembles. These techniques are applicable to all kinds of music, from concert music to popular genres. The course will also address aesthetic issues, trends and influences and how they affect living composers’ individual voices. Besides studying notated repertoire from the concert tradition, we will also examine approaches to film scoring, improvisation, and environmental sound worlds outside of the traditional concert hall.

MUSC 1120. The Technique of Orchestration.

The study of orchestration includes the ranges, sounds, and idiosyncrasies of the individual instruments, and the combination of those instruments into ensemble textures. A series of graduated assignments, including pieces for solo cello, string quartet, wind quintet, wind ensemble, and full orchestra, form the basis of this course. Prerequisite: MUSC0560 or permission of the instructor. Not open to first year students.

MUSC 1130. Jazz Composition and Arranging.

A review of jazz theory topics, including rhythmic structures, scales and modes, harmonic progressions and substitutions, improvisation techniques, forms and development. Weekly writing assignments for two to five parts with rhythm section accompaniment. Students compose and orchestrate three works for small and large jazz ensembles. Guest composers review students' compositions and various Brown jazz bands rehearse and record them. Prerequisites: MUSC 0550.

MUSC 1140. Classical Improvisation.

A historical and practical study of improvisation in western classical traditions from the middle ages to the 19th century, with emphasis on the common practice period 1700-1850. Students will apply theoretical knowledge in harmony and counterpoint to in-class improvisations, learning such skills as melodic ornamentation, chaconne-bass elaborations, variations, preluding, and free improvisation starting with simple exercises and gradually elaborating more complex pieces. These practices will be studied in relation to their historical contexts and shifting aesthetic purposes. Historical topics include cadenzas, harmonic experimentation, the relationship between oral and written transmission, and the social contexts of performance. MUSC0560 and consultation with instructor recommended. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550. Enrollment limited to 15.

MUSC 1170. Classical Forms & Performance.

This course aims to examine the relationship between different kinds of analysis and the performance of large classical forms.
Through a combination of secondary reading, score analysis and performance workshops we will tackle questions regarding bar structure and phrasing, tonal-harmonic relations and the musical narrative, the connection between texture and character as well as dramatic contrast and the evolution of the motivic material in the sonata and variations forms.
Developing a heightened awareness of the inner forces in music and arguing that a deep reading of a musical work, as individualistic that reading may be, has to be rooted in a full grammatical understanding of the score.

MUSC 1200. Recording and Sound Design Techniques.

Music 1200 is a rigorous study of music production techniques taught in parallel with topics in psychoacoustics. Students will create original studio work while developing listening and technical skills for audio production. Technical topics include recording, signal processing and mixing software, microphone technique, and sound engineering fundamentals. Class size is limited and some prior experience with digital audio workstations is expected. Preference will be given to students who have successfully completed MUSC 0200 and are active in the music department. Admission is determined by an entrance questionnaire completed at the first class meeting.

MUSC 1205. Reality Remix - Experimental VR.

This course pursues collaborative experimentation with virtual and augmented reality (AR and VR). The class will work as a team to pursue research (survey of VR/AR experiences, scientific and critical literature review), reconnaissance (identifying VR/AR resources on campus, in Providence and the region), design (VR/AR prototyping). Research findings are documented in a class wiki. The course makes use of Brown Arts Initiative facilities in the Granoff Center where an existing VR laboratory will be expanded through the course of the semester based on student needs. Class culminates in the release the class wiki as a resource for the Brown community.

MUSC 1210. Seminar in Electronic Music: Real-Time Systems.

Seminar in Electronic Music is a study of music employing electronic media, including real-time digital signal processing, multimedia, and live performance. Technical aspects of the course focus on programming using Max/MSP to create interactive projects and algorithmic compositions. Permission of instructor required. Interested students must come to the first class. Preference will be given to students who have completed MUSC 0200.

MUSC 1215. Site and Sound (VISA 1710).

Interested students must register for VISA 1710.

MUSC 1220. Interactive Installation.

Production class exploring ideas and techniques using multiple digital media to create audio-video installations. Technical issues focus on programming with Max/MSP/Jitter and using various types of sensors for human-computer interaction. Collaborative projects may combine performance, sculpture, computer music, hypertext, live video processing, and graphics in order to stimulate experimentation with new integrated art-forms. Enrollment is limited to 14. Preference will be given to students who have completed Music 200. Others will evaluated for potential future work in the MEME program (Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments) and past participation in MEME. Admission is determined by an entrance questionnaire completed at the first class meeting. May be repeated for credit. S/NC

MUSC 1221. Studies in Electroacoustic Improvisation.

According to Pauline Oliveros, “[i]n improvisation you can’t change your mind […] in composition you can.” This class integrates critical and creative approaches in order to develop individual and collective improvisation, a practice which values presence and listening over traditional accuracy. We will consider scholarship by prominent improvisers and undertake a variety of exercises to practice and improve at improvisation. As a class we will give several performances at Brown and in Providence over the course of the semester. Instrumental and/or music software experience preferred. Interested students strongly recommended to attend first day; final class list determined by questionnaire.

MUSC 1230. Sound/Image Composition.

This seminar examines various ways that image and sound can be combined in unified artworks. The course will include extensive reading assignments and analysis of preexisting works, as well as the creation of new mixed-media works. Some experience with music composition required and knowledge of current video editing, animation and/or image processing techniques also highly recommended. Course admittance is by permission of the instructor. For graduate and advanced undergraduates (with prerquisite MUSC0200).

MUSC 1235. Exploration in Video Art (VISA 1730).

Interested students must register for VISA 1730.

MUSC 1235A. Black Protest Music (AFRI 1230).

Interested students must register for AFRI 1230.

MUSC 1240A. Sonic Psychogeography.

Psychogeography loosely describes a cluster of art practices that explore the effects of the geographical environment on the emotions and behaviors of individuals. How can sound, uniquely powerful in triggering memory and connecting us to the present moment, be used in psychogeographical work? Traveling, mapping, walking, and otherwise getting around both urban and rural landscapes will inspire class projects: audio collages, video works, headphone tours, interactive installations, public interventions. Come prepared to walk, to read, to listen, to look, and to make. Some experience with sound or video editing required. Permission will be granted based upon a questionnaire given in the first class. Enrollment limited to 14 students.

MUSC 1240B. Narrative and Immersion.

A production course examining the potentials for engagement in new media, drawing on narrative techniques to establish engagement in immersive works. Students will be introduced to cinematic concepts, interactive technologies, multi-channel video and surround sound environments. Classes will consist of viewing and analysis of exemplary work, discussion of readings, critiques of student projects, and technical workshops on Max/Jitter. Class members should have completed advanced work in film/video, digital sound, and/or creative writing. Open to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. The class list will be determined after the first class, by permission of instructor. S/NC

MUSC 1240D. Experimental Musical Instrument Design (VISA 1800Q).

Interested students must register for VISA 1800Q.

MUSC 1240E. Experimental Data Representation (MCM 1700U).

Interested students must register for MCM 1700U.

MUSC 1240F. Circuit Bending and Hardware Hacking as Musical and Artistic Expression.

Creative experimentation with hardware electronics and re-appropriated technologies is the main focus of this course. No prior experience of electronics is required. Initially, we will build a range of simple electronic circuits and explore a variety of strategies to animate and interpret pre-existing electronic devices. Students will then develop individual instruments and/or performance environments and engage in a number of solo and collaborative projects. The aesthetics of handmade electronic music and post-digital performance practice will be foregrounded throughout. Permission of instructor is required.

MUSC 1240I. Building Musical Instruments.

In Building Musical Instruments, we will study and create expressive musical sound by building electronic instruments. Using sonic goals as inspiration for design features, we will build contact microphones, basic synthesizers, digital controllers, and physical enclosures, and we will consider the ways in which these distinct objects can unite to form a musical performance system. Topics include: musical listening and design, resonance of different materials, soldering, breadboarding, reading a basic schematic diagram, creating an enclosure, and expressive interaction with instruments. Override codes required; interested students must attend first day and complete questionnaire, only after which will override codes be distributed.

MUSC 1240M. Composing with Ableton.

In Composing with Ableton, we will study and use the well known music-making software Ableton Live and its subsidiary Max for Live (M4L). We will consider sound in Live and M4L from a variety of perspectives, from popular music vocabularies to experimental sound practices. This project-based class teaches production techniques in tandem with critical investigation of genre and development of personal style. Topics include: DAW-style production, control information, interactivity, and digital signal processing. Override codes required; interested students must attend first day and complete questionnaire, only after which will override codes be distributed.

MUSC 1240N. Analog Practice.

Analog sound is uniquely tactile, expressive, and flexible. Through a series of solo, collaborative, recorded, and live-performed projects, this class explores the practice of creating analog sound. We will use a wide array of modular and semi-modular analog synthesizers, including the rare ARP 2500. Beginning with broad concepts of voltage flow and modulation, we will expand into considering the unique affordances of various synths, addressing questions such as tone color, ease of sound production and variation, and conduciveness to combination with other sound sources. Interested students strongly recommended to attend first day; final class list determined by questionnaire.

MUSC 1240O. Creating Counterhistories: Digital Archives as Artistic Practice.

In recent years, the archive has become an important site of compiling alternative histories. Such “counter-archives” are widely transdisciplinary, combine elements from the visual, sonic and performing arts, and prioritize media ephemera over official documents. Such archival artistic approaches play with media theory, postcolonial thought and social, political, ecological, or activist projects to dismantle hegemonic structures. Given that archives have often silenced subaltern stories, how can ephemeral archival practices construct alternative narratives? How does the digital as an archival site enable or obstruct such projects? In this practice-based arts course, participants will learn about the complexities, paradoxes and political stakes of archival art through hands-on collection and digital archive-building, while critically reflecting on their own and the group’s projects. We will read and discuss critical archival theory, analyze archival art, and develop our own digital projects in hands-on studio workshops.

MUSC 1240P. Sound Art.

This hands-on course explores the historical and technical innovations involving sound as a material and/or metaphor in artmaking. Students will map out and respond to the unique ways sound-based creative practices (produced after World War II) are sites of intersectionality. Students will foreground the generative possibilities of non-normative forms and question structures of audibility and inaudibility, collision and resistance. Students will develop a critical awareness of how sound art emerged from the experimentation with emerging technologies used in the science, military and industrial complexes. The tools and methodologies students experiment with will be contextualized with readings of everyday sonic praxis. Permission will be granted based upon a questionnaire given in the first class.

MUSC 1240Q. Audio-Visual Programming and Performance.

A digital production course exploring the coding and creation of immersive visual and auditory experiences. The class aims to enhance students skills in manipulating a variety of visual and sound media, both live and in the studio and will serve as an introduction to the techniques and materials used in audio-visual performances and installations. Classes will consist of viewing and analysis of exemplary work, critiquing of students projects, and coding workshops in the programming environment Max/MSP/Jitter. Technical topics will include real-time audiovisual interaction, multi-channel video, and projection mapping. Open to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

MUSC 1240R. Intro to Rap Songwriting.

This is an introductory production seminar in which students will explore various aspects of rap songwriting and performance. Over the course of the semester we will examine a range of poetic constructs, song structures, and storytelling approaches through deep listening sessions, class discussions, and lectures from invited guests. Creative assignments will be paired with materials that contextualize our work within the broader history of hip hop as a black cultural expression and locate certain songwriting trends within ongoing musico-cultural dialogues about authorship, race, gender, sexuality, and genre, among other topics.
In lieu of a formal lab, there will be a minimum of four workshops per semester to provide a basic studio foundation for students without prior recording experience and a space for more advanced students to practice and share. Planning of these workshops will consider the group of enrolled students' schedules.

MUSC 1240S. Feminist Sonic Futures.

This course is a weekly discussion seminar that examines the intersections of feminist praxis and sound studies. Students will survey a range of feminist discourses that inform and are informed by various sonic practices—from the production of pop songs to the documentation of disappearing soundscapes. Over the course of the semester students will critically engage with the work of feminist and womanist scholars, activists, sound engineers, performers, and composers who are largely concerned with the ways in which the sonic is deeply implicated in the coproduction and resistance of categories of difference like gender, race, class, sexuality, and ability.

MUSC 1240V. Becoming a Bedroom Producer: History and Practice.

Billie Eilish swept the Grammy’s with an album produced in a small bedroom studio. Bon Iver’s breakthrough album For Emma, Forever Ago was recorded in a remote cabin using an SM57 microphone. And Steve Lacy prefers an iPhone-based production style. Each of these artists could be classified as ‘bedroom producers,’ but what does that mean? How does one become a bedroom producer? This course engages the historical developments, technological innovations, and cultural conditions that enabled the rise of the bedroom producer. Participants will set-up a home studio and acquire the skills to record, mix, master, and release their own music.

MUSC 1240W. Performing Surveillance Technologies.

We live under the subtle gaze of our devices; their cameras, microphones and motion sensors relaying a steady stream of information about us to some opaque back-end system. Despite our mistrust of these technologies, we rely on them now more than ever. What are we to do, then, as participants in these digital ecosystems? Can we reassert some degree of agency while still engaging with platforms that contribute to our anxiety and paranoia? In this practice-based research course, we will explore these questions by delving into the conceptual and technical underpinnings of surveillance technologies, using what we learn along the way as a blueprint for designing artistic interventions in these systems. Recognizing the complex and messy nature of this task, our investigation will be exploratory in nature; incorporating social and artistic concerns with a focus on experimentation and emergent outcomes.

MUSC 1240X. Four on the Floor: EDM in Practice and Culture.

In this production-based course we will cover the histories, compositional techniques, and production styles of electronic dance music from the beginnings of Chicago house and NY garage in the early 1980s to the rise of dubstep during the late 1990s/early 2000s. Along the way we will explore later styles of house music such deep house and acid house, Detroit techno and its derivates – including minimal techno, dub techno and tech house – and breakbeat-based styles such as jungle, drum’n’bass, UK garage and 2-step. Students will learn the basics of producing in Ableton Live along the way, including recording audio and MIDI, sampling, creating and customizing software instruments, implementing filters and compressors, mixing, parameter automation, and using time-based effects such as reverb and delay. Classwork will be a mix of production-based and listening/reading/viewing assignments, leading up to a final production-based project.

MUSC 1240Z. Public Art in Sound and Listening.

This course is about public artmaking and critical inquiry through sound and listening. Students will collaborate with particular people in Providence and Newport on projects. Students will foreground the generative possibilities of non-normative forms and question structures of audibility and inaudibility, collision and resistance. The creative tools and methodologies students experiment with will be contextualized with readings of everyday sonic praxis, site-specific art, storytelling, speculative design, social sculpture, and teaching community.

MUSC 1250. Sound Design for Multimedia and Soundscapes.

This production seminar is a study of techniques and aesthetics used to create sonic environments and effects that enhance a variety of media including video, cinema, radio/podcasting, audio art, new media, theater, and installation art. Technical topics include audio production in multi-channel formats, advanced audio editing, mixing and synthesis techniques, and audio system design. Enrollment is limited. Preference will be given to students who have completed MUSC 1200 or have significant experience related to the course topics. Admission is determined by an entrance questionnaire completed at the first class meeting.

MUSC 1255A. Making the 21st Century Musical (TAPS 1251A).

Interested students must register for TAPS 1251A.

MUSC 1260. Advanced Audio Techniques.

This course will focus on developing and reinforcing technical skills, musical concepts, and critical listening abilities associated with the practice of composition in electronic/computer music studios and software. These studies will be tied to a broad range of aesthetic approaches and discussions of sound processing, synthesis, spatialization, and recording techniques. Through projects and focused study, students will expand their knowledge and craft, and will provide each other with a forum for exploring their creative studio work. Class size is limited. MUSC 1200 is a prerequisite, and preference will be given to students who have also taken other music technology courses.

MUSC 1280. Electronic Music Aesthetics, Perception and Analysis.

This advanced production seminar investigates new ideas and developments in electronic music from 1990-present. Consists of discussing seminal texts and compositions, and investigating various analysis methods. Students respond to materials with a series of compositions. The purpose is to provide a wide variety of perspectives that students integrate into their artistic practice. Students undertake a research project resulting in a paper, presentation and original composition. Open to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students with significant electronic music experience. Enrollment limited to 16. By permission of the instructor. The final class list will be determined based on a questionnaire on the first day.

MUSC 1285B. The Creative Ensemble: Poetry in/to Performance (TAPS 1280B).

Interested students must register for TAPS 1280B.

MUSC 1290. Analog/Digital Hybrids.

This course is focused on advanced synthesis techniques and analog/digital hybrid systems. Students will engage with the university’s hardware synth equipment and examine how digital tools, such as the “Max” programming language can be used to supplement them. Emphasis will be placed on generative "real time," systems in order to create complex, evolving synth patches capable of producing non-repeating musical gestures. We will also explore "feedback," and how it can be utilized as both an audio and control signal.

MUSC 1290V. Akousmatikoi: Studies in Spatialized Sound.

Several million years ago vole-like ancestors of human beings used their keen sense of hearing to evade predators (re: dinosaurs) by hunting at night. Since then, sound has played an important role in how we navigate, communicate, and imagine. The invention of sound recording in the late 19th century enabled us to craft sonic worlds in new ways. Artists today can create realistic, immersive sonic experiences that range from intimate to immense. Inspired by the akousmatikoi, students of Pythagoras who learned through listening, we will investigate spatialized sound from the perspectives of physics, psychoacoustics, embodiment, and sound studies. Students will record, edit, and mix in a variety of spatialized audio formats: binaural, 5.1 surround, and ambisonics. And engage spatialized sonic practices from historical and contemporary acoustic, electroacoustic, and electronic music as well as sound art, installation, and performance practices.

MUSC 1400. Music, Civil Society, and Public Service.

The course will explore questions of an artist's role in the world, and will include an inquiry into a set of ideas in philosophy of aesthetics; an inquiry into activism and developing social practice as artists; discussion on philosophy of education as it relates to the question of positive social change; and an exploration of musical and artistic initiatives that have been particularly focused on a positive social impact.

MUSC 1500. Major Masters and Repertoires of Music.

The advanced study of the music of selected composers. Prerequisites: MUSC 550 or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1500A. The Genius of Bach.

An examination of the life and work of Bach, his vocal, orchestral, keyboard music, including its place in German society, views of his contemporaries and explanation of his performance venues, manuscript and publishing history.

MUSC 1500B. Messiaen.

Oliver Messiaen is one of the most influential and eclectic musicians of the 20th century, yet he remains a highly enigmatic figure. This seminar explores Messiaen’s life, theoretical writings, and above all his music. Critical listening and analysis will focus on Messiaen’s idiosyncratic harmonic and rhythmic language as well as performance practice issues. We will investigate Messiaen’s use of color, plainsong, “modes of limited transposition,” birdsong, serialism, and rhythm via representative works. We will also examine Messiaen’s formation and his legacy as teacher/composer/performer. Prerequisite MUSC 0560.

MUSC 1505S. Music and Sports in Americas (LACA 1503S).

Interested students must register for LACA 1503S.

MUSC 1510. Baroque and Classic Music.

A history of western music from Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607) to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (1824). Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or equivalent.

MUSC 1570. Jazz Harmony Applied To Bebop Improvisation.

Students will be able to play with improvisational variety from studying melodic harmony techniques and will have the ability to play with unity from studying motivic development techniques. This course will further improvisational knowledge and fluidity for performance and composition. This is a performance based course to benefit students in jazz combo groups, jazz big band ensembles, composition studies and anyone interested in developing improvisation skills.

MUSC 1600B. Adorno and Jankelevitch in Dialogue.

Philosophers Theodor Adorno and Vladimir Jankelevitch were both leading philosophers of the mid-20th century (in Germany and France respectively). Both were also avid pianists who produced several philosophical books on music. This course examines their musical writings both independently and comparatively. Jankelevitch¿s ethical and metaphysical questions, together with Adorno¿s sociological and historical ones, will be studied in relation to the philosophical traditions they inherited and transformed. Their work will also be evaluated in the volatile European context of the period 1930-70. Enrollment limited to 20 students.

MUSC 1610. Writing about Music.

A study of music criticism through three intertwined enterprises: analyzing classic 19th- and 20th-century writings on Western art music; analyzing representative writings on popular music in recent newspapers and magazines; and writing short critical pieces on a mixture of art and popular music, some assigned, some chosen by the student. Non-music concentrators welcomed. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or instructor permission. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 1612A. Writing about Music.

A study of music criticism through three intertwined enterprises: analyzing classic 19th- and 20th-century writings on Western art music; analyzing representative writings on popular music in recent newspapers and magazines; and writing short critical pieces on a mixture of art and popular music, some assigned, some chosen by the student. Non-music concentrators welcomed. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or written permission.

MUSC 1622. Seminar in Music and Theater.

Students compare selected Broadway musicals with their principal sources (novels, short stories, dramas, films, another musical) and, in some cases, their subsequent transformations (a film, another musical). Emphasis is on primary sources; students largely determine and run the film component of the course. The class is likely to study Porgy and Bess; Pal Joey; Kiss Me Kate; My Fair Lady; Flower Drum Song; Cabaret; and Wizard of Oz / The Wiz / Wicked. Students may choose other works for individual projects. Majors and non-majors are encouraged to enroll. Prerequisite: MUSC0550 or written permission. May be repeated for credit.

MUSC 1632A. The Great American Songbook (Part I: The Songs).

This course analyzes interests and values exhibited in American popular songs in the period between 1914 and 1945. Topics range from sexual mores and worh ethic to race relations and the Melting Pot. Emphasis is on the songs and their writers; performance and performers will be emphasized in a subsequent course.

MUSC 1640A. Opera, Politics, History, Gender.

The will to social order and the desire to trangress it: this conflict in modern culture has been negotiated dramatically in opera. This seminar concentrates on operas by Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Debussy, and Puccini. Each opera will be placed into dialogue with historical and theoretical texts and analyze how opera engages power in relation to gender, nationalism, modernism, and crises of representation.

MUSC 1640B. Seminar in Opera Studies: Performance Analysis and Opera.

The seminar will explore current tendencies in (radical) opera productions in Germany and elsewhere as well as methods to analyze opera in performance. Based on the premise that the performative dimension of opera is to be understood as the ephemeral and reciprocal process between performing actors/singers and recipients, this seminar will raise the question of how this special relationship can be theorized and analyzed.

MUSC 1640C. Wagner's Ring.

This seminar will pursue a rigorous musical, textual, historical, and political analysis of Wagner's tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung. It will include an analysis of production styles, with specific attention to the production currently in joint development at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, and the Berlin State Opera, to be directed by Guy Cassiers. We will address themes such as globalization and its discontents, the interplay of music drama and visual technologies, and the contextual importance of serial novels such as those of Marcel Proust, Robert Musil, and Hermann Broch. Enrollment limited to 20 students. Instructor override required.

MUSC 1640D. Opera: History, Theory, Practice.

This seminar will analyze the history, theory, and practice of opera in its textual (words and music), and performative (in the theater and in society) dimensions. We will focus paradigmatic works of Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner alongside key works in philosophy, cultural theory, and gender/performance/opera studies. We will also discuss the genesis and implementation of key productions. In addition, each student will select a 20th or 21st-century work for individual research and presentation to the group.

MUSC 1640E. Seminar in Opera Studies: Mozart's Operas Then and Now.

Mozart wrote seven operas during his Vienna years. While we'll touch on all of them, the heart of this seminar will be his three Italian comic operas - The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte – and his German opera, The Magic Flute. We'll examine them as musical dramas, psychological studies, social documents, and sites for stage directors. We'll give special attention to Mozart's characterizations of women and the issues these raise for directors and singers. Work will include DVDs, CDs, readings, and scores for those who read music. Students will adopt an opera for the course.

MUSC 1640G. The Case of Wagner.

Richard Wagner (1813-83) changed forever the forms, meanings, and contexts of European music, especially the symphonic and operatic traditions. He transformed the way we listen to music written before him. This course will pay close attention to several major music dramas, especially Lohengrin, The Ring of the Nibelung, and Parsifal, focusing on music, words, and the history and variety of staged productions. We will also consider Wagner’s relation to literature, philosophy, and history, including such issues as nationalism, modernism, anti-Semitism, and the persisting controversies around his work in Germany and Israel. This is an upper-level seminar but open to all.

MUSC 1641. History and Theory of Listening.

This upper-level seminar will explore the phenomenon of listening as related to musical works and musical experience. How do we listen to music, how do we understand musical works to be listening, and how do we listen to musical works as they seem to us to be listening to themselves, their pasts and their futures? We will examine spaces for music (architecture and acoustics) as well as cultures of listening including religious, psychological, and political contexts.

MUSC 1645. Seeing Through Sound: Music and Film in Mainstream, Indie, and Experimental Cinema.

Film has long attracted artists working outside the mainstream. Yet most surveys of music and film still privilege Hollywood cinema and the classical film “underscore” as the exemplar of cinematic multimedia. In this course, we will set this important tradition within a wider historical narrative that also embraces avant-garde and underground genres, from abstract animation and the city symphony to graphical sound and found-footage films. And in weekly special screenings ranging from opera films to backstage musicals to “mock rockumentaries,” we will examine films that self-consciously thematize their own music, or in which music itself becomes a character in the narrative.

MUSC 1650. Adorno Goes to the Opera.

"Of all the tasks awaiting us in the social interpretation of music", wrote T.W. Adorno, "that of Mozart would be the most difficult and the most urgent." Using writings by Adorno on opera as a point of departure, this course goes on to a critical examination of selected Italian, German and French operas between Fidelio and Wozzeck. Finally, it takes up Adorno's challenge by reconsidering some of Mozart's mature operas, from Figaro though The Magic Flute, in terms of later opera history and theory.

MUSC 1660A. Mahler's Century.

This seminar will explore key works of Gustav Mahler in multiple contexts, including critical/interpretive traditions, conducting and performance practices, and the contexts of political, cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic history. Readings will include work of Sigmund Freud, Theodor Adorno, Carl Schorske, Julia Kristeva, Judith Butler, and others; we will think about problems such modernism, orientalism, Jewishness, montage, noise, shock, and melancholy.

MUSC 1661. Death and Dying.

A study of the cultural treatment of death in Europe and America from the French Revolution to the Vietnam War. Using CDs, DVDs, and YouTube, we'll listen to operas, songs, Requiems and oratorios, and instrumental and orchestral works, from Mozart's Don Giovanni to Crumb's Black Angels. We'll also read short stories, novels, and poems; watch war films; and study art, architecture, cemetery sculpture and design, mourning rituals, and state funerals.

MUSC 1662. Music and Childhood in the Western Tradition.

This seminar examines significant moments in the history of children as creators, performers, consumers, and subjects of music in the Western tradition. From Mozart to Michael Jackson, medieval psalmody to Stockhausen, we will survey the enlisting of children, childhood, and the childlike across a range of performance contexts and pedagogical, aesthetic, and cultural-political agendas. We will sharpen our critical awareness of the ways Western music mediates negotiations of childhood agency, innocence, and authenticity. For their final project, students may work with a historical item of children’s musical culture, or undertake a “mini-ethnography” of a local children’s music program or ensemble.

MUSC 1663. Women in Music.

This course comprises a chronological survey of female composers and music creators from the ninth century to the present day. This will include the study of many pieces of music by women, accompanied by readings addressing the social, economic, cultural, and political circumstances that surrounded their composition. Additional readings address the larger context for women’s composition and its reception over time as well as the development of a feminist perspective in music scholarship.

MUSC 1671. Conductors, Orchestras and Repertory.

A study of conductors and the orchestras they directed, and an exploration of great musical compositions of the past 200 years. We will cover the evolving function and status of conductors from Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwängler to Allan Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel; orchestras from Berlin and Vienna to New York and Los Angeles; and music from Beethoven to Stravinsky. Our work will involve scores, CDs, DVDs, YouTube, memoirs, letters, and secondary sources. Each student will adopt two conductors and orchestras for the course.

MUSC 1672. Hitler's Gift.

The flight of musicians from Europe in 1933-45 exile changed the face of Western music, and it changed them. Among them were many of the great musicians of the 20th century, including Bartok, Casals, Klemperer, Rubinstein, Schoenberg, Toscanini, and Weill. We examine patterns of emigration, settlement, and adaptation through memoirs, letters, essays, newspaper articles, biographies, recordings, and videos.

MUSC 1673. Interpreting Debussy.

A study in musical poetics. Debussy forms the launching point for a discussion of pleasure and liberty in harmony, melody, rhythm and form; of orchestral impressionism and of music's links to poetry and painting. Close readings of scores and recorded performances will yield different approaches to interpretation, leading to two analytical papers and a final class concert. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550, 0560 or permission of instructor.

MUSC 1675. Music, Religion, Politics.

This is a course about the cultural origins and the national and global legacies of central European musical traditions and their role in the building, survival, and transformations of the city of Berlin. How do we understand the cultural importance of musical works, performance, and experience at the intersection of art, politics, and religion (including the process of and debates over secularization)? How has music served to build both inner life and community, including the “imagined community” of the nation? How do we understand the legacy of European and national musics for the age of globalization? Prerequisites: Prior to the first class, interested students must submit a brief paragraph to the instructor indicating why they wish to take this course and how it will fit in with their course of study. Limited to 12. Permission required.

MUSC 1677. Music and Culture in Third Republic France.

This course explores musical and cultural life in France during the Third Republic (1870-1940). Topics include: works by Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky; folk music in the French provinces; cabarets, music halls, and music in everyday life; and jazz in interwar Paris. More broadly, we will consider the relationship between music and broader cultural phenomena and events, such as: the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune; the Dreyfus Affair; nationalism, colonialism, and internationalization; gender politics; and “modernity” and “modernism” in their various manifestations. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 (Theory of Tonal Music I) or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1680. Musical Performance: Theatricality, Body, and Spectacle.

Explores the visual and theatrical dimensions of music performance--both recent and historical--through the analysis of live performances, video clips, and historical documents. Using the critical methods of performance studies, we seek to uncover those aspects of musical experience that have become transparent or normalized by their familiarity, and which are eluded by a traditional focus on music as "sound alone." We concentrate on five genres--rock, classical, pop, jazz, and experimental--and consider figures such as Arturo Toscanini, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Pauline Oliveros, John Zorn, Diamanda Galás, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Enrollment limited to 24. First year students require instructor permission.

MUSC 1690A. Miles Davis: An Evolution in Jazz.

This seminar examines the life, music, and iconic status of Miles Davis, the most complex and varied figure in the history of jazz. From the mid-40s, when he emerged as a sideman to bebop virtuoso Charlie Parker, to his death in 1991, Davis was often on the cutting edge of jazz's evolution, spurring on the development of cool jazz, hard bop, progressive jazz, modal jazz, post-bop, and various forms of fusion. He was at the same a powerful though elusive personality who continues to inspire critical controversy. We will examine his creative evolution in the context of the history of popular music taste, race relations, gender roles, and social class in America. Readings include biographies, studies of his music, and collections of critical essays. There will be extensive listening assignments and occasional required video screenings.

MUSC 1690B. Seminar in Jazz Studies: Transatlantic Jazz.

Chronicles the interaction of African American, American and European jazz perspectives over the past century of accelerating transatlantic musical and cultural exchange. Using a number of case studies, we will examine these interrelated and shifting perspectives in the context of broader geopolitical developments that have structured (and continue to structure) their interaction. Accordingly, we will divide the course roughly into three chronological periods: interwar, cold war, and post-cold war. Discussions will focus upon source readings, recordings and other materials and also important theories of transatlantic cultural exchange drawn from American, European, and African and African American Studies. Enrollment limited to 20 juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 1700. Score Reading and Conducting.

The art of reading, analyzing, and conducting a musical score. Studies in clef reading, transposition, ear-training, and structural analysis to develop the skills needed for full comprehension of an orchestral score. Introduces the theory and technique of conducting with practice in the art of physical gesture. Selected repertoire from the Baroque through contemporary periods are studied and conducted in class. Prerequisite: MUSC 0550 or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1701. Orchestral Conducting.

We will discuss, study and practice various technical approaches to conducting through the examination of standard repertoire. Students will develop skills in score reading and analysis. This course will provide a supportive workshop environment. Students will be given the opportunity to conduct an in class ensemble. Repertoire will small to large symphonic works from Händel through Stravinsky, depending upon the needs of each student and over all class level. Pre-Requisites: MUSC 0550-0560. Audition on the first day of class with Händel’s Messiah Overture. Students will play for their colleagues. Prior knowledge of orchestration and instrumentation is helpful. Knowledge of transposition and C clefs is helpful. If you have placed out of music theory at Brown or have questions, please contact the instructor at: brandon_brown@brown.edu

MUSC 1710. Choral Conducting.

An introduction to the art of conducting, with emphasis on choral training. A study of the relationship of gesture to sound will be combined with a survey of the choral repertoire, beginning with Gregorian Chant and covering renaissance motets, masses and madrigals, Baroque works with instruments, excerpts from Mozart's vespers, 19th- century Romantic partsongs, and selected 20th-century. Issues of basic vocal production, warm-ups, rehearsal planning, editing, programming and concert production will also be included. Prerequisite: MUSC 0400 or 0550. Written permission required. May be repeated for credit.

MUSC 1810. Applied Music Program: Instruction in Vocal or Instrumental Music.

Half credit each semester. Restricted to skilled musicians. Restricted to skilled musicians demonstrating mastery of an advanced repertory in their fields. Openings are limited. Enrollment and re-enrollment is by audition and jury. Lessons are given by consultants to the Applied Music Program. MUSC 0830, 0840 is prerequisite to this course. A fee is charged for enrollment. Copies of the Applied Music Program Guidelines giving detailed information are available online at www.brown.edu/music. Prerequisite: MUSC 0400, or MUSC 0550, MUSC 0560. Written permission required. May be repeated up to four times for credit.

MUSC 1900. Introduction to Ethnomusicology.

This seminar offers an introduction to theory and method in ethnomusicology, a discipline grounded in ethnographic research and writing on musical practices. We will think, talk, and write about how and why people make music, as well as how and why ethnomusicologists go about their work. Students will undertake independent fieldwork projects on musical communities, learning first-hand about both the special potential and the practical/ethical challenges of this type of research. Case studies highlight such issues as tradition, appropriation, postcolonial politics, and the ethics of fieldwork. Prerequisites: sophomore standing; MUSC 0400/0550 or ETHN 1000 or instructor permission.

MUSC 1900Z. Echoes of the Everyday: Telling Stories with Sound.

This course explores the many modes of nonfiction story-telling made with sound (sonic ethnography, audio documentary, sound art, and audio internet archives). Students will learn the tools of audio technology to record, edit, and produce critically aware sound works that interpret culture and everyday lived experience. Students will make location sound recordings, critically analyze those recordings, and re-present them through their own independent audio works. Exploring fine-grained aesthetic and ethical details between artistic and ethnographic representation, students will offer and receive constructive feedback throughout their process. Student projects will be contextualized with readings that help them interrogate everyday sonic praxis.

MUSC 1905A. Music and Cultural Policy.

What is to be done about music and the people who make it? All over the world, individuals, governments, NGOs, and other groups are making plans for music: to ensure its survival, to make it known to a wider public, or to use it as an engine of economic growth. This course will examine various social engineering projects involving music. Topics will include media and internet regulation; ownership of music and intellectual property law; the role of institutions such as UNESCO; music in war and peace; music, heritage, and cultural tourism; and conservation, stewardship, and sustainability. No prerequisites.

MUSC 1905B. Indigenous Music of the Americas (ETHN 1890D).

Interested students must register for ETHN 1890D.

MUSC 1905C. Open Source Culture (MCM 1700N).

Interested students must register for MCM 1700N.

MUSC 1905D. African American Musical Theatre.

This seminar explores the rich history of African American musical theater, from the first black musical (A Trip to Coontown (1897)) through Dreamgirls and beyond. The class will encompass shows with all-black performance and creative teams as well as those with white producers and black casts. Drawing on the resources of the African American Sheet Music Collection at the John Hay Library, there will be a special focus on the lesser-known musicals of the early twentieth century. Issues of race, representation, and performance will be explored through theoretical and historical readings, as well as through available scores, recordings, and films.

MUSC 1905E. Music in the Middle East and North Africa.

This course provides an introduction to the music of the eastern Mediterranean, north Africa, Turkey, and Iran. Throughout this tour we will view music culture through a variety of thematic lenses. We will see how music is implicated in identitarian discourses; how musical forms transcend political boundaries, ethnic lines, and religious divides; how religion constrains and stimulates musical expression; and how music intersects with gender and sexuality. We will explore elite, folk, and popular genres. Though we will also discuss musical structures and terminology, no musical training is necessary for this course.

MUSC 1905F. Latinx Music in the U.S. (LACA 1504E).

Interested students must register for LACA 1504E.

MUSC 1905K. Governing Culture: Music and the Arts in Political Life (HMAN 1974K).

Interested students must register for HMAN 1974K.

MUSC 1910. Music and Mind.

Explores music perception in terms of auditory and cognitive processes such as auditory perception, memory, and learning. Lectures, discussions, and demonstrations review and analyze a body of scientific research on the psychology of music. Problem sets and a collaborative laboratory project. Prerequisites: PY 1 (PSYC0010) and MU 1 (MUSC 0010) or permission of the instructor.

MUSC 1917. Music and Socialism.

This course explores music in relation to socialist theory and practice around the world, from the late nineteenth century to the present. Using diverse historical and contemporary case studies, we consider music’s role in expressing populist struggles for freedom and justice, in building and resisting socialist state power, in furthering leftist revolutionary and liberation movements, and in staging anti-capitalist, anti-racist and class-conscious protest. As we study early labor union songs, Soviet musical theater, Black Panther soul, Cuban experimental rock, Chilean new song, and much more, we will observe a range of socialist ideologies, forms of statecraft and approaches to opposition that have inspired musical creativity. We will also probe fundamental questions, such as: Who are “the people” and who “sings” for them? How can music help realize radical social change? and How might we characterize a Marxist politics of music today?

MUSC 1919. Critiquing the Canon: A De-Westernized History of Western Classical Music.

What if a course on Western music history didn’t center a canon of mostly white, European men and their music? What if, instead, it asked hard questions about Western Europe’s artistic and cultural relationship to the rest of the globe? What sort of history might be told, for example, if one were to consider classical music in relation to over 500 years of imperialism and settler colonialism? In this seminar, students will broaden their knowledge of Western classical music history through a simultaneous examination of the “official” histories of Western classical music-- those which appear in university courses and textbooks throughout the United States-- and “unofficial” ones which offer a range of reclaimed, global, and decolonizing perspectives.

MUSC 1920. Music and Modern Life.

Examines topics related to the everyday use of music: the determinants of musical taste; music for emotional self-management (in the health club or Iraq War); "high" vs. "low" music; eclectic taste; popular music and the music industry; mp3blogs; new business models. Readings (in sociology, history, and cultural studies) and original field research by class members. Instructor permission required. Enrollment limited to 20.

MUSC 1921. Music, Nature, Ecology.

Explores how music mediates human relations to the natural world. Via case studies drawn from Western and non-Western societies, we will examine how theorists use sound to think through the difference between humans and non-humans; how composers and soundscape artists like Grieg, Ives, Westerkamp, and John Luther Adams shape listeners’ perceptions of natural worlds and ecological systems; how people in Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, and the Bolivian Andes use sound to coordinate ecological awareness; how instruments are implicated in human relationships with the environment; and the ways that sound art helps to challenge longstanding distinctions between nature and its others.

MUSC 1923. Music in the Andean Countries: From Cumbia to Carnavalito.

This course provides an introduction to the music of South America’s Andean countries. Through texts, listenings, and hands-on instruction, students will explore the social histories and stylistic principles of genres like Colombian and Peruvian cumbia, Afro-Peruvian festejo and landó, Chilean nueva canción, and the sikuri and huayno music of South Andean Quechua and Aymara peoples. Class sessions balance cultural analysis with opportunities to play, and students are expected to develop some facility with key songs and rhythms. No experience is necessary, though inexperienced musicians can expect to focus on instrumental or vocal parts that present a lower bar to participation.

MUSC 1926. Gospel Music from the Church to the Streets (RELS 1650).

Interested students must register for RELS 1650.

MUSC 1927. Gospel Music from the Church to the Streets.

Black gospel music has informed popular music artists including Beyoncé, Elvis, and Chance the Rapper. This course surveys African American gospel music as it is implemented for worship, evangelism, and popular consumption. Beyond analysis of key musical and lyrical characteristics of gospel, this class gives attention to the religious and sociocultural contexts that inform gospel composition and performance. Gospel music is integrally connected to the worship traditions of black American Pentecostals, Baptists, and Methodists. Consequently, this course is also a musical introduction to African American Christianity. Classes include interactive demonstrations in addition to discussion of audio/video recordings and required texts.

MUSC 1930. Music of Indonesia.

The traditional music of Java, Bali, and Sumatra, with special attention to the bronze percussion orchestras (gamelan) and their use in ritual, dance, and drama. Topics include: music and trance; the impact of colonialism; nationalism, modernization, and tourism; and Indonesian music and "world beat." Theory and practice are integrated through extensive instruction on Brown's gamelan instruments. Enrollment limited to 20 students.

MUSC 1931. Music of Ireland.

An introduction to the traditional music of Ireland through readings, lectures, listening, and participation. The historical and cultural context of the music is considered as well as the instruments, genres, and styles.

MUSC 1933. Music of India.

A survey of the music cultures of India. Intensive study of the classical traditions as well as an introduction to folk, tribal, and urban popular musics. Reading, listening, and class discussions focus on theory, history, and aesthetics. Improvisation; music and the dramatic arts; the social organization of music-making; and music as an expression of class, culture, and subculture in modern India. Prerequisite: MU 55 (MUSC 0550) or permission.

MUSC 1934. Music of Turkey.

A study of the traditional, classical, folk, and popular music traditions of Turkey. Through directed reading, listening, and video viewings, students will become familiar with Turkey's major music traditions and instruments, learn relevant musical concepts and terminology, and develop critical listening skills. Students will also learn to perform the basic modes and rythmic cycles of several Ottoman/Turkish musical styles. No instrumental skills are required. Students will be expected to learn to sing Turkish melodies, but will not be graded on their vocal performances.

MUSC 1935. Beyond Bossa Nova: Brazilian Music and Society.

With a musical culture that ranges from roots samba to favela funk, and from the music of indigenous Amazonian peoples to the neo-African sounds of candomblé ritual, Brazil’s soundscape rivals its social and geographic diversity. This course provides an introduction to the "erudite," traditional, and mass-popular sounds of Brazil, emphasizing their role in creating and contesting visions of nationhood and Brazilian society over the twentieth century. There are no prerequisites, but a background in either music or Latin American studies will greatly aid students' progress in the course. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

MUSC 1936. Tradition and Protest: Persian and Iranian Music (MES 1000).

Interested students must register for MES 1000.

MUSC 1937. Dancing the African Diaspora.

This course investigates the politics of movement, across oceans and dance floors, at the rich intersection of African Diaspora and Dance Studies. We examine the relationship between dance, movement, gesture and music in the expressive practices of the African Diaspora. Students will engage with theoretical and ethnographic approaches to transnationalism, music, performance and the body, and race and gender, alongside multimedia and experiential workshops. Espousing a broad geographical focus, we will explore music and dance practice from Chicago’s clubs to the Broadway stage to the streets of Rio and Cape Town. No previous musical knowledge required. Enrollment limited to 20.

MUSC 1939. Social Justice and the Musical Afrofuture.

Afrofuturism is an Afrocentric aesthetic and politics drawing from African cultures and science fiction. This course surveys black American Afrofuturist music as works of social justice activism through imagination and representation of alternative cosmologies, epistemologies, and politics of black life. Students will examine the works of artists such as Sun Ra, George Clinton, Erykah Badu, Missy Elliott, and Janelle Monáe. Students will also study Afrofuturist music and sound in films such as Coming to America (1988), Get Out (2017), and blockbuster Black Panther (2018), and its soundtrack. Classes include discussion of audio/video recordings, other primary source material, and secondary texts.

MUSC 1940. Applied Ethnomusicology.

Theory and practice in applying the cultural study of music outside the academic world and in the public interest. Students will research, document, interpret and present music from local and regional ethnic communities. Prerequisite: MU 5, 6, 120 (MUSC 0050, 0060, 1200), graduate standing, or written permission from the instructor.

MUSC 1950. Transcription and Analysis of Jazz.

Transcriptions from major jazz recordings are made by the students. The personal styles of the musicians are defined through analysis in the context of the various trends in jazz history. The transcriptions are analyzed within the parameters of rhythmic and harmonic structures, tone quality, motific design, and idiomatic performance. Singing, ear-training, and dictation are used to develop transcription skills. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 1960. Advanced Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing Ensemble.

Students with experience in African and related musical traditions perform drumming, dancing, and singing of Ghana and the diaspora. Focus on a more challenging repertoire with emphasis on multi-part, lead, and improvisational playing. Prerequisite: audition. May be repeatable for credit. Instructor permission required. Enrollment limited to 15 students.

MUSC 1961. Advanced Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing Ensemble.

Students with experience in African and related musical traditions perform drumming, dancing, and singing of Ghana and the diaspora. Focus on a more challenging repertoire with emphasis on multi-part, lead, and improvisational playing. Prerequisite: audition. May be repeatable for credit. Instructor permission required. Enrollment limited to 15 students.

MUSC 1970. Individual Independent Study.

Directed undergraduate research for advanced students. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

MUSC 1971. Digital Media and Virtual Performance.

This seminar investigates digital media practices at the intersection of virtual and embodied experience, exploring overlapping genres of play, performance, pedagogy, and participatory culture. Topics include digital games, viral videos, online music and dance lessons, and the performative aspects of virtual communities. Theoretical approaches draw on scholarship in media ethnography, performance studies, human-computer interaction studies, gender studies, and ethnomusicology. We will give equal attention to production, circulation, and reception practices, and consider their contemporary convergence. The course requires critical engagement with a diverse range of media, genres, and cultural contexts, encouraging students to examine their own media practices. Registration permission granted based on questionnaire distributed at first class meeting.

MUSC 1975. Jazz & The Explosion Of Genre: Music, Culture, and History Between 1970 and Today.

This discussion seminar examines the diverse streams of jazz and improvised music, its history, culture, and entanglements across musical genres between 1970 and today. Why start in 1970? - Because this is where jazz history courses tend to end as jazz’s avid fusioning with allegedly contrasting styles such as rock, funk, hip hop, folk, and pop made the question of genre increasingly complex. The examination of one seminal album a week will serve as a course guide. We will build deep listening skills, listen in various settings, and use different playback devices (vinyl to digital) to critically reflect on and challenge our own habits of music consumption. Furthermore, critical readings and writing assignments accompany each album to prompt further exploration of topics surrounding genre, culture, identity, race, and the interplay between tradition and postmodernism. Music proficiency preferred but not required.

MUSC 1980. Group Independent Study.

Directed undergraduate research for advanced students. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please see the registration staff for the correct section number to use when registering for this course.

MUSC 1985. Research Practice and Discourse.

This half-credit workshop for seniors completing Music Honors / Capstones addresses questions including: What comprises musical research? How do different research practices - critical, creative, empirical, performative, etc - inflect one another and juxtapose to promote productive discourse? Through study of substantial music research projects, and discussion and workshare of student projects, we will examine the meaning of contemporary musical research. Preference given to music concentrators working on senior projects not linked to another class, but other students working on specific musical projects welcome. Interested students must attend first class; override codes are required and will be distributed after first class.

MUSC 2000. Theory and Method in Ethnomusicology.

This core seminar offers a graduate-level survey of the discipline of ethnomusicology and its history, building on previous coursework in ethnographic methods and the history of anthropological theory. Students will complete independent research projects as well as shorter assignments geared to professional development (e.g., exam field proposal, scholarly book review, historical investigation of the Society for Ethnomusicology).

MUSC 2010. Field Research in Ethnomusicology.

Introduction to the theory and practice of fieldwork with people who make music. Project design, interviewing, still and video photography, recording, ethics, the researcher's roles, relations with human subjects, and strategies for documenting music in its human context. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2020. Interpretation in Ethnomusicology.

How to think and write about people making music. Ethnomusicological representation and authority; analytical, interpretive and experiential approaches; postmodern and postcolonial considerations; hypertext multimedia representations. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2022. Black Music: History, Aesthetics, and Politics.

This course explores the discourse on Black music through close reading of texts. We will dig into the history of Black music as a category and address the sonic, sociocultural, and political facets of Black music using specific genres as case studies. Students will critically engage with foundational texts in addition to cutting-edge work on Black music. Seminars will focus on reading and discussion; time will also be set aside for in-class presentations.

MUSC 2024. Collective Genius: Black Music Collectives from AACM to Odd Future.

"Collective Genius: Black Music Collectives from AACM to Odd Future" is a graduate-level / upper-level undergraduate discussion seminar that explores the impact and innovative contributions of black music collectives, from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) to groups like the Soulquarians and Odd Future. This course examines how these collectives have shaped the soundscape of music and culture through their experimental approaches, collaborative ethos, and socio-political commentary. Through in-class discussions, critical listening sessions, and guest visits, students will delve into the philosophies, artistic innovations, and cultural movements driven by these groups. Ultimately the course explores their strategies for navigating the music industry as rhizomatic structures distinct from but connected to the entity of the record label or “supergroup,” alongside their efforts to build community and expand the sounds of black music.

MUSC 2026. Timbre.

This seminar takes as its starting point a collection of commonplace complaints in music studies around timbre: timbre is misunderstood; it is difficult to define; it is a woefully understudied musical parameter; it lacks a standardized theory and vocabulary; it needs more systematic analysis. At the same time, with the recent publication of books, edited volumes, and special issues devoted to timbre, people have also begun to speak of timbre studies as an emerging, discrete subfield. This seminar delves into this diverse literature in order to think critically about the concept of timbre and the struggles to understand it.

MUSC 2030. Modernizing Traditional Music.

This course examines two types of modernization: changes in the sounds of traditional music, and changes in its social-ideational contexts. We examine general theories of modernity, and the association of modernity with the urban, rational, secular, mobile, and technologically advanced. We then inspect the processes of modernization at work in four case studies taken from four very different societies. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2040. Current Directions in Ethnomusicology.

The field of ethnomusicology has become increasingly interdisciplinary over the past decade, drawing inspiration from cultural studies, gender studies, popular culture studies, performance studies, psychology, phenomenology, postcolonial studies, and science and technology studies. In this seminar we will read major works of musical scholarship (most from the past ten years) that illustrate the key theoretical approaches alive in ethnomusicological research today.

MUSC 2050. Musical Thinking.

An ethnomusicological approach to the analysis of musical structures and processes. Case studies include jazz, Irish music, French-Canadian fiddling, North Indian singing, Javanese gamelan, African drumming, and Japanese court music. Topics include linguistic, psychological, and oral-formulaic theories; historical change; cross-cultural modal theory; improvisation; the nature of African rhythm; "insider" versus "outsider" accounts. Readings, discussion, and first-hand experience of selected musics. Facility with Western staff notation required.

MUSC 2060. The Efficacy of Music.

The power of music to influence the human body and mind is widely acknowledged but poorly understood. This course considers the efficacy of music in general and connections between music and altered states of consciousness in particular. Perspectives come from musical ethnography, participant observation, phenomenology, religious studies, and neuroscience.

MUSC 2070. Music and Identity.

From 19th-century European nationalism to 20th-century American multiculturalism, people have used music to affirm their identities. Drawing on anthropological and sociological theory, we examine the variety of connections between music and identity in several case studies. We consider the possible contributions of music to cross- cultural understanding, and discuss the ethics of musical border- crossing.

MUSC 2080A. Music and Technoculture.

This seminar explores ethnographic and theoretical approaches to the study of music technologies in cultural and historical context. How do emergent technologies affect the nature of musical experience? What does technology have to do with ideologies of musical creativity, authenticity, virtuosity, and aesthetic value? We will give equal attention to production, distribution, and consumption practices (and their convergence). Major topics include “liveness” and recording, remix and remediation practices, interfaces/instruments, labor and property, virtual scenes, and digital gameplay. Prerequisite: graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2080B. Ethnography of Popular Music.

This seminar explores ethnographic work on popular music, including scholarship rooted in ethnomusicology, sociology, and performance studies. We will discuss case studies from around the world and will compare contemporary ethnographic research with other approaches to popular music (e.g., Frankfurt School critical theory, Birmingham School cultural studies, and text-oriented popular music studies). Prerequisite: graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2080C. Music and Memory.

This graduate seminar will investigate how music is bound up with human memory (individual and collective, cultural and cognitive). Readings will draw on scholarly work in ethnomusicology, anthropology, history, and cognitive science. Key themes include diaspora, nostalgia, oral and written transmission, ritual commemoration, and music's place-making potential. Students will undertake individual research projects. Prerequisites: graduate standing or written permission.

MUSC 2080D. Music, Nation, and Nationalism.

This course explores the relation between music and nationhood, as a historically particular form of collective identity, and a dominant political category in late modern societies. Students will work with key texts in the study of nationhood and nationalism, applying them to musical case studies from different world regions. Touching upon art and popular music, these cases will explore the use of nationalist rhetoric to draw citizens into state projects; the appropriation of minority expressions in defining a national self; efforts by postcolonial societies to forge national sentiment from the fragments left by decolonization; and the nation's fate after globalization.

MUSC 2080E. Historiography of Music and the Performing Arts.

This course introduces some of the most important directions, trends, and methodologies in current musicological scholarship. Most-- but not all-- readings are drawn from the last ten years. Weekly topics include: bodies and voices, disciplinarily, text and event, sound studies, materiality and technology, race and identity, mediation and networks. The workload is focused on weekly reading and small writing assignments. This course is open to undergraduates with permission.

MUSC 2080F. Music Beyond Borders: Transnational Sounds in Theory.

This course explores the effects that follow when music is set in motion beyond local spaces of creation. Bringing a variety of different theoretical perspectives to bear upon case studies from around the globe, it surveys the distinct social and technological networks that enable sounds to travel, and considers the way that methods of circulation give rise to different kinds of social groups. It explores the way that such processes challenge inherited cultural and political boundaries, and shows how technological changes present musicians and listeners with novel means to resituate musical meaning, in new contexts. Open to graduate students only.

MUSC 2080G. Sound Studies.

Explores sound studies through readings of exemplary texts and discussions of the key debates that enliven this interdisciplinary field of inquiry. Drawing on philosophical, musicological, anthropological, and other kinds of writings, it explores issues like the way that relations between sound, noise, silence, and music have formed in different cultures and different historical periods; ideological structures that determine the place of sound in artistic practice and in everyday life; the power relations that are implicated in the design of local soundscapes; and the place of aural perception within the sensorium, among other potential topics. Enrollment limited to graduate students.

MUSC 2080H. Key Concepts in Sociocultural Theory.

Ethnomusicology has always been interdisciplinary, and is becoming more so. The student today may encounter concepts from semiotics, linguistics, cultural studies, literary theory, political economy, sociology, cognitive psychology, media studies, sound studies, science and technology studies, organizational studies, and material culture studies, and other disciplines as well. We will examine some of the key concepts of these fields and consider their possible uses in the study of the performing arts. From ‘affordances’ to the ‘type/token distinction,’ from ‘actor-network theory’ to the ‘third-person effect,’ we will learn to apply (and criticize) concepts presupposed by much current socio-cultural theorizing.

MUSC 2080M. Musical Materiality and its Discontents.

What sort of thing is music and what sorts of things does musicking require? The “material turn” in music studies—which began over twenty years ago—appears to be going strong. At the same time, it has also splintered into many different streams (technological, environmental/ecological, etc.), each with a range of investments and values. What has it meant to attend to music’s materiality and what has motivated its pursuit? Does the pursuit of materiality reveal historical truths? Does it function as a counterbalance to aesthetics? Does it deflate or even erase music? This seminar delves into recent (and not-so-recent) scholarship in music studies that is concerned with materiality—and its opposites—to think about what materiality can and cannot tell us.

MUSC 2086. Qualifying Exam Preparation (Musicology and Ethnomusicology).

This workshop-style course is designed for students preparing their third-year qualifying exams for the Ph.D. program in Musicology and Ethnomusicology. It provides a structured space for students to study and apply the reading, writing, and oral strategies that are necessary in preparing the kinds of review essays and course materials that the exams demand. It also provides a weekly forum for students to discuss and evaluate their progress on lists and essays, modeling the summary discussions that make up much of the exam essays, learning how to navigate questions about a field orally, and learning from one anothers’ challenges and solutions. Peer feedback on draft materials is essential to the pedagogy of the course.

MUSC 2090A. Seminar in Ethnomusicology: Hypertext, Multimedia.

Instruction in, and critical discussion of, computer-based hypertext and multimedia representation and interpretation of people making music. Sounds, pictures, texts, animations, movies. Students will complete a non-linear, reflexive hypermedia project to take advantage of ¿the experimental moment¿ in musical ethnography. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor.

MUSC 2090E. Black Feminist Sonic Praxes.

Black Feminist Sonic Praxes is a graduate-level sound studies discussion/production seminar that explores a range of sound-based methodologies that reflect and inform Black feminisms, from the early 20th century to the contemporary moment, with a particular focus on the sonic practices devised, examined, and espoused by black women, girls, trans* and non-binary folks based in the U.S. Students will critically engage with the creative and scholarly contributions of theorists, historians, artists, and/or other sound workers like Zora Neale Hurston, Moor Mother, and DJ Lynnée Denise to examine how we might use sound-based methodologies to attend to Black feminist and womanist notions of knowledge production, pleasure, care, wonder, and dis/respectability. The source material includes a mix of popular and academic texts, drawing from black studies, sound studies, gender and sexuality studies, and ethnomusicology among other fields of study.

MUSC 2100A. The Instrumental Sonatas of Beethoven.

An analytic survey of Beethoven's sonatas for piano, violin and piano, and cello and piano from a variety of perspectives, including: topical, semiotic, and hermeneutic analysis; Schenkerian analysis; historical and critical studies; and recent developments in theory of sonata form. Students who have taken MUSC 1040 may request permission to enroll in this course. Written permission required.

MUSC 2111. The Contemporary Orchestra: Innovation, Tradition, and Institution.

This course is a comprehensive look into the modern orchestra's relationship with new music. A major component will be examining repertoire of the past sixty years, seeing how new techniques, aesthetics, and technologies (new instruments, computer-assisted orchestration, acoustics) have influenced how composers approach writing for the orchestra. We will explore pathbreaking works that involve spatialization, alternative tunings, and improvisation. Orchestras are natural vehicles for new ways of thinking about sound and the concert experience, but in dealing with economic realities and a commitment to canonical practice, they are also the most resistant to change. What are the limitations and expectations of music created for these institutions? How is cultural prestige at play, and what roles do artistic administrators, composers-in-residence, publishers, and critics play in programming? And how might new initiatives for young composers and underrepresented voices change relationships to audiences?

MUSC 2200. Composition Seminar.

A forum for graduate composers to share and critique current projects. Visiting artists and analysis of relevant outside repertoire will augment the group and one-on-one meetings. Enrollment is limited. Written permission required. May be repeated for credit.

MUSC 2210. Digital Performance.

A production seminar examining the artistic impact and creative potential of digital media in the context of live performance. Readings and analysis of work examine innovations in performance practice from dance, theatre, performance art and music. Collaborative assignments investigate video projection, sound design and interactive sensor technology, culminating in a final large-scale performance. Permission will be granted based upon a questionnaire given in the first class.

MUSC 2220. Designing and Playing Alternative Controllers.

This seminar will explore the science and aesthetics of designing alternate controllers for musical performance. Topics will include basic electronics and hardware prototyping, instrument construction, theories of gesture, human-computer interface issues, and the challenges of mapping sensor data to meaningful musical parameters. Previous experience with MaxMSP or other real-time programming required. Permission of instructor required.

MUSC 2221. Seminar in Computer Music and Multimedia Composition.

A weekly forum for graduate composers to share and critique current projects. Visiting artists and analysis of relevant modern repertory will augment class discussion of student work. Individual private lessons - taught in addition to the three-hour seminar - help students focus on compositional technique and other problems of expression specific to their own projects.

MUSC 2230. Composing for Real-Time Systems.

This course examines complementary issues of time and space in 20th and 21st Century music, providing a nuanced discussion of how composers have attempted to redefine musical temporalities and portray or actively use acoustic or environmental spaces. From early spatialization experiments of Ives and Mahler to music that eschews traditional development - thus freezing temporality (Feldman) - or is in a constant state of transition (spectral music), we will also examine ideas of orchestrated spaces produced by timbral and material constructions of instruments, and advances in complex timbres and electronics. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor’s permission required for undergraduates.

MUSC 2240. Composing and Improvising with Real-time Systems.

This seminar will explore the use and creation of interactive computer music systems from the point of view of the performer/programmer. Using improvisation as a starting point, we will explore the aesthetics and philosophy of performance, designing real-time systems in MaxMSP that enhance the relation between action and event using network strategies.

MUSC 2245. Experimental Voice.

In Experimental Voice, we will study and undertake acoustic and electronic modifications of voice. We will consider applications of voice by diverse practitioners such as Jaap Blonk, Ami Yoshida, and Pamela Z. Using these pieces as inspiration, we will make creative and critical work aimed at challenging and broadening our notions of what voice and vocal performance can be. Students from all departments are welcome. Prerequisites: none. Permission required for undergraduates. Maximum enrollment: 12.

MUSC 2255. Sound Networks.

This graduate-level seminar explores the creative and critical underpinnings and ramifications of “networks” in mediated sound practice. We will study various extant approaches to networking, including transmission of audio signals and control information in musical ensembles and interactions with big data and corpus composition, and we will make new sonic works based on these techniques. We will also examine the institutional contexts of networks, relating to scholarly notions of liveness, community, scene, and genre. Override codes are required for enrollment, and will be distributed based on first-class attendance and questionnaire responses.

MUSC 2260. Topics in Computer Music Theory and Analysis.

Explores the science and aesthetics of designing alternate controllers for musical performance. Topics include basic electronics and hardware prototyping, instrument construction, theories of gesture, human-computer interface issues, and the challenges of mapping sensor data to meaningful musical parameters. Written permission required.

MUSC 2270A. Exploring Technologically Mediated Performance via Attali’s 'Noise: The Political Economy of Music'.

This course configures Attali’s notions of ‘representing’, ‘repeating’, and ‘composing’ as theoretical catalysts for the development of contemporary creative practice. The course is structured around seminars, collaborative ensemble work, and individual projects. We negotiate Attali’s text in its entirety and realize appropriate responses in a variety of formats, including: performance, installation/intervention, audio/video documentation. Additional short readings and presentations enrich critical discussion and practical activity. This course is intended to follow on from various MEME courses such as 1210, 1240F, 1240G, 2220, 2230, 2280. Enrolment is restricted to fourteen. Permission of instructor is required.

MUSC 2270B. Performance in a Virtual World.

A co-taught production course exploring emerging technology in the context of live performance, focusing on techniques where the body appears both on stage and on screen. What does it mean to be “live” in a virtual world, and how does that impact movement, interaction and expression? Students participate in a series of hands-on workshops that examine embodied performance using projections, motion capture, video processing, and sound design, along with various interactive and immersive techniques. The course culminates in a public performance of new works created in collaborative groups. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Permission required.

MUSC 2280. Designing Large-Scale Projects.

A production seminar designed for students to create a single, large project in Multimedia, Video, Performance and/or Electronic Music. The course covers planning and implementation strategies, including brainstorming sessions, visual storytelling, and sketching. Each project receives group feedback at several points in the process, such as initial proposals, prototype presentations and work-in-progress. The proposal includes an annotated bibliography of research materials that students present on in class. The course culminates a public presentation of the projects. The class is open to graduate students and seniors working on a capstone or thesis project. Permission will be granted after the first class.

MUSC 2290. Seminar In Sonic Practice.

This studio and seminar course provides an exploration of contemporary sonic practice, facilitates the development of sound-based creative work, and encourages a critical approach to producing work in the field. Through discussion, reading, listening exercises, independent research, creative production and critiques, we will examine a number of intersecting areas of sonic practice including sound as a cultural, environmental, and artistic medium, phonography, sound installation, mobile audio, noise as strategy and material, linguistic and other sonic narrative structures. Students will develop sound-based pieces individually and in groups which function as creative research into the subjects areas of the course.

MUSC 2300A. Critical Improvisation Studies.

Advanced seminar exploring improvisation from various perspectives: historical, anthropological, philosophical, ethical, and creative. We study improvisation in diverse musical traditions, in other arts, and in problem-solving contexts such as business, technology, and games. Discussion topics include individual vs. group improvisation, the status of "freedom" in creative processes, and the social and artistic functions of improvisation. Instructor permission required.

MUSC 2405Z. Instruments and Instrumentalities (HMAN 2400Z).

Interested students must register for HMAN 2400Z.

MUSC 2450. Exchange Scholar Program.

MUSC 2970. Preliminary Examination Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.

MUSC 2980. Reading and Research.

Directed graduate research. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

MUSC 2990. Thesis Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.