Course Descriptions
MUS 051 Brass Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition
Credits: None
MUS 052 Chamber Orchestra
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: None
MUS 053 Glee Club
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: None
MUS 055 Jazz Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: None
MUS 056 Wamidan World Music Ensemble
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: None
MUS 057 Woodwind Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: None
MUS 101 Music in Society: A History
Appreciation for the history of music and the art of educated listening for students with little or no formal training. The class covers works from the major style periods of European classical music, as well as some examples from non-Western traditions, both as examples of their genres, and as expressions of the societies that produce them. Students may attend Music Department concerts and review them. This course is open to all students, is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements, and is offered every semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 102 World Music
An introduction to the various world musical cultures and practices found outside the Western Classical Art tradition. The course gives an overview of music genres, instrumental types and resources, forms, and styles that originate from selected world music traditions in sub-Saharan Africa, Arabic Africa, Middle East, Near East, North America, South/Latin America, and the Caribbean region. Musical practices are studied in terms of structure, performance, aesthetic values, cross-cultural contacts, contextual function, and significance. Coursework includes weekly reading and listening assignments, musical demonstrations, and hands-on experience, as well as the acquisition and development of listening skills. This course is open to all students, is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements, and is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 104 Topics in Music
A class for all students, regardless of background. Previous topics have included the history of jazz, the symphony, music of Duke Ellington, music of J.S. Bach, music of Beethoven, and music and technology. Suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements. This course does not count toward the major.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1/2
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 107 Basic Theory and Notation
This course introduces students to the basic components of heard and notated music, and how to read music. Topics include rhythm, pulse, pitch, meter, notation, the piano keyboard, intervals, scales, key signatures, triads, cadences, chord progressions, composing and harmonizing simple melodies, and elementary ear-training. The goals of this course are to provide the student with an understanding of written notation, along with basic skills that promote further music study, performance, and composition. It is open to all students and is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements, but it does not count toward the major or minor. It is offered every semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 151 Brass Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 152 Chamber Orchestra
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 153 Glee Club
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 155 Jazz Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: 1/2 for a Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts) full year
MUS 156 Wamidan World Music Ensemble
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 157 Woodwind Ensemble
Prerequisites: By audition.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 161 Beginning Applied Music
This course is for beginning students who have never studied voice or the particular instrument before. Students focus on the basic technical aspects of singing or playing, and are expected to focus on a variety of repertoire. Students are required to perform in at least one student recital during the academic year. Suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements. This does not count toward the major or minor.
Prerequisites: MUS 107 previously or concurrently, or basic music reading exam.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 201 Music Theory I
This course begins with a review of intervals and triads, followed by an examination of tonal music (consonance and dissonance; functional tonality; meter and tonal rhythm). From this study of functional tonal harmony in both its simultaneous and linear aspects, students move on to examine the notion of form, including: general melodic characteristics; tonality and harmonic implication in melody; tendency tones; melodic cadences; motives; phrases and periods; structure and embellishment in melody. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2015-2016 and again in the spring semester of 2016-2017.
Prerequisite: MUS 107 or exam.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 202 Instruments and Culture
An introduction to world-music instrumental cultures with an emphasis on organology. A wide selection of traditional instruments will provide a basis for the study of cultural, scientific, and artistic aspects of instrumental music. Specific cultures are illuminated by the examination of aesthetic principles valued by each tradition, the role of musical instruments in culture, the theory of each tradition, and the visual representation of the instrument as both a sound and an art object. The course culminates in a final project. For this project, students may choose to write a term paper, give a class paper presentation, perform on a traditional instrument, or design and build an instrument by constructing a replica of an existing instrument, modifying a traditional instrument, or creating a totally new musical instrument design. It is open to all students, is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements, and is offered in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 204 Topics in Music
A class for all students, regardless of background. Previous topics have included U.S. American music, electronic music history and literature, computer-driven algorithmic composition, music in East Asian cultures, and music computer programing. This course is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
Technology and the Music Industry
From the wind-up music box to the MP3, this course will explore the many ways in which technological innovations affect music’s production and marketing, along with how consumers perceive and listen to music. Starting with the rise of mass production in the early 19th century, and continuing with 20th- and 21st-century contributions including recording technologies, mass media, and electronically-produced music, we will discuss how technology has culturally, economically, and aesthetically impacted music and the way we listen. Prerequisite: any 1 credit music course. Suitable for Distribution. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2014.
MUS 205 Music Before 1750 - Musicology
The rise of European art music from religious and folk traditions; Gregorian chant and early polyphonic genres; the growth of polyphony in mass, motet, and madrigal; early instrumental music; European genres of the 17th and 18th centuries: opera, oratorio, cantata, concerto, suite, sonata, keyboard music. Some emphasis on the music of J.S. Bach. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2015-2016.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 206 Music After 1750 - Musicology
A study of the evolution of European classical musical styles and genres from the mid-18th century to the present. The course focuses on Classical composers (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven) who transformed musical style in sonata, symphony, concerto, chamber music, opera, and sacred music; major Romantic works and significant styles ranging from Schubert to Mahler; developments in European art music during the 20th century with emphasis on increasingly diverse cultural/aesthetic concerns and compositional techniques, as well as experimental departures from European tradition after 1945. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2016-2017.
Prerequisite: None.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 221 Introduction to Electronic Music
In this course students create electronic music and/or sonic art in the Electronic Music Studio. A background in music is not required, though it may inform the work of some students. Each student learns how electronic music is made with digital applications, creates a series of electronic music projects, and considers what function, meaning and value such sonic objects have. Topics introduced include the Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), digital sequencing, audio editing, signal processing, musical acoustics, sound synthesis, spatialization, computer music mixing and production, aesthetics, psychology and reception of sonic art, and composition of electronic media. Students are expected to spend six hours a week outside class working on their projects in the Electronic Music Studio. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: Open only to sophomores and above or by permission of the instructor.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 224 Global Perspectives on Music Cultures and Identity - Musicology
This course is designed to develop awareness and analytical appreciation of global musical diversity found within a variety world cultures. It covers the origin of Ethnomusicology as a sub-discipline, the classification of instruments, the musical and contextual roles instruments play in various cultures, tonal systems in use, and polyphonic and polyrhythmic textures as commonly applied. Course objectives are met through analysis and discussion of texts, audio recordings, and ethnographic fieldwork videos. This course is offered in the spring semester of 2015-2016.
Prerequisite: MUS 102 or instructor approval.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 261 Intermediate Applied Music I
Students are expected to have previous experience on the instrument or voice, and show basic proficiency in reading music. Students progress beyond purely technical aspects of singing or playing. They are expected to master a variety of repertoire and understand historical, cultural, analytic, and stylistic aspects of works studied in applied instruction. Students are required to perform in at least one student recital during the academic year. This course is suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements. It is required for the major and minor.
Prerequisites: MUS 107 previously or concurrently, or diagnostic exam; and previous experience.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 287 Independent Study
Permission for independent work must be granted before registering. Appropriate forms are available in the department chair’s office. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 288 Independent Study
Permission for independent work must be granted before registering. Appropriate forms are available in the department chair’s office. This course is offered in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 301 Music Theory II
This course is a continuation of elements of music theory acquired in MUS 201. Students will learn intermediate elements of harmony such as non-chord tones, diatonic and secondary chord functions, modulation, chromatic voice leading, and basic principles of musical form. This course is offered in the spring semester of 2015-2016.
Prerequisite: MUS 201.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 302 Music Theory III
This course is a continuation of elements of music theory acquired in MUS 301. Students will finish study of chromatic harmony; learn tonal harmony of the late nineteenth century; 20th century music theory; and classical sonata form. This is the third course of the three-course music theory sequence. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2016-2017.
Prerequisite: MUS 301.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 304 Advanced Topics in Music
This is an advanced topics course, which changes from year to year. It is offered in conjunction with MUS 204, and is on the same topic, but with additional reading and research. It may be taken as a Senior capstone in place of MUS 401 Senior Seminar. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisite: Music Majors.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
Technology and the Music Industry
From the wind-up music box to the MP3, this course will explore the many ways in which technological innovations affect music’s production and marketing, along with how consumers perceive and listen to music. Starting with the rise of mass production in the early 19th century, and continuing with 20th- and 21st-century contributions including recording technologies, mass media, and electronically-produced music, we will discuss how technology has culturally, economically, and aesthetically impacted music and the way we listen. This course is offered in the fall semester of 2014.
MUS 361 Intermediate Applied Music II
This course is a continuation of MUS 261 Intermediate Applied Music I. Students are required to perform in at least one student recital during the academic year. Suitable for fulfilling distribution requirements unless a student has already completed both MUS 161 and 261. This course is required for the major.
Prerequisites: MUS 261.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 387 Independent Study in Composition
This course gives advanced students an opportunity to engage in deep analysis and compositional exploration. Students enrolling for a full-course credit will be given listening assignments and will be asked to analyze music related to their analysis or composition projects. This course number is for fall semester independent study in composition.
Prerequisites: MUS 302 and permission of both the instructor and department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 388 Independent Study in Composition
This course gives advanced students an opportunity to engage in generative analysis and compositional exploration. Students enrolling for a full-course credit will be given listening assignments and will be asked to analyze music related to their analysis or composition projects. This course number is for spring semester independent study in composition.
Prerequisites: MUS 302 and permission of the instructor and department chair.
Credits: 1 or 1/2
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 401 Senior Seminar
This is the capstone course for music majors emphasizing connections between theory, history, and practice. Through an in-depth study of three seminal masterpieces (e.g., the Bach B Minor Mass, the Mozart Jupiter Symphony, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire or the Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time), this seminar considers the interrelations of theoretical analysis, historical and stylistic awareness, performance practice, and reception. Required of all music majors. It is offered in the fall semester. MUS 304 may be substituted for 401 in conjunction with a section of MUS 204.
Prerequisites: Music majors.
Credits: 1
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)
MUS 461 Advanced Applied Music
This course is for students who have completed MUS 361 and are either preparing a solo recital in fulfillment of the requirement for Majors to complete a Senior project, or are continuing out of personal interest. For-credit students are tested and graded at the end of each semester; the final grade is assigned after the completion of the full year of study. Students are required to perform a solo recital during the spring semester. This course does not count toward the major.
Prerequisites: MUS 361.
Credits: 1/2 for a full year, or optional credit/non-credit (noted on transcript)
Distribution: III.B. (Literature/Fine Arts)