To see a complete list of courses offered and their descriptions, visit the online course catalog.
The courses listed below are provided by Student Information Services (SIS). This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses within this department and may not be complete. Course registration information is available on the SIS website.
Column one has the course number and section. Other columns show the course title, days offered, instructor's name, room number, if the course is cross-referenced with another program, and a option to view additional course information in a pop-up window.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Room
PosTag(s)
Info
AS.001.111 (01)
FYS: What's Music Do?
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Foster, Daniel Harmon
Gilman 134
FYS: What's Music Do? AS.001.111 (01)
Why do we listen to music? What use is it? Does it have medical applications? How can it improve our lives? This First-Year Seminar looks at the various ways that music can change the world. WMD is for musician and non-musician alike. It is designed for students with all sorts of musical tastes and academic interests. It also challenges the usual “top down” approach of most courses, where the professor decides all the material that will be studied and leads all the class discussions. While I do assign certain texts and lead certain discussions, the students also determine much of what we study and lead many of our discussions. This means that sometimes you will be in the position of teacher and guide the rest of us to an understanding of your perspective. By honing your research skills, you will introduce us to your interests through many different media: film, essay, podcast, scientific paper, musical composition, etc. If you are a doctor in the making, you may diagnose the health benefits of music on Alzheimer’s patients. If you are a dancer, you might ask how music-inspired movement strengthens society. Future scientists can wonder at music’s ability to solve problems, and future philosophers can ponder music as a path to the good life. Meanwhile, musicians themselves might ask how music benefits its creators in contrast to its consumers, and whether they can control how their art gets used. Our listening will be similarly broad: from folk to popular, classical to jazz, and any other variety of sound you can convince us is musical. But the ultimate goal of this seminar and its diversity is not just to ask what music does for us as individuals and to pursue those isolated areas of interest. It is also to hone the foundational ability of communication: to read and to write for, to talk and to listen to our colleagues.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Foster, Daniel Harmon
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.001.117 (01)
FYS: Composer Biographies in Film
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Ahn, Suhnne
Gilman 134
FYS: Composer Biographies in Film AS.001.117 (01)
This First-Year Seminar focuses on the lives of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Chopin and the depictions of their lives in film during the 20th century. The seminar provides both an introduction to film analysis and music history biography. In the last module, we will examine the canon of Western art music composers and consider historiographical issues along lines of gender, race, and other American demographics within this inherited tradition--all toward a collaborative final project.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Ahn, Suhnne
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.111 (01)
Rudiments of Music Theory and Musicianship
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Rickelton, Michael T
Shriver Hall 028G
Rudiments of Music Theory and Musicianship AS.376.111 (01)
This course introduces written and aural music fundamentals including notation, scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, meter and sight-singing. Students will compose melodies and short pieces and complete listening projects. Course does not count towards the completion of the minor.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.111 (02)
Rudiments of Music Theory and Musicianship
MWF 8:00AM - 8:50AM
Perry, Lisa Marie
Shriver Hall 028G
Rudiments of Music Theory and Musicianship AS.376.111 (02)
This course introduces written and aural music fundamentals including notation, scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, meter and sight-singing. Students will compose melodies and short pieces and complete listening projects. Course does not count towards the completion of the minor.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MWF 8:00AM - 8:50AM
Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.211 (01)
Music Theory I
MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Perry, Lisa Marie
Shriver Hall 028G
Music Theory I AS.376.211 (01)
Introduction to basic principles of tonal music through listening, analysis and music making. Students study melody, harmony, voice leading, figured bass and dissonance treatment, and will also undertake short composition projects. Must have taken the qualifying examination or AS.376.111. Recommended to be taken concurrently with AS.376.221.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.211 (02)
Music Theory I
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Rickelton, Michael T
Shriver Hall 028G
Music Theory I AS.376.211 (02)
Introduction to basic principles of tonal music through listening, analysis and music making. Students study melody, harmony, voice leading, figured bass and dissonance treatment, and will also undertake short composition projects. Must have taken the qualifying examination or AS.376.111. Recommended to be taken concurrently with AS.376.221.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.212 (01)
Music Theory II
MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Houston, Aaron
Shaffer 202
Music Theory II AS.376.212 (01)
This course continues the written and aural work of the previous course but focuses on chromatic harmony while continuing the study of melody, counterpoint and figured bass.
Prerequisite: AS.376.211 (Music Theory I). Recommended to be taken with AS.376.222 (Musicianship II).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Houston, Aaron
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.221 (01)
Musicianship I
TTh 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Fishbein, Joshua Henry
Shriver Hall 028G
Musicianship I AS.376.221 (01)
An introduction to basic musicianship skills. The course is divided into performance skills (sight singing, rhythm reading, basic piano, and improvisation) and aural skills (recognition of pitch, chords, rhythms, melodies, and other musical structures). Topics include major and minor keys and simple time signatures. Emphasis is placed on developing effective practice techniques. Pre-requisite: AS.376.111 (Rudiments of Music Theory and Musicianship) or placement exam.
Credits: 2.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.222 (01)
Musicianship II
TTh 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Fishbein, Joshua Henry
Shriver Hall 028G
Musicianship II AS.376.222 (01)
A continuation of the skills developed Musicianship I. The course is divided into performance skills (sight singing, rhythm reading, basic piano, and improvisation) and aural skills (recognition of pitch, chords, rhythms, melodies, and other musical structures). Topics include minor keys, chromatic melody and harmony, compound time signatures, and syncopation). As in Musicianship I, emphasis is placed on developing effective practice techniques. Pre-requisite: AS.376.221 (Musicianship I) or placement exam.
Credits: 2.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 11/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.242 (01)
History of Rock and Roll
MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Smooke, Vid
Shaffer 202
History of Rock and Roll AS.376.242 (01)
A survey of the stylistic features and social contexts of American popular music since the 1950s.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Instructor: Smooke, Vid
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 12/20
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.242 (02)
History of Rock and Roll
MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Smooke, Vid
Shaffer 202
History of Rock and Roll AS.376.242 (02)
A survey of the stylistic features and social contexts of American popular music since the 1950s.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Smooke, Vid
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 12/18
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.244 (01)
Electronic Music Production
T 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Patrick, Wendel
Shaffer 202
Electronic Music Production AS.376.244 (01)
Students will be introduced to electronic music production techniques and software, and how both can be used to produce a wide range of genre specific results. Skills such as beat matching, intricate use of quantization, virtual instrument editing, automation, sampling, mixing, mastering, effect usage and use of plugins will be explored.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.244 (02)
Electronic Music Production
W 10:30AM - 1:00PM
Patrick, Wendel
Shriver Hall 028G
Electronic Music Production AS.376.244 (02)
Students will be introduced to electronic music production techniques and software, and how both can be used to produce a wide range of genre specific results. Skills such as beat matching, intricate use of quantization, virtual instrument editing, automation, sampling, mixing, mastering, effect usage and use of plugins will be explored.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 10:30AM - 1:00PM
Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.250 (01)
Introduction to Computer Music
MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Burt, Samuel B
Shaffer 202
Introduction to Computer Music AS.376.250 (01)
Introduction to Computer Music is an opportunity for people with no specialized training in music to explore electronic art music as a long-standing, if obscure, body of art, then to participate in creative work in the style. Participants will gain a heuristic understanding of forms of musical composition that operate outside the conventions of regular rhythm and harmony as they record and manipulate sound to sculpt it into original musical works. The lecture portion combines an historical overview of electronic music, rudiments of acoustics and musical perception, and instruction in compositional techniques and in using computers as creative musical tools. The laboratory portion, given at the Digital Media Center, serves as a workshop for creative exploration and for the completion of assigned creative projects including original works of digital sound art.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Burt, Samuel B
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/14
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.258 (01)
Jazz Improvisation and Theory
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Sims, Ian K
Shriver Hall 028G
Jazz Improvisation and Theory AS.376.258 (01)
The primary focus of this performance/theory course is designed to help students acquire and develop basic language for improvisation in a collaborative environment. Throughout the semester, the course will develop these skills through songs drawn from standard jazz repertoire, examining improvised solos by master musicians, and understanding the application of fundamental theory concepts in performance situations. Enrolled students should be comfortable with theory rudiments such as note reading, scales, and intervals. No textbook is required, but students should have access to an instrument (singers are welcome).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Sims, Ian K
Room: Shriver Hall 028G
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.303 (01)
Musical Theater from Aristophanes to Leonard Bernstein
Th 4:30PM - 7:00PM
Wang, Derrick
Shaffer 202
Musical Theater from Aristophanes to Leonard Bernstein AS.376.303 (01)
This course examines the birth of musical theatre from Greek tragedy through the liturgical and secular plays of the middle ages and Renaissance, to the classical and romantic singspiels, operettas, and zarzuelas of the modern era, by such figures as Aristophanes, Adam de la Halle, Hildegard of Bingen, Angelo Poliziano, Juan del Encina, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, Ernesto Lecuona, Igor Stravinsky, and Kurt Weill. These will serve as a backdrop for a closer examination of the musicals of Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein and others. In addition to studying and placing the works of these Broadway giants into a social, political, and economic context, we will study and perform from representative musicals and attend a performance at the Lyric Theatre. Student will be expected to write a capstone project.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: Th 4:30PM - 7:00PM
Instructor: Wang, Derrick
Room: Shaffer 202
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/19
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.342 (01)
Caribbean Music
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Diggs-Thompson, Marilynne
Smokler Center 301
Caribbean Music AS.376.342 (01)
This course will explore the many genres of traditional and popular music that have emerged among the peoples and cultures of the Caribbean region and its Diaspora. We will examine the social, political, and economic issues that have shaped the region’s music and how that music may have intersected with migration, colonization, ethnicity, race and tourism. Using a “participant
observation” approach, students will read about, listen to and research a variety of musical experiences within the relevant sociopolitical context. Students should expect to fully participate in discussions about the assigned readings and music, and should be prepared to conduct their own research and share their own or newly acquired knowledge of contemporary and “historical/traditional” musical themes, and local and regional artists. Our collective goal will be to enjoy as well as to think critically about music, culture and performance and within a more
informed understanding of the complex, multi-varied and multi-vocal context—know as “The Caribbean”.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Diggs-Thompson, Marilynne
Room: Smokler Center 301
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.376.428 (01)
Mozart Operas
W 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Kass, Lily T
Shaffer 202
Mozart Operas AS.376.428 (01)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his first opera in 1767 at the age of 11. By the time of his death at age 35, he had written 22 full-length operas. Many of these operas are still performed today in opera houses around the world. In this course, we will discuss the enduring popularity of these works. We will discover how these operas were created, delving into the many important collaborations Mozart had with singers, librettists, impresarios, and patrons. We will analyze the words and music of the operas and how they combine to create three-dimensional characters for which his operas are known, such as the melancholy but determined Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, or the cowardly but loyal Papageno in The Magic Flute. Cultural norms have shifted dramatically between Mozart’s time and ours, and we will examine how Mozart’s operas have been received from their premieres through to today. We will think about how the operas have been translated, adapted, and circulated to different audiences in different eras and locations. Finally, we will reflect on our position as modern audience members, watching recent productions of the operas which reinterpret the works in alternative settings or times and studying the ways in which opera companies promote Mozart’s works.
