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.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Foster, Daniel Harmon
• Room: Krieger Laverty
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Foster, Daniel Harmon
• Room: Gilman 219
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
• Instructor: Ahn, Suhnne
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

The plays of William Shakespeare contain many musical cues. In Hamlet, Ophelia expresses herself through song when she is unable to through speech. In The Tempest, the spirit Ariel lures the shipwrecked Ferdinand to the shore by singing a song. In this First-Year Seminar, we will think through the role of music in Shakespeare’s plays, reading Hamlet, The Tempest, Othello, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with attention to the sonic worlds they create. In addition, we will explore the various musical works that these plays have inspired, from the Broadway rock musical Rockabye Hamlet to the Mexican film Huapango (an adaptation of Othello) to Benjamin Britten’s operatic treatment of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

• Days/Times: F 11:00AM - 1:30PM
• Instructor: Kass, Lily T
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Prescott, Jordan
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
• Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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).

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 2:30PM - 3:20PM
• Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: T 10:30AM - 1:00PM
• Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: Th 10:30AM - 1:00PM
• Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course we will undertake a comprehensive survey of sound, audio and the related technology. While covering sound recording from an historical perspective, we'll touch on related material in physics, music, psychology and acoustics. In lab exercises and assignments, students will have the opportunity to learn in a hands-on environment as practical applications of the lecture material are explored. Assignments will include critical listening, in addition to basic recording, editing and mixing of audio. The course will culminate in a comprehensive final project.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Stella, Andrew
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 2/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

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).

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Sims, Ian K
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

What is a Broadway musical? Why aren’t there more smash hits like Hamilton? And what can American musical theater teach us about our own lives? In this introductory course, students will explore these questions and more, learning about the history and craft of significant 20th and 21st-century musicals in the interdisciplinary context of society, politics, economics, and technology. Students will apply their knowledge by collaboratively creating and performing an original short work of musical theatre and, if practicable, will attend a performance in the Baltimore-Washington area or in neighboring cities as far away as New York.

• Days/Times: M 4:00PM - 6:30PM
• Instructor: Wang, Derrick
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

A survey course focusing on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven, whose compositions transformed and revolutionized music of the 19th century. Students will become acquainted with Beethoven's major works, including piano sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies. No previous musical background is necessary. NOTE: The year 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Ahn, Suhnne
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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”.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Diggs-Thompson, Marilynne
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: W 6:00PM - 8:30PM
• Instructor: Kass, Lily T
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 2/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
• Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Prescott, Jordan
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Perry, Lisa Marie
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course continues the aural and written work of the previous course, but focuses on chromatic harmony while continuing the study of melody, counterpoint, and figured bass. Prerequisite: Music Theory I.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Rickelton, Michael T
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: TTh 2:30PM - 3:20PM
• Instructor: Fishbein, Joshua Henry
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course offers an introduction to music of the Western “classical” tradition through the study of a select number of works written over the course of the last four hundred years. In examining these musical works, all of which were remarkable for their time and which many still value today, we will consider their identity both as timeless aesthetic objects and as particular moments in cultural history. We will frame our work within the historical, philosophical, and political contexts of the time, and more recent critical assessments will help us evaluate the circumstances that have shaped reception of this repertoire over the past four centuries. In addition to the works and composers treated in our textbook, we will supplement our study throughout the semester with a consideration of the lives and works of individuals whose stories are less well-known. Ultimately, we will work to understand the particular challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities related to continued engagement with so-called “classical” music in the 21st century. Close attention is given to techniques of musical listening, and to details of first performances, with a consideration of the problems involved in assembling such a picture. No previous knowledge of musical notation or terminology is required. 3 credits.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Ahn, Suhnne
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/30
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: T 10:30AM - 1:00PM
• Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: Th 10:30AM - 1:00PM
• Instructor: Patrick, Wendel
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

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.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Burt, Samuel B
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/11
• PosTag(s): n/a

The primary focus of this course is a survey, investigation, and study of jazz music and how it shaped American history from its origins to current times. Upon completion of this course students will be able to: discuss why jazz is important, both musically and culturally; learn the nuances of a new art form; demonstrate that jazz is a huge part of American heritage; explore parallels between jazz and both American and world history; and become a receptive and knowledgeable audience for jazz.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Sims, Ian K
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

The study and performance of instrumental chamber music, by audition/permission of instructor only. Sight-reading skills will be evaluated. This course is one credit, will meet for one hour once a week, and has a final performance at the end of the semester. Pre-formed groups preferred, but single auditions accepted with the understanding that a group may not be readily formed for registration.

• Days/Times: Th 3:30PM - 4:30PM
• Instructor: Yoo, Shirley S
• Room: Shriver Hall 028G
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

The general purpose of this course is to introduce students to the scholarly study of traditional, popular, and classical music from around the world through reading, discussion, close listening of recordings, and observation of ethnographic and commercial films. We will be primarily concerned with using music as a lens through which to better understand cultural concepts including diaspora, religion, colonialism, creolization, and tradition. Area case studies will include India, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Brady, Sophie
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this foundational survey course, students will study aspects of law that shape a career in and beyond the arts. Topics include how to get or grant permission to use copyrighted works, how to read a contract, and how to start or join a business. In addition, through class discussions, students will develop their interdisciplinary and analytical skills in interpreting music and law.

• Days/Times: M 4:00PM - 6:30PM
• Instructor: Wang, Derrick
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This class provides an introduction to the popular musics of the Arab world from the 1920s through the early 2000s. The goals of this course will be twofold: first, we will consider the ways that technology, global and regional politics, class, and gender shaped musical aesthetics. Second, we will interrogate the role that popular music played in shaping understandings of national character and regional boundaries. Through close listening and reading assignments, students will develop listening and analytical skills specific to the music of the Arab world, and learn techniques for analyzing this popular music’s entanglement with its social, historical, and cultural context. What, for example, do the radio and music industries have to do with the rise of Arab Nationalism? What can the development of Lebanese indie-rock since the 1990s tell us about contemporary Lebanese sociopolitics? Through weekly reading and listening assignments, students will work towards a final project that traces the history of one genre of Arab pop music over the course of the 20th century.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: El Rayes, Nour
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

What underlies our aesthetic response to music? How and why are we able to identify certain sounds as music? To what extent are music and natural language similar? What is it about music that evokes such powerful emotions such as happiness and sadness? What is unique to musical creativity? Examining such questions from cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophical perspectives, this course explores relevant research and theory in the emerging domain of music perception and cognition. Students will complete a final research paper on the topic of their choice that integrates the course material.

• Days/Times: W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Lopez-Gonzalez, Monica
• Room: Shaffer 202
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/12
• PosTag(s): n/a