School of Music

Return to School of Music, degree requirement details.

Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition

Robert Maggio, Chairperson

FACULTY: Balthazar, Onderdonk, Rimple, Rozin, Silverman, Stiefel, Winters

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

MUSIC HISTORY
Symbol: MHL

121 Music in Culture and History(3) A course in appreciating music as an informed listener. Includes an introduction to the basic elements of musical style necessary for understanding music in its cultural and historical context, examination of the great European composers and their masterworks, and topics in popular music, jazz, and/or world music. No prerequisites required. Ability to read music is not expected. Designed to satisfy the general education arts requirement.

NOTE: Other courses are available to the nonmusic major for general education requirements. Particularly suitable is MHL 125.

125 Perspectives in Jazz (3) For nonmusic majors. Guided listening to improve understanding and enjoyment of jazz with emphasis on jazz heritages, chronological development, and sociological considerations, culminating in an analysis of the eclectic styles of the 1960's and 1970's. Designed for the general education requirements. Diverse communities course

179 Special Subjects Seminar (3) Significant topics in music history and literature presented by faculty members and/or visiting lecturers. Designed for the nonmusic major who has had little or no previous musical experience. Fulfills the general education requirements. Not open to music majors. This course may be taken again for credit.

201 Form and Style in the Arts (3) Relationships between the arts, such as music, literature, visual arts, and film, stressed through common principles of form and style. Concentration on the development of skills of critical perception through practical application with reference to various arts. Approved interdisciplinary course

210 Music History I (3) An introduction to musical style and listening techniques within a historical context: (1) an introduction to style periods, music listening skills, concepts of form, and style analysis in both Western and non-Western music; (2) historical survey of music beginning with the music of the early Church and continuing through the end of the 16th century.

211 Music History II (3) A historical survey of music from 1600 to 1825. Analysis of appropriate genres, styles, forms, social contexts, aesthetics, and performance practices will be considered. PREREQ: MHL 210, with a grade of C- or better.

212 Music History III (3) A historical survey of music from 1825 to the present. Analysis of appropriate genre, styles, forms, social contexts, aestethic concepts, and performance practices will be considered. PREREQ: MHL 211, with a grade of C- or better. Approved interdisciplinary course.

301 Music and the Related Arts (3) Examines ways in which music parallels at least two other visual, performing, and/or verbal arts in Western and/or non-Western culture. Concentration on the development of skills of critical perception through practical application to music and other arts. PREREQ: MHL 211 and MTC 212 or permission of instructor. Approved interdisciplinary course. Writing emphasis course

310 Collegium Musicum (1) A chamber ensemble specializing in the use of authentic instruments and performance techniques in the music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. Membership by audition. This course may be taken again for credit.

312 Women in Music (3) A survey of the role that women played in the history of music from the Middle Ages to the present. Open to nonmusic majors and music majors without prerequisites.

325 History of Rock (3) This course traces the development of 1950s rock and roll from its rhythm and blues, and country and western sources through the world music influences of the 1970s and beyond. Open to music majors and nonmusic majors without prerequisites.

420 World Music (3) An introduction to the study of tribal, folk, popular, and oriental music and ethnomusicology methodology. Open to music majors and nonmusic majors without prerequisites.

422 History of Jazz (3) A survey of the history of jazz, including representative performers and their music. PREREQ: MTC 212, or permission of the instructor.

454 History of Opera (3) A basic course in the origin and development of opera and its dissemination throughout the Western world. PREREQ: MHL 212, or permission of instructor. Writing emphasis course

455 History of Orchestral Music (3) A study of representative orchestral works: symphonies, concerti, suites, overtures, and others, from the Baroque Period to the present. PREREQ: MHL 212, or permission of instructor. Writing emphasis course

459 Topics in American Music (3) Survey of the development of music and musical styles from 1620 to the present. Analysis of styles, forms, aesthetic concepts, and practices. Open to music majors and nonmusic majors with permission of instructor. Writing emphasis course

479 Topics in Music History I (1-3) Significant topics presented by faculty members and/or visiting lecturers. Designed to meet specific needs of undergraduate music majors. This course may be taken again for credit.

480 Topics in Music History II (1-3) Significant topics presented by faculty members and/or visiting lecturers. Designed to meet specific needs of undergraduate music majors. This course may be taken again for credit.

481 Independent Study (1)
This course may be taken again for credit.

482 Independent Study (2)
This course may be taken again for credit.

483 Independent Study (3)
This course may be taken again for credit.

MUSIC THEORY AND COMPOSITION
Symbol: MTC

014 Basic Dictation and Sight Singing (2) A preparatory course for music majors emphasizing basic aural perception and sight-singing skills needed for effective music study.

101 Music Matters (3) Why is music one of the few cross-cultural universals? Why don’t other species have music? This course considers why people invest so much time and money in creating and listening to music by exploring specific topics such as psychoacoustics, emotional responses to music, creativity, how music reflects and influences culture, music’s role in shaping personal identity, how music contributes to movies, and music’s potential as a therapeutic agent. Students will listen to a diverse array of music ranging from Bach to the Beatles, to jazz, to music from India, Cuba, and other cultures around the world.

110 Making Music (3) What makes music? This course for nonmusic majors explores music’s fundamental elements, the creative process, and techniques for songwriting and analysis. Students will learn notation of rhythm, melody, and harmony in musical styles from a variety of cultures and settings. The course includes hands-on learning experiences in basic musicianship, group performance, and composition, and develops skills necessary for further musical studies. Previous experience reading music is helpful but not required. Satisfies the general education arts requirement. Required for the music minor.

111 The Developing Musician (3) A continuation of MTC 110, this course further explores music fundamentals, focusing on refining listening skills, examining creative approaches, and investigating diverse musical forms. Required for the music minor. PREREQ: MTC 110.

112 Theory of Music I (3) Introduction to music theory; the materials of music. Analysis and creative activity.

113 Theory of Music II (3) Form; motive; cadence; phrase; melody. Analysis and creative activity. PREREQ: MTC 112, with a grade of C- or better.

114 Aural Activities I (2) Development of basic hearing skills, chiefly through sight singing and dictation activities based on the subject matter of MTC 112.

115 Aural Activities II (2) Continued development of basic hearing skills. PREREQ: MTC 112 and 114, with a grade of C- or better in both.

171 Popular Music Songwriting and Recording (3) In-depth study and composition of popular music. PREREQ: MTC 113.

212 Theory of Music III (3) Harmony and counterpoint; dissonance; voice motion; harmonic progression; modulation; texture. Analysis and creative activity. PREREQ: MTC 113, with a grade of C- or better.

213 Theory of Music IV (3) In-depth analysis of specific styles, genres, and forms; compositional style studies. PREREQ: MTC 212.

214 Aural Activities III (2) Material of advanced difficulty involving chromatic alteration, foreign modulation, and intricate rhythms. PREREQ: MTC 113 and 115, with a grade of C- or better.

215 Aural Activities IV (2) Continuation of MTC 214 and activities involving nontonal music. PREREQ: MTC 212 and 214.

271 Scoring for Television and Film (3) Techniques used in composing and arranging music for film and television; practical writing experience.

312 Composition I (3) Creative writing in the forms, styles, and media best suited to the capabilities and needs of the student. PREREQ: MTC 212.

313 Composition II (3) Further application of MTC 312, stressing contemporary techniques. PREREQ: MTC 312.

341 Orchestration (3) The orchestra; use of instruments individually and in combination. PREREQ: MTC 212.

342 Music Analysis (3) An overview of major trends in music analysis applied to a variety of musical styles. Addresses how analysis informs composition, performance, scholarship, and pedagogy. PREREQ: MTC 212.

344 Counterpoint I (3) The contrapuntal techniques of 16th century music including canonic imitation, motet, fantasy, and madrigal. PREREQ: MTC 212.

345 Counterpoint II (3) The contrapuntal techniques of 18th century music including chorale prelude, invention, canon, and fugue. PREREQ: MTC 212.

361 Jazz Harmony and Arranging I (3) A basic course in jazz/popular harmony and arranging techniques, including contemporary chord symbols and terminology, and basic voicing for brass, reed, and rhythm sections.
This course may be taken again for credit.

362 Jazz Harmony and Arranging II (3) An intermediate course in jazz/popular harmony and arranging techniques, including more advanced harmonic techniques. Writing for strings, woodwinds, and electronic instruments is introduced.
This course may be taken again for credit.

364 Performance Practices in Contemporary Music (3) Technical problems of understanding new notation (e.g., graphic, proportional, multiphonics, microtones, metric modulation, asymmetrical rhythm groupings, prose scores, etc.) and facility in performing scores that include these techniques. PREREQ: MTC 213 or permission of instructor.

412 Composition III (3) Composition in larger forms. Open to composition majors only. PREREQ: MTC 313.

413 Composition IV (3) Advanced composition involving major projects in a contemporary idiom. PREREQ: MTC 412.

415 Serialism and Atonality (3) Compositional procedures and theoretical concepts in atonal and serial works of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Bartok, Stravinsky, and more recent composers. PREREQ: MTC 213.

417 Computer Music I (3) Materials and techniques of computer music. Laboratory experience in the composition of computer music. PREREQ: MTC 312 or permission of instructor.

418 Composition V (3) Advanced composition lessons for theory/composition majors. PREREQ: MTC 413.

479 Seminar in Music Theory/ Composition (3) Special topics in specialized areas of music theory and composition.
This course may be taken again for credit.