Music Courses

MU 030 History of Rock and Roll and Popular Music in the United States (Fall/Spring: 3)

Satisfies Arts Core Requirement
From the blues to country, jazz to rock, our nation's political, social, and economic history has been mirrored and influenced by the styles of popular music developed in our cultural melting pot. This course will provide an overall history of popular music in America, with emphasis upon mainstream popular music since 1954. Its focus will be on the independence and interdependence of black and white musical cultures in America. Students will learn stylistic developments in popular music and acquire interpretive strategies, including methods of aural analysis that will view popular songs as historical texts and as autonomous works of art.
Donald James

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 051 Irish Fiddle/Beginner (Fall: 0)

Performance course.
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond.
Students will learn to play easy tunes by ear and begin to develop violin technique using scales, bowing and fingering exercises, and note-reading practice. At the end of the course, students will have the opportunity to perform with the advanced fiddle and whistle students. Classes are taught by Tina Lech, a well-known and respected Irish fiddle player and teacher. Violin rentals are possible. A small portable recorder is required.
Tina Lech

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 052 Irish Fiddle/Experienced Beginner (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: MU 051
Performance course.
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
For students who have taken a full semester of Beginner Irish Fiddle (MU 051) or have at least one year's experience playing the violin. This class will help students continue in the development of violin technique. Students will learn more advanced Irish dance tunes with some beginning ornamentation (bowing and fingering). Students may take the experienced beginner class for more than one semester until they feel ready to move to the Intermediate level. Violin rentals are possible. A small portable recorder is required. Fall participants may continue in spring semester, but new students may not enroll in spring semester.
Tina Lech

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 053 Irish Fiddle/Intermediate (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: MU 051
Performance course.
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond.
For students who have at least three years experience playing the violin (classical or traditional Irish) or who have taken the Experienced Beginner class (MU 052) and who the instructor feels is ready for the intermediate level. Traditional music will be taught with a focus on ornamentation, bowing, and style. Airs and dance music of Ireland will be covered along with music of the ancient Bardic harpers and court musicians. Classes are taught by Seamus Connolly, one of the world's leading Irish traditional musicians and ten-time Irish National Fiddle Champion. Violin rentals are possible. A small portable recorder is required.
Seamus Connolly

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 054 Traditional Irish Dance (Fall/Spring: 0)

This course will introduce students to the sean-nós ("old-style") dance traditions of Ireland, including solo step dance footwork as well as group strengthening exercises, while also gaining a greater understanding of traditional Irish music and its intrinsic connection to the dance patterns. All levels welcome.
Kieran Jordan, M.A.

Last Updated: 08-NOV-11

MU 066 Introduction to Music (Fall/Spring: 3)

Satisfies Arts Core Requirement
This course will attempt to develop essential and critical listening faculties by employing a chronological survey of the elements, forms, and various types of music that the serious listener is exposed to today. The principal emphasis of the course will be on traditional Western art music from medieval Gregorian Chant to twentieth-century electronic music, but certain excursions into the world of non-Western musics, jazz, and American popular song will be included to diversify and enrich the experience of listening critically to music.
Jeremiah W. McGrann, Michael Noone, Sandra Fallon-Ludwig, Peter Watchorn

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 070 Fundamentals of Music Theory (Fall/Spring: 3)

Satisfies Arts Core Requirement
An introductory music theory course designed for students with a strong interest in music. As a Core course it includes speculations on how musical discourse informs our perception and understanding of the world around us. Students learn to acquire skills in music notation and transcription. The following theoretical concepts will be extensively covered: notation of pitch and rhythm, scales, intervals, chords, and harmonic progression. Students leave the course prepared for upper level study in music theory and will begin to question broader issues concerning the meaning and use of music.
Ralf Gawlick, Michael Burgo, Barbara Gawlick, Sandra Hebert, Gregory Miller, The Department

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 076 The Boston College Symphony Orchestra (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: Audition required.
Performance course.
The orchestra gives three full concerts each year plus the annual Christmas Concert with the University Chorale. Recent programs have included Haydn's Symphony No. 99, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, and Copland's Appalachian Spring. The orchestra sponsors the annual Concerto/Aria Competition. Membership is by audition only.
John Finney

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 077 Chamber Music Ensembles (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance course.
Regular participation and coaching in chamber ensembles. The course is offered without credit and is open to any qualified student. It will fulfill the music major requirement for ensemble performance.
Sandra Hebert

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 079 Popular Styles Ensemble (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance Course.
Regular participation and coaching in jazz, rock, and fusion styles in small group sessions. Any appropriate instruments are welcome.
Erik Kniffin

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 080 Keyboard Skills (Fall/Spring: 0)

Theory corequisite
Keyboard skills is a corequisite for the following theory courses: MU 070 Fundamentals of Music Theory, MU 110 Harmony, MU 211 Chromatic Harmony. Times to be determined in class. Students must be enrolled in MU 070, MU 110, or MU 211 to participate.
The Department
Leah Kosch

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 081 Ear Training/Sight-Singing Lab (Fall/Spring: 1)

For music majors.
A twice-weekly opportunity to develop the skills of sight-singing and ear-training for students who are taking theory or other music courses or who are in singing groups and wish to improve their skills. The course is designed to help students pass the Ear Training/Sight Singing tests required for the major. Students will learn to sing melodies onsight by drilling scales and intervals. Ear-training will focus on melodic, rhythmic and harmonic dictation. Usually taken concurrently with MU 110 Harmony or MU 211 Chromatic Harmony.
Michael Burgo

Last Updated: 15-FEB-10

MU 082 Advanced Ear Training/Sight-Singing Lab (Fall/Spring: 1)

For music majors.
A continuation of MU 081. See description for MU 081.
Michael Burgo

Last Updated: 15-FEB-10

MU 083 Introduction to Improvisation (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance course
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
Improvisation is a central feature of many Western musical styles. This course offers students the opportunity to learn how to improvise in jazz, blues and rock. In a hands-on manner, students are introduced to the fundamental concepts of improvising. No prior experience is necessary, and there is no prerequisite, but you should have at least some experience playing an instrument or singing. In addition to extensive in-class performance, accompaniment recordings are provided for practice outside class.
Erik Kniffin

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 084 Intermediate Improvisation (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: MU 083 or permission of instructor
Performance course
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
This course focuses, in a hands-on manner, on three elements of improvisational skill in jazz, blues and rock as it advances from the basic concepts of improvisation introduced in Introduction to Improvisation. The course embraces different styles of improvisational music and directs attention to recognizing and responding to these styles in performance situations.
Erik Kniffin

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 085 The Boston College Flute Choir (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance Course.
An ensemble devoted solely to music for multiple flutes. Meets once a week with a coach. Public performances at B.C. and in the community.
Judy Grant

Last Updated: 17-FEB-10

MU 086 Advanced Improvisation (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: MU 084 or permission of instructor
Performance course
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
This course offers the advanced improvisor the opportunity to build higher order skills of improvisation in the jazz and rock idioms. While the course entails extensive instruction in music theory, the focus is on application of theoretical concepts to real-world improvisational contexts. The course outlines advanced concepts in melody-shaping, form/harmony, and musical style.
Erik Kniffin

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 087 Tin Whistle/Beginner (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance course
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
Learn to read and play the basic airs and dance music of Ireland on tin whistle. At the end of the course, students will have the opportunity to perform in concert with the advanced fiddle and whistle students. Lessons are taught by Jimmy Noonan, a well-known and respected Irish tin whistle and flute player and teacher. Any make of D-major tin whistle is required and are available for purchase locally at a nominal cost. A portable recording device is required. Fall participants may continue in spring semester, but new students may not enroll in spring semester.
Jimmy Noonan

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 088 Tin Whistle/Experienced to Intermediate (Fall/Spring: 0)

Prerequisite: MU 087
Performance course
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
For students who have taken a full semester of Beginner Tin Whistle or who have at least one year's experience playing flute. The class will help students develop whistle playing while learning more advanced Irish tunes with beginning ornamentation common to Irish music. Lessons are taught by Jimmy Noonan, a well-known and respected Irish tin whistle and flute player and teacher. Any make of D-major tin whistle is required and are available for purchase locally at a nominal cost. A small tape recorder is required.
Jimmy Noonan

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 091 University Wind Ensemble (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance Course. Audition required
The University Wind Ensemble is a select ensemble of 46 woodwind, brass and percussion instrumentalists whose membership is determined by competitive audition or by invitation of the conductor. Members are highly skilled and highly motivated student musicians for whom making music is a personal priority. The ensemble performs wind literature of the highest quality and challenge. The University Wind Ensemble serves as the parent group for the performance of a wide variety of chamber music. The University Wind Ensemble is a full-year commitment.
Sebastian Bonaiuto, Conductor

Last Updated: 30-JAN-09

MU 092 B.C. bOp! Jazz Ensemble (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance course.
Audition required.
B.C. bOp! is an ensemble dedicated to the highest levels of instrumental and vocal jazz performance. Membership is determined by audition. Instrumentation for B.C. bOp! consists of five saxophones, five trumpets, four trombones, piano, guitar, bass, drums, auxiliary percussion, and a vocal ensemble of four to six mixed voices. B.C. bOp! performs jazz and popular music from the 1940's to the 1990's and appeals to a wide range of musical tastes.
Sebastian Bonaiuto, Conductor
JoJo David, Vocal Director

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 095 Symphonic Band (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance course.
The Symphonic Band is open to the entire University community. Its members include undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. The ensemble performs largely traditional wind band music as well as large-scale orchestral transcriptions. The Symphonic Band also provides students with the opportunity to perform literature specifically designed for smaller chamber ensembles.
David Healey, Conductor

Last Updated: 15-FEB-10

MU 096 Gospel Workshop (Fall/Spring: 0)

Cross Listed with BK 290
Performance course
No experience is required for membership, but a voice placement test is given to each student.
One credit for classes 2012 and 2013; zero credit for class 2014 and beyond
This course is a study and performance of the religious music of the Black Experience known as Spirituals and Gospels. One major performance is given each semester. Concerts and performances at local Black churches are also presented with the Voice of Imani Gospel Choir. The Gospel Workshop will provide the lab experience for MU 321(BK 266) and MU 322 (BK 285). Members of these classes will be required to attend a number of rehearsals and performances of the Gospel Workshop. Members of the classes may sing in the choir but it is not required for the course.
Hubert Walters

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 099 Individual Instrumental/Vocal Instruction (Fall/Spring: 1)

Performance Course.
Fee required.
This course consists of eleven 60-minute private lessons on an instrument or in voice. Private lessons taken for credit will receive a single credit per semester. A maximum of three credits may be received for lessons. Lessons must be arranged through the Music Department before the end of the drop/add period.
Sandra Hebert

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 100 Individual Instrumental/Vocal Instruction (Fall/Spring: 0)

Performance Course.
Fee required.
This non-credit course consists of eleven 60-minute private lessons on an instrument or in voice. Lessons must be arranged through the Music Department before the end of the drop/add period.
Sandra Hebert

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 101 Individual Vocal/Instrumental Instruction (Fall/Spring: 0)

This non-credit course consists of eleven 45-minute private lessons on an instrument or in voice. Lessons must be arranged through the Music Department before the end of the drop/add period.
Sandra Hebert

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 102 Individual Vocal/Instrumental Instruction (Fall/Spring: 0)

This non-credit course consists of eleven 60-minute private lessons on an instrument or in voice. Lessons must be arranged through the Music Department before the end of the drop/add period.
Sandra Hebert

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 110 Harmony (Fall/Spring: 3)

Prerequisite: MU 070 or permission of Department
Corequisite: MU 080 Keyboard Skills
Theory Course
Harmony will cover the principles of diatonic harmonic progression, four-part writing from a figured bass, and harmonization of chorale melodies. Students will increase their musical vocabulary to include modes and seventh chords, and continue to develop skills in analysis, keyboard harmony, and ear-training. It is recommended that music majors sign up for MU 081 Ear Training/Sight-Singing Lab.
Thomas Oboe Lee
Ralf Gawlick
Sandra Hebert
Julia Carey
The Department

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 130 Education Through Music (Spring: 3)

Offered Periodically
This is a course in general education, especially appropriate for majors and minors in education and music. The objectives of this course are to equip prospective teachers with strategies and methods of teaching and integrating music within the PreK -12 curriculum and to develop basic music competencies and understanding to engage a student's artistic, emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychological faculties. These objectives will be addressed through a variety of experiences: assigned readings, writings and research projects on topics of music philosophy and aesthetics, theories of children's musical development/learning, teaching methodologies and materials, hands-on activities, and in-class teaching opportunities.
Barbara Gawlick

Last Updated: 18-OCT-11

MU 175 Music in the Holocaust and the Third Reich (Spring: 3)

Offered Biennially
This course surveys the inspiring legacy of music by composers persecuted by the Nazis. We will study jazz, classical music, and cabaret from 1900-1944 targeted by the Nazi regime. Special focus is placed on the art and music created in Nazi concentration camps. Students will have the opportunity to experience live performances and archival materials and will meet Holocaust survivors, who will share their incredible testimonies with the class. Themes explored: socio-political impact on the arts in climates of intolerance and persecution; music and art as resistance; connections to contemporary forms of music such as rock, rap, reggae, etc.
Mark Ludwig

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 202 Music of the Renaissance (Spring: 3)

Offered Periodically
This course examines the composition and practice of music from circa 1420 to circa 1600 within the context of the unprecedented florescence in the arts, sciences, and letters throughout Western Europe known as the Renaissance. We examine the art of Netherlandish polyphony (sacred and secular); the sacred and secular genres of France, England, and Italy; and a broad range of instrumental music. The course explores musical analysis, performing practices, and notation, with an emphasis on the acquisition of some experience in performing Renaissance music. The works of the following composers are treated in detail: Josquin, Palestrina, Byrd, and Victoria.
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 203 Music of the Baroque (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Historical period
This course includes music in the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth centuries from Monteverdi and Schutz to Bach and Handel. We will study the rise of new forms and growth of instrumental and vocal music: opera, oratorio, cantata, trio sonata, solo sonata, concerto, concerto grosso, dance suite, and fugue.
T. Frank Kennedy, S.J.

Last Updated: 09-MAY-11

MU 205 Music of the Classic Period (Fall: 3)

Historical Period
This course will consider the musical trends of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (c. 1750-c. 1815) that are characterized by the movement towards simplicity in melody and a clarification of harmonic language. While music that served as a transitional style from the Baroque period will be the starting point for this course, in large measure, the focus of the course will be on the music of the two great composers who lived and worked in or around Vienna in the period 1780-1800: Haydn and Mozart.
Jeremiah W. McGrann

Last Updated: 06-FEB-12

MU 207 Music of the Romantic Era (Spring: 3)

Historical period.
A study of the new concepts, genres, and musical institutions that grew up in the nineteenth century as exemplified by such composers as Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, and Mahler.
Jeremiah W. McGrann, Sandra Fallon-Ludwig

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 209 Music of the Twentieth Century (Fall: 3)

Historical period.
This is a study of the music of the twentieth century, including concepts, ideas, techniques, compositional materials, and analytical principles of the music, as well as a historical, chronological survey of the composers and compositions of the modern era. The course will include a study of the twentieth-century masters Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg; nationalist composers like Bartok, Britten, and Copland; and the flowering of avant-garde music since 1945, including electronic music. A discussion of the development of Jazz and American Popular Song will be included.
Ralf Gawlick

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 211 Chromatic Harmony (Fall/Spring: 3)

Prerequisite: MU 110.
Corequisite: MU 080: Keyboard Skills.
Theory course.
This course covers the basic principles of chromatic progression. The proper use of secondary dominants, diminished seventh chords, and augmented triads precedes an in-depth study of the harmonization of Bach chorales, the concept of modulation using modal exchange, and the introduction of Neapolitan sixth and augmented sixth chords. We will study via harmonic and form analysis the works of great composers including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, and Wagner. It is recommended that music majors take MU 081 or 082: Ear Training/Sight-Singing Lab.
Thomas Oboe Lee, Ralf Gawlick

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 215 Jazz Harmony, Improvisation, and Arranging (Fall: 3)

Prerequisite: MU 211
Theory course
Students should have basic keyboard skills, but it is not essential.
This music theory course will focus on the study of chord structures, chord substitutions, chord scales, composition, and improvisation as they have been codified by contemporary jazz musicians. The technical innovations in the music of Sonny Rollins, Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis will be analyzed and discussed. Special attention will be placed on learning how to improvise on the great standards of the jazz repertory. Additional studies will include the following: piano lead sheet arrangements; ii-V-I keyboard harmony, re-harmonization, and composing original tunes based on chord structures of standards by Berlin, Kern, Gershwin; rhythm changes; and the blues.
Thomas Oboe Lee

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 220 Opera (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Genre Course
In this course we will look at how text and music combine to relate a drama, concentrating on five representative masters of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries--Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner. This course will take excursions into other works--the operas created for the court of Louis XIV, the vocal pyrotechnics of the Italian golden age of singing, the spectacle of French grand opera, and the operatic qualities of the modern Broadway musical.
Jeremiah W. McGrann

Last Updated: 06-FEB-12

MU 226 Masterworks of Choral Music (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Genre course.
A chronological examination of acknowledged masterpieces and lesser known works of the Western choral repertory in such genres as the Mass, motet, madrigal, oratorio, chorale, cantata, choral symphony, part songs, villancico, modern a capella music, and spirituals, among others. In addition to studying examples of each genre, we will look at the historical, social, and cultural contexts of this music and its performance.
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 227 Keyboard Music (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Genre course.
This course will show how composer/performers have explored and exploited the expressive possibilities inherent in three keyboard instruments (harpsichord, clavichord, and piano music for organ is not included). Students should come away with an understanding of the main differences in the construction and sonic possibilities of these three instruments, the change of musical styles and forms over a four hundred year period (from the Baroque through today), and specific knowledge of the masterpieces of keyboard music by some of the great keyboard composer/performers. Some previous acquaintance with the keyboard is recommended but not required.
The Department

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 231 Soundscapes/Early Modern Spain: Court, Cloister, and Chapel (Summer: 3)

Offered Periodically
Course introduces, through texts, visitors, and site visits, the extraordinary variety of early Spanish music as a key to understanding a thriving, dynamic, and diverse culture at the height of its imperial glory. Special consideration is given to a body of Hispanic music within the wider cultural, political, social, and institutional contexts which made it and make it intelligible in both past and in the present.
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 18-OCT-11

MU 260 J.S. Bach (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Composer course.
This course studies Johann Sebastian Bach's career as composer, performer, and teacher, noting the wide variety of ways his instrumental and vocal works reflect and influence creative thought from the eighteenth century to the present.
T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., Peter Watchorn

Last Updated: 06-FEB-12

MU 264 High Renaissance Masters (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
The High Renaissance is dominated by the works of four composers. Spanish priest Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) worked in Rome and Madrid composed a relatively small body of works, all of which are Latin liturgical pieces. The more prolific Italian Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) composed in secular and sacred genres. Much more versatile were the Englishman William Byrd (1540-1623) and the Franco-Fleming Orlande de Lassus (1532?-1594). Our course examines Renaissance lingua franca common to these composers and individual stylistic fingerprints that distinguish them. We examine the cultural, social, liturgical, professional, and national contexts within which each composer worked.
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 18-OCT-11

MU 265 Claudio Monteverdi (Fall: 3)

Offered Periodically
Composer Course.
Standing at the dawn of the Baroque, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) composed in an astonishing variety of styles in all of the important genres of both the High Renaissance and the early Baroque. Famously dubbed the ¿creator of modern music¿ (Leo Schrade), Monteverdi was also a master of the language and forms that he inherited from the past. Monteverdi transformed musical language and he created enduring masterpieces¿operas, liturgical works, madrigals, etc.¿that are as alive and fresh to us today as they were when they first performed. The course concentrates on intensive study of a representative sampling of Monteverdi¿s compositions.
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 06-FEB-12

MU 270 Beethoven (Spring: 3)

Composer course.
An introduction to Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), tracing his intellectual development within the culture and society of the Rhenish Enlightenment, his musical enrichment of the High Classicism of Mozart and Haydn (among others), and the heroic style of his best known works to his feelings and expressions of musical and social isolation in his last years and his problematic identity with the burgeoning romantic movement in Germany. Emphasis will be on the music itself, concentrating on compositions from three genres: piano sonata, string quartet, and symphony. Also covered will be the concerto, his opera Fidelio, and the Missa Solemnis.
Jeremiah W. McGrann

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 301 Introduction to World Music (Fall/Spring: 3)

Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Cross-cultural course within the major/minor.
This course provides an introduction to selected musical traditions from around the world, in their cultural contexts. Our main goals are to study the connections between music and other cultural features and institutions, to become familiar with the features of major musical styles from the cultures studied, and with basic concepts in ethnomusicology and comparative musicology. Case studies include Native North and South American; Western, Central, and Southern African; Arabic; Persian; Hindusthani; Karnatak; Javanese; and Japanese musics. Musical training and background are not required and are not presumed.
Donald James, Julie Hunter

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 306 African Music (Fall: 3)

Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Cross-cultural course within the major/minor.
This course surveys the musical styles and genres of selected African cultures, emphasizing traditions of the sub-Saharan region. Using case studies, we will explore the thesis of J. H. Kwabena Nketia that musical styles are created to suit specific cultural needs. Historical traditions and modern musics are included, with attention to issues of colonialism, nationalism, ethnicity, hybridity, diaspora, and globalization. No prerequisite; the ability to read western European music notation is not required.
Julie Hunter

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 307 Musics of Asia (Spring: 3)

Cross Listed with ASIAN THEATRE & DRAMA CT374
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Offered Periodically
Cross-cultural course within the major/minor.
This course offers an approach to Asian culture focusing on East and Southeast Asian performing arts and music. Through case studies from China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, this course surveys a selection of particular practices and problematizes the uses of music when performed as part of religious expressions, political strategies, identity claims, and entertainment. This course considers music through an historical perspective as well as through its contemporary expression, including the impacts of migration, diaspora, and globalization. There is no prerequisite to attend the course; the ability to read Western music notation is not required.
Stephanie Khoury

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 307.01 Musics of Asia (Spring 2010-2011: 3)

Cross Listed with ASIAN THEATRE & DRAMA CT374
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Offered PeriodicallyCross-Cultural Course within the major/minor
This course offers an approach to Asian culture focusing on East and Southeast Asian performing arts and music. Through case studies from China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, this course surveys a selection of particular practices and problematizes the uses of music when performed as part of religious expressions, political strategies, identity claims, and for entertainment. This course considers music through an historical perspective as well as through its contemporary expression, including the impacts of migration, Diaspora, and globalization. There is no prerequisite to attend the course: the ability to read Western music notation is not required.
Stephanie Khoury

Last Updated: 08-DEC-10

MU 312 Counterpoint I (Spring: 3)

Prerequisite: MU 110.
Theory course.
In this course we will study the fundamentals of two- and three- part polyphonic styles. Using the principles of species counterpoint, we will acquire a dependable contrapuntal technique to write short compositions , first in two parts and eventually in three. Assignments will include short works in free imitation, strict canon, and invertible counterpoint. Our studies will include a brief survey of the historical origins of Western polyphony and analysis of contrapuntal compositions of the Baroque period.
Mark Berger

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 315 Seminar in Composition (Spring: 3)

Prerequisite: MU 211
Theory course
The course will be conducted in two parts. One: class will meet once a month. Works in both tonal and twentieth century idioms will be discussed and used as models for student compositions. Two: each student will meet once a week with the instructor for a private studio composition lesson. The student will complete, by the end of the semester, three original compositions: theme and variations, a movement for string quartet, and a song cycle for voice and piano. The purchase of Finale music software, created by Coda Music Technology, Mac or PC version, is required for this course.
Thomas Oboe Lee, Ralf Gawlick

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 320 Music and America (Fall: 3)

Offered Biennially
Cross-Cultural Course
A survey of the musical heritage of the United States in the broadest historical and stylistic terms possible: from before the Puritans past punk. Included are religious and secular music as well as popular and elite genres, such as Native American pow-wow music, Puritan hymnody and colonial singing schools, minstrelsy and parlor music, the rise of nationalism and its rejection in art music, music in the theater and in films, jazz and gospel, popular music as social enforcer and as social critic. Important figures include William Billings, Stephen Foster, Charles Ives, Louis Armstrong, Aaron Copland, Elvis Presley, and Jimi Hendrix.
Jeremiah W. McGrann

Last Updated: 21-NOV-11

MU 321 Rhythm and Blues in American Music (Fall: 3)

Cross Listed with BK 266
Cross-Cultural Course within the major/minor
This course examines the elements of rhythm and blues in the Afro-American sense, and traces the influence of these elements on American popular and classical music from the early 1900s to the present. Records, tapes, and audio-visual material that include music from the early New Orleans period to present-day jazz/rock and music videos will be used throughout the course.
Department

Last Updated: 19-DEC-11

MU 322 Jazz in America (Spring: 3)

Cross Listed with BK 285
Cross-Cultural Course
This course provides a thorough and detailed study and examination of the Black music that has come to be known as jazz. The socio-political nature of Black music in America, Black music in education, and the relations of Black music and the mass media are considered. Students will have the opportunity to experience live performances of jazz and will be asked to do a general analysis of at least one recording (LP) of a jazz performance.
Department

Last Updated: 19-DEC-11

MU 326 History of Jazz (Fall: 3)

Offered Biennially
Cross-cultural course within the major/minor.
A history of America's music from its origins in African traditions through the contemporary scene. The course will explore its African roots; its consolidation in New Orleans and its spread into the cultural mainstrean in the Jazz Age; its transformation into bebop, cool, third stream, funk, and avant-garde trends; and the return to traditionalism. Key figures covered will be Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, and Marsalis, among others.
Donald James

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 330 Introduction to Irish Folk Music (Fall: 3)

Cross-cultural course.
An introduction to Irish music, including a historical examination of the music and its indigenous instruments and a close study of contemporary developments arising from the folk music revival of the 1960s, particularly in relation to ensemble performance. Both dance music and the vocal tradition will be surveyed, with an emphasis on the former. Live performance will be incorporated where possible in class, combined with extensive use of audio material as a basis for discussion and analysis.
Donald James

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 400 Readings and Research (Fall/Spring: 3)


Michael Noone, Jeremiah W. McGrann, Thomas Oboe Lee, Sandra Hebert, Ralf Gawlick

Last Updated: 23-AUG-10

MU 401 Senior Recital Preparation (Spring: 3)

Restricted for music majors. A course preparing for a 40-minute concert with research paper required.
The Department

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11

MU 403 Honors Thesis Preparation (Fall/Spring: 3)


The Department

Last Updated: 15-FEB-10

MU 405 Senior Seminar (Fall: 3)

For music majors in their senior year (exception only by special permission). Through supervised reading, research, writing, discussion, and performance, this seminar will help majors develop a framework for synthesizing their various courses into a coherent whole, with special emphasis in the area of strongest interest (theory, composition, history, cross-cultural studies, or performance). It will also help prepare students for examinations in listening repertoire and ear-training (see major requirements).
Michael Noone

Last Updated: 31-OCT-11