Musicology

MUCO 120: Introduction to Jazz History

An exploration of the musical development and cultural impact of jazz from its origins to the present for students not majoring in music. Lectures, films, and readings provide historical details. Does not satisfy course requirements for any music major.

MUCO 133: Perspectives on Genius: The life and musical impact of Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven, arguably one of the most famous composers of all time, is a compelling and fascinating figure in classical music. He occupies a central position as the architect of musical Romanticism and his influence continues today. In additions to studying his music from the perspective of his own time, we will discuss his extraordinary creative personality and the reception of his music by subsequent composers and listeners. A number of concerts and outside visits will be organized, and students will be encoursaged to attend relevant performances in London, for which they will be prepared in class. The course will be general in scope, and no prior musical knowledge will be expected. The course does not satisfy requirements for any music major. Not open to students who have received or need to receive credit for MUCO 433.

MUCO 160: Advance of the American Musical

A study of this uniquely American theatrical form as it develops in response to our culture throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. Ability to read music helpful, but not required.

MUCO 191: Directed Study in Musicology

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.

MUCO 210: Topics in Musicology for the Non-Major

This course will enable non-music majors to engage with the discipline of music history. May be repeated when topic is different. Does not satisfy course requirements for any music major.

Topic for Fall 2019: Popular Music, 1954-1979: The Rise of Rock-and-Roll
Growing out of the need for the young generation to have a voice separate from the influence of their parents, Rock-and-Roll will be studied from its genesis in the mid-50s, combining influences from R&B, Country, and Pop, through the variety of sub-genres in the 60s to the punk and disco movements in the 70s that attempted to return R/R to its simpler origins and functions. Movers and shakers who shaped the growth and acceptance of R/R as a popular artistic culture as well as the multitude of social, political, and racial challenges that influenced popular music will be the basis of discussions in class.

MUCO 212: Introduction to Musicologies II

This course is the second in a two-term sequence that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of music, drawing upon fields such as ethnomusicology, music history, popular music studies, sound studies, cultural studies, music hermeneutics, gender studies, critical race theory, post-colonial studies, historiography and performance studies. We will explore musical styles, practices, functions, meanings and values in cross-cultural and transhistorical contexts. We will develop--and think critically about--the power of engaging actively, intensively and creatively with questions, ideas and sources.

MUCO 223: Music & Mystical Experience

What is mystical experience? And how does music evoke, induce, or otherwise bring us into relation with it? These questions motivate a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and diachronic exploration of the ways in which human beings experience the numinous through music. In the spirit of its title, the course also introduces specific contemplative practices in order to cultivate qualities of mind conducive to contemplative engagement with music and sound. Not open to students who have received, or need to receive, credit for MUCO 423.

MUCO 232: Signifying Identity: The Semiotics of Embodying Musical Genre Affiliations

The exploration of how people embody and display their identities as they relate to musical genres. From Doc Martens to zoot suits, body mod to makeup, we will learn about the semiotics of musical genre affiliations, paying attention to how embodied expressions of affiliation intersect with different aspects of identities such as ethnicity, queerness, or race. Class includes discussions, projects, and speakers.

MUCO 391: Directed Study in Musicology

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.

MUCO 399: Independent Study in Musicology

Students considering an honors project should register for independent study for one or more terms.

MUCO 421: Music and Gender

This course will explore the relationship between music and gender in the Western world from the Middle Ages to the present. Considering classical and popular music, including music videos and film, as well as writings about gender and music, we will explore music's role as a reflection of, reaction to, and active participant in gender construction.

MUCO 423: Music and Mystical Experience

What is mystical experience? And how does music evoke, induce, or otherwise bring us into relation with it? These questions motivate a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and diachronic exploration of the ways in which human beings experience the numinous through music. Readings from contemporary and historical sources in eastern and western philosophy, psychology, and the history and theory of music provide intellectual and aesthetic contexts in which to engage with a variety of musical practices and traditions. In the spirit of its title, the course also requires a commitment to specific contemplative practices—not bound to any particular belief system—that are introduced in an effort to cultivate qualities of mind conducive to contemplative engagement with a work of music or the experience of sound. Not open to students who have received credit, or need to receive credit, for MUCO 223.

MUCO 433: Perspectives on Genius: The life and musical impact of Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven, arguably one of the most famous composers of all time, is a compelling and fascinating figure in classical music. He occupies a central position as the architect of musical Romanticism and his influence continues today. In additions to studying his music from the perspective of his own time, we will discuss his extraordinary creative personality and the reception of his music by subsequent composers and listeners. A number of concerts and outside visits will be organized, and students will be encoursaged to attend relevant performances in London, for which they will be prepared in class. This course is a seminar involving independent research. Not open to students who have received credit for MUCO 133.

MUCO 440: Topics in Musicology: Life and Works

A study of a composer’s career, emphasizing the relationship between composer and society. Topics in this series vary from year to year. May be repeated when topic is different.

MUCO 450: Topics in Musicology: Genre History

An examination of the historical development of a single genre, stressing the effects of societal changes. Topics in this series vary from year to year. May be repeated when topic is different.

Topic for Fall 2019: The German Lied and National Identity
In this course, we will examine Lieder from the 18th to the 20th centuries from a socio-cultural perspective to explore the multiple ways that the genre has been bound up with German national identity.

MUCO 452: History of the Wind Band

This course will be an examination of the history and development of the wind band as an artistic medium, focusing on repertoire and instrumentation development and cultural influences. The growth of the modern concert wind ensemble will be studied as a part of the evolution beginning with Gabrieli and proceeding through classical, romantic, and contemporary musical trends.

MUCO 455: Jazz History

A study of the contributions of select jazz artists through analysis of recordings, historical films, solo transcriptions, scores, and readings from texts.

MUCO 470: Topics in Ethnomusicology - Regions

An examination of music of a particular geographic region or diasporic group. Topics and prerequisites may vary from year to year. May be repeated when topic is different.

Topic for Fall 2019: Music of India
We will explore aspects of North and South Indian classical musics and dance in this course, and touch on folk and popular musics as well. Students will become familiar with Indian tuning systems, rhythmic patterns, formal structures, and performance practices. We will examine music’s role in society in India as well as among diasporic populations, and investigate music’s connections to other areas of artistic, social, spiritual, and political life.

MUCO 490: Topics in Ethnomusicology - Issues

An examination of a particular issue in ethnomusicological study. Topics and prerequisites may vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit when topic is different.

MUCO 494: Music and the Environment

In many societies around the world, people use music to connect with nature, specific places, and surrounding environments. This course will explore music performance practices and repertoire that expresses or enacts these connections. Case studies will include songlines and Australian Aboriginal land claims, North American protest songs, and the intimate relationships between music and nature of the BaAka people in central Africa and among the Kakuli people in Papua, among others.

MUCO 590: Tutorial in Studies Musicology

MUCO 595: Internship in Musicology

An experience-based project in music developed in consultation with a designated supervisor and a conservatory faculty member, comprising a work component and an academic component. The academic component of the internship, carried out under the supervision of the faculty member, may include readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty member, and a written report or other culminating project appropriate to the discipline.

MUCO 690: Tutorial in Studies Musicology

MUCO 695: Internship in Musicology

An experience-based project in music developed in consultation with a designated supervisor and a conservatory faculty member, comprising a work component and an academic component. The academic component of the internship, carried out under the supervision of the faculty member, may include readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty member, and a written report or other culminating project appropriate to the discipline.