Course Descriptions

MUSI 101 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Musical Literature
A survey of the musical literatures that make up the common listening experience of contemporary Americans, with an emphasis on such "classical" repertoires as symphony, opera, "early music" "new music," blues, and jazz. Teaches effective ways of listening to and thinking critically about each repertoire introduced. Considers how musical choices reflect or create cultural identities, including attitudes toward gender, ethnicity, social relationships, and ideas of the sacred.

MUSI 131 - (3) (S)
Basic Musicianship
No previous knowledge of music required. Not open to students already qualified to elect MUSI 231 or MUSI 331. Study of the rudiments of music and training in the ability to read music.

MUSI 151-158 - (1) (S)
Performance

MUSI 193, 194 - (1-3) (SI)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 202 - (3) (IR)
Opera
No previous knowledge of music required
Study of musical, literary, and dramatic aspects of representative operatic works.

MUSI 203 - (3) (IR)
Poetry and Song
No previous knowledge of music required Formal and expressive correlation of text and music in selected vocal works.

MUSI 204 - (3) (IR)
Symphonic Masterworks
No previous knowledge of music required
Study of symphonic music, including the concerto, from 1700 to the present.

MUSI 205 (3) (IR)
Keyboard Music
No previous knowledge of music required
Study of harpsichord, organ, and piano music after 1600.

MUSI 206 - (3) (IR)
Musical Criticism
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
An inquiry into meaning in music.

MUSI 208 - (3) (Y)
Black Popular Performance
Explores the polyphonic relationships and meanings of hip-hop through the culturally relative musical ideals found in everyday and ritualistic performance and the study of cultural history in the twentieth century. Critical thinking is developed through musical participation, reading, listening, and discussion.

MUSI 209 - (3) (IR)
History of Slavic Music I
No previous knowledge of music required
Study of the history of music in Russia, its stylistic orientation, and its relation to Western European musical culture.

MUSI 210 - (3) (IR)
History of Slavic Music II
No previous knowledge of music required
Study of the history of music in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, and its relation to Western European musical culture.

MUSI 212 - (3) (Y)
History of Jazz Music
No previous knowledge of music required
Survey of jazz music from before 1900 through the stylistic changes and trends of the twentieth century; important instrumental performers, composers, arrangers, and vocalists.

MUSI 221, 222 - (3) (Y)
Composers
Study of the lives and works of individuals (e.g., Bach, Beethoven, Cage, Ellington, Smyth) whose participation in musical culture has led them to focus on the creation of musical "works." Topics announced in advance.

MUSI 230A - (2) (S)
Keyboard Skills (Beginning)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
Introductory keyboard skills; includes sight-reading, improvisation, and accompaniment at the keyboard in a variety of styles. No previous knowledge of music required.

MUSI 230B - (2) (S)
Keyboard Skills (Intermediate)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
Intermediate keyboard skills for students with some previous musical experience. Includes sight-reading, improvisation, and accompaniment at the keyboard in a variety of styles. Prepares music majors for their keyboard proficiency requirement.

MUSI 231 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Musical Theory
Prerequisite: Ability to read music and permission of instructor
Not open to students already qualified to elect MUSI 331. Topics include the material of music: rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony; the elements of musical composition.

MUSI 271, 272 - (1-3) (IR)
Music Seminar
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Readings, discussion and individual projects in the literature and theory of music.

MUSI 293, 294 - (1-3) (IR)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 300 - (3) (E)
Studies in Pre-Modern Music (to 1500)
Prerequisite: Ability to read music. MUSI 331 highly recommended
An introduction to the variety of repertoires and music cultures known to have thrived in pre-modern Europe, and the ways these music have been assimilated into 20th-century American ideas about "music history." Specific topics announced in advance, such as: the music of 12th century France; music in monastic life, 800 to 1500; music and mystical vision, the cosmology of Hildegard von Bingen; music, cultural exchange, and power, Burgundy and Italy in the 15th century.

MUSI 301 - (3) (E)
Studies in Early Modern Music (1500-1700)
Prerequisite: The ability to read music. MUSI 331 highly recommended
An introduction to crucial shifts in musical culture that signaled the emergence of a self-consciously "modern," self-consciously "European" musicality over the period 1500-1700; and to the ways such early modern genres as the polyphonic Mass, the madrigal, opera, oratorio, cantata, sonata, suite, and congregational hymnody have been assimilated into 20th-century American ideas about "musicality." Specific topics announced in advance.

MUSI 302 - (3) (Y)
Studies in Eighteenth-Century Music
Prerequisite MUSI 331 and MUSI 305; or permission of instructor
Encompasses the music of the high Baroque from its roots in the 17th century through Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi; classical music from the Gallant through Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven; and the rise of Romanticism. Music is considered from both a historical and a theoretical point of view, and within the context of 18th-century social, cultural, political, and philosophical life and thought.

MUSI 303 - (3) (Y)
Studies in Nineteenth-Century Music
Prerequisite: MUSI 331; or permission of instructor

MUSI 307 - (3) (IR)
Worlds of Music
Exploration of world musical cultures through music-making, movement, listening, and case studies. Issues include how musical and social aesthetics are intertwined, the connections between style, community, and identity, and the concept of colonialism as it forms the relatively new category "world music."

MUSI 308 - (3) (IR)
American Music
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Historical and/or ethnomusicological perspectives on folk, popular, and "art" music in the Americas, with a particular emphasis on 19th-and 20th-century African-American traditions including spirituals, work songs, minstrelsy, blues, R&B, soul, and hip-hop.

MUSI 309 - (3) (IR)
Performance in Africa
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Explores music/dance performance in Africa through reading, hands-on workshops, discussion, and audio and video examples. The course covers both "traditional" and "popular" styles, leading us to question those categories. Class meetings focus not only on musical repertoire, sociomusical circumstances, and processes, but also on the problems and politics of translating performance practice from one cultural context to another.

MUSI 311 - (1) (Y)
Introduction to Music Research
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
An overview of the print and electronic resources available for the study of music and of the principles for evaluating music research materials.

MUSI 312 - (3) (E)
Jazz Studies
Prerequisites: MUSI 331 or comparable fluency in music notation, and permission of instructor
An introduction to jazz as an advanced field of study, with equal attention given to historical and theoretical approaches.

MUSI 331 - (3) (Y)
Theory I
Prerequisite: Ability to read music, and familiarity with basic concepts of pitch intervals and scales; corequisite: MUSI 333, 334, or 335, except for students who have already passed the exit test for MUSI 335.
Study of the pitch and rhythmic aspects of several musical styles, including European art music, blues, African drumming, and popular music. Focuses on concepts and notation related to scales and modes, harmony, meter, form, counterpoint, and style, through course work and written exercises.

MUSI 332 - (3) (Y)
Theory II
Prerequisite: MUSI 331 or permission of instructor; corequisite: MUSI 333, 334, or 335, except for students who have already passed the exit test for MUSI 335.
Study of pitch and formal organization in European concert music of the 18th and 19th centuries. Includes the study of four-part vocal writing, keyboard accompaniment in 18th-century style, key relations, and form. Students compose numerous short passages of music and study significant compositions by period composers.

MUSI 333, 334, 335 - (1) (S)
Musicianship I, II, III
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Lab course providing practical experience with many aspects of musical perception and performance, such as accurate vocal production of pitch, musical memory, identification of intervals and rhythmic patterns, and uses of notation in dictation and sight-singing. Students entering the MUSI 333-335 sequence take a test to determine the appropriate level of their first course. At the end of each course in the MUSI 333-335 sequence, students take a placement test to determine whether they may enter a higher-level course: enrollment in MUSI 334 requires a passing score on the exit test for MUSI 333; enrollment in MUSI 335 requires a passing score on the exit test for MUSI 334. Courses may be repeated for credit, but each course may be counted toward the major only once. Students enrolled in MUSI 331, 332, or 431, have priority; course open to other students as space permits.

MUSI 336 - (3) (S)
Tonal Composition
The craft of musical composition is developed through exercises in polyphonic writing, canon and imitative counterpoint, and homophonic writing emphasizing phrase structure and small forms. The compositions are performed and criticized in class. The object of the class is to make manifest and add ideas covered in MUSI 331 (Theory I) through actual writing. This course is essential for those students who plan to pursue creative writing in music.

MUSI 339 -(3) (Y)
Introduction to Music and Computers
An introductory course in music and technology. Students gain hands-on experience with synthesizers, music notation software, and the control of MIDI instruments via computer.

MUSI 351-358 - (1-2) (S)
Advanced Performance
Prerequisite: Music majors with permission of department chair by auditions; all other students must register for applied music through the music department office.

MUSI 351 Voice

MUSI 352 Piano

MUSI 353 Organ, Harpsichord

MUSI 354 Strings

MUSI 355 Woodwinds

MUSI 356 Brass

MUSI 357 Percussion

MUSI 358 Harp, Guitar

Because the subject matter changes each semester, courses numbered MUSI 351-358 may be repeated as often as desired, but no more than eight performance credits may be applied toward the baccalaureate degree in the College. These courses may not be applied toward the major.

MUSI 360 - (2) (S)
Jazz Ensemble
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 361 - (2) (S)
Orchestra
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 362 - (2) (S)
Wind Ensemble
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 363 - (1) (S)
Chamber Ensemble
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 364 - (2) (S)
Coro Virginia
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 365 - (2) (S)
University Singers
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 366 - (1) (S)
Opera Workshop
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
Students prepare scenes from operas for modest stage presentation. Roles are assigned according to vocal skills and maturity. Scenes may include solo, ensemble, and chorus singing. Students receive coaching in interpretation and stage actions. Scenes are selected from three centuries of opera repertory and sung in German, Italian, French, and English.

MUSI 367 - (1) (S)
Collegium Musicum
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
Performance of music written before 1750 on instruments appropriate to the period.

MUSI 368 - (1) (S)
New Music Ensemble
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
Performance of vocal and instrumental music of the twentieth century.

MUSI 369 - (2) (S)
African Drumming and Dance Ensemble
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by audition
A practical, hands-on course focusing on several music/dance forms from West Africa (Ghana, Togo) and Central Africa (BaAka pygmies). No previous experience with music or dance is necessary. Special attention is given to developing tight ensemble dynamics, aural musicianship, and a polymetric sensibility.

Note   Because the subject matter changes each semester, courses numbered 360-369 may be repeated as often as desired, but no more than eight performance credits may be applied toward the baccalaureate degree in the College. These courses may not be applied toward the major.

MUSI 393, 394 - (1-3) (SI)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 404 - (3) (O)
Music Since 1945
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 408 - (3) (IR)
Topics in American Music
Prerequisite: MUSI 308 or permission of instructor
Topics, announced in advance, about folk, popular, jazz or art music traditions in American culture.

MUSI 419, 420 - (3) (IR)
Music Seminar
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Music seminars are small, discussion-oriented classes focusing on a particular topic in the study of music. Topics announced in advance.

MUSI 421 - (3) (O)
Music and Sound in Film
Prerequisite: Some music background, such as prior music study or MUSI 101. Limited to undergraduate students and not open to anyone who has taken MUSI 521.
A consideration of the many contributions sound and music make to our experience of film, through analysis of individual films. This inquiry is supported by readings from theoretical and critical writings on sound, film, and film sound.

MUSI 422 - (3) (IR)
Music and the Black Atlantic
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Analysis of the constructions of African or black identities in the Americas. Race, ethnicity, gender, and nation politics are explored relative to notions of the past, tradition, religion, sexuality, and the legacy of slavery.

MUSI 423 - (3) (IR)
Seminar in Ethnomusicology
Prerequisite: MUSI 307 or permission of instructor
Intended as a first intensive experience with ethnomusicology and performance studies, this seminar explores musical ethnography (descriptive writing), experiential research, sociomusical processes, and other interdisciplinary approaches to musical performance widely defined. Addresses issues involving race, class, gender, and identity politics in light of particular topics and areas studies.

MUSI 424 - (3) (IR)
Field Research and Ethnography of Performance
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Working with and critiquing ideas about ethnography and performativity, students explore epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic issues as they relate to field research, and push the envelope of "creative non-fiction" in the ethnographic realm through their writing.

MUSI 431 - (3) (Y)
Theory III
Prerequisite: MUSI 332 or permission of instructor; corequisite: MUSI 333, 334, or 335, except for students who have already passed the exit test for MUSI 335
Studies in 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century techniques and styles, through analysis and composition.

MUSI 432 - (3) (Y)
Musical Analysis
Prerequisite: MUSI 431 or permission of instructor
Study of various approaches to musical analysis; readings from the most important theoretical literature; and practical exercises in analysis of music from all periods.

MUSI 433 - (3) (IR)
Modal Counterpoint
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Written and aural exercises based on analyses of the contrapuntal style of Palestrina and his contemporaries.

MUSI 434 - (3) (IR)
Tonal Counterpoint
Prerequisite: MUSI 332 or the equivalent
Written and aural exercises based on analyses of the contrapuntal style of J.S. Bach and his successors.

MUSI 440 - (2) (IR)
Advanced Musicianship
Prerequisites: Passing score on the exit test for MUSI 335
Includes advanced ear-training, sight-singing and keyboard harmony.

MUSI 441, 442 - (3) (Y)
Conducting I, II
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 and permission of instructor
Study of the theory and practice of conducting, score analysis and rehearsal technique.

MUSI 463, 464 - (1-3) (IR)
Solo and Ensemble Repertory
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Analysis of selected scores for instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble; and the practical and aesthetic demands of the performance style of the period. Class demonstrations.

MUSI 471, 472 - (1-3) (IR)
Music Seminar
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Readings, discussions, and individual projects in the literature and theory of music.

MUSI 481, 482 - (3) (Y)
Composition
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 493, 494 - (1-3) (SI)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 500 - (3) (IR)
Studies in Pre-Modern Music
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 501 - (3) (IR)
Studies in Early Modern Music
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 502 - (3) (IR)
Studies in Eighteenth-Century Music
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 503 - (3) (IR)
Studies in Nineteenth-Century Music
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 504 - (3) (IR)
Music Since 1945
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

MUSI 505 - (3) (IR)
Vocal Music
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or the equivalent and permission of instructor
Topics, announced in advance, selected from opera, oratorio, choral music, or song.

MUSI 506 - (3) (IR)
Instrumental Music
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or the equivalent and permission of instructor
Topics, announced in advance, are selected from the orchestral, chamber music or solo repertories.

MUSI 507 - (3) (IR)
Composers
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or the equivalent and permission of instructor
Study, announced in advance, of the life and works of a composer (or school of composers).

MUSI 508 - (3) (IR)
American Music
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or the equivalent and permission of instructor
Topics, announced in advance, about folk, popular, or art music, or jazz.

MUSI 509 - (3) (IR)
Studies in the History of Slavic Music I
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or equivalent and permission of instructor
Selected topics in the history of music in Russia and its relationship to Western European musical cultures.

MUSI 510 - (3) (IR)
Studies in the History of Slavic Music II
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or equivalent and permission of instructor
Selected topics in the history of music in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia and its relationship to Western European musical cultures.

MUSI 519, 520 - (3) (SI)
Studies in Musical Literature
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Selected topics or genres, to be announced in advance, from various periods of music history.

MUSI 521 - (3) (O)
Music and Sound in Film
Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only who have had prior music study; not open to anyone who has taken MUSI 421
A consideration of the many contributions sound and music make to our experience of film, through analysis of individual films. This inquiry is supported by readings from theoretical and critical writings on sound, film, and film sound.

MUSI 522 - (3) (IR)
Resources in Afro-American Music
Prerequisite: MUSI 332 or equivalent and permission of instructor

MUSI 523 - (3) (IR)
Selected Topics in Ethnomusicology
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or the equivalent and permission of instructor
Study of the methodology of the discipline of Ethnomusicology. Specific cultural areas to be covered depend on the interests of the students.

MUSI 524 - (3) (IR)
Music and Narrative
A seminar exploring analogies between eighteenth and nineteenth century instrumental music and narrative genres such as prose fiction or drama.

MUSI 526 - (3) (IR)
Artistry of Jazz Piano
Prerequisite: Intermediate keyboard facility; permission of instructor by audition
Analysis and practice in Jazz piano improvisation; class discussions and demonstration. Enrollment is limited to ten.

MUSI 531 - (3) (Y)
Theory Review
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Studies in tonal and twentieth-century practices.

MUSI 532 - (3) (Y)
Musical Analysis
Prerequisite: MUSI 431 or permission of instructor
Study of various approaches to musical analysis; readings from the most important theoretical literature; and practical exercises in analysis of music from all periods.

MUSI 533 - (3) (IR)
Modal Counterpoint
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Written and aural exercises based on analyses of the contrapuntal style of Palestrina and his contemporaries.

MUSI 534 - (3) (IR)
Tonal Counterpoint
Prerequisite: MUSI 332 or the equivalent
Written and aural exercises based on analyses of the contrapuntal style of J.S. Bach and his successors.

MUSI 535 - (3) (O)
Instrumentation
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of the characteristics of orchestral instruments.

MUSI 536 - (3) (O)
Orchestration
Prerequisite: MUSI 535
Composing and arranging music for orchestral instruments in various combinations.

MUSI 537 (3) (IR)
Materials of Contemporary Music
Prerequisite: MUSI 431 or the equivalent
Topics include tonal and non-tonal techniques; harmonic and contrapuntal writing and analysis.

MUSI 538 - (3) (Y)
Electro-Acoustic Music
Prerequisite: MUSI 537 or the equivalent
Explores the use of musique concrete as well as analog-and-digital-synthesis in musical compositions. Original student compositions analyzed in weekly discussions.

MUSI 541, 542 - (3) (Y)
Conducting I, II
Prerequisites: MUSI 332 or equivalent and permission of instructor
Study of the theory and practice of conducting rehearsal technique.

MUSI 544 (3) (SI)
Music in Performance
Prerequisites: Previous musical experience and permission of instructor
Provides a venue for students to study how musical performance consciously or unconsciously reflects its historical and cultural context. Through readings, listenings, and individual projects that focus on the Western art music tradition, students learn to examine their premises about performance (and hence about the very nature of music as constituted by our culture), and to evaluate the cultural and ideological bases of their own musical aesthetic judgements.

MUSI 551-558 - (2) (S)
Graduate Performance
Prerequisite: Graduate students in music with permission of department chair by audition

MUSI 560-570 - (1-2) (S)
Performing Ensembles
Prerequisites: Graduate student in music with permission of instructor by audition

MUSI 571 - (3) (IR)
Canon and Fugue
Prerequisite: MUSI 431 and permission of instructor
Study of the composition and analysis of canons and fugues focusing on works of J.S. Bach.

MUSI 581, 582 - (3) (Y)
Composition
Prerequisites: MUSI 431 and permission of instructor

MUSI 593, 594 - (1-3) (SI)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Independent study dealing with a specific topic. Primary emphasis is not on research.

Continue to: Personal Skills
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