| Music
Courses
Courses with * fulfill General
Education requirements
(A-AP) = Arts - Applied
(A-TH) = Arts - Theoretical/Historical
(A-AR) = Analytical - Abstract
Reasoning
(A-QR) = Analytical - Quantitative
Reasoning
(CP) = Comparative Practices
(D-D) = Diversity - Domestic
(D-I) = Diversity - International
(D-L) = Diversity - Language
(ES) = Earlham Seminar
(IP) = Interpretive Practices
(SI) = Scientific Inquiry
(W) = Wellness
(AY) = Offered in
Alternative Year |
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Performing Groups
Individual Instruction:
Instrumental and Vocal
*MUS 141 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC:
WESTERN EMPHASIS
(3 credits)
Primarily a listening course employing a variety of strategies using music examples mainly from the Western tradition of written music from medieval, Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, modern and postmodern times. Parallel narrative regarding vernacular and popular musics included. Students learn to think, talk and write about music using terms such as melody, harmony, rhythm, form and texture. Ethical and political considerations encountered. (A-TH)
*MUS 150 EARLHAM SEMINAR: BEETHOVEN
(4 credits)
Offered for first-year
students. Topics vary. (ES)
*MUS 150 EARLHAM SEMINAR: BACH (4
credits)
Offered for first-year
students. Topics vary. (ES)
*MUS 161 INTRODUCTION TO NON-WESTERN MUSICS (3 credits)
A first introduction to the study of music. Students learn to talk and write about music effectively, notice musical features when listening and understand the variety of ways in which music is made and valued around the globe. Explores musics of several distinct regions or ethnicities, including India, Latin America, West Africa, the Middle East or the oral traditions of Europe. (A-TH, D-I)
MUS 170 RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC (1
credit)
An introduction to the rudiments of Western notated music: notes, rhythms, scales, key signatures and simple forms. Designed to work in conjunction with Music 171, but open to all students.
*MUS 171 MUSIC THEORY I: INTRODUCTION AND FOUNDATION (3
credits)
Introduction to Western music theory rooted in a historical/ philosophical approach connecting the theory of music to ancient concepts of the spirituality of number. Discusses modes, scales, chords, melody, chord progressions and form. Provides an understanding of Western harmony through the concept of the secondary dominant and the basics of rock and jazz harmony. Emphasizes creative projects, exercises in part writing, harmonic analysis and ear training. Co-requisite: MUS 170 or successful completion of MUS 170 Pre-Test. (A-TH)
SERIES: TOPICS OF WESTERN MUSIC — MUS 341-344
Courses present concentrated study of both the life and the musical
compositions of the individual composer. Students gain an in-depth
look at the composer's unique musical style within the cultural context
of the time period.
*MUS 341 MUSIC OF J. S. BACH (3 credits)
(A-TH) (AY)
*MUS 342 MUSIC OF VIENNA (3 credits)
Taught in Austria as part of an off-campus program. Focuses on composers and cultural history from that city. (A-TH) (AY)
*MUS 344 MUSIC OF BEETHOVEN (3 credits)
(A-TH) (AY)
*MUS 346 CHORAL LITERATURE (3 credits)
A survey of sacred and secular literature primarily from the Western tradition from the Renaissance to the present with emphasis on the evolution and development of choral forms and styles, performance and performance practice. Develops listening skills and understanding of historical context. (A-TH) (AY)
MUS 350 INTRODUCTION TO CHORAL CONDUCTING (3 credits)
Designed to be the experienced choral student's first formal choral
conducting training. Develops the ability to communicate the
requirements of a choral score through a basic gestural vocabulary.
Students gain understanding of the conductor's role in rehearsal
and performance of unison music through four-part music. Addresses elements
of meter, tempo, dynamics, texture, articulation and phrasing.
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor. (AY)
SERIES: TOPICS IN NON-WESTERN MUSICS AND ORAL TRADITIONS OF THE
WEST — MUS 360-369
Courses introduce specific repertoires and survey the music of a geographic region, ethnicity or broad genre. Students explore what is valued in these musics by the people closest to them (musicians, patrons, intended listeners), identify regional or historical styles, and understand the factors contributing to their formation.
MUS 360 MUSIC AND POLITICS IN CHINA (1949–PRESENT) (3
credits)
*MUS 361 MUSICS OF INDONESIA (3 credits)
(A-TH, D-I) (AY)
*MUS 362 MUSIC OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (3 credits)
(A-TH, D-D) (AY)
*MUS 363 MUSICS OF AFRICA (3 credits)
(A-TH, D-I) (AY)
*MUS 364 MUSICS OF JAPAN (3 credits)
(A-TH, D-I) (AY)
*MUS 369 JAZZ HISTORY (3 credits)
(A-TH, D-D) (AY)
MUS 370 EAR TRAINING
(1 credit)
Provides opportunities for practicing taking melodic and harmonic dictation and to learn the art of sight singing with solfege (movable do). Based on the use of online dictation exercises and self-directed work in sight singing.
*MUS 371 MUSIC THEORY II: COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES —
COUNTERPOINT
AND COMMON PRACTICE
(3 credits)
Focuses on the harmonic language of the common practice period. A study of the music of the Baroque and Classical periods through harmonic analysis and through composition exercises in the styles of the great masters. Begins with a short study of Renaissance counterpoint, then explores the transition from modality to tonality, including an investigation of just intonation and equal temperament. Includes references to contemporary music. Prerequisite: MUS 171 and Keyboard Proficiency Exam or Placement Exam. (A-TH)
*MUS 372 MUSIC TECHNOLOGY (3 credits)
Builds skills in composing, arranging and performing, using music technology. Studies MIDI and MIDI orchestration, sound synthesis and sampling, digital audio concepts, notation software, basic mixing board technique and the programming language MAX, that allows the user to create interactive software for computer-enhanced live performance or algorithmic composition. Supported by such software as Pro Tools and Finale. While prior programming experience is not required, students must have a basic knowledge of music notation. Prerequisite: MUS 171 or consent of the instructor. (A-TH)
MUS 381 MUSIC AND MORALITY (3 credits)
Examines the following issues from a variety of historical and cultural positions: 1) the role of music in moral education; 2) what to do when aesthetic and moral evaluation conflict; 3) whether music — apart from words — can be morally good or bad; and 4) the vexing problem of ownership (is it immoral to "steal" someone's music?). (AY)
MUS 382 MUSIC AND GENDER (3 credits)
Explores how the practice of music is gendered — how it is overlaid with gender associations and expectations. Looks at the role gender and sexual orientation play in the music-historical canon and non-Western musical traditions. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. (AY)
MUS 383 MUSIC AND LANGUAGE (3 credits)
Interdisciplinary exploration of the complex relationship between language and music. Considers the central question: In what sense can music be considered a language? Examines the features of language found and not found in music. Includes selections by philosophers, composers, psychologists, anthropologists, linguists and musicologists. (AY)
MUS 441 HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC 900–1799 (3 credits)
The study of Western music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, baroque and classical eras. Emphasizes musical style characteristics and important genres of the various musical periods, the social and historical contexts of the composers, and uses of the music. Included in the music to be considered are plainchant, Josquin, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Mozart and Haydn. Prerequisite: Placement Exam or MUS 141. Students encouraged to have taken or to take concurrently MUS 118, 171 or 370.
MUS 442 HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC 1800–PRESENT (3 credits)
The study of Western music of the late classical period through romanticism, impressionism, expressionism and other 20th-century movements through post- modernism. Emphasizes musical style characteristics and important genres of the various periods, the social and historical contexts of the composers, and the uses of the music. Considers works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Brahms, Wagner, Strauss, Debussy, Schoenberg, Berg, Bartok, Stravinsky, Ives, Chaminade, Boulanger, Crumb, Beach, Cage, Glass, Oliveros, Reich and Zwilich. Prerequisite: Knowledge of staff notation. Placement Exam or MUS 141. Students encouraged to have taken or to take concurrently MUS 118, 171 or 370.
MUS 450 ADVANCED CHORAL CONDUCTING (3 credits)
Builds on the basic gestural vocabulary developed in MUS 350. Addresses more complex music and more demanding choral situations. Significant time devoted to ear training, choral score analysis, observation of other professional conductors in the area, and scholarly writings in the field. Individual tutorial sessions alternate with hands-on experiences with three- and four-part choirs and opportunities for conducting section rehearsals with existing student choirs. Prerequisite: MUS 350. (AY)
MUS 460 ETHNOMUSICOLOGY: METHODS AND ISSUES (3 credits)
A theoretical and practical introduction to the field of ethnomusicology. Theory is taught through readings in linguistics, anthropology and musicology that reflect or have shaped the concerns of ethnomusicologists, while the practical dimension is explored mostly through an ethnographic field project. Increases understanding of musical processes from an anthropological or cross-cultural perspective, and provides students new insights into their own experience of music. Prerequisite: MUS 161 or any course in the MUS 360s series or consent of the instructor.
MUS 471 MUSIC THEORY III: COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES —
ROMANTICISM AND 20TH CENTURY
(3 credits)
Completes the cycle of courses in Western music theory. Analysis of the compositional techniques of the great composers who wrote in the middle to late 19th century, coupled with the completion of compositional exercises in emulation of their language. Students learn to identify chromatic harmony and express themselves in this idiom. Also focuses on 20th Century analysis and compositional exercises, including those of Impressionism, 12-tone and serial techniques, pan-diatonicism, mixed-modal writing and the latest trends in compositional thought. An original composition is the final project. Prerequisite: MUS 371 and completion of Keyboard Proficiency Exam.
MUS 483 TEACHING ASSISTANTS (1-3 credits)
MUS 484 FORD/KNIGHT RESEARCH PROJECT (1-4 credits)
Collaborative
research with faculty funded by the Ford/Knight Program.
MUS 485 INDEPENDENT STUDIES (1-3
credits)
Topics may include: Western music history, conducting, ethnomusicology,
composition or interdisciplinary studies.
MUS 487 SENIOR SEMINAR (1 credit)
Seniors reflect on their Earlham experience while orienting themselves toward life beyond college. A forum for planning the Senior Project.
MUS 488 SENIOR CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE (2
credits)
Includes a Senior Project and Comprehensive Examinations.
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