Music Courses

Semester specific course descriptions

100/101. Introduction to Music.
An introduction to the study of music, this course includes the development of listening skills as well as an overview of the basic materials and techniques of musical organization. The music to be studied is chosen from a wide range of times and places. Students use the resources of the music library and the Newell Center for Arts Technology lab for listening, research and composition. As a complement to class work, students attend concerts and recitals on and sometimes off campus. The course does not require previous music study. Students who wish to include individual lessons in voice or on an instrument as part of their work for this course will be enrolled in Music 101.

120. Physics and Perception of Music.
Music is an interaction between the production of sound and the listeners’ perceptive abilities. In this course, the physical details of the production and perception of “musical” sound and their interaction will be explored. In a hands-on, experiment-based course, the physics of sound vibrations and waves, the overtone series, the workings of the human ear, the construction of various types of musical instruments, methods of sound recording (both analog and digital), and other topics will be explored. Also offered as Physics 120.

200/201. Music Theory.
This course is meant to develop your abilities in listening to, analyzing, performing and creating music. We will engage in different kinds of musical activities: studying the sight and sound of music, playing and singing snippets of music, composing short pieces ourselves. Throughout, the intent is to provide you with critical skills for deepening your understanding of music. This course is a comprehensive introduction to the study of musical sound; students wanting to continue their studies in music are encouraged to follow up this course with Musics of the World, which introduces the study of music as a social practice, and Music and Technology, which covers the fundamentals of making music with computers. Students who wish to include individual lessons in voice or on an instrument as part of their work for this course will be enrolled in Music 201. Prerequisite: Music 100/101, a score of 4 or 5 on the AP music theory test, or permission of the instructor.

210. Musics of the World.
This course explores selected musics from Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Europe and the Americas, by means of recordings, films, readings, concerts and hands-on experience. Broad topics for investigation include the development of popular musical styles, the preservation of traditional musical styles and the circulation of indigenous sounds in the world music market. Also offered through African Studies and through Global Studies.

220. Music and Technology.
Music and Technology takes an in-depth look at the practical and artistic issues involved in making music with computers. This includes a study of some fundamental concepts and a practical application of these concepts using the resources of the Newell Center for Arts Technology. The course is divided into two broad sections. For the first part of the semester we will discuss the MIDI protocol: what it is, how it works, what you can do with it. The second part of the course deals with digital audio: a brief introduction to acoustics, how audio is recorded and played back digitally, and the uses of digital signal processing. We use several software applications to record and manipulate digital audio. Prerequisite: Music 100/101, 200/201, or permission of the instructor.

222. Sound for the Stage.
This course explores some of the artistic and practical aspects of using sound in support of theatrical production. The course will employ concepts of design drawn from the theatre and apply those concepts to the choice of music and sound effects for the stage. It will explore the potential of sound and music for the reinforcement of dramatic content and production design concepts. In addition, the course will introduce the student to the production organization common to most theatre productions: the collaborative design process and the team approach to production assignments. The course’s practical assignments will provide support for the production needs of the departments of music and performance and communication arts and will include the use of audio equipment and software programs for the recording, editing and playback of sound. Also offered as Performance and Communication Arts 202.

230. Isn’t it Romantic?
This course explores songs from New York City’s “Tin Pan Alley” — to be selected from such songwriters as George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Irving Berlin — and songs from earlier times and places, such as Franz Schubert in early 19th-century Vienna or Thomas Campion in Elizabethan England. Our primary focus will be on the music and the lyrics, but we will also study the social and cultural contexts of these songs. There are some required concerts and video screenings outside of class time. Prerequisite: Music 100/101, 200/201, or permission of the instructor. Also offered through European Studies.

234. Music in Venice.
Music in Venice will focus on the musical and artistic vitality of a city that has fascinated visitors for centuries. The course will feature two composers — Claudio Monteverdi and Antonio Vivaldi — whose lives and works straddle opposite ends of the 150-year span musicians call the Baroque period. Beginning with the detailed examination of four works — Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and L’Incoronazione di Poppea, plus Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Four Seasons — the course will continue with a wider survey of Venetian composers and their works, plus the works of non-resident composers who have particular associations with the city. In support of their study of musical literature, students will view works of art from Renaissance Italy and undertake readings about the special role of Venice in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The course will include a 10-day travel option at the end of the semester for students who want to visit Venice. Prerequisite: Music 100/101, 200/201, or permission of the instructor. Also offered through European Studies.

242. New Orleans Music and Society.
This course investigates the development and influence of selected music cultures within the life of the city. These cultures include American art music of the 19th century, New Orleans jazz (ca. 1900-1917) and New Orleans rhythm and blues (ca. 1947-65). Particular attention will be given to the music and milieu of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) and Louis Armstrong (1900-1971), and to the system of recording and promotion that gave rise to a thriving rock and roll industry in New Orleans. In examining these music cultures the complex interaction of cultures that is the source of New Orleans’ charm and success becomes evident. At the same time, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of musical terminology, analysis and research methods. This course includes an option to spend six days in New Orleans at the conclusion of the semester. Prerequisite: Music 100/101, 200/201, or 210. Also offered through United States Cultural and Ethnic Studies.

244. Musics of South Asia.
South Asia is the subcontinent that lies south of the Himalayas and includes India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. There are also substantial South Asian populations elsewhere. Topics for study include devotional song, Bollywood film music, urban Nepali drumming, and electronic music in New York and London. The course begins with a grounding in the classical music traditions of India, moves on to explore selected musical practices around South Asia, and finishes with a consideration of music’s place in the South Asian diaspora.

260. Preparing Music for Performance.
Satisfying performances are the product of a thorough understanding of one’s music and a series of effective practice sessions. Our concentration is on analysis, the rehearsal process and preparing to meet an audience. A weekly, individual lesson will focus on the skills appropriate to your instrument or voice. Our class meetings will concentrate on (1) analysis of musical motion, a product of many aspects of the music (e.g., melody, harmony, meter); (2) analysis of texture, dynamics and orchestration; (3) reading and interpreting music, with particular emphasis on reading rhythms and creating effective musical phrases; (4) organizing practice sessions and rehearsals. Prerequisite: Music 200/201 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.

270. Collaboration Across the Arts.
The direction of this course is determined largely by the unique combination of students who participate. At the beginning of the semester, students will form groups of two or three to work on a collaborative project of their own design reflecting their collective interests. For example, a pair of students may create a multimedia work that draws connections between image and sound. This is only one type of project, as students working in visual art, music, video, film, drama, rhetoric, writing or any number of other disciplines may wish to participate. Class sessions will feature group critiques of works in progress, study of example works, discussions of relevant aesthetic issues, drawing connections across media and strategies for collaborative work. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Also offered as Fine Arts 270 and Performance and Communication Arts 270.

281. Music Video.
Music television created new ways of visualizing music, new ways of seeing sound, which have in turn influenced the ways filmmakers use sounds and images in feature and documentary films. In this course, we look at the rise of music video in the 1980s, its predecessors, and its influences. While we will focus primarily on the history and criticism of music video, this course also includes a substantial production component in which you will create and edit sound and video files. Also offered as Film Studies 281.

300. Musical Structures.
This course is for students who have completed Music 200 or 201 and wish to continue their study of music analysis. It focuses on the study of musical events such as harmony, melody, rhythm, texture and form in order to develop the students’ skills in understanding, analyzing, composing and listening to music. Students will analyze several pieces to deepen the knowledge of music. We will study harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, textural and formal choices various composers have made and the ways those choices affect how music is perceived. Prerequisite: Music 200/201.

333. Mozart and the Classical Tradition.
A survey of the developments in Western vocal and instrumental art music during the years 1750 through 1825, with particular emphasis on the life and artistic contributions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The course seeks to establish ties between contemporary European society and the art it cultivated. Prerequisite: Music 200/201. Also offered through European Studies.

335. The World of Clara and Robert Schumann.
It was quite possible for a woman musician to “make it” in 19th-century Europe. Clara Schumann achieved and sustained such a success for her entire professional life. By studying the lives and artistic accomplishments of “priestess of the piano” Clara Schumann (1819-1896) and her husband, the deeply imaginative composer Robert Schumann, we seek to understand Romantic music of the Western cultivated tradition. The Schumanns were well connected: their milieu included friends Mendelssohn and Brahms and acquaintances Berlioz, Chopin and Liszt. Primary readings include the Schumanns’ marriage diaries as well as Amy Fay‘s lively accounts of masterclasses with Liszt and other pianists. The course will feature works by both the Schumanns —piano compositions, songs and chamber works – and by others of their time. Also offered through European Studies.

337. Avant-garde and Underground Music.
This course covers music that has been considered to be experimental, radical or transgressive in classical music, jazz and rock. We strive to understand both how social issues shaped musical styles and how musical styles shaped social issues. Through surveying European and American perspectives on the relations between the arts and society in the 19th and 20th centuries, we work toward understanding the ideologies that have motivated composers and performers to locate their styles and practices outside of an imagined mainstream. In studying influential musical works from the last two centuries, we seek to clarify how musicians have put their ideologies into musical practice. Areas for exploration may include the work of the Italian futurists, the musique concrète of Edgard Varèse, Ornette Coleman's work, the happenings of the 1960s, early punk, Japanese noise bands, John Zorn's projects and electronica from the 1990s. Prerequisite: Music 100, 101, 240 or permission of the instructor.

345. Musics of Eastern Europe.
In this course, we examine and analyze the music of a region where social and political life has changed dramatically and frequently during the last 150 years. From the revolutions of 1848 to the post-communist struggles of the 1990s, music and musicians often have been drawn into debates about national and regional identities. We start from the assumption that notions of identity and difference are evident not only in discourse about musical practices, but also in musical sound itself. Topics for study include the relations between musical activity and social responsibility in the 19th century, the connections between art music and folk music in the early 20th century, the use of music to serve or resist socialist regimes, and the invention of new musical traditions following the decline of socialism. Prerequisite: Music 200/201. Also offered through European Studies.

350. Composition.
The fundamental activity in this course is observation. Having arrived at a formative idea for a composition by means of a close analysis of a generative source, we begin describing that idea by any of several means (for example, a score, a performance, or a sound generator), and making sense of that idea in sound. At the discretion of the instructor, students will work with acoustic instruments, digital music technology, or both. Prerequisites: Music 200/201 and Music 220. May be repeated for credit.

470, 471. Advanced Projects in Music.
Independent research in an area of musical study under the guidance of a member of the music faculty. Students requesting an individual project in music must submit a written proposal to the department chair no later than November 15 (for projects to be undertaken in the spring semester) or April 15 (for projects to be undertaken in the fall semester). Prerequisites: Music 200/201, 210, and at least one other course in music.

489, 490. SYE: Independent Study.
Senior-year projects are intended to be the product of several semesters of study, bringing together more than one area of musical endeavor. Examples might include a lecture/performance concerning a particular Mozart sonata; a large-scale, multi-media composition; or an analysis of the activities and aesthetics of a North Country bluegrass band. Students must submit a written proposal to the department chair not later than November 15 (for projects to be undertaken in the spring semester) or April 15 (for projects for the following fall). Prerequisites: Music 200/201, 210, and at least one other course in music.

Ensembles

021. Laurentian Singers.
A select undergraduate vocal ensemble that performs both on and off campus through the year. Their far-ranging repertoire is drawn from traditional choral sources as well as world and popular idioms. Recent programs have included chants of Hildegard, Bulgarian music, Beatles’ songs and works by Eric Whitacre. The Laurentian Singers tour each Spring Break.

022. University Chorus.
A choir open to the entire university community. The ensemble performs major works from the choral and choral-orchestral repertoire from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

023. Early Music Singers.
The Early Music Singers perform music from the medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras with special attention to historical practices. Also offered through European Studies.

025. String Orchestra.
An ensemble that performs repertoire from the 17th century through the present. Recent concerts have included works by Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Henry Cowell.

026. Wind Ensemble.
An instrumental ensemble open to woodwind and brass players and percussionists. Membership in the ensemble is open to intermediate to advanced students as well as qualified area musicians. Musical selections performed by the Wind Ensemble include works from the 1800s to the present; some semesters will focus on the music of a particular time, place or composer.

027. Rhythm & Roots Ensemble.
This ensemble takes a particular strand of vernacular music as its focus each semester, and is open to guitarists, percussionists, pianists, vocalists, and woodwind and brass players. Possible topics for study include jazz improvisation, Hawaiian music, the music of Motown, and New Orleans rhythm and blues.