Courses

1102A/B: Listening to Music
A basic course to acquaint students with the materials of music and to give a broad perspective of the history of music. Through guided listening, the student will be exposed to a wide variety of musical styles. Not available for credit for music students.

(Not offered in 2024-25.)

2700B: Post WWII Popular Music
The history, nature and function of popular music, with particular reference to rock music. The course will emphasize musical styles, form, instrumentation, vocal timbres and performing style through a study of representative works.

2701A: Musical Theatre
The contexts and forms of popular theatre in which music plays a vital part. Emphasis will be on such twentieth-century genres as the Musical, Rock Opera, Musical Comedy, Comic Opera, Operetta and Vaudeville.

2702B: Introduction to Jazz
A survey of various styles of jazz. Consideration of artists, jazz ensembles, the harmonic and rhythmic language of jazz, and performing practices, including the nature and role of improvisation.

2703A: Introduction to Hip Hop
A survey of the musical art-form of Hip Hop. Consideration of artists, sub-genres, performance practice and cultural impact.

2704B: Music and Gaming
An introduction to composing and producing music for video games. Students will gain an understanding of the medium of gaming by exploring its interactive context and its differences from other media.

2707A: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: Music and Entrepreneurship)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

2707B: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: Music and Indigeneity)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

2709B: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: The Music of Taylor Swift)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

(Not offered in 2024-25.)

1710F: Music History: Introduction
Consideration of various approaches to studying the history of music: guided listening, writing about music, library resources.

1730B: Introduction to Popular Music & Culture
An introduction to the study of the culture and history of popular music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and its links to other arts and media.

1750G: Music History: c.900 to c.1750
Survey of music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.

2700B: Post WWII Popular Music
The history, nature and function of popular music, with particular reference to rock music. The course will emphasize musical styles, form, instrumentation, vocal timbres and performing style through a study of representative works.

2701A: Musical Theatre
The contexts and forms of popular theatre in which music plays a vital part. Emphasis will be on such twentieth-century genres as the Musical, Rock Opera, Musical Comedy, Comic Opera, Operetta and Vaudeville.

2702B: Introduction to Jazz
A survey of various styles of jazz. Consideration of artists, jazz ensembles, the harmonic and rhythmic language of jazz, and performing practices, including the nature and role of improvisation.

2703A: Introduction to Hip Hop
A survey of the musical art-form of Hip Hop. Consideration of artists, sub-genres, performance practice and cultural impact.

2704B: Music and Gaming
An introduction to composing and producing music for video games. Students will gain an understanding of the medium of gaming by exploring its interactive context and its differences from other media.

2707A: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: Music and Entrepreneurship)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

2707B: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: Music and Indigeneity)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

2709B: Special Topics in Music History (Topic: The Music of Taylor Swift)
Special topics on the study of music history, to be arranged.

2736A/B: Introduction to Desktop Music Production [in Popular Music]
Introduction to fundamental principles of recording using desktop music facilities.
(Prerequisites: one of 2700A/B, 2701A/B, 2702A/B; or for 2018-19 co-requisite: 2700B with permission)

2750F: Music History: C. 1750 to Present
Survey of music from the Classical and Romantic periods, and music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

3701A: Topics in Renaissance Music
Selected topics in the historical, cultural, and analytical study of Renaissance music (c. 1400 - 1600).

3703B: Topics in Classical Music
Selected topics in the historical, cultural, and analytical study of Classical music (c. 1750 - 1810).

3713B: Topics in Ethnomusicology
Selected topics in ethnomusicology - the study of musical traditions in their cultural and social contexts.

3730A: Popular Music: Genre Studies
Detailed study of one or more genres in popular music. Emphasis on repertory, style, and historical context.

3732G: Popular Music Lyric Writing
An introduction to the basics of effective lyric writing using a variety of literary tools.

3735B: Popular Music Songwriting
Introduction to the tools and techniques of songwriting in a variety of popular music styles.

3736A: Vocal Pre-Production, Tracking, and Editing
Practical acquisition of the fundamental principles essential for preparing pop singers to track and edit vocals.

3737A: Topics in the Popular Music Industry
Topics in the popular music industry, emphasizing its history, business, cultural, legal, and creative contexts.

3738B: Digital Production & Engineering
Theory and practice of project studio construction and implementation, including acoustic treatment and advanced tracking techniques.

3739A: Digital Mixing and Mastering
Theory and practice of mixing and mastering in a primarily digital environment.

3771A: Special Topics: Gender and Music
A course on special topics in the history of music, to be arranged.

3771B: Special Topics: Pop CCM Vocals: Rep & Tech
A course on special topics in the history of music, to be arranged.

3773B: Special Topics: Music and AI
A course on special topics in the history of music, to be arranged

4735B: Popular Music Songwriting II
Advanced approaches and techniques of songwriting in a variety of popular styles.

4740Y: Advanced Project in Popular Music Production
Allows students an opportunity to identify and capitalize on professional avenues for producing, distributing, and marketing music.

1629A: Introduction to Composition
Introduction to musical elements and manipulation (pitch, rhythm, intensity, timbre, texture, and form), and appropriate repertoire.

1639U: General Integrated Musicianship (GIM) I
Musicianship skills for basic diatonic materials. Topics include an introduction to solfège, tonal listening, sight singing, dictation and keyboard harmony.

1641U: General Integrated Musicianship (GIM) II
A continuation of Music 1639. Musicianship skills for advanced diatonic materials. Topics include sight singing, dictation and keyboard harmony.

1649A: Studies in Music Theory I
Basic theory and analysis of tonal music from c.1700 to the early nineteenth century. Topics covered include diatonic harmony and voice-leading, the concept and practice of tonality, basic tonicization and modulation, and an introduction to musical form.

1651B: Studies in Music Theory II
Continuation of Music 1649A/B. Intermediate theory and analysis of tonal music. Topics covered include harmonic sequences, an introduction to chromatic harmony, and the small forms of tonal music.

2629: Composition I
An introductory course in composing for voices and instruments. The course will include analysis of pertinent repertoire.

2639U: General Integrated Musicianship (GIM) III
A continuation of Music 1641U. Musicianship skills for chromatic materials. Topics include chromatic solfège, sight singing, dictation, and keyboard harmony.

2641U: General Integrated Musicianship (GIM) IV
A continuation of Music 2639U. Musicianship skills for advanced chromatic materials. Topics include sight singing, dictation, and keyboard harmony.

2651A: Studies in Theory III
Continuation of Music 1651A/B. Advanced theory and analysis of tonal music. Topics include advanced chromatic harmony, imitative contrapuntal forms, and the large forms of tonal music.

2671G: Music Across Cultures
Study of musical practices from around the world in their social, historical, theoretical, and aesthetic dimensions.

2695A: Introduction to Electroacoustic Music Composition
A practical introduction to electroacoustic music composition, including digital hardware and software. Students will study appropriate concepts, terminology, and repertoire, and will compose original music in the electroacoustic medium.

3601B: Schenkerian Analysis
A study of Schenkerian analytic techniques with application to small forms.

3602A: Chromatic Harmony
Selected topics in the theory and analysis of chromatic harmony for music of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.

3620A: Tonal Counterpoint I
Study of the practice of tonal counterpoint in Baroque style. Development of written skills through species counterpoint and free counterpoint in the style of J. S. Bach. Composition of pieces such as choral preludes, binary dances, inventions, and fugal expositions.

3629: Composition II
Works in the larger forms for vocal and/or instrumental ensembles. Analysis with an emphasis on twentieth-century literature.

3641B: Score Preparation and Instrumental Arranging
Instruments of the orchestra and band. Timbres, ranges, transpositions, terminology, and score arranging. Arranging for orchestral and/or wind ensembles.

3649A: Studies in Music Theory IV
Theory and analysis of post-tonal music from c.1890-1950, with emphasis on atonal and basic twelve-tone repertoire.

3650B: Studies in Music Theory V
Continuation of material from Music 3649A/B. Theory and analysis of post-tonal music from c.1950 to the present, with emphasis on serial and post-serial repertoire.

3680B: Special Topics: Jazz Theory
Special topics in analysis, composition or theory.

3696B: Electroacoustic Music Composition
Continued study of the terminology and technology of electronic music. Historical development, musique concrète, the “classical” studio, the synthesizer, and computer applications. Survey of the literature with some analysis. Compositional techniques and notation peculiar to electronic music and its real-time performance.

4629: Composition III
A continuation of Music 3629. Works in medium-sized forms for solo instruments and chamber
ensembles. Analysis with an emphasis on contemporary literature

4671A: Introduction to Music Research
A consideration of various issues and approaches to research in musicology and in music theory.