Each semester, students will attend Common Hour Convocations plus a minimum of 5 concerts or productions in which they do not perform. S/U graded.
A rigorous curriculum that focuses on the foundational elements of music theory including clef reading, calligraphy, rhythmic notation, intervals, scales, key signatures, triads and diatonic chords. Extensive work in ear training and sight singing.
Introduction to basic diatonic harmony, phrase structure, analysis, period form and four part writing in root position. Weekly keyboard labs reinforce the coursework.
Exercises in sight singing, rhythmic reading and dictation. Sight singing of diatonic melodies, intervals, triads. Performance of rhythmic reading exercises. Ear training includes intervals, triad types, diatonic melodies, cadences and rhythmic dictation.
Introduction to harmony through four-part writing. Principles of harmonic progression, modulation, diatonic seventh chords and secondary dominants are included. Analysis of Binary and Ternary forms. Weekly keyboard labs reinforce the written material.
Exercises in sight singing, rhythmic reading and dictation. Sight singing of diatonic, modulating and chromatic melodies. Performance of rhythmic reading exercises which include syncopation and asymmetrical meters. Dictation includes diatonic chord progressions, diatonic and chromatic melodies, seventh chords, and rhythmic dictation with syncopation, and meters including 5/8 and 7/8.
A non-technical course on the enjoyment and appreciation of diverse music that has been available in the United States since ca. 1750. From a contemporary American and global standpoint, as well as in pursuit of improving social awareness and cultural competence, this course explores our multicultural past and present through musical examples and figures of diverse identities that have existed since the beginning of our country’s history.
Music in its historical and cultural contexts: stylistic development and connections to the other arts. Intended for majors and musically literate non majors with a knowledge of basic music theory.
This course explores music in film, focusing on common musical styles and sound design techniques and the way they work with visual and theatrical elements to tell the story. This class is intended for students with little or no musical background.
This course is an elementary exploration of animation and music in cartoons and is designed for undergraduates from a variety of disciplines. No special musical knowledge is required. Much of the content of the course will be drawn from early cartoons, c. 1930-1960 and then from 1990 to the present. Study of this subject is a study of music literature, particularly in the realms of jazz and classical music, cultural reflections of social interactions and politics, and technological development in both image and sound in the past 100 years.
This course is a survey of the development of the Rock genre from its roots in African-American music and the Blues into the 21st century. The advances in the music will be connected to the social, political, multicultural, and technological changes that shaped those developments.
A non-technical course on the enjoyment and appreciation of Hispanic and Latinx music and culture. This course explores a variety of musical styles and genres that incorporate distinctive beats and grooves of Spanish, Chicano/Chicana, and Latin American roots music, in close connection with social, political, and multicultural movements that have shaped their spirits and sounds.
An introduction to functional keyboard skills for students with little or no background in piano.
For music majors continuing to develop reading skills, technique and style necessary for playing elementary piano music.
An exploration of harmonic syntax, melodic construction, song forms, rhythms, and grooves in jazz and Latin music.
Study and development of skills in hearing and vocalizing melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements of jazz and Latin music styles.
An in-depth study of harmonic syntax, melodic construction, song forms, rhythms, and grooves in jazz and Latin music.
Continued study and development of skills in hearing and vocalizing melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements of jazz and Latin music styles.