MUSC 350 Topics in Musical Style
This variable-topic course offers a deep dive into a single musical style or genre from a musician’s perspective. We will study the emergence and development of the style with an intense focus on details at both the surface and background levels of musical activity — melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, density, articulation, dynamics, timbre, instrumentation, and form. This course will also explore “colloquial” or “emic” musical concepts as described or practiced by practitioners of this genre or tradition. The aim is to develop a broad understanding of the ways in which all aspects of musical language and aesthetics influence musical form and style within the chosen genre or tradition. Readings will reinforce the connection between culture and style, yielding discussion of links between intellectual, social, and musical history. The final project will be an analytic paper and a classroom presentation based on this work.
Prerequisite
MUSC 251 or permission or instructor