Music
INTRODUCTORY COURSES
1. Beginning Music Theory
09F: 11 10W: 2A 10X, 10F, 11W: 10
A course intended for students with little or no knowledge of music theory. Among topics covered are musical notation, intervals, scales, rhythm and meter, and general musical terminology. Concepts will be directly related to music literature in class and through assignments. Students will have the opportunity to compose simple pieces and work on ear training. The 10W offering will focus on jazz theory, composition, and improvisation.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART. O’Neal, Dong, Haas.
2. The Music of Today
10S, 11S: 11
A survey of the eclectic and ebullient world of contemporary concert music as created and performed in the United States, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in the world. The seminar focuses on musical repertoire, with the aim of providing broad exposure to work that has been critically acclaimed as compelling and important, as well as work too recent to have established a critical reputation. Representative composers include Kaija Saariaho, Claude Vivier, Tristan Murail, Gerard Grisay, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jonathan Harvey, Julian Anderson, R. Murray Schaffer, David Dunn, Eduardo Gutierrez Del Barrio, Björk
Guðmundsdóttir, Yasunao Tone, Yamantaka Eye, Brian Eno, Tan Dun, Richard D. James and Paul Miller. Students will also have an opportunity to focus on composers of particular interest to them.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Dong.
3. American Music
10S, 11S: 2A
A survey of major influences, great works, important styles, and prominent musicians in American music. Topics vary from year to year, but may include popular music from the eighteenth century to the present; the concert music tradition, both populist and avant-garde; the influence of black music; sacred music; the musical contributions of ethnic and regional subcultures; and the impact of recording, amplification, mediation, and market-driven approaches to music.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Swayne.
4. Global Sounds (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 30)
10W, 11W: 10A
A survey of music and music-making whose origins are in the non-European world. Examples include Indian raga, Middle Eastern maqam, West African drumming, Javanese gamelan, and Tuvan throat-singing. Course work will include listening, reading and critical writing assignments. Where possible, visiting musicians will be invited to demonstrate and discuss the music under consideration.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: NW. Ayyagari, Levin.
5. History of Jazz (Identical to AAAS 39)
09F, 10F: 10A
This course examines jazz from its origins to the present, with special attention to pivotal figures in the history of jazz such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. Class work includes listening to, analyzing, and discussing a wide variety of recorded jazz performances, and watching jazz films. Class sessions include performances by visiting artists. Outside of class, students will attend live jazz performances, listen to recordings, and read about the artists who brought this music to life. The goal is to help increase understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the great American art form called jazz.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Haas.
6. Masterpieces of Western Music
10W, 11W: 2
An introduction to Western classical music. After a brief introduction to the rudiments of musical notation and theory and to the instruments of the traditional orchestra, the course proceeds to an examination of selected masterworks, with an emphasis on music of the past three hundred years.
No prerequisite: no previous knowledge of music is assumed. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Summers.
7. First-Year Seminar
Consult special listings
8. Digital Musics, Sonic Arts and the Internet
10S, 11S: 10A
This course investigates how the Internet has changed the way that music and the sonic arts are created and disseminated in the world today. The course will introduce the technological underpinnings of digital music, such as MP3 and streaming audio protocols, and will explore a range of digital musics as well as new and emerging artists and music genres. Indicative topics to be covered include Music 2.0 communities, play-list sharing and music recommendation services, peer-to-peer file-sharing services, “on-line and unsigned” music labels, music discovery and navigation systems, “hit song” prediction using community intelligence, remixes and mashups, free music and sound archives and the complex legal issues surrounding the use and dissemination of music on the Internet. Students will be expected to engage with various on-line music communities as part of their course requirement.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Casey.
9. Music and Technology
09F, 10W, 10F, 11W: 2A
This course concerns the impact of technology and its aesthetic and social implications on composers, performers, and listeners. Course work focuses on elementary acoustics, sound synthesis, recording media, music distribution, new musical instruments, and music software. Assignments include extensive listening and a final project.
No prerequisite. Dist: TAS. Casal.
10. Lives and Works of the Great Composers.
10S, 11S: 11
In 10S, Beethoven in Context. This course examines the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In the hands of critics, historians, and visual artists of his own time, Beethoven was elevated to the status of a genius, a perception that persists today. Nineteenth-century representations of Beethoven as a towering persona will be compared with modern biographies, recordings, and video productions in order to construct an accurate picture of Beethoven, the creative artist and the man. Students will listen to and discuss works that illustrate the developments in Beethoven’s compositional style. Performers will present in-class recitals of Beethoven’s music, and attendance at selected Hopkins Center concerts featuring Beethoven’s music will be required.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Summers.
11. Opera
10S, 11S: 10A
The term ‘opera’ encompasses a vast range of music-dramatic forms and involves the extra-musical domains of literature, mythology, the visual arts, religion, philosophy, and social commentary. From its origins in late Renaissance Italy to the present, opera has been a most complex and compelling performing art, as well as a mirror of Western culture. This course will survey the development of opera, focusing on representative works by such composers as Monteverdi, Handel, Purcell, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Bizet, R. Strauss, Berg, and Britten. Special attention will be given to music as it relates to libretto and dramatic structure.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Summers.
12. Music, Ceremony, Ritual, and Sacred Chant
Not offered in the period from 09F through 10S
A cross-cultural, comparative survey of the ceremonial and ritual contexts and functions of selected musical repertories, genres, and styles. The musics surveyed will be drawn from living cultural traditions and may vary from year to year. A central concern of the course is the notion of musical universals: what is similar and what is different about the use of music in various ritual and ceremonial contexts. Course work will include weekly listening and reading assignments, and close analysis of sound recordings and films.
No prerequisite. Dist: ART; WCult: NW. Levin.
14. Music and Science
Not offered in the period from 09F through 10S
15. Music and Mathematics
Not offered in the period from 09F through 10S
16. Music and Image
Not offered in the period from 09F through 10S
THEORY AND COMPOSITION
20. Introduction to Music Theory
09F, 10S, 10F, 11S: 10
This course begins a sequence in harmony and theory and is intended for those who may consider a music major or minor. Topics include music notation, interval identification, common-practice scales and modes, harmonic function, melodic construction, and formal analysis. In addition, students will have an opportunity to improve skills in rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation, sight singing, and score reading.
Prerequisite: The ability to read music in two or more clefs, or permission of the instructor. Dist: ART. Duff.
21. Melody and Rhythm
09F, 10F: 10
Through a focus on the relation of melody and rhythm, this course aims to develop students’ understanding of how composers organize pitch and time and bring the linear and temporal elements of music into play with one another. Examples are drawn from a variety of musical sources ranging from popular songs and jazz compositions to symphonies and chamber works. Course work includes analysis, reflection, and directed composition.
Prerequisite: Music 20, or Music Department-approved exemption from Music 20. With permission of instructor, students may enroll in Music 21 and Music 20 concurrently. Dist: ART. Swayne.
22. Harmony and Rhythm
10W, 11W: 10
This course focuses on musical literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, and examines the harmonic principles and implications of counterpoint and orchestration. Course work includes score analysis of a variety of musical genres, readings from theoretical treatises, written critiques of musical compositions, directed composition exercises, and in-class performances of musical works.
Prerequisite: Music 20 or Music Department-approved exemption from Music 20. With permission of instructor, students may enroll in Music 20 and Music 22 concurrently. Dist: ART. Casal.
23. Timbre and Form
10S, 11S: 10
An exploration of instrumentation and principles of musical form in Western music. Through weekly analysis and scoring exercises, students learn to read scores, understand musical structure, and write for combinations of instruments with attention to timbre, range, performance techniques, and orchestral idioms. Assignments include two arrangements, for small and large ensemble, and formal analyses of several musical works whose aim is to show how composers shape melody, harmony and timbre to create large-scale musical structures.
Prerequisite: Music 21 and 22. Dist: ART. Casey.
30. Composition Seminar
10W, 11W: 2A
This course is for those intending to pursue compositional studies of any genre, style, or type of music at either the basic, intermediate, or advanced levels. Students will en-gage in extended creative projects designed in conjunction with the instructor during which they will receive intensive private instruction and participate in composition semi-nars. Projects may be undertaken in any of the following musical domains: acoustic, avant-garde, culturally-grounded, experimental, folk, inter- or multi-media, jazz, popular, rock, and traditional, or any other creative interest of the students enrolled. The term’s work will include analyzing literature pertinent to the current session, and writing short compositions and essays involving the aesthetic, creative, and technical issues at hand.
Prerequisite: Music 21 or 22. Music 30 may be repeated once for credit. Dist: ART. Dong.
31. Digital Music Composition
10S, 11S: 2A
The course is intended for students who demonstrate a serious interest in creative work with electro-acoustic music. The study of relevant acoustics, equipment design and function, and the analysis of examples of electronic music are covered in weekly class meetings. In addition, students are given weekly individual instruction and are provided with regular hours for work in the studio.
Prerequisite: Music 20 or exemption from Music 20. Dist: TAS. Topel.
32. Improvisation
09F, 10F: 2
“Improvisation” describes a wide variety of musical practices around the world through which musicians at least partially extemporize a musical performance. This course aims to develop skills in improvisatory music-making both through practical experimentation and exercises, and by analyzing approaches to improvisation in selected musical styles, traditions, and works, with a focus on pieces by contemporary composers and avant-garde free improvisation. For a final project, students will prepare and present a concert of improvised works.
Prerequisite: Music 1 or exemption from Music 1. Dist: ART. Dong.
MUSIC HISTORY COURSES
40. Topics in Music History
10W, 11W: 11
In 10W, European Patronage and the Creation of Musical Masterworks, 1600-1820. Noble and ecclesiastical patrons supported most of the leading European composers of the 17th and 18th centuries and underwrote an astonishing number of musical masterpieces. This course examines the intricate connections between patrons, composers and works: how did the taste, sensibility, political views, and religious beliefs of patrons shape the genre, style, form, and performance history of the works they commissioned? Course work combines close analysis of works with readings in cultural and social history.
Prerequisite: Music 21 or Music 22. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Summers.
41. Composer Seminar
10W, 11W: 10A
In 10W, Mahler. An in-depth study of the nine completed symphonies, numerous songs, and other works of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), who exclaimed to fellow symphonist Jean Sibelius that “die Symphonie muss wie die Welt sein. Sie muss alles umfassen” (“The symphony must be like the world; it must embrace everything”). We will also examine Mahler’s years in America (1907-11) as well as his impact on other 20th-century composers and performers.
Prerequisite: Music 21 or Music 22, or permission of the instructor. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Swayne.
44. Music in the Twentieth Century
09F, 10F: 2
In classical music, the twentieth century was characterized by a tension between innovative experiments with new styles, media, and techniques and the continuing evolution of older musical forms and languages. Drawing on the work of the century’s most influential composers, including Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Ives, Bartok, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Cage, Britten, Reich, Glass, and Adams, the course will trace the interplay of innovation, tradition, and reinvention in twentieth-century concert music.
Prerequisite: Music 21 or Music 22. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Swayne.
45. Ethnomusicology (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 45)
10W, 10S, 11W, 11S: 3A
Ethnomusicology is the study of music—particularly that outside the Western classical tradition—in its social and cultural context. In winter 2010, the course explores the art of improvisation in popular and classical music of the Arab world. Students will study techniques for vocal and instrumental improvisation through listening and reading assignments and then apply these techniques in individual and group music-making using voice and instruments, both Western and Middle Eastern. In spring 2010, the course will focus on popular, folk, and sacred music of South Asia. Examples include Bollywood film music, Bhangra, Qawwali, Bhakti temple music, and Rajasthani folk music. The course will focus on close listening and readings that incorporate broader contexts of South Asia.
Prerequisites: In 10W, ability to read music in one clef. In 10S, none. Dist: ART; WCult: NW. Silverstein (10W), Ayyagari (10S).
PERFORMANCE COURSES
50. Performance Laboratories
09F, 10W, 10S: Arrange (Sections 1, 2, 3, 4) 10X: Arrange (Section 1 only)
10F, 11W, 11S: Arrange (Sections 1, 2, 3, 4)
Performance Laboratories provide weekly coaching and instruction in diverse forms of music-making, and are open by audition to all Dartmouth students. Course work centers on musical readings and informal performance of selected repertoire chosen both for its intrinsic interest and for its relevance to the contents of course syllabi within the Music Department. Performance laboratories may be taken for credit (three terms equals one credit) or on a not-for-credit basis. Music majors and minors are required to take at least three terms of Performance Laboratory for credit. Subject to space availability, students may enroll in different laboratories during different terms. Terms of enrollment need not be consecutive.
The following performance laboratories are offered in 2009-2010:
Chamber Music (section 1). Depending on enrollment and distribution of instruments, this laboratory may be broken down into several configurations, e.g., quartet, piano quintet, wind octet, string trio, etc. Repertory focuses on chamber music from the eighteenth century through the first half of the twentieth. Dist: ART; WCult: W.
Contemporary Music (section 2). The contemporary music laboratory will read through and study works appropriate to the participants’ skill level, and where possible, collaborate with Dartmouth’s compositional community in informal performances of newly composed works. Dist: ART; WCult: W.
Jazz Improvisation (section 3). This course serves as a laboratory for students with some preparation in jazz to develop skills in composition, arranging, and performance. Ensemble configurations will be determined each term on the basis of enrollment. Dist: ART; WCult: W.
Indonesian Gamelan (section 4). An introduction to performing music for gamelan, the orchestra of gongs, xylophones, and other percussion instruments indigenous to Indonesia but now found in many parts of the world. No previous experience on gamelan instruments is necessary. Priority given to music majors and minors. Dist: ART; WCult: NW.
51. Oral Tradition Musicianship
09F, 10W, 10S, 10F, 11W, 11S: 2A
Through disciplined practice of West African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Brazilian percussion-based music under the leadership of a master drummer, students will enter a musical world in which creating, mentoring, and communicating are all rooted in oral tradition. Weekly music-making is integrated with discussions and audio-visual material that culturally contextualize the musical traditions being performed. No prerequisite. Dist: ART; W.Cult: NW. Shabazz.
52. Conducting
10X, 11X: 2
The conductor has ultimate responsibility for an ensemble’s performance. This course is designed to provide a philosophical basis and practical introduction to the art and discipline of conducting music. Preparation of the score (study of transposing instruments and clefs, melodic, harmonic and form analysis), knowledge of historical styles and performance practices, baton technique and rehearsal procedures will be studied and applied. Conducting instrumental and vocal music will be incorporated into daily class assignments as well as midterm and final project performances.
Prerequisite: Music 21, or permission of the instructor. Dist: ART. O’Neal.
INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM (IIP)
Student selection is at the discretion of the instructor. In case the instructor’s load cannot accommodate student demand, priority will be given (in the following order) to music majors (including modified majors) and minors, students participating in Performance Labs (Music 50), and members of recognized Hopkins Center Music Ensembles.
One course credit is offered for the combined three terms of instruction and will be granted only after successful completion of all three terms of study. The course is included as part of a student’s official course load only in the first term; a grade is given upon completion of the final term. A student who does not complete the course will receive a non-credit grade. All courses in this sequence (Music 53-58) are offered only on a graded basis; under College regulations the policy must be announced prior to each initial term. A student may repeat the course if satisfactory progress has been made, within the conditions stated following this description. Dist: ART.
Students not accepted into a course in instrumental or vocal instruction may make private arrangements for study with teachers on the staff of Dartmouth College, at the discretion of the instructor, or they may study off-campus with teachers in the area. No academic credit will be given for off-campus study and the fee is the responsibility of the student.
No more than four course credits from the following courses may be counted by any student toward the Dartmouth degree: Music 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58.
All terms except summer: Arrange
53. Keyboard Individual Instruction: Classical and Jazz Piano.
Harpsichord and organ also taught by petition.
54. Woodwind Individual Instruction: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone
55. Brass Individual Instruction: Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Tuba
56. String Individual Instruction: Violin, Viola, ’Cello, Bass Viol, Electric Bass, Classical and Electric Guitar
57. Voice Individual Instruction
58. Percussion Individual Instruction
For Music 53-58, an audition is required. See Departmental IIP Coordinator for information about auditions.
No more than four course credits from the following courses may be counted by any student toward the Dartmouth degree: Music 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65.
60. Studies in Musical Performance: Keyboard
All terms except summer: Arrange
This course consists of the intensive private study of a small number of selected works through their performance. Beyond technical mastery of the instrument, emphasis is placed upon the relation between performance problems (dynamics, phrasing, rubato) and multi-level analysis (harmonic, structural, stylistic). In addition to private instruction for one ninety-minute period each week, the student will be required to present a one-hour recital and to provide either written or oral program notes.
Prerequisite: Music 53 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
61. Studies in Musical Performance: Woodwinds
All terms except summer: Arrange
(see details under Music 60)
Prerequisite: Music 54 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
62. Studies in Musical Performance: Brass
All terms except summer: Arrange
(see details under Music 60)
Prerequisite: Music 55 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
63. Studies in Musical Performance: Strings
All terms except summer: Arrange
(see details under Music 60)
Prerequisite: Music 56 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
64. Studies in Musical Performance: Voice
All terms except summer: Arrange
(see details under Music 60)
Prerequisite: Music 57 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
65. Studies in Musical Performance: Percussion
All terms except summer: Arrange
(see details under Music 60)
Prerequisite: Music 58 and permission of the instructor. Dist: ART.
FOREIGN STUDY COURSES
70. Perspectives in Music Performance
10S, 11S: D.F.S.P.
This course combines the study of music with an intensive exposure to musical performance. Students attend concerts, examine works selected from the repertoire, and keep a journal of concert observations. Performance practices of various historical style periods are reviewed in their historical context, including such factors as the circumstances of composition, the place of the work within a composer’s total output, and the contribution of individual works to the development of musical form and style.
Prerequisite: Music 20. Dist: ART. Pinkas (10S), Swayne (11S).
71. The History of Music in England
10S: D.F.S.P. London
A close examination of the circumstances in which music has been composed and performed in England from early times to the present. Course topics include the effects of ruling monarchs and changing religious affiliations on musical life, the rise of music societies, and the influence of music from Continental Europe such as opera and the Italian madrigal. Students will study works by Dunstable, Tallis, Dowland, Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Elgar, Walton, Britten, and Tippett.
Prerequisite: Music 20. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Pinkas.
74. History of Music in Central Europe
11S: D.F.S.P. Vienna
This course takes advantage of our study in Vienna to explore the sites and environs where many of the composers and performers we will study were born, worked and died. Reading and listening assignments will be augmented by day trips and overnight excursions to Salzburg, Prague and other locales. Local guest lecturers who are experts on various aspects of Central European musical and intellectual history will join us throughout the course.
Prerequisite: Music 20. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Swayne.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH COURSES
82-86. Seminar and Research Courses
These courses may be offered in any term and the content varied from year to year according to the interests and talents of the students and the availability of teaching staff. Although intended primarily for students in the music major, qualified students from other departments may be admitted. In every case admission to these seminars requires permission of the instructor. The seminars consist of reading and research, of writing on an appropriate topic, or of analysis, composition, or advanced theoretical studies under the supervision of a member of the Department. Dist: ART.
82. Special Study in History, Musicology, Ethnomusicology. Permission of the instructor.
83. Special Study in Composition and Theory. Permission of the instructor.
84. Special Study in Performance. Permission of the instructor.
86. Other Special Studies. Permission of the instructor.
87. Special Studies in Music Abroad (Individual Instruction on Music FSP)
10S, 11S: D.F.S.P. Dist: ART.
88. Honors
All terms: Arrange
PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS
Extensive performance opportunities are provided by Hopkins Center-sponsored ensembles: Wind Symphony, Marching Band, Glee Club, Chamber Singers, Handel Society, Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, World Music Percussion Ensemble, and Dartmouth Gospel Choir.
GRADUATE COURSES
See the requirements for the Master’s degree in Digital Musics.
101. Topics in the Repertoire of Electro-Acoustic and Computer Music
10F: Arrange
There exists a body of music that has not been widely heard because its radical style and content do not make it a commodity suitable for widespread distribution. A knowledge and understanding of this repertoire provides an important historical and musical background to recent, current, and future work, and is essential to creative work in the field. In this seminar students will systematically examine the repertoire of electro-acoustic and computer music, through its aesthetics, theories, concepts, techniques, and technologies as well as its historical and cultural contexts. Casal.
102. Music Information Retrieval
11W: Arrange
This course covers theory and practice of music information retrieval systems with an emphasis on their use for creative applications. Topics include information theory, audio feature extraction methods, metric spaces, similarity methods, mathematical and computational models of music, probability and statistics of music feature spaces, machine learning and decision support systems, links between surface-levels and deep structure in music, comparative analysis of music collections, audio and multimedia search engines, scalability to large audio collections, and evaluation of music information retrieval systems. Casey.
103. Sound Analysis, Synthesis, and Digital Signal Processing
09F, 11F: Arrange
This seminar covers topics in sound analysis, synthesis and digital signal processing from theoretical, mathematical, and practical perspectives. Topics include important ideas in the history of digital and analog synthesis, and will draw on classical models as well as current and future techniques. Standard and speculative algorithms for digital sound processing will be analyzed in depth. Students will realize many of these ideas in a variety of digital music environments. Casey.
104. Computer Music Composition
10S, 11S: Arrange
A seminar in techniques of composition for digital, acoustic and electro-acoustic instruments. Certain insights into the systems, poetics, and structure of music can only be gained through the activity of composition itself. In this respect, the activity of composing is of particular benefit to students with a primarily scientific background. Exercises are designed to explore diverse contemporary compositional materials, forms, and activities. Yanov-Yanovsky, the staff.
105. Musical Systems
10W: Arrange
This course examines advanced theories of form, structure, composition, performance and interaction, and deals with their realization in functional systems for research, theoretical and artistic purposes. A special emphasis will be to bridge the gap between abstract theory and concrete implementation. Theoretical ideas covered in this class might include: computer-aided composition, non-deterministic algorithms, interaction design, perceptual modeling, artificial intelligence in music, meta-theory, bio-musical systems, and evolutionary models. Implementations might include: interactive environments, music languages, compositional software, musical instruments, learning systems, and adaptive systems. Casal.
Directed Research
09F, 10W, 10S: Arrange
Directed research courses allow students to work individually with faculty members to explore a wide variety of ideas in electro-acoustic music. These courses might take the form of specific research projects, individual composition, software projects, or directed collaborations with other students and faculty, both within the graduate program and in the Dartmouth community.
137. Directed Research. The staff.
Equivalent to one course.
138. Directed Research. The staff.
Equivalent to two courses.
139. Directed Research. The staff.
Equivalent to three courses.