Music
Chair: Tim Harbold
Department home page: http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/Acad/Music/
The Music Department offers a variety of approaches to the study of music. Studies in both Western European music and ethnomusicology provide in-depth learning for the major through courses in listening, performance, music literature and history, music criticism, composition and theory. Electives enable majors to pursue advanced study in areas of personal interest. Many traditional and interdisciplinary courses are open to majors and nonmajors alike.
Individual performance instruction is available either for credit or on a noncredit basis in piano, harpsichord, organ and voice; most of the standard orchestral instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba); and jazz (guitar, jazz piano and saxophone). Students may participate in a variety of faculty-directed ensembles, including Chorale, Chamber Singers, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Band, Wind Symphony and World Music Ensemble for credit or noncredit.
Major
Print a major planning worksheet
These requirements apply to music majors who declare their music major in the 2003 - 2004 academic year and beyond.
The major in music consists of 11.5 semester courses:
Musc 114 Music Theory I: Fundamentals of Harmonic Practice
Musc 115 Music Theory II: Tonal Harmony
Musc 214 Music Theory III: Form and Analysis
or another theory course at or above the 200 level
Musc 209 Western Music I: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque
or Musc 210 Western Music II: Classical, Romantic, Modern
Musc 211 World Music: Eurasia
or Musc 212 World Music: Africa and the Americas
Two additional 200-level courses, other than the required history or theory courses.
Two 300-level courses.
Musc 402 Senior Conference
One year of credit performance study and .5 credit (one year) of ensemble performance.
Students who place out of Musc 114 or Musc 115 through proficiency tests must still take three theory courses. No course taken pass/fail can satisfy a major requirement.
Minors
Print a minor planning worksheet
There are five minor concentrations in music, each involving five semester courses.
Music history
Musc 114, Musc 115, Musc 209, Musc 210 and one course at the 300 level.
Music theory and composition
Musc 114, Musc 115, Musc 214, Musc 307 and Musc 308.
American music
Musc 114, Musc 115, two courses from Musc 220, Musc 262, Musc 272 and Musc 273 and Musc 292, and one course in American music at the 300 level.
Ethnomusicology
Musc 113 or Musc 114, Anth 102, Musc 211 or Musc 212, one course from Musc 220, Musc 221, Musc 262, Musc 272, Musc 273, Musc 282, Musc 292, and one course in ethnomusicology at the 300 level.
Music performance
Musc 114, Musc 115, Musc 214, another music course at or above the 200 level, at least one year of a double credit performance course (two years are strongly recommended) and a required half recital.
For a definition of "double credit" see Courses in Performance. Performance areas are designated on the transcript, e.g., "minor in music performance (voice)."
Courses in History and Theory
100. Introduction to Music
For students with little or no experience, learning to understand the elements, structure and emotional expressiveness of music through attentive listening to performances from many cultures and historical periods. Considerable lecture demonstration.
(Earl Raney)
107. The Physics of Music and Sound
See Phys 107.
Connections:
Conx 20043 Music: The Medium and the Message
113. Introduction to Music Theory
Designed for non-music majors or students with little music theory background who wish to gain experience with the fundamental concepts of music notation, scale forms, intervals, triads, seventh chords and rhythmic structures. Includes individual computer-assisted instruction.
(Ahmed Madkour, Guy Urban)
114. Music Theory I: Fundamentals of Harmonic Practice
Music notation, scale forms, intervals, triads, seventh chords, rhythmic structures, part-writing. Requires some background in music notation and basic music theory, determined by placement test offered online and during the first class meeting. Students who have not studied music before should register for Musc 113, Introduction to Music Theory.
(Guy Urban, Jeffrey Cashen)
Connections:
Conx 20043 Music: The Medium and the Message
115. Music Theory II: Tonal Harmony
Four-part diatonic progressions and voice leading, simple modulation, analysis of works and excerpts from 18th- and 19th-century Western repertoire. One 30-minute lab per week in addition to regular class meetings. Prerequisite Music 114 or permission of the instructor.
(Ahmed Madkour, Guy Urban)
209. Western Music I: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque
The study of representative compositions in their historical settings. Lecture, listening, discussion.
(William MacPherson)
210. Western Music II: Classical, Romantic, Modern
The study of representative compositions in their historical settings. Lecture, listening, discussion.
(William MacPherson)
211. World Music: Eurasia
An ethnomusicological study of music and other expressive arts within human culture. Focus on classical, folk and popular musics from a variety of traditions including Bulgaria, India, Indonesia and Ireland. This course seeks to develop critical skills, theoretical understanding and appreciation for the musical diversity that surrounds us.
(Julie Searles)
Connections:
Conx 20023 Global Music
212. World Music: Africa and the Americas
An ethnomusicological study of music and other expressive arts within human culture. Focus on musical traditions and aesthetics of the Afrian continent, including Ewe, Dagbamba, Mande and Shona peoples, vocal traditions of South African and Arab music traditions found in Egypt. The Americas are represented through the diverse musical offerings of Brazil and Native American music cultures found here in the United States.
(Julie Searles)
Connections:
Conx 20023 Global Music
Conx 23001 African Worlds
214. Music Theory III: Form and Analysis
Approaches to analyzing compositional forms, phrase structure and more advanced harmonic progressions in music of the 18th- and 19th-century Western repertoire.
(Guy Urban, Ahmed Madkour)
220. Music in Latin American Culture
Study of Latin American and Latino/a music cultures and the syncretization of European, African and indigenous influences in the U.S., Caribbean, Central and South America. Topics covered include indigenous/native, mestizo and African-based musical forms; samba, salsa, merengue and other dance musics; and the Nueva Cancion ("New Song") movement.
(Matthew Allen)
Connections:
Conx 23003 Modern Latin America
221. Music and Dance of South Asia
A study of the inseparable worlds of music and dance on the South Asian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Nepal and other countries), traversing a stylistic spectrum from popular and folk to high-art classical genres and a range of performance settings encompassing ritual, festival, musical theatre, concert hall and cinema. An ethnomusicological approach places the arts within social, political, historical and religious contexts.
(Matthew Allen)
Connections:
Conx 20032 Cultural Flows in South Asia
242. Conducting
Develops a repertoire of skills necessary for leading effective rehearsals and intelligent performances. Emphasis on learning efficient conducting techniques that will work with singers and instrumentalists. Other topics include rehearsal technique, score reading, performance-related music analysis and ear training. Labs with singers and instrumentalists.
(Tim Harbold, Earl Raney)
262. Vernacular Dance in America
The study of American vernacular dance as an indicator of significant historical, social and artistic trends, contextualizing dance in the contemporary cultural climate that both shaped and reflected the influence of dance as an expressive form. Consideration of relevant theoretical works from the fields of dance ethnography, ethnomusicology and culture studies, and experience with the dances themselves through lecture demonstrations.
(Julie Searles)
272. African American Originals I: Spirituals, Blues and All That Jazz
African American music from early spirituals to bebop and the historical and social context in which the music was created. A balance of lecture, listening and discussion. Considerable use of film.
(Ann Sears)
Connections:
Conx 23007 African Diaspora in New World
Conx 23010 Black Aesthetics
273. African American Originals II: Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Contemporary Jazz
African American music from rhythm and blues to rock and roll, from Latin-influenced Cubop and Brazilian Bossa Nova to contemporary jazz. Study of the influence of African-based musical aesthetics and traditions in the United States since 1945. A balance of lecture, listening and discussion. Considerable use of film.
(Matthew Allen)
Connections:
Conx 20034 The Historical Context of Contemporary American Culture
Conx 23007 African Diaspora in New World
Conx 23010 Black Aesthetics
282. Music and Worship in World Cultures
Study of music and dance in religious and spiritual practice in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. We will explore the dialectics between: sacred and secular, virtuosity and devotion, and religious belief and sociopolitical forces, in Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and indigenous African and Native American spirituality.
(Matthew Allen, Julie Searles)
292. Broadway Bound: American Musical Theatre
A survey of American musical theatre, focusing on three areas: the African American experience (through shows such as The Green Pastures, Cabin in the Sky, Show Boat, Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess and The Wiz); Western views of Asia (Madame Butterfly, South Pacific and The King and I); and romantic treatments of American history (The Girl of the Golden West, 1776 and Oklahoma!). Emphasis on film viewing and discussion.
(Ann Sears)
298. Experimental Course
Opera
A survey of the 400-year history of opera. Topics include: Words, drama, and music; singers and vocal technique; characterization, roles and stereotypes, interpretation, design, and staging; and social history, including patrons, opera houses and audiences. Examples will be mainly from the Western European operatic canon, but will also include operetta, musical theatre, non-Western genres, and film scores. Lecture, discussion, listening and viewing, and live performance. No music reading ability required and no music theory prerequisite.
The Politics of Music
This course focuses on how music is political. It will addresses the ways in which a variety of musics from around the world are understood and performed as political by musicians and audiences. Aided by anthropological and ethnomusicological theories about the politics of culture and music we will investigate how music has been used by various groups (including governments, organizations, and individuals) to unite and divide people and groups along political lines. Topics addressed in the course will include music and nationalism, music and revolution, music and conflict, campaign music, music as a weapon, the censorship of music and the globalization of music. We will listen to music and investigate case studies from South Africa, The United States, Bosnia, Tanzania and Afghanistan among others.
Jazz Harmony
The course will takes the student from the most basic techniques such as interval theory, chord construction and inversion through diatonic harmony, chord scale theory, diatonic modes and modulations. Other topics include the original blues progression and its variations, the original "Rhythm" change form and its variations, John Coltrane's tri-tonic system of harmony, a study of re-harmonization, song forms, slash chords, hybrid chords, the bebop and pentatonic scales, superimposition on chords and how to read a lead sheet and memorize tunes easily.
Students will learn all of this through analysis of popular and jazz standards from the 1930's to the present day. Students will also get the chance to compose music assignments for this class! (Prerequisite: Musc 115)
Electronic and Computer Music I
Designed for both music and non-music majors. Introduction to the use of computers in music creation: overview of MIDI messages and protocol, sequencing, sound synthesis, audio recording and mixing. The course has two major parts: history and theory and studio/music creation. Prerequisite Musc 113 or Musc 114.
302. 'The Modern Composer Refuses to Die!': Music in the 20th Century
Composer Edgard Varèse's rallying cry reflects the rebellious spirit of composers who emerged from the decaying European classical and romantic music tradition of the 19th century striving to create new musical languages and ideals. The course will survey the important composers of the 20th century, their music and their interactions with the other arts, in the context of the cultural and political upheavals of that period.
(Guy Urban)
307. Composition
The development of technical facility in music composition through individual study and group discussion and analysis.
(Ahmed Madkour)
308. Analytical Survey of Western Music
Discovering the interactions of time, space, language, timbre and form as they occur in Western European music from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.
(Ahmed Madkour, Guy Urban)
309. Music Nationalism and Identity
This course examines the crucial role played by music in the construction of individual, community and national identity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Through the lens of art, folk and popular music traditions, we will study music "revivals;" the role played by music in nationalist movements in Europe, the Americas and Asia; and the culture clashes that occur when musical systems encounter each other.
(Matthew Allen)
312. American Musical Traditions to 1945
This class will survey the cultivated and vernacular traditions of American music, both sacred and secular, from the Yankee tunesmiths and immigrant musics of the colonial period to jazz and musical theatre at the end of World War II. Considerable independent listening, viewing and writing.
(Ann Sears)
315. Politics of Movement
This course explores the dynamic issues such as race, gender, class and sexuality through revolving world dance case studies. We look at how definitive dance styles materialize through negotiation and the appropriation of marginalized influences and how people use dance and music to define, reinforce and empower personal and shared identity.
(Julie Searles)
332. Teaching Music in the United States
Introduction to important philosophies in music education, teaching styles, learning strategies and curriculum design. Includes teaching practicum at the Elisabeth W. Amen Nursery School.
(Ann Sears)
398. Experimental Course
Electronic and Computer Music II
Designed for both music and non-music majors. Introduction to the use of computers in music creation: fundamentals of digital audio, sound-processing techniques, sampling and real-time computer music. The course has two major parts: history and theory and studio/music creation. Prerequisite Electronic and Computer Music I.
Politics of Movement
This class explores dynamic issues such as race, gender, class, sexuality and spirituality, framed through revolving case studies of world dance traditions. We will consider the impact of colonialism on expressive forms and how controversies emerge through transformative shifts in ownership. We will look at how definitive dance styles materialize through negotiation and the appropriation of marginalized influences, and how people use dance to embody, define, reinforce and empower personal and shared identity.
(Julie Searles)
Arts Administration
Students will explore the organization and administrative workings of performing arts groups, including symphony orchestras, choral ensembles, chamber music ensembles, folk, jazz and rock bands, among others. Lectures, individual readings and guest presentations will focus primarily on the non-profit arts organization in the areas of publicity, marketing, fundraising, board relations and programming, as well as managing a concert series or festival, the recording industry, community music schools, the touring artist, and educational residencies. Outside presenters from various area arts organizations will share insight into outreach and programming opportunities/challenges created by race, gender and ethnicity in the current sociopolitical climate. Students will interact with local arts organizations and concentrate on a specific genre for their final projects.
Music of Ireland
Guitar in World Culture
399. Selected Topics
May be offered from time to time to allow students to study a particular topic not included or not emphasized in regular courses.
402. Senior Conference
A course designed to culminate work done in the music major. Topics, format and instructor(s) will vary, but the course will include weekly seminars and the writing, presentation and discussion of a substantive paper.
(Guy Urban, William MacPherson)
500. Individual Research
Offered to selected majors at the invitation of the department. Students interested in such a program, which is normally carried out by candidates for departmental honors, should contact the department chair during the junior year or at the very beginning of the fall semester of the senior year.
See also courses in Music Performance.