Subject Description
Music

MUS 105 | Music in the United States

This course surveys the rich musical heritage of the United States from the Colonial Period to the present. It explores many of the musical traditions whose collective heterogeneity defines a country of diverse musical narratives. Musical styles and genres explored include art music, concert music, popular music, musical theatre, sacred music, country, folk, jazz, and rock.

MUS 104 | Music Theory II

In this second semester of music theory study, students will learn about figured bass, secondary chords, mode mixture, the Neapolitan chord, augmented sixth chords, and modulation with and without pivot chords including enharmonic modulation. Students create two original compositions.

MUS 103 | Music Theory I

This course consists of an introduction to music theory through the study of scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, lead-sheet symbols, Roman numeral analysis, harmonic function and progression, non-chord tones, melodic analysis, form in popular music, phrases in combination, and accompanimental textures. Students create an original arrangement of an existing song.

MUS 435 | Firing the Classical Canon

This course provides an overview of the narrative and elements of the Western "classical" music canon from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. It covers the eras, composers, genres, styles, terms, and famous works that constitute the classical canon in the U.S.--a body of knowledge widely held to be the most important elements of music history for musicians to know about, study, teach, and perform.

MUS 330 | Opera: Based on a True Story

Every opera's characters and situations reflect the times and societies in which they were created, and in performances decades or centuries later, they continue to adapt to reflect changing circumstances. A few operas go further, actually portraying people and events plucked from the history books, or even the headlines. This course considers a selection of operas "based on a true story." What is the true story, as far as we can discern? Who transformed the event into words, music, sets, costumes, and movement onstage?