MUSC 101     Listen Up—Your Musical Ear in the Twenty-First Century  (4)

Today’s music—pop, EDM, hip-hop, K-Pop, movie music, etc.—shares many characteristics of older styles, including blues, jazz, rock, RB, country, piano, and orchestral scores. In this class the student learns to listen perceptively to older idioms and to apply those skills to more recent music. The ear comes to recognize musical concepts such as meter, mode (major, minor), musical form ("what's a bridge?"), texture, and more recent recording techniques such as looping, sampling, and Auto-Tune.

MUSC 111     Episodes in “Classical” Music: Origins, Evolution, Crisis  (4)

An introduction to the great music of Western civilization from the Middle Ages to the present. The course begins with a discussion of the elements of music and proceeds with a chronological overview of music history. Musical masterworks from all style periods are studied. May not be taken for credit by students who have taken MUSC 211.

MUSC 112     Piano Skills and Music Fundamentals I  (1)

A general introduction to the language of music, using the piano as toolkit. This is the first course in a two-course sequence. Students with little or no experience in piano acquire the ability to read music, play simple piano pieces, and improvise. Along with piano skills, students learn fundamental theoretical concepts, such as melodic and rhythmic notation, major scales and key signatures, expressive markings, and simple meters.

MUSC 113     Piano Skills and Musical Fundamentals II  (1)

A general introduction to the language of music, using the piano as toolkit. This is the second course in a two-part sequence. Students with little or no experience in piano acquire the ability to read music, play simple piano pieces, and improvise. Along with piano skills, students learn fundamental theoretical concepts, such as tuplets, minor scales and key signatures, structural elements, and compound meters. Prerequisite: MUSC 112.

MUSC 143     Move on up a Little Higher: The History of Gospel Music  (4)

African American Gospel music represents a unique and powerful tradition of American music and culture. This course begins with the foundations of Gospel music as represented in African American spirituals and blues along with its religious roots in the Great Awakenings and the later Pentecostal movement. Subsequent topics include the post-Civil War Jubilee choral style, Gospel's "golden age" of 1945-55, the advent of black-run radio programs, record companies, and a performance circuit for Gospel singers. Gospel music from 1960 to the present is examined bio-chronologically, discussing important songwriters, singers, and the music's significant stylistic changes. As a useful overture to study students may pursue in upper-level music courses, this course also introduces terminology required for musical analysis, including mode, meter, and form.

MUSC 160     Theory and Musicianship for the Twenty-First Century – Foundations  (4)

Students learn to play the piano, read music notation, and compose songs. No prior musical experience is necessary. Musicality is developed by integrating theory and analysis, aural skills, performance, and composition. Through this integration of skills and knowledge, the course fosters a comprehensive understanding of music relevant to our current musical and cultural landscape. The 4th hour addresses ear training and practical musicianship. Prerequisite: MUSC 113.

MUSC 211     Song, Symphony, Stage: Music in Western Civilization  (4)

An accelerated version of MUSC 101 intended for performing musicians or other students with fair experience as listeners. After a quick review of the history of Western music, the course proceeds to consider topics such as the many manifestations of songs through the centuries, music and dance, music and politics, and musical exoticism/globalization. In addition to songs, other genres under consideration include symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, and musicals. Students take an active role in selecting music for discussion. May not be taken for credit by students who have taken MUSC 101.

MUSC 214     Electronic Music: Synthesis Digital Recording  (4)

This course covers the fundamentals of electronic music and studio recording. Using Reason software, students learn about MIDI, sound synthesis, sampling, drum machines, loop players and sound processing. The second half of the semester focuses on Pro Tools, a digital recording program. Students learn recording techniques, sound editing, use of plug-in MIDI instruments, and how to produce recordings of their own music. Prerequisite: MUSC 103 or MUSC 104 or MUSC 160 or MUSC 260.

MUSC 223     The Emergence of "Highlife:" Ghanaian Popular Music  (4)

Highlife music has emerged as one of the most popular world music genres from West Africa in the last century due to the influence of indigenous Ghanaian music heritage juxtaposed with ideas borrowed from the West. This course analyzes the musical varieties within the highlife genre and explores the numerous factors rooted in ethnicity, gender, identity, Pan-Africanism, and generational class relations that have contributed to contemporary understandings of Ghanaian popular music. Prerequisite: Open only to students admitted to the Ghana on the World Stage program..

MUSC 224     Musics of Latin America  (4)

This class explores different musical traditions of Latin America such as salsa, merengue, cumbia, porro, bolero, danzon, and samba as manifestations of cross-cultural interaction and/or religious syncretism. Through a theoretical and practical approach, students also consider elements related to construction of Latino cultural identities (e.g., music, language, social dancing) vis-à-vis migration and diaspora. The course also interrogates stereotypes and other misrepresentations of Latino culture in the U.S. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or MUSC 151.

MUSC 226     American Music  (4)

A chronological survey of music in the United States from the colonial period to the present day with emphasis on the music of the twentieth century. The course examines both European-derived and vernacular styles (e.g., ragtime, jazz, and rock). Prerequisite: MUSC 101.

MUSC 227     Music and Gender  (4)

This course explores the intersection of Western music with sex, gender, and sexuality. Students apply concepts from the field of women’s and gender studies to analyze the construction of gender in music and musical discourse, as well as the roles sex and gender play in the careers, output, and reception of classical and popular musicians. Set at an intermediate level, this course assumes students have previous familiarity with basic musical concepts, including melody, harmony, major/minor tonality, and meter.

MUSC 228     Music and the Brain  (4)

This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the brain systems involved in music making and music listening. Students will be introduced to the established and emerging topics in the rapidly evolving fields of music cognition, music neuroscience, music and language, and music therapy. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or PSYC 101 or NEUR 101.

MUSC 231     Music in the Anglican Church  (4)

A survey of music in the English church from the Reformation to the present day. The evolving role of music in the Anglican liturgy will be considered against the backdrop of the history of the English church and the evolution of European musical style. Works by Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, Handel, Vaughan Williams and others will be closely examined. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or MUSC 151.

MUSC 233     Toward the Great War: Impressionism and Modernism  (4)

The turn of the twentieth century was a turbulent time for music, literature, and the visual arts, with challenges to the artistic status quo emanating especially from Paris and Vienna. Impressionism and Modernism both reflect attempts to come to terms with a changing world, and the Great War forever altered the cultural and artistic landscape. Works by Debussy, Mahler, Strauss, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky are examined from analytical, cultural, and historical perspectives, with parallel developments in the literary and visual arts also taken into consideration. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or MUSC 151.

MUSC 235     The Liturgical Music of Johann Sebastian Bach  (4)

This course explores the musical, poetic, and theological contexts of the works Johann Sebastian Bach composed for the Lutheran liturgy from his early career (the cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106) through his final years (Mass in B Minor, BWV 232). Consideration is given not only to the texts Bach sets but also, and more importantly, to the ways in which the music itself comments on and interprets those texts. A working knowledge of basic music notation is helpful for class discussion.

MUSC 237     Christian Music: From Mount Zion to Hillsong  (4)

A complement to MUSC143 (Gospel Music) and MUSC231 (Anglican Music), this course addresses various pre- and post-Reformation Christian service musics. Topics may include Byzantine chant, Gregorian chant, Palestrina, the Caecilian movement, the Solesmes reform, shape-note hymnody, Azusa Street–era charismatic song, and more recent evangelical developments.

MUSC 241     "Ramblin' Blues": The Back Roads of Southern Music  (4)

The "roots" music of the Southeastern United States has been one of the region's chief exports. Musicians wander back roads, crowd front porches and church pews, and sometimes make their way to music centers like Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis. This course focuses on musicians in the Southern tradition and addresses diverse idioms, especially the blues (folk, country, electric) and Sacred Harp singing. Students become knowledgeable in interpreting lyrics and in deploying terminology for music analysis, including mode, meter, harmony, and form (e.g., 12-bar blues).

MUSC 243     If It Ain't Got That Swing: The History of Jazz  (4)

Jazz has been called "America's Classical Music" and the United States' greatest musical export. Jazz is at once an improvisatory yet timeless art. This course presents a chronological survey of its major styles and artists, from African acculturation in the New World to the present. Topics include the roots of jazz, the New Orleans masters, jazz in the 20's, Big Band, Bebop, Post-Bop styles, Avant-garde, Fusion, recent developments, and jazz vocalists. Through listening assignments and attendance at live performances, students learn to identify jazz styles and instrumentation. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or MUSC 111 or MUSC 141 or MUSC 143 or MUSC 151 or MUSC 257.

MUSC 251     University Choir  (1)

The University Choir plays an important role in the musical life of the University and All Saints' Chapel. At All Saints', the choir's activities include singing at all Sunday Eucharist services during the semester as well a monthly Choral Evensong. In addition to its liturgical duties, the choir offers several concert performances throughout the year, often with orchestral accompaniment. Membership in the choir is open to any undergraduate student.

MUSC 253     University Orchestra  (1)

The University Orchestra presents the full range of the symphonic repertory and collaborates frequently with other organizations to present choral-orchestral and musico-theatrical works. Participation in the University Orchestra is open to all qualified undergraduate students as well as students from the School of Theology, faculty, and members of the Sewanee community.

MUSC 254     Class Fasola: Singing the Sacred Harp  (1)

Singing from the Sacred Harp hymnal represents an old but still rewarding Southern musical practice, suitable for all amateurs willing to sing loudly. In twice-a-week practices, we cover the fundamentals of shape-note singing and learn to sing in parts. Approximately once a month we travel to Alabama to participate in one of the traditional Sacred Harp singings.

MUSC 255     Workshop for the Singing Actor  (4)

Training in performance as a singing actor in a workshop setting, providing opportunities for the integration of singing and movement. The course will cover a variety of musical styles with emphasis on Broadway and opera scenes.

MUSC 257     University Jazz Ensemble  (1)

Jazz Ensemble provides experiences in performance of all types of jazz literature from early swing (Duke Ellington, Count Basie) and Latin forms (Antonio Carlos Jobim) to contemporary fusion (Pat Metheny, Brecker Brothers, Yellow jackets). The group focuses on the developing jazz student, providing an opportunity for a challenging ensemble experience while encouraging the performer to explore improvisation. In addition, members have the opportunity to compose and arrange music for the ensemble. Membership is open to all students regardless of major. The group consists of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, guitar, bass, drum set and keyboard. In addition, the group involves male and female vocalists as well as string players with an interest in learning to sing or play jazz. The jazz ensemble offers one or more performances each semester.

MUSC 258     University Gospel Choir  (1)

The University gospel choir, which performs under the name "Sewanee Praise," offers a campus performance medium for gospel music. The group's repertory includes spirituals, traditional and contemporary gospel, praise and worship, and contemporary Christian. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 259     Chamber Ensemble  (1)

Chamber ensemble is designed to provide students with a performance opportunity in small ensemble repertoire. Ensembles will be formed using the available personnel of woodwind, brass, string, and piano students. These ensembles may include: woodwind quintet, clarinet quartet, flute quartet, brass quintets, string quartets, and other various ensembles based on the repertoire and available players. Pianists may participate based upon the availability of other instrumentalists to form piano-based ensembles.

MUSC 260     Theory and Musicianship for the Twenty-First Century – Intermediate  (4)

Students continue to expand their abilities to play piano, analyze chords and musical ideas, and compose original music. The new topics covered in this course include counterpoint, melodic and harmonic development, formal analysis, part-writing, and extended harmonies. As in MUSC 160, musicality is developed by integrating theory and analysis, aural skills, performance, and composition. Through this integration of skills and knowledge, the course fosters a comprehensive understanding of music relevant to our current musical and cultural landscape. Prerequisite: MUSC 160 or a score of four or five on the AP Music Theory Examination.

MUSC 265     Voice Pedagogy: Technique, Diction, Applications  (2)

An exploration of tools for the practice and teaching of singing, this course introduces vocal anatomy and physiology, assessments and interventions for vocal challenges, International Phonetic Alphabet and its applications, and both historical and contemporary approaches to voice pedagogy. Students gain a vocabulary for healthy, expressive technique and apply it in the teaching studio. Prerequisite: (MUSC 275 or MUSC 276) or (MUSC 375 or MUSC 376).

MUSC 267     Applied Guitar (Group)  (1)

Applied instruction in guitar in a group setting.

MUSC 268     Applied Guitar  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 271     Applied Piano  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 273     Applied Organ  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 274     Applied Class Voice  (1)

An introductory singing course that provides group lessons with daily practice expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 275     Applied Voice  (1)

An intermediate singing course that provides individual lessons on a weekly basis with daily practice expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 274.

MUSC 276     Applied Voice: Contemporary Vocal Styles  (1)

Focusing on musical theater and commercial vocal styles, this intermediate singing course provides individual lessons on a weekly basis with daily practice expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 274.

MUSC 277     Applied Strings  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 278     Applied Fiddle  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 279     Applied Winds  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 281     Applied Carillon  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major with some prior keyboard experience. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. Prerequisite: MUSC 104.

MUSC 285     Applied Percussion  (1)

This course is designed for the non-major. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 287     Applied Harp  (1)

MUSC 289     Applied Jazz Piano  (1)

Prerequisite: MUSC 160. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 257.

MUSC 312     Cultural Transformations in Music, 1730-1914  (4)

An examination of representative canonic works composed between the mid-eighteenth century and the beginning of World War I. During this period music traces the socio-political changes seen more broadly in the West, from aristocracy to democracy, with musicians pursuing ever greater freedom of individual expression. Large-scale and chamber works by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Stravinsky are addressed from an analytical, historical, and critical perspective. Prerequisite: (MUSC 111 or MUSC 211 taken after Easter 2020) and (MUSC 103 or MUSC 104).

MUSC 313     From Ragtime to Radiohead: Music in the Era of Recordings  (4)

Recording technologies, which date back to the late nineteenth century, have affected music more profoundly than any other musical change since the adoption of music notation. This course traces the development of those technologies, with particular attention to the performers, composers, and repertories that have exploited them. Many important figures and movements in twentieth and twenty-first century music are addressed: ragtime, blues, jazz, and rock; Copland, Varèse, Reich; the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead. Different recording formats - from piano rolls to mp3s - receive particular attention. Prerequisite: (MUSC 105, MUSC 111, MUSC 241, or MUSC 211 taken after Easter 2020) or (MUSC 105, MUSC 101, MUSC 141, or MUSC 151 taken before Summer 2020).

MUSC 323     Music after the Fall: Concert Music since 1989  (2)

This course surveys contemporary Western art music within the transformed political, cultural, and technological environment of the post–Cold War era. Musical composition is considered against this changed backdrop, placing it in the context of globalization, digitization, and new media. The course employs a new approach to the study of contemporary music that relies less on taxonomies of style and technique and more on the comparison of different responses to common themes of permission, fluidity, excess, and loss. Students glimpse the rich, broad picture of the new music ecosystem, both inside and beyond the concert hall. Prerequisite: MUSC 260.

MUSC 333     American Music  (4)

New description: The music history of the United States encompasses many richly varied strands—native, imported, learned, vernacular. This course focuses on the music created and consumed by large numbers of Americans, primarily in Anglo-American and African American cultures. Attention to specific performers (“artists”), especially female, redresses the likely gender imbalance of a course oriented mainly towards composers. In rough chronological order students learn about the nation’s hymns (including shape-note traditions) and spirituals, minstrel tunes, ragtime, early pop music and “evergreens,” jazz, American orchestras, the blues, rock ’n’ roll, and hip-hop. Students also engage the concept of “phonograph effect,” as introduced by Mark Katz: the way recording technology fundamentally reshapes not just American music but the way that we experience and think about music. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or MUSC 111 or MUSC 143 or MUSC 211.

MUSC 335     Music for the Soul: The Requiem Mass in History and Culture  (4)

The history of the Requiem Mass intertwines with the history of European music and forms an important part of the choral repertory. Music for some 2000-2500 Requiem masses survives, and these masses date back to the earliest medieval times. Requiem masses serve literally as a rite of passage, and music plays a crucial role. The course explores in detail Requiem settings from the Renaissance (including Ockeghem, Victoria and Palestrina), the Classical era (Mozart), the Romantic (Verdi and Berlioz). and on towards our own day with the Anglican settings of Britten and Rutter. Prerequisite: (MUSC 111 or MUSC 211) and (MUSC 104 or MUSC 160 or MUSC 251).

MUSC 360     Theory and Musicianship for the Twenty-First Century – Advanced  (4)

This is the final course in the theory and musicianship sequence. Students continue to hone the skills introduced in the previous semesters, while progressing onto more advanced concepts. The new topics covered in this course include modulation, chromatic harmony, tonal extensions, modality, jazz theory, hip-hop studies, and post-tonality. As in MUSC 160 and 260, musicality is developed by integrating theory and analysis, aural skills, historical contextualization, performance, and composition. Through this integration of skills and knowledge, the course fosters a comprehensive understanding of music relevant to our current musical and cultural landscape. Prerequisite: MUSC 260.

MUSC 368     Applied Guitar  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 370     Recital  (1)

The student musician works with a faculty instructor to make a significant musical contribution of at least 15 minutes to a recital, concert, or other performance. The work(s) may be solo, but chamber performance is also permissible if the musician plays a prominent role within the accompanying ensemble. Concurrent enrollment in a one hour applied music lesson required. Open only to students pursuing majors in music.

MUSC 371     Applied Piano  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 373     Applied Organ  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 375     Applied Voice  (2)

An advanced singing course that provides individual lessons on a weekly basis with daily practice expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 376     Applied Voice: Contemporary Vocal Styles  (2)

Focusing on musical theater and commercial vocal styles, this advanced singing course provides individual lessons on a weekly basis with daily practice expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 377     Applied Strings  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 379     Applied Winds  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 383     Applied Conducting  (2)

This performance course may only be taken by students who are enrolled in--or have already completed--MUSC 260, MUSC 261, and MUSC 360. Consent of the instructor is required. Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. Music majors may earn a full course credit during the semester in which a senior recital is given. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.

MUSC 385     Applied Percussion  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. Music majors may earn a full course credit during the semester in which a senior recital is given. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 160.

MUSC 387     Applied Harp  (2)

Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. Music majors may earn a full course credit during the semester in which a senior recital is given. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 260.

MUSC 389     Applied Jazz Piano  (2)

Prerequisite: MUSC 289. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MUSC 257.

MUSC 411     Topics in Musicology  (4)

An introduction to musicology that features scholarly assessments and case studies drawn from the whole length of European and American music history, including the "phonograph effect." Students take responsibility for several kinds of in-class discussions, developing leadership skills. The course also helps students prepare the listening and other components of the music comprehensive exam. The course assumes substantial previous contact with music history on the part of the student. Prerequisite: (MUSC 101 or MUSC 151, or MUSC 111 or MUSC 211 taken after Easter 2020) and MUSC 260..

MUSC 414     Scoring for the Screen  (4)

Through the lens of media composition, students develop their musical imagination for the moving image. Applying material learned in MUSC 160, 260, and 214, students score music for advertisements, movie and game trailers, and short films. Basic knowledge of Logic Pro X and some music notation software (e.g., Finale or MuseScore) is useful for the course. Prerequisite: MUSC 214 and MUSC 260.

MUSC 416     Digital Studio Production  (4)

Building upon digital audio, MIDI, recording, and production skills introduced in MUSC 214, this course offers students the opportunity to create an extended original project that could include an EP of several songs or tracks, an extended composition, or a music and media project. Students learn more advanced recording, production, and post-production skills as well as creative strategies for generating, developing, and arranging musical ideas. Students utilize the sound and recording studio in conjunction with digital audio workstations (DAWs) to explore mastering, mixing, and remixing, all with the aim of producing a professional-level recording of their work. Prerequisite: MUSC 214 and MUSC 260.

MUSC 444     Independent Study  (2 or 4)

To meet the needs and particular interests of selected students. This course may be repeated more than once for credit. Prerequisite: Instructor prerequisite override required.

MUSC 460     Composition and Orchestration: Various Topics  (4)

In this course students develop their musical imagination beyond the material of MUSC 260–360. The goal is to acquire the necessary skills--including orchestration, development of material, part writing, and controlling textural density--to communicate musical thoughts and ideas. Students collaborate throughout the semester with a chamber ensemble of the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra, culminating in a public concert of original musical works. This course may be repeated three times for credit. Prerequisite: MUSC 360.

MUSC 470     Recital  (2)

Open only to students pursuing majors in music. Prerequisite: MUSC 370.