Archived: 2022-23 Undergraduate Course Listings
Summer 2023
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- PROFESSOR: David Schroeder
- DESCRIPTION: Music generally classified as “popular” is an integral part of our cultural fabric and a ubiquitous presence in our daily lives. MUSI 1002 will address some of the most pertinent issues when examining popular music from an academic and sociological perspective. Successful students will develop an enhanced ability to think critically about music in general and the cultural impact it has on society. Issues to be addressed include authenticity, commodification, appropriation, gatekeeper issues, media imaging, artistic integrity, gender roles, sexuality, race, social class, political expression, performance practices, multi-media dissemination, modern technology, and cultural idolization
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: David Schroeder
- DESCRIPTION: This course provides students with a historical survey of Anglo-American popular music styles from approximately 1945 to the present. Significant artists and musical pieces will be examined, along with the sociological contexts in which these works were created. How various styles of popular music developed and evolved within a historiographic framework will also be considered. In addition, this course will consider popular music in relation to technology, audiences, culture and subcultures, race, gender, and sexuality.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
Fall 2022-Winter 2023
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- PROFESSOR: Dave Schroeder
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 1001 is a survey of the major trends in western art music from the Middle Ages to the present. The materials and lectures in this course are designed to augment sensual musical experiences with knowledge of the principal genres, forms, and technical features of western art music. The historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts that shape the creation and reception of musical works will be explored in depth.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Required: Wright, Craig. Listening to Western Music, 8th ed. Schirmer, 2016
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- PROFESSOR: John Higney
- DESCRIPTION: Popular music is consumed by billions of people around the world; yet, in everyday life, rarely do we consider how our lives are shaped by popular music. This course investigates popular music as social and cultural practice from a variety of perspectives including industrial and cultural production/consumption, gender and sexuality, race and racialization, texts and signification, globalization, media, technologies and dissemination, audiences and fandom (mainstream and subcultural). The topics and modes of inquiry presented in this course will prepare students to think critically about popular music and wider culture in the modern world. The ability to read music is not required
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Course work/evaluation TBA
- READINGS: Textbook TBA
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- PROFESSOR: John Higney
- DESCRIPTION: Popular music is consumed by billions of people around the world; yet, in everyday life, rarely do we consider how our lives are shaped by popular music. This course investigates popular music as social and cultural practice from a variety of perspectives including industrial and cultural production/consumption, gender and sexuality, race and racialization, texts and signification, globalization, media, technologies and dissemination, audiences and fandom (mainstream and subcultural). The topics and modes of inquiry presented in this course will prepare students to think critically about popular music and wider culture in the modern world. The ability to read music is not required
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Course work/evaluation TBA
- READINGS: Textbook TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jesse Stewart
- DESCRIPTION: This course, designed specifically for non-music students, is intended to deepen students’ understanding and appreciation of various forms of music. In addition to providing an introduction to the core building blocks of music (such as melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, and form), the course will situate different modes of music making among broader musical, social, cultural, and historical trends. One of the central questions animating the course will be “What makes music meaningful”?
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: 3 concert reports (45%); Comparative essay (25%); Final exam (30%)
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Dave Schroeder
- DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the theoretical rudiments of music in the western European tonal tradition. Completion of this course will fulfil the prerequisite for entry into MUSI 1700. Not available to B.Mus. students for credit.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Required: Lambert, Philip. Principles of Music, 2nd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Staff paper, the textbook, a pencil and an eraser are required for every lecture.
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- PROFESSOR: Sergio Emilio Parra Aguilera
- DESCRIPTION: This course provides with a general introduction to the foundational principles underlying tonal music as of intervals, scales, rhythm, chords, form, cadences, harmonic progressions, and counterpoint. This course serves as an introduction for the concepts and practices that will be learned in MUSI2700A.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jen McLachlen
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 1701B is a study of the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and formal structures of music of the common-practice period, with emphasis on the development of analytical and written skills of diatonic music. Development and assessment of students’ theoretical understanding is achieved by short harmonic exercises, the composition and harmonization of short musical phrases, and analysis of pre-existing music.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Burstein, L. Poundie, and Joseph N. Straus. Concise Introduction to Tonal Harmony, 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton. 2020.
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- PROFESSOR: James McGowan
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 1710A is an introductory study of music as an aural phenomenon. This experiential course focuses on three primary areas of musicianship development: ear training (aural analysis and transcription of melodic and harmonic structures), solfège singing (sight reading and prepared performance), and keyboard harmony. In this way, students develop musicianship skills of both audiation—intentional listening and internalizing musical phenomena—and musical representation—in notation, analysis, singing, and keyboard playing. Sound materials are drawn from a range of sources, live and recorded.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Approximate breakdown of elements: Ear Training assignments – 20%; Ear Training tests – 20%; Ear Training final exam – 15%; Solfège (or Numbers) Singing in-class – 20%; Solfège (or Numbers) Singing presentation – 10%; Sight Singing and Keyboard tests – 15%. No essays.
- READINGS: Course Pack and online materials.
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- PROFESSOR: Kathy Armstrong
- DESCRIPTION: This applied rhythm course will immerse students in hands on activities that are designed to build facility with Western and non-Western rhythmic concepts and their practical applications. Through use of the rhythmic solfege system Takadimi, students will learn to recognize rhythmic patterns and groupings. A fundamental element of the course will be participation in traditional music-making practices from West Africa.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Skills tests, written and online assignments, group playing assignments, and attendance
- READINGS: Hoffman, Richard (2009). The Rhythm Book (2nd ed.). Franklin, Tennessee: Harpeth River Publishing
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- PROFESSOR: John Higney
- DESCRIPTION: This course investigates jazz from its origins up to the present. Students will engage jazz musics and cultures in the contexts of history; space, place and geography; politics and economy; race and racialization; aesthetics; literature, visual arts and the moving image; gender and sexuality; musical styles, forms, and genres, compositional and improvisational practices styles and practices; significant practitioners; and, technologies, media, and industry. Course work consists of in-class quizzes (formats TBA), midterm and final examinations, and writing assignments. The ability to read music is not required or expected.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Course work/evaluation TBA
- READINGS: Textbook TBA
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- PROFESSOR: William Echard
- DESCRIPTION: Selected aspects of the development of Anglo-American popular musics from their roots in the nineteenth century until the shifts and tensions which led to the advent of rock-and-roll and soul in the 1950s. Genres to be examined include blues, country, the sentimental ballad, and musical theatre, among others.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: William Echard
- DESCRIPTION: Selected aspects of the development of Anglo-American popular musics from the advent of rock `n’ roll and soul to the late 20th century. An extremely wide range of genres will be examined, to demonstrate the cultural and musical richness of this highly productive era.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Kathy Armstrong
- DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to Music of the World’s Peoples, and the sociocultural contexts in which those musics are created and performed. We will investigate music from several different geographic areas (Africa, India, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East) using relevant readings, discussion, and audio/visual examples.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Discussion Forums, Video Assignment, Written Term Project in Three Parts
- READINGS: Titon, Jeff Todd (2018) Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World (Shorter Version), fourth edition, New York: Cengage.
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- PROFESSOR: John Higney
- DESCRIPTION: The Classical era (c.1770-c.1825) is marked by some of the most significant changes in aesthetics and culture in the history of western art music. The long-established mimetic modes of expression that characterized much renaissance and baroque music were replaced with “naturalistic” modes. Genres such as opera persisted but many once popular genres either diminished in prominence or disappeared completely and were replaced with new genres. Art music audiences became more socio-economically diverse all over Europe and this is reflected in modes of creation, dissemination, and patronage. Cultural changes both shaped and reflected this shift in audience constitution and, by the early nineteenth century, the foundations of many elements of modern western music industries and aesthetics were established. The ability to read music is not required or expected.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Textbook TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Matthew Emery
- DESCRIPTION: Introduction to the fundamentals of effective instrumentation and orchestration. All aspects of the various instruments of the orchestra and matters having to do with the practicalities of orchestration for string orchestra, chamber orchestra, and large orchestra will be studied.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Tests on knowledge of the orchestral families (wind and brass; string and percussion), orchestration assignments (orchestrate an excerpt for string orchestra, for large orchestra).
- READINGS: Tests on knowledge of the orchestral families (wind and brass; string and percussion), orchestration assignments (orchestrate an excerpt for string orchestra, for large orchestra).
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- PROFESSOR: Jen McLachlen
- DESCRIPTION: Introduction to theories and technicalities involved in original creative writing through the preparation of individual assignments; based in the practice of recent music in the Western Classical tradition while allowing for the music of other Western styles and traditions to be addressed.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Student evaluation will be based upon active participation, numerous smaller composition assignments, and one larger composition project.
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Sam Thulin
- DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to computer-based music creation using industry-standard software packages (including Ableton Live and VCV Rack). Lectures and in-class demonstrations will cover: sampling, synthesis, sequencing, rhythm programming, sound design, mixing and the use of MIDI. All of the above will be grounded in readings and class discussions about sound, audio technology, and studio practice. Studio tools and techniques will be discussed in relation to specific musical examples and their cultural context. This course is open to students of all levels; prior experience with music software is NOT required and a process of learning-by-experimentation will be encouraged.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Tentatively: In-class workshop exercises (15%), Mid-term Audio Project (20%), Forum Posts (10%), Short Paper (15%), Final Composition + Report (40%)
- READINGS: This course uses a mix of articles and book excerpts – all materials are available online.
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
- DESCRIPTION: TBA
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jen McLachlen
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 2700A covers principles of eighteenth and nineteenth-century diatonic and chromatic harmony as observed in works selected from the late Baroque up through the Romantic era. Development and assessment of students’ theoretical understanding is achieved by short harmonic exercises, the composition and harmonization of short musical phrases, and analysis of pre-existing music. Course work includes assignments, an analysis project which includes both a score and an essay, and two exams (midterm and final).
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Burstein, L. Poundie, and Joseph N. Straus. Concise Introduction to Tonal Harmony, 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton. 2020.
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- PROFESSOR: James McGowan
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 2701 is a study of popular musics of the 20th and 21st century from the perspective of music theory. The course explores melody, harmony, rhythm, and formal structures as they function in various pop, jazz, blues, and related genres. Students will develop basic skills in analyzing, notating, composing, arranging, improvising, transcribing, and ear training in contemporary pop and jazz musical styles, as well as abilities in communication skills, peer collaboration, and critical assessment of resources.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Approximate breakdown: 50% – Assignments (includes introductory composition and arranging projects, as well as a short presentation); 10% – Ear Training assignments; 10% – Participation, in-class experiential-learning activities; 15% – Midterm test; 15% – Final test
- READINGS: Curated online readings and materials; as well as instructor-created course resources on Brightspace. Students need to use a computer music-notation program such as MuseScore.
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- PROFESSOR: Jen McLachlen
- DESCRIPTION: MUSI 2710A is a continuation of the study of ear training, sight singing, and basic keyboard skills in relation to classical and popular musics, with emphasis on melodic, harmonic, and formal structures. This course continues the development of three primary areas of musicianship: ear training (aural analysis and transcription of melodic and harmonic structures), solfège singing (sight reading and prepared performance), and keyboard harmony.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Online materials; TBA.
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- PROFESSOR: Kathy Armstrong
- DESCRIPTION: A continuation of 1711, this applied rhythm course will immerse students in hands on activities that are designed to build facility with Western and non-Western rhythmic concepts and their practical applications. Through the continued use of the rhythmic solfege system Takadimi, students will learn to recognize rhythmic patterns and groupings, and compare different notation systems. A fundamental element of the course will be participation in traditional music-making practices from West Africa.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Skills tests, written and online assignments, group playing assignments, and attendance
- READINGS: Hoffman, Richard (2009). The Rhythm Book (2nd ed.). Franklin, Tennessee: Harpeth River Publishing
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- PROFESSOR: Ellen Waterman
- DESCRIPTION: This course is a thematic exploration of music in Canada with a particular focus on art musics (including how they intersect with diverse genres, including avant-pop and jazz). Through critical reading,listening, and discussion, we will examine how music, and the legacy of colonialism, helps shape our national identity, and celebrate the contributions to music in Canada by Indigenous, settler, and diasporic communities.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Mike Tremblay
- DESCRIPTION: This course will focus on learning to improvise. We will concentrate primarily on Jazz repertoire, however the skills and techniques learned here can be easily applied to other styles of music. Assignments will be both written and practical, and will focus on the harmonic process, voice leading, and analysis. Students will learn to be able to apply various improvising techniques on their instrument of choice, regardless of their initial skill level. This course is designed to challenge musicians from beginner to advanced.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Anna Hoefnagels
- DESCRIPTION: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Nicola Oddy
- DESCRIPTION: This course will offer an introduction to music therapy. The objectives of this course will be to introduce the student to three elements of music therapy – literature, practice and theory. The sections will be intermingled so that in each three-hour class, there will be a taste of all three elements. Several areas of practice will be surveyed along with their use with various populations or people who would receive this treatment. We will be looking at the use of music with children and adults with special needs, people in long term care, people with neurological disorders, in palliative care and others. Some examples of intervention that students will be introduced to are instrumental improvisation, vocal improvisation, lyric improvisation, the use of song, therapeutic song writing and receptive music therapy. This course is for anyone considering studying music therapy as a career choice or for those who will find information about this field useful in their research and study. It will serve as an equivalency for introductory courses taught in music therapy programs. It is important to know that this course will not prepare the student to practice in the field of music therapy.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: Bruscia,K. (2014). Defining Music Therapy. Illinois: Barcelona Publishers. Additional weekly readings will be available in ARES.
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
- DESCRIPTION: This course examines European art music of the nineteenth century, a revolutionary period of socio-political change when inspiration, subjectivity, radical idealism, expressive intensity, cultural nationalism, and the primacy of the individual creative voice were held up as primary aesthetic ideals.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: TBA
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jesse Stewart
- DESCRIPTION: This course encourages the development of individual compositional practice through an exploration of various musical and theoretical concepts associated with contemporary music composition. Classes will vary in nature, comprising of lectures, class discussions, student presentations, and musical performances.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: The course is structured around four composition assignments throughout the term and one final project. For each of the assignments, students registered in MUSI 3602 are required to write 2-3 minute compositions for 2 or 3 instruments, whereas students registered in MUSI 4602 are asked to write 3-4 minute compositions for 3 or 4 instruments.
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jesse Stewart
- DESCRIPTION: This course will examine musical improvisation as both a theoretical practice and a practical theory. Each class will be divided into two sections: for roughly the first half of each class, we will engage in a seminar-style discussion focused on selected texts drawn from the emergent field of improvisation studies; in the second half of each class, we will engage in experiential forms of learning by actively improvising with one another. The discussion sessions will focus on a number of key issues related to improvisation including history/historiography, genre, race, gender, sexuality, pedagogy, disability studies, and more.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Participation/weekly reading response questions (10%); Listening test (10%); Improv Journal (20%); Concert review (15%); Group presentation (5%); Final group performance (15%); Research Essay (25%)
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jesse Stewart
- DESCRIPTION: In this combined fourth-year undergraduate and graduate level seminar, we will examine a variety of key issues in the study of jazz including history/historiography, race, gender, class, politics, nationality, improvisation, performance, analysis, meaning, and more. By critically examining the ways in which these issues have intersected with one another historically and with “jazz” (broadly construed), we will explore jazz not only as a form of musical discourse, but also as a site for community building, identity formation, civic dialogue, and political action.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Participation and weekly reading response questions (20%); 3 “pop-quiz” listening tests (15%); Research essay proposal (10%); In-class presentation of research project (15%); Written feedback on student presentations (10%); Final Essay (30%)
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Anna Hoefngels
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- PROFESSOR: Paul Théberge
- DESCRIPTION: Studio recording skills are by now an expected part of every musician’s training. This course is designed to offer Music students an opportunity to gain knowledge of recording technologies – from microphones to digital audio workstations – and to develop the skills required to use them. The course will be offered at the Dominion-Chalmers Centre and will utilize a mobile, and digitally networked recording setup to explore the possibilities of recording in a variety of spaces: including the sanctuary concert space, rehearsal halls, and smaller rooms; the requirements of recording a range of musical styles and genres – from classical to pop – will also be explored. A small audio suite will be available for editing, mixing, and overdubbing.While the focus of the course is practice-based, we will also engage with scholarly work that places recording within social and historical contexts, exploring the racial and gendered dynamics of collaborative work, and the legal and economic constraints of music production.Some prior knowledge of music recording technologies is an advantage but not a prerequisite.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: Individual and small group recording exercises; a brief, critical paper; and a final project.
- READINGS: TBA, will be made available on Brightspace.
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- PROFESSOR: Maghan McPhee
- DESCRIPTION: Ever wonder what it would be like to sing in a language other than your own? Lyric diction is an essential tool for any musician who might like to conduct, direct, play for singers and/or choirs or sing themselves. This performance class will teach you proper and authentic pronunciation in three of the major languages used in classical music; Italian, German and English. The students will learn how to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and will have the opportunity to perform music from the standard vocal repertoire. This class is open to voice students, conductors, pianists and instrumental students, who will perform assigned music. Students of ALL vocal levels are welcome!
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: 10% Attendance/Attitude 15% Class participation 25% Assignments 20% Quizzes 30% Final
- READINGS: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: TBA
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- PROFESSOR: Jesse Stewart
- DESCRIPTION: This course encourages the development of individual compositional practice through an exploration of various musical and theoretical concepts associated with contemporary music composition. Classes will vary in nature, comprising of lectures, class discussions, student presentations, and musical performances.
- METHOD OF EVALUATION: The course is structured around four composition assignments throughout the term and one final project. For each of the assignments, students registered in MUSI 3602 are required to write 2-3 minute compositions for 2 or 3 instruments, whereas students registered in MUSI 4602 are asked to write 3-4 minute compositions for 3 or 4 instruments.
- READINGS: TBA