Classroom Courses

People hear differently. In this course we will consider various “ways of hearing.” We will study topics like historical recreation, physiology and cognitive studies of music, thinking like a composer and musical writing, ethnographic listening, hearing like a performer, and how music creates meaning. There are distinct paths to continue each of the topics, and we will explore opportunities for students to extend these musical interests while at Carleton. "Do you hear what I hear?" asks the famous song. Perhaps not. As we will see, the range of musical activity and interest among our peers can be extremely vast.

A course in aural skills, focusing upon sight reading using solfège (movable do, la-based minor), and short melodic dictation exercises of up to four bars in length in major and minor keys. Recommended Preparation: MUSC 101 or permission of the instructor as assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the start of the program.

Continuation of Musicianship I, with an emphasis on singing and dictation skills. More advanced solfège is introduced, including melodies in minor keys and chromaticism. Longer melodic dictation exercises which introduce standard four-and eight-bar melodic schemas will also be covered. Some harmonic dictation will also be included. Recommended Preparation: MUSC 103 or permission of instructor as assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the start of the term.

An introduction to the materials of western tonal music, with an emphasis on harmonic structure and syntax. It covers basic harmonic syntax (through secondary dominants), melodic phrase structure and cadences, and small musical forms, along with related theoretical concepts and vocabulary. Student work involves readings, analysis and composition exercises, and short essay assignments. Recommended Preparation: MUSC 101 or permission of instructor as assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the start of the term.

What does minimalism mean in music? If “less is more,” what do “less” and “more” sound like? What feelings does minimalist music uniquely illuminate? We’ll explore these questions in global perspective and across genres, from pop to classical, electronic dance music to film music. Today, minimalism is an art-historical style and an aspirational way of life—a psychological and material ideal. In touch with the simultaneously subtle and towering presence of minimalism around us, we’ll listen for the messages—quiet and loud—that minimalist music can carry.

A survey of American music with particular attention to the interaction of the folk, popular, and classical realms. We will use the course sites as classrooms, studying the past and present of musical activity in New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, Memphis, Muscle Shoals and Nashville. We will focus on themes like identity and nation, memory, religion, locality, race and nationhood, the body, and technologies. While focusing on the genres, styles and epochs most associated in these places, we will also consider the range of musical cultures in and around these locations during the past and present. 

This course provides an overview of the history of conducting, as well as an introduction to score analysis and the physical skills required for communicating with an ensemble.  Extensive classroom time is given to conducting the other members of the class in order to develop a repertory of non-verbal gestures that communicate form, timbre, ensemble. Prerequisite: Ability to read music.

This course introduces the discipline of ethnomusicology and its history, theory, methods, and contemporary critiques. Centering the social and cultural analysis of music, the course explores case studies of global popular, vernacular, and classical musics. We will expand our skills as listeners while also considering key issues, such as the “world music” market; ethnographic methods; gesture, dance, and embodiment; copyright and repatriation; the role of media forms and AI technologies; and the politics of representation. No musical experience necessary.

An investigation into the nature of musical sounds and the way they are combined to form rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and form. Topics include the nature of musical pitch, the structure of musical scales and their influence on melody, what gives rise to a sense of tonality, the complexity of rhythmic patterns, and the architecture of musical form. Student work includes building a musical instrument, programming a drum machine, writing computer code to create harmonies and timbres, and an extended music analysis project using empirical methods. Prerequisite: MUSC 101 or permission of instructor as assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the start of the term.

How do public discourses around bodies and minds shape different styles of popular music? How do musicians and fans challenge ableism? Are certain disabilities more prominent in certain kinds of musics? And: can any of this even be heard? To address these questions, we will explore the life and music of artists such as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Victoria Canal, Billie Eilish, and Django Reinhart, and examine how disability functions in subcultures such as punk, hip hop, and K-pop. Readings will be drawn from cultural disability studies, music theory, media studies, and the medical humanities.

Jon Batiste told Forbes in 2019: “I think that you have to open your mind to really be comfortable improvising. It really starts in the mind.” We’ll embrace this mind-music connection by thinking flexibly and critically about improvisation in American music, and by improvising musically ourselves. Readings and discussion will engage Black studies, performance studies, gender studies, philosophy, and political theory. And we’ll build our creative practice with your instruments and voices. Throughout, we’ll keep alive to the ethics of improvisation and the term’s multiplicity of meanings, which call out for your interpretation. Expected preparation: participation in a music ensemble, registration in music lessons, or facility on a musical instrument (Western or non-Western) including voice

An introduction to the methods of experimental and observational research in music perception and cognition. Student teams will replicate/extend classic experiments in music perception, which will involve reviewing historical and current literature, creating stimuli, running experimental trials, performing statistical analyses of data, and giving a poster presentation of their results.

Where is music found? What can we learn about musical practices beyond the score and recording? This course introduces students to hands-on, ethnographic approaches to the study of music. We will consider the ethical, legal, interpersonal, and philosophical challenges of writing about the musical lives of others — and ourselves. Throughout the course, we will work together to design and carry out ethnographic research projects. Selected interested students will develop and carry out a project involving a significant on-site project through a significant on-site visit to the U.S./Mexico border during December. Previous coursework in music is helpful, but not required.

A follow-up to the ethnographic project designed in MUSC 244 and carried out during the December site visit. Students will reflect on their experiences and present the results of their research.

In this research-based course, students will develop listening and analytical skills specific to music in Turkey, Iran, and Arab-majority societies. We will listen to indie rock, hip-hop, mahraganat, Arab pop, techno-dabke, and other popular styles. Topics include the role of radio technology in the Egyptian music industry; the relationship between music and nationalism; how class and gender inform musical performance; and the pleasures and politics of partying. Students will develop individual research topics related to the course (e.g., focusing on a song or artist), with the course culminating in a final research paper. No previous musical experience required.

Over the decades, video game music has evolved from simple beeps and boops into a genre that has garnered millions of fans worldwide. This course traces the history of video game music aesthetics and technology. We will consider how it relates to a variety of musical traditions and engages with broader social issues. We will learn to listen for loops, styles, structures, and function in games via direct engagement with primary sources: the games themselves. The course culminates in the practical application of knowledge via a creative project. 

This class combines performance and academic study of rock music. In the first half of the course, we will develop simple songs in small-group coaching sessions with an in-house group performance as a midterm goal. During the second half of the course, we will make recordings of these performances. Throughout the term, we will accompany performance and recording activities with readings and discussion about aesthetics, performance practice in popular music, and mediation of recording techniques. There is a required hands-on laboratory component but no performance experience is needed. The course will accommodate students with a range of experience. 

Students will prepare a creative musical performance through the exploration of sources, comparison of recordings, score analysis, and performance science. Group meetings explore the pedagogy of preparation that synthesizes intuition and intellect to create a compelling sound and interpretation. Learn to maximize the results of your efforts to improve technical and musical consistency in performance.