Exploring Music

Catalog description

In this course we will explore the components of music. We will try to understand what makes it so elusive, yet so fascinating. On the one hand, we will investigate the elements that constitute it (what is a melody, how it works, how songs are made, why something sounds good or bad, etc.). On the other hand, we will review the principal forms that music has taken in history, focusing mainly on Western music. We will also investigate the cultural conditions under which we listen. We will develop the understanding of those matters primarily through written commentary on the musical and scholarly material encountered. No prior musical knowledge is required. Lectures, discussions and written assignments won't include music notation 001808