Music Creation and Sound Practice

Catalog description

Edgard Varèse called his music “organized sound.” John Cage composed silence. Charles Mingus gave a concert featuring the children of his band mates playing instruments they didn’t know behind a curtain to mock the avant-garde noises of free jazz. Is all sound music? (Are sound and music synonymous?) This course is an introduction to music creation and performance, not bound by genre or method, designed for several types of student: those who have studied music, self-taught self-directed musicians, and artists from other fields who want to understand music from the inside. Music will be presented as an inherently interdisciplinary field, medium, and practice, as we investigate contemporary and historical ideas about the relationship of sound to music. Students will experience different ways to conceive of sound through a hands-on exploration of the fundamentals of music making, including aural training, tonal theory, the digital audio workstation, and sound theory. Readings include selections from Tara Rodgers’ “Pink Noises,” Kodwo Eshun’s, “More Brilliant than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction,” John Cage’s “Silence: Lectures and Writings,” and Pierre Schaefer’s “In Search of a Concrete Music.” Coursework includes short written and/or oral responses, and the creation of several short musical response pieces. The final project is the creation and presentation of a new work and a written Statement that describes the intent and methods behind it.