Introduction to Musicology

Catalog description

This class will consider what the historian brings to the study and understanding of music. Students will approach the diverse musics that constitute the Western tradition (broadly received) from a variety of scholarly perspectives. The goal of this class is to listen deeply and think broadly. Students will consider questions such as: what sort of object is music? Where is it located? What does it mean to say a work is “canonic”? What is left out of the story? What are the main techniques of archival research? How do we learn and apply techniques of critical listening and reading to music? Instructors will use resources, especially library’s primary sources, available at Penn and in Philadelphia. Fulfills the requirements of the Music major.