ASL Musicality

Catalog description

If music is creative and artistic expression via sounds, then what is sign language music? This course explores how music can be expressed through visual equivalents of musical elements such as harmony, melody, and timbre. It also explores musicality, the emotional and artistic qualities of music, in sign language. Other topics covered include the use of sign language poetics in visual musical performance, aesthetic considerations, and the history of music by Deaf artists, ASL music videos, and musical theatre in ASL. In addition to assigned readings, students will view and analyze a wide variety of music performance in ASL with and without sound. Due to the nature of this subject, instruction is in ASL and voice interpreters will not be provided.