Summer 2016 Courses
Summer 2016 Undergraduate Courses
Summer Session I
May 16 - June 11
MUSI 2559 / 3370 Song Writing
Ted Coffey
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH B012
Class Number for MUSI 2559: 12285
Class Number for MUSI 3370: 12287
The goal of this course is to delve into songwriting; to develop your aural, analytic and creative abilities and to join them together in understanding and composing songs. You will learn about rhythm, melodic design, harmonic progression, lyrics and song forms. You will also work on eartraining, so that concepts you learn will be sonically meaningful. We will consider examples from a broad musical spectrum: blues, folk, tin pan alley, musicals, R & B, rock & roll, hip hop. We will also discuss the issues that songwriters encounter. You will have the opportunity to suggest songs for study, and some assignments will be done in groups. In these situations, we will organize groups that have complementary abilities for in-class performances. The Lab is a required part of the class, and you must sign up for a lab section. During the lab you will go over concepts we are covering in class, as well as work on additional eartraining, analysis and creative projects.
Summer Session II
June 13 - July 09
MUSI 2120 / 3120 History of Jazz
Topic: Hearing as Jazz Musicians Hear
John D'earth
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH B012
Class Number for MUSI 2110: 10880
Class Number for MUSI 2110: 10881
An in-depth look at the way jazz musicians listen to music. What do they listen for? How do they use great jazz recordings to grow as musicians and improvisers? What skills are required to develop timing, phrasing, and musical creativity? The course will examine the recorded work of major jazz artists, explore the “inner hearing” of musicians with participatory exercises in rhythm, melody and movement, and demonstrate the processes by which jazz musicians master theory, musical structure, and their instruments. No previous jazz or musical experience necessary. Taught by jazz trumpeter and composer John D’earth (Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, Bruce Hornsby, Miles Davis/Quincy Jones, The Kronos String Quartet, Dave Matthews; D’earth’s career is documented in Oxford’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler).
MUSI 2350 / 4543 Technosonics: Digital Music & Sound Art Composition
Kristina Warren
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 10:30-12:45 pm / OCH B012
Class Number for MUSI 2350: 12289
Class Number for MUSI 4543: 12290
What is computer music? How do we listen to this music? What does it mean to be a performer of computer music? This class will explore creation and performance of computer music, examining compositions by musicians such as Autechre, Delia Derbyshire, Paul Lansky, and Pamela Z. In addition, we will use software such as Finale, Reaper, and Max/MSP to create digital musical compositions using techniques of notation, synthesis, and mixing. Prerequisite: none.
Summer Session III
July 11 - August 5
MUSI 2070 / 4508 Popular Musics
Amy Coddington
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number for MUSI 2070: 12283
Class Number for MUSI 4508: 12284
This class explores the social and cultural significance of American popular music, focusing on the development of rock, pop, soul and hip-hop from 1955 to present. No previous musical knowledge is required. Topics for Summer 2016 include: popular music’s connection to race and class identity, the development of rock and soul in the 1960s and 1970s, how technology affects mainstream music, hip-hop and its questionable political promise, and the rise of EDM. Students at the 4000 level will complete projects appropriate to a major-level seminar.
MUSI 2559 / 4519 Contemplation, Sound and Music
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 10:30-12:45 pm / OCH 113
Class Number for MUSI 2559: 12286
Class Number for MUSI 4519: 12288
We will explore relations among contemplation, sound, and music, through topics such as soundscapes, mindfulness meditation, embodied responses to music, walking meditation and soundwalks, music therapy, trance states, and clubbing. Class meetings will include experiential work as well as discussion. For a detailed description of a related course taught in Fall 2014, visit http://opengrounds.virginia.edu/books.php and download the book Changing Views, which includes Fred Maus’s comments on the course and two student papers.
MUSI 2340 Learn to Groove
Robert Jospe
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 11007
Study of rhythmic patterns associated with rhythms from West Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil, and the United States, through hand drumming and theory. This is a hand drumming class open to all students including music majors. The course requires that students have a hand drum of their own as well as the course book Learn To Groove. Congas, djembes, doumbeks are recommended. The class will focus on simple hand drumming technique and time keeping along with understanding and playing syncopated patterns. The history, geography and artists associated with the rhythms presented in the course will be discussed.