(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

AMST/MUS 35a Rock, Country, and Hip-Hop: History of American Popular Music
[ ca oc ]

Formerly offered as MUS 35a.

Examines the historical context, stylistic development, and cultural significance of rock and roll and other closely related genres, spanning the 1950s through the present. Close attention is paid to how political and social changes have interacted with technological innovations through commercial music to challenge, affirm and shape ideas of race, gender, class and sexuality in the United States. Usually offered every third year.

AMST/MUS 39b Protest Through Song: Music that Shaped America
[ ca oc ss ]

Open to music majors and non-majors. Does not fulfill the Main Currents in American Studies requirement for the major.

Examines 20th and 21st century protest music to better understand the complex relationships between music and social movements. Through class discussions, reading, writing, and listening assignments, and a final performance students will discover how social, cultural, and economic protest songs helped shape American culture. Usually offered every second year.

AMST/MUS 55a Music in Film: Hearing American Cinema
[ ca oc ]

Formerly offered as MUS 55a.

Examines the aesthetics and the history of music in film. Through lecture, class discussions, screenings, and readings, the course teaches students how to critically read image, script, and music as an integrated cultural text, ultimately helping one understand and appreciate the progression of film and sound technology from the 1890s to the present. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 1a Exploring Music
[ ca ]

Does not meet requirements for the major or minor in music.

A general introduction to the materials and forms of music and their role in human social life with examples drawn from around the world. Training in analytical listening, based on selected listening assignments. Open to non-majors who are assumed to have little or no previous knowledge of music. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 3b Global Soundscapes: Performing Musical Tradition Across Time and Place
[ ca nw ]

Open to all students. Required of all Cultural Studies track majors.

What are we listening to? Applies engaged listening skills and critical analysis for a deeper appreciation of (non-Western) music as a cultural expression. Focuses on particular traditions as well as social context, impact of globalization, cultural production, cultural rights, etc. Usually offered every year.

MUS 5a The Beginner's Toolbox: Fundamentals of Music Notation and Performance
[ ca ]

Does not meet requirements for the major or minor in music.

Explores the basic elements of music including pitch, rhythm, timbre and feel. Students will learn to understand music through listening and reading musical notation and chord-charts and will develop vocabulary for discussing music from a variety of traditions and styles. No previous experience with music or knowledge of how to read music is required. Usually offered every year.

MUS 31a Broadway Bound: The Craft of Composing Music and Lyrics for the Theater
[ ca ]

Open to music majors and non-majors.

Do you like to write poetry or plays? Have you written music and/or lyrics and want to try your hand at writing musical theatre? In this class, you will learn how music functions in a dramatic context by writing songs (alone or in collaboration with others) and regularly presenting your material for peer and instructor feedback. Contemporary and traditional musical theater masterpieces will be analyzed. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 32b Elements of Jazz
[ ca ]

Open to music majors and non-majors.

Examines the development of Jazz styles from the origins of Jazz in the late 1800's through today's Jazz masters. Early Jazz, Swing, Bebop, Cool, the year 1959, and Avant Garde are some of the styles we will be examining through recordings, videos, and in-class performances by local jazz musicians. The emphasis will be on learning how to listen to the various layers of the music and recognize specific stylistic techniques. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 36b Divas
[ ca wi ]

Though her name means 'goddess,' the diva is frequently imagined as a creature with all-too-human failings; she is both talented and tempestuous, both revered and reviled. This course will explore the complex image of the diva in Western culture from the middle ages to the present day. We'll treat the category of 'diva' expansively ' encompassing opera singers and pop stars, composers and castrati ' and engage with thorny questions of gender, sexuality, race, class, and power, in hopes of understanding the enduring cultural potency of this compelling and problematic figure. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 37a Community Engagement Through Music
[ ca oc ]

If you make music in any way, whether you play guitar in your bedroom by yourself or perform piano recitals onstage, your music has the potential to help you develop impactful personal connections with the greater Waltham community. In this experiential learning course, we will explore community engagement through music, creating interactive musical storytime performances for children and adaptable performances for senior/rehabilitation centers, seeking input from our partner organizations and our peers at every step of the way. Bring your musical creativity and your community spirit- we have the opportunity to be ambassadors for Brandeis in the Waltham community while having a lot of fun along the way. Proficiency on a musical instrument is not required to participate in the course, but all students will be expected to bring their musical curiosity to the class, as well as willingness to push outside their comfort zone and get a little silly at times! Openness to a variety of perspectives, on an off campus, will also be a vital part of the learning process. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 51a Singing to Power
[ ca ]

Explores the transformative potential of song through historical study, musical analysis, and creative engagement. Each week students will study songs, paired with readings from relevant discourses in women’s, gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, working-class studies and others. While some time will be spent on protest music and its connections to social movements, the course will primarily focus on the under-examined power of song in contexts of family/community history, alternative cultural discourse, and covert resistance. Our emphasis will be on American popular music from the 20th and 21st centuries, but examples and inspiration will be drawn from other cultures and traditions as well. Throughout the semester, students will work on creative projects, culminating in the composition of an original poem or song. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 56b Romanticism in European Music and Literature: Breakups, Breakdowns, and Beauty
[ ca oc ]

Open to Music majors and non-majors.

Romantic art abounds in depictions of hallucinators, madwomen, obsessives, and other individuals whose thoughts and behaviors deviate sharply from societal norms. This semester, we'll seek to understand the cultural and historical significance of the ways in which late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music and literature portray exceptional emotional, mental, and physiological states. We'll investigate the connections among madness, genius, physical illness, and the supernatural in the Romantic imagination, and also think about the artistic techniques contemporary writers and composers used to represent 'extreme' psychology. Our approach to this material will be comparative rather than strictly historical: we'll look at works written in different countries and different time periods within the period, grouped together by theme. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 57a Jazz, Politics, and Protest
[ ca deis-us ]

Since the emergence of jazz at the dawn of the 20th century, musicians have built a long and storied tradition of protest and political engagement. This course will explore forms of protest pursued by jazz artists over that time, tracing key historical moments, as well as ongoing themes and strategies. Topics will include musicians' extensive participation in the civil rights and racial justice movements; the formation of musician-organized collectives to protect artists' rights; the complex relationship between jazz musicians and the U.S. State Department; and contemporary examples of musical activism in response to the Movement for Black Lives, the #MeToo movement, civic responses to Hurricane Katrina, and other issues. The class will include a combination of reading assignments, as well as close listening to germinal works that broach political themes. In addition to written papers, students will have options to pursue applied projects, depending on their preferences and academic focus. Our overarching goal will be to consider the theme of jazz and protest not only as a topic of historical interest, but as one that continues to resonate in the jazz community today. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 81a Brandeis University Chamber Singers

Corequisite: MUS 80a,b or MUS 82a,b. Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Full academic year participation expected. Significant vocal experience, aural skills and music literacy required. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

The Chamber Singers is the premiere ensemble at Brandeis University. The ensemble explores repertoire for chamber choir including all major genres from the Renaissance through present day. Singers prepare independently outside of scheduled rehearsals. Opportunities for one-on-a-part ensemble singing and solos. Usually offered every year.

MUS 81b Brandeis University Chamber Singers

Continuation of MUS 81a. See MUS 81a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 82a University Chorus

Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Vocal placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

Performs in concert great literature from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. Aspects of singing, musicianship skills, and ensemble building are emphasized. Usually offered every year.

MUS 82b University Chorus

Continuation of MUS 82a. See MUS 82a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 83a Jazz Ensemble

Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

The Brandeis Jazz Ensemble has about 15 musicians from the Brandeis community. Instrumentation will vary according to annual fall auditions. Repertoire consists of pieces by jazz greats including Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Sun Ra...as well as arrangements of tunes and original compositions by the director, Bob Nieske and students. Students are also encouraged to compose or arrange for the group with the assistance of the director. Each semester the ensemble performs 5 or 6 pieces as a full group and 4 or 5 as small groups for a different musical experience. Although saxophone, brass, piano, guitar, bass and drums are the traditional jazz instruments, the ensemble is also open to more 'classical' instruments (strings and woodwinds). Lower brass such as French horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba are especially encouraged to audition. Students do not have to have any experience improvising but must be able to read well and have a good command of their instrument. At least one concert per semester. Usually offered every year.

MUS 83b Jazz Ensemble

Continuation of MUS 83a. See MUS 83a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 84a Orchestra

Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Acceptance into ensemble contingent on instructor's approval based on auditions held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

The orchestra gives several concerts each year performing major works from the symphonic repertory. Students prepare independently, outside of scheduled rehearsals. Usually offered every year.

MUS 84b Orchestra

Continuation of MUS 84a. See MUS 84a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 85a Wind Ensemble

Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

The Wind Ensemble gives one to two concerts a semester. Members of the Wind Ensemble may be asked to play with the orchestra as needed for large-scale works. Usually offered every year.

MUS 85b Wind Ensemble

Continuation of MUS 85a. See MUS 85a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 86a Improv Collective

Join the Brandeis Improv Collective and learn how to become more fluidly and joyfully creative, both individually and in a group, through an exploration of musical improvisation. This ensemble is suitable for any student with an interest in having fun playing with other people, regardless of previous experience in improvising or instrumental skill level. Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (MUS 80a,b; MUS 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

The semester culminates with a performance in Slosberg Recital hall. Usually offered every semester.

MUS 86b Improv Collective

Continuation of MUS 86a. See MUS 86a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every semester.

MUS 87a Music and Dance from Ghana

Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b ' 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. Instruments will be supplied by instructor.

Students in this course will study and perform a repertory of traditional music and dance of a variety of ethnic traditions from Ghana, West Africa. The drum ensemble includes bells, rattles and drums. The vocal music features call-and-response singing in local languages. The dances have choreographic formations as well as opportunity for individual expression. Drumming and dancing are closely intertwined; work will culminate in a final performance. Usually offered every year.

MUS 87b Music and Dance from Ghana

Continuation of MUS 87a. See MUS 87a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 88a Small Ensemble for Leonard Bernstein Fellows

Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Only open to Leonard Bernstein scholars. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 88a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section.

Organizes Leonard Bernstein Fellows into small ensembles (i.e. instrumental chamber music, vocal, jazz) and assigned specific works/projects to prepare for the semester. They will be coached by a member of the music department faculty and are expected to rehearse weekly in addition to the coaching sessions. Usually offered every semester.

MUS 88b Small Ensemble for Leonard Bernstein Fellows

Continuation of MUS 88a. See MUS 88a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every semester.

MUS 89b Roots Music Ensemble

Study and perform repertoire from Roots music traditions including blues, country, swing, bluegrass and Appalachian folk. Students will learn to play these styles by ear while developing skills in arranging, harmonizing and improvising. Participation is open to instrumentalists and vocalists from any musical background (including those who play instruments not usually associated with these styles).

MUS 92a Internship and Analysis

MUS 92b Internship and Analysis

MUS 97a Independent Projects

Yields half-course credit. Normally open only to music majors in their junior and senior years. May be taken twice for credit if no undue duplication of content is involved.

Reserved for projects such as directed readings, preparation of a work for performance, or internships that do not require written work (papers or compositions). Usually offered every year.

MUS 97b Independent Projects

Yields half-course credit. Normally open only to music majors in their junior and senior years. May be taken twice for credit if no undue duplication of content is involved.

Reserved for projects such as directed readings, preparation of a work for performance, or internships that do not require written work (papers or compositions). Usually offered every year.

MUS 98a Directed Independent Study

Yields four semester-hours credit (one course credit). Open to qualified undergraduates.

One-semester course with one semester credit. Requires written work such as a historical or analytical essay, preparation of a critical edition, or the creation of an original musical composition. Usually offered every year.

MUS 98b Directed Independent Study

Yields half-course credit. Open to qualified undergraduates.

Requires written work such as a historical or analytical essay, preparation of a critical edition, or the creation of an original musical composition. Usually offered every year.

MUS 99d Senior Project

Open to seniors with a GPA in music of 3.00 or above. Admission by petition. May involve a thesis, musical performance, or composition. In all cases, it must produce written work. Usually offered every year.

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

MATH/MUS 121b Math and Music
[ ca ]

Does not satisfy the SN requirement. MATH/MUS121b can count toward the minor in mathematics (replacing one of the 3 electives in the MATH 27+ range). MATH/MUS 121b can count as a cross-listed course for the applied math major. It cannot count toward the pure math major.

Mathematical patterns, symmetries, sequences, modular relationships, and order are ubiquitous in music. In fact, mathematics and music have inspired each other for centuries, with music providing inspiration for some mathematical discoveries and mathematical concepts providing a conceptual framework for thinking about musical expression, tuning, composition, and musical analysis. With the advent of computers and mathematical methods in recent years, new concepts have been implemented into algorithmic music composition. The purpose of this class is to provide students with an introduction to the deep relationship between mathematics and music, to present in depth a collection of selected topics that highlight the influence of symmetries, patterns, stochastic structures and geometrical analysis, and to encourage the students to explore those links in a creative final project. Special one-time offering, spring 2023.

MUS 101a Western Classical and Popular Music I: How It's Made, Part 1
[ ca dl ]

Admission by placement exam to be given in class on the first day of instruction. Corequisite: MUS 102a must be taken at the same time as MUS 101a.

A first course for students who already read music, but wish to develop a deeper involvement. Students investigate how music "works" by composing exercises based on examples of tonal music and literature that students are practicing for performance. Focuses on elementary harmony and voice-leading, counterpoint, analysis, and model composition. In the required one-hour lab (MUS 102a), students practice sight-singing and dictation, skills essential to music literacy. Usually offered every year.

MUS 101b Western Classical and Popular Music I: How It's Made, Part 2
[ ca dl ]

Prerequisite: MUS 101a. Corequisite: MUS 102b must be taken at the same time as MUS 101b.

The second semester introduces broad concepts of theory and begins the process of learning to write and analyze music. By the end of the year, students will gain experience in counterpoint, harmony, and formal analysis, and will compose in a simple form. Throughout the year, the relationship of repertoire and theory is stressed. The required ear-training and keyboard lab meets separately. Usually offered every year.

MUS 102a Western Classical and Popular Music I: How It's Made, Part 1 (Lab)

Corequisite: MUS 101a. Yields half-course credit.

Designed to help students develop essential music literary skills. Beginning sight-singing, simple melodic and harmonic dictation, and rhythmic studies. Materials drawn from the corequisite lecture course. Keyboard harmony. Usually offered every year.

MUS 102b Western Classical and Popular Music I: How It's Made, Part 2 (Lab)

Corequisite: MUS 101b. Yields half-course credit.

See MUS 102a for course description. Usually offered every year.

MUS 103a Western Classical and Popular Music II: How It's Made, Part 1
[ ca dl ]

Prerequisites: MUS 101a,b and 102a,b. Corequisite: MUS 104a must be taken at the same time as MUS 103a.

This course builds on MUS 101. Chromatic tonal harmony is covered, and short pieces of nineteenth century music are analyzed in depth. Students will analyze pieces on their own and write analytical papers. Students will also harmonize various chorale melodies. The required ear training and keyboard lab meets separately. Usually offered every year.

MUS 103b Western Classical and Popular Music II: How It's Made, Part 2
[ ca dl ]

Prerequisite: MUS 103a. Corequisite: MUS 104B must be taken at the same time as MUS 103b.

A continuation of MUS 103a. Twentieth century styles and techniques are covered, including extended tonality and atonality. Several compositional projects are assigned and performed in class. Usually offered every year.

MUS 104a Western Classical and Popular Music II: How It's Made, Part 1 (Lab)

Corequisite: MUS 103a. Yields half-course credit.

A continuation of MUS 102. More advanced exercises in sight-singing and dictation. Keyboard harmony. Usually offered every year.

MUS 104b Western Classical and Popular Music II: How It's Made, Part 2 (Lab)

Corequisite: MUS 103b. Yields half-course credit.

A continuation of MUS 104a. Usually offered every year.

MUS 106a Undergraduate Composition
[ ca ]

Prerequisite: MUS 5a or equivalent experience. Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. May be repeated once for credit.

Students are introduced to a variety of compositional issues by writing five or six short pieces and one longer project. Concurrently, pertinent examples from the twentieth-century classical repertoire will be discussed. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 107a Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music
[ ca dl ]

Prerequisite: Any music course or permission of the instructor.

A course designed to give students basic studio skills and a context for listening to and working in electronic music. Topics include basic acoustics, sound design, digital and analog recording techniques, and assignments on the pioneers and current practitioners of electro-acoustic music. Involves hands-on experience in the use of MIDI-controlled synthesizers, samplers, production equipment, and includes individual studio projects based on individual studio time. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 111a Private Instruction: Instrumentalists

Offered on a credit/no-credit grading basis. Yields half-course credit. Students registering for MUS 111a must also register for a departmental Ensemble (MUS 80a,b ' 87a,b or 116a,b); 111a may NOT be taken alone. Students may petition to substitute one semester of a professionally directed non-university ensemble for their university Ensemble co-requisite. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (MUS 80a,b ' 87a,b) alone or Private Instructions and Ensemble together. Successful completion of two semesters of MUS 111a,b may be applied only once toward the requirements for the major or minor in music. Course may be taken as a noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Course fee: $700 for non-Music program students; $250 for Music graduate and non-performance track Music undergraduates; no fee for Bernstein Fellows and Music undergraduate performance track students.

Instrumentalists will take ten 50-minute, private lessons per semester in the field of early music, jazz, or classical music while participating in a departmental ensemble. A ten-minute jury is required in the second semester. Usually offered every year.

MUS 111b Private Instruction: Instrumentalists

Continuation of MUS 111a. See MUS 111a for special notes and course description. Offered on a credit/no-credit grading basis. Course fee: $700 for non-Music program students; $250 for Music graduate and non-performance track Music undergraduates; no fee for Bernstein Fellows and Music undergraduate performance track students.

A ten-minute jury is required for all students in the second semester. Usually offered every year.

MUS 112a Private Instruction: Voice

Offered on a credit/no-credit grading basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. Students registering for MUS 112a must also register for a departmental Ensemble (MUS 80a,b ' 87a,b or 116a,b); 112a may NOT be taken alone. Students may petition to substitute one semester of a professionally directed non-university ensemble for their university Ensemble co-requisite. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (MUS 80a,b ' 87a,b) alone or Private Instructions and Ensemble together. Successful completion of two semesters of MUS 112a,b may be applied only once toward the requirements for the major or minor in music. Course may be taken as a noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Course fee: $700 for non-Music program students; $250 for Music graduate and non-performance track Music undergraduates; no fee for Bernstein Fellows and Music undergraduate performance track students.

Voice students will take ten 50-minute, private lessons per semester. Fundamental skills of breathing, resonating, and relaxing will be taught along with repertory appropriate to the individual student. A ten-minute jury is required in second semester. Usually offered every year.

MUS 112b Private Instruction: Voice

Continuation of MUS 112a. See MUS 112a for special notes and course description. Course fee: $700 for non-Music program students; $250 for Music graduate and non-performance track Music undergraduates; no fee for Bernstein Fellows and Music undergraduate performance track students.

A ten-minute jury is required for all students in the second semester. Usually offered every year.

MUS 113a Introduction to Conducting
[ ca ]

Prerequisite: MUS 103a,b or permission of instructor.

Covers the fundamentals of choral and instrumental conducting techniques and is designed for all students interested in conducting musical ensembles. Fundamentals include basic metrical patterns, dynamic shading, cues, entrances, cutoffs, and uses of the left hand. All students have the opportunity to conduct several times throughout the semester. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 116a Chamber Music: from Page to Stage

Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). May be repeated for credit. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Vocalists will be admitted on an individual basis and must take MUS 82 a,b: University Chorus or MUS 80 a,b: Early Music Ensemble as a corequisite. Informal auditions at the beginning of the semester.

Musicians bring their own experience, instinct, and theoretical knowledge to music-making through study and performance of chamber music in a supportive master class setting. Through coaching by a professional performer, readings, and listening to recordings, this course examines how performance practice, basic structural analysis, and historical context affect interpretation. Individual and ensemble preparation required. Class meetings include coaching, discussion/listening salon, masterclass and rehearsals, to be scheduled. Final public performance. Usually offered every year.

MUS 116b Chamber Music from Page to Stage

Continuation of MUS 116a. See MUS 116a for special notes and course description.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 117a Junior Recital I

Yields two half-course credit. For music majors accepted into the performance or musical theater performance tracks only. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. Students may not enroll in MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b for credit while enrolled in MUS 117a,b.

Students will take ten one-hour private lessons in preparation for performance of a recital, to be given in the spring semester, of significant representative repertory appropriate to the instrument or voice of the student, including the selecting of repertory for a coherent program. Students are expected to demonstrate command of stylistic, technical, and expressive aspects of the chosen music. Requires passing a jury at the end of the fall semester. No studio fee. Usually offered every year.

MUS 117b Junior Recital II

Continuation of MUS 117a. See MUS 117a for special notes and course description. Includes final preparation for spring full recital. No studio fee.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 118a Senior Recital I

Yields half-course credit. For music majors accepted into the performance or musical theater performance tracks only. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. Students may not enroll in MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b for credit while enrolled in MUS 118a,b.

Students will take ten one-hour private lessons in preparation for performance of a full recital, to be given in the spring semester, of significant representative repertory appropriate to the instrument or voice of the student, including the selecting of repertory for a coherent program. Students are expected to demonstrate command of stylistic, technical, and expressive aspects of the chosen music. Requires passing a jury at the end of the fall semester. No studio fee. Usually offered every year.

MUS 118b Senior Recital II

Continuation of MUS 118a. See MUS 118a for special notes and course description. Includes final preparation for spring full recital. No studio fee.

Usually offered every year.

MUS 131a Music in Western Culture: Early Medieval to the Sixteenth Century
[ ca wi ]

This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken MUS 131b in prior years.

A survey of music history from the early medieval period through the sixteenth century, considering major styles, composers, genres, and techniques of musical composition from a historical and analytical perspective. Topics include plainchant and the beginnings of western music notation--the songs of the crusades, the emergence of written polyphony in the west, the motet and madrigal, and Monteverdi and early opera.

MUS 133b Music in Western Culture: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
[ ca ]

This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken MUS 133a in prior years.

A survey of music from Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel through Beethoven and Schubert. Major styles, genres, and techniques of musical composition are discussed from historical and analytic perspective, based on a study of representative works.

MUS 135a Music in Western Culture: 19th Century to Today
[ ca ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took MUS 134b or 135a in prior years.

In this class, we will survey Western music history ca. 1830 to the present, considering major styles, genres, and techniques of musical composition from historical and analytical perspectives. We will consider works by Schumann, Wagner, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartók, Eastman, Saariaho, and others, exploring styles ranging from impressionism and expressionism to atonality, serialism, and aleatoric music, as well as minimalism, post-minimalism, and spectralism. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 136a Critical Listening
[ ca oc ]

Required for music majors.

Designed to build a variety of listening skills (apart from ear training) and to study the historical and cultural role of listening in various times and places. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 160b Electronic Music Composition and Production
[ ca dl ]

Preference given to students who have taken MUS 107a or have permission of the instructor. Intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.

Builds upon topics from MUS 107a and develops these into the professional skills of recording, production, and electronic composition. Students will refine these skills in both individual and collaborative projects. Work is carried out in BEAMS (Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio), but every effort will be made to equip students to compose on their own computers and to work collaboratively using contemporary tools, especially the Internet. Foundational concepts and approaches for this course will be drawn from both 20th century Avant Garde electronic composition and the commercial/popular music industry. Usually offered every other year.

MUS 161b Advanced Seminar
[ ca wi ]

Prerequisites: MUS 3b and either MUS 101a/b or MUS 103a/b.

Upper-level academic seminar taken by all juniors that focuses on a single topic of the instructor’s choice (such as notation, musical form, aesthetics, improvisation, etc.). Ideally students will take this in their junior year, although if students are away on Study Abroad, they may take this course at another point in their degree program. Usually offered every fall.

MUS 162b Seminar in MAX/MSP
[ ca ]

Advanced undergraduate students may enroll with permission of the instructor.

Topics related to the use of the MAX/MSP graphical programming language for composition, sound design, installation, and live performance. Participants engage in individual projects and study MAX patches by established practitioners. Individual and group research and presentations are required. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 172b Proseminar in Theory and Composition
[ ca ]

Open to undergraduates who have finished MUS 103b and 104b. Required of all composition MFA and PhD students. May be repeated for credit.

Advanced study of chromatic and non-tonal harmony, as well as various analytical approaches to the 20th and 21st century music. Work includes writing exercises, keyboard harmony, and score study. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 175a Instrumentation and Orchestration
[ ca dl ]

Prerequisites: MUS 101a and b.

Technical projects in the art of writing for instruments and for groups of instruments, from chamber groups of various sizes to full orchestra. Score study of examples from 1770 to the present. Additional focus on notation and on rules for instrumental parts. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 182a Introduction to Musicology
[ ca ]

Required for all graduate students in musicology.

Provides a comprehensive introduction to music scholarship. We will survey the developments that have shaped musicology since its institutionalization as an academic discipline, paying special attention to the major issues and movements that have occupied our field over the past ten years. We'll also explore the various "hows" of musicology, discussing how and where research is disseminated, how to access and deal with primary, secondary, and archival sources, how to make use of digital tools and methods, how to formulate interesting and productive research questions, and how to write academically about music. Usually offered every year.

MUS 183b Introduction to Ethnomusicology
[ ca ]

Ethnomusicology is the study of music in action—in the moment, amongst musicians, and focalizing the context of performance and the shared ground of meaning in which that music is enacted. This course introduces disciplinary ethnomusicology by way of a broad overview of the history and development of the field, its interactions (both successful and unsuccessful) with its sister disciplines, and the role of ethnomusicology within and beyond the academy. We will read, listen to, and discuss some of the major scholars and thinkers of the field, examining the social context of their interventions in the discipline and their fieldwork. We will pursue several special projects through the semester, ranging from transcription workshops to computer-assisted musical analysis. Finally, the course will prepare students for a brief participant-observation fieldwork project that will function as a capstone assignment for the course. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 188b Proseminar in Music of the Eighteenth Century
[ ca ]

In addition to tracing the evolution of the principal genres (e.g., sonata, symphony, string quartet, opera buffa, opera seria), the course assesses the historical position of the major figures from Bach and Handel to Mozart and Haydn. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the phenomenon of the "style shift" from baroque to classical style. Usually offered every fourth year.

MUS 190a Proseminar in Music since 1900
[ ca ]

Examines music developing in Europe and the United States after 1900. The course divides into four periods - 1900-WWI, the Interwar years, WWII and the early cold war, and 1960s to the present - and explores select developments in compositional style, as well as interactions of music with cultural and political history within each of these periods. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 191b Analysis of Extended Tonal Music
[ ca ]

Open to graduate students in Music and undergraduates who have completed MUS 103b and MUS 104b.

Works in this course are selected from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Composers such as Wagner, Wolf, Debussy, early Schoenberg, Bartok, and Stravinsky. Music from the Renaissance and early baroque may also be examined. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 192a Topics in Analysis of Early Twentieth-Century Music
[ ca ]

Open to graduate students in Music and undergraduates who have completed MUS 103b and MUS 104b.

Detailed examination of selected works composed between 1908 and 1951. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 193b Topics in Analysis of Contemporary Music
[ ca ]

Open to graduate students in Music and undergraduates who have completed MUS 103b and MUS 104b.

Detailed examination of selected works since 1951. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 195a Writing About Music: Seminar and Practicum
[ ca ]

Enrollment limited to graduate students and advanced undergraduates, or with instructor permission.

Music scholars often spend a great deal of time thinking about music, but comparatively little thinking about the craft of writing about music. What makes a good writer of music scholarship? Who is your audience? What/who are good models? What makes a good “story” in musicological writing? How do non-academic forms of writing help the writing process? What does it mean to have a “voice” in your writing?

In this course, we will explore processes and practices of writing through a combination of discussion and workshop-based approaches. The class will closely engage with three types of texts: (1) Pedagogical works discussing strategies and techniques for scholarly writing; (2) Examples of good (and bad) writing from various subdisciplines of music, provided by both students and the instructor; and (3) Student writing contributions, which will undergo extensive peer workshopping throughout the semester.

For the final assignment, each participant will develop an individual writing project based on their current professional goals. These projects will be geared toward practical application within the field (completing a dissertation chapter, developing a conference presentation, expanding and preparing a previous work for publication in a journal, etc.). Critiques and guidance will be tailored toward the particular goals of each participant. In this way, the course is designed to provide substantive professional development for graduate or advanced undergradaute students in any subdiscipline. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 196b Sound and Space: Sound Installation and Movement Staging in the Field of Music Composition
[ ca ]

May be repeated for credit.

Students will design their own sound installation and learn how to build meaning through space and sound In relation to a cross-disciplinary research topic. This research will be modeled on methods cross-disciplinary project-building In various disciplines. Students will be informed by historical precedent In this field, design (and fulfill) a research goal around the production of the installation, and understand how to create (and to actually create by the end of the class) an intellectually rigorous and engaging interaction between the aural and visual. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 197a Seminar in Composition

Prerequisites: MUS 101a,b and MUS 102a,b and MUS 106a, or graduate level standing.

Group meetings and individual conferences. Opportunities for the performance of student works is provided. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

MUS 197b Seminar in Composition

Prerequisites: MUS 101a,b and MUS 102a,b and MUS 106a, or graduate level standing.

Group meetings and individual conferences. Opportunities for the performance of student works are provided. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

GSAS 360c Article Publication Workshop

Full year course. Yields two credits per semester. Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. May be repeated for credit. Students should check with their departments about whether or not the course will fulfill any degree requirements.

Open to PhD, including ABD, and MA students in all Humanities, Arts, and Humanistic Social Sciences graduate programs.

This proseminar/workshop will meet every other week and introduce graduate students to the larger philosophy, as well as the nuts and bolts, of academic publication. Each student should come to the class with an academic journal article project in mind and aim to send out the article to a journal by the end of the year (or earlier!). We will workshop the papers in class, and peer review will be an essential component of coursework. Discussions will be general as well as field-specific.

MUS 200b Teaching Music

Approaches to teaching music subjects at the college level. Subjects include strategies for teaching music appreciation, history and theory; evaluating and choosing textbooks; crafting a syllabus; grading; and teaching philosophies. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 202b Seminar in Seeing Sound: The History and Practice of Notation to c. 1500

The late ninth century witnessed a major technological breakthrough in the transmission of Western music that was to have far-reaching consequences. Chants that had been taught orally for several centuries began to be encoded on parchment using signs placed above text syllables that recorded the shape and contour of the chant melodies. Systems of music notation spread rapidly across Europe, and took root as the way to record, archive, share, and (eventually) compose music. This graduate seminar course examines the form and function of music notation in western Europe, and how the writing down of music transformed music practice. Students will transcribe music from a variety of medieval and Renaissance notation systems, and will work directly with high quality facsimiles and online reproductions of the original manuscripts. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 203a Music and Patronage

While music is often imagined to be innately egalitarian, uniting people across lines of class and rank, it has also served as a site for this same intense social differentiation. Music, like other arts, has long been sustained by patrons within class-stratified societies to build and maintain social relationships, accrue prestige, and produce hierarchies of economic and cultural value. In this course, we examine the relationship between patrons and clients as it manifests in musical life, drawing on examples from around the globe and across time. Special one-time offering, fall 2021.

MUS 205a Musicology Lab

Required for all graduate students in musicology.

This two-credit lab meeting seminar is centered on professional development. We meet once a week to run through any upcoming conference papers, edit and proofread job, internship, and grant application materials, work on abstracts for conferences, discuss best strategies for success in the job market, research and writing strategies, and any other topics that the students would like to work on with the group. Second-year musicology students (PhD and Master’s) must take this course for credit in both the Fall and Spring semesters. PhD musicology students are expected to attend lab for at least six semesters in total. Usually offered every semester.

MUS 206b Music, Identity, and Activism

With a focus on American culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, this course will examine how identities are shaped, defied and reimagined through music and sound. Particular attention will be paid to music which actively participates in political and social activism. We will also explore the philosophical and aesthetic ramifications of shifts in society’s expectations of the role art plays in our culture; ultimately asking, what are the responsibilities of artists and cultural institutions in the ongoing fights against injustice, discrimination and marginalization? Usually offered every third year.

MUS 216a Seminar: Topics in Bach Interpretation

The interpretation of the music of J. S. Bach. Selected topics may include the Bach Passions, Bach's early cantatas, the Leipzig cantata cycles, Bach's instrumental cycles. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 218b Seminar in the Music of the Nineteenth Century

A detailed exploration of one historical, analytical, or stylistic issue of current significance to nineteenth-century musicology. Topics include the two versions of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and cyclic organization in the song cycles of Robert Schumann. Usually offered every fourth year.

MUS 219a Seminar: Wagner

This seminar will study one of Wagner's major works in depth and from a variety of approaches: analytical questions; the sketches and drafts; Wagner's writings. Special emphasis will be given to Wagner's Schopenhauerian aesthetics. Usually offered every second year.

MUS 221a Topics in Music after 1900

Investigates selected topics in music since 1900 in depth. Topics will be determined by the instructor. Sample topics from previous years include "American Roots Music: Technologies of the Folk," "Music in Film," "Music of Alban Berg." Usually offered every second year.

MUS 224b Seminar in Medieval Music

An in-depth study of a selected topic in medieval music. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 232a Political Economies of Music

Examines the musical constitution of political economies as well as the role of music within political economies with examples drawn from around the world and throughout history. Focuses on musical networks and markets, the music/culture industry, pageantry, music and exchange, and labor. Usually offered every third year.

MUS 298a Independent Study

MUS 299a Individual Research and Advanced Work

Usually offered every year.

MUS 299b Individual Research and Advanced Work

Usually offered every year.

MUS 401d Dissertation Research

Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested. Required of all doctoral candidates.

MUS Digital Literacy