The material on this page is from the 2000-01 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

[Music]
Professors: Scott, Anderson (on leave, winter semester and Short Term), Matthews, Chair (fall semester) (on leave, winter semester and Short Term), and Parakilas, Chair (winter semester and Short Term); Assistant Professor: Williams and Beal; Mr. Glazer, Mr. Gordan, and Ms. Pruiksma

The Department of Music gives students the opportunity to study music from cultural, historical, ethnomusicological, theoretical, creative, and interpretive perspectives. The courses offered are suitable for general liberal-arts students and for music majors and include study of Western and non-Western musical traditions. In recent years, students have completed a number of interdisciplinary and double-major programs including substantial work in music.

The department sponsors active extracurricular performing organizations: the College Choir, the Chamber Singers, the "Fighting Bobcat" Orchestra, the Concert Band, the Jazz Ensemble, the Steel Pan Orchestra, and ad hoc vocal and instrumental ensembles performing chamber music or jazz.

Music 101, 102, and 103 are three independent introductions to the study of music, through different repertoires and methodologies. Each of them, however, introduces students to a common set of analytical concepts and the vocabulary essential to further work in the department. Students considering a major or secondary concentration in music should enroll in Music 231 as their first course in the department.

Major Requrements. All students majoring in music are required to take four courses in music theory (Music 231, 232, 331, and 332), one two-semester course of applied music, two 200-level courses, Music 399, Music s28, and Music 457 or 458. Honors candidates or others pursuing full-year theses register for both 457 and 458.

Remaining major requirements are designed to suit the special needs of performers, composers, musicologists, theorists, and ethnomusicologists. Performers take two additional credits of applied music and participate in at least four semesters of small and large departmental performing ensembles. Composers take Music 235 and Music 237. History and theory students take two additional 200- or 300-level courses of their choice. Ethnomusicology students take Music 262 and an additional course in ethnomusicology.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/Fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major.

Secondary Concentration. Students who wish may earn a secondary concentration in music. This secondary concentration consists of seven courses: Music 231–232, 331–332, and three additional 200- or 300-level courses.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the secondary concentration.

A reading knowledge of German or French is recommended for students planning graduate work in music.

Applied Music. Some private instruction in music is available. Applied music lessons emphasize performance practice, style, and form to build technique. Students taking music lessons through Bates may earn one course credit for every two consecutive semesters of applied music, but must enroll in a course in music during the year in which they are taking lessons for credit. Students register for Music 270 to take voice or instrument lessons for credit. They register for Music 270 and 280 if they are studying two instruments (or one instrument and voice).

Instruction is normally offered in voice (Ms. Christina Astrachan, Mr. John Corrie); harpsichord (Mr. Marion R. Anderson); piano (Mrs. Natasha Chances, Mr. John Corrie, Mr. Frank Glazer, Mr. Mark Howard); jazz piano (Mr. Stephen Grover); organ (Mr. Marion R. Anderson); violin (Mr. Stephen Kecskemethy); viola (Ms. Julia Adams); violoncello (Ms. Kathleen Foster); double bass (Mr. George Rubino); folk fiddling (Mr. Gregory Boardman); bassoon (Ms. Ardith Freeman); oboe (Ms. Alison Kreiling); clarinet (Ms. Carol Furman); trumpet (Mr. John Furman); French horn (Mr. John Boden); saxophone (Mr. Richard Gordan); classical guitar (Mr. Kenneth Labrecque); harp (Ms. Jara Goodrich); recorder (Mr. Kerry Byrne); percussion (Ms. Nancy Smith); jazz improvisation (Mr. Richard Gordan); and drum set (Mr. Stephen Grover). Instruction may also be offered in other instruments if there is sufficient demand.

General Education. Music s28 (Survey of Western Music) may serve as an option for the fifth humanities course.

Courses

101. Introduction to Listening. Reading and listening assignments, demonstrations, and class discussion provide opportunity to become familiar with the structure of music. The elements of music and the sociology of music-making are studied, using repertoire from various cultures and historical periods, chosen mostly from music of the United States. Emphasis is placed on the student's perception of and involvement in the musical work. The course is open to, and directed toward, students unskilled in reading music as well as those with considerable musical experience. Enrollment limited to 96. W. Matthews.

102. Composers, Performers, and Audiences. Designed for students with little or no previous experience of the subject, this course considers the ways composers, performers, and audiences have affected one another in the history of Western music-making. What were the employment conditions for composers? What is the relation between the composer and the performer? What sorts of audiences have different composers addressed, and how? The lives of a small number of composers, including Hildegard von Bingen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Clara Schumann, and Duke Ellington serve as case studies as students address these questions, and basic musical vocabulary is introduced both at the beginning of the course and along the way. Enrollment limited to 96. M. Anderson.

103. Introduction to World Music. This course introduces students to the fundamental elements of music in selected music cultures of the world. The lectures use recordings, films, live performance and hands-on training to enhance the student's understanding of performance practices and musical belief systems. The course explores: the basic principles of ethnomusicology; musical connections to dance and ritual; and specific performance contexts in representative cultures of the United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Enrollment limited to 40. A. Beal. New description for 2001-2002.

231. Music Theory I. Beginning with a study of notation, scales, intervals, and rhythm, the course proceeds through composition and analysis of melodic forms, a study of harmonic motion, an introduction to the principles of counterpoint, and the analysis and composition of complete works from several popular and classical styles. The course includes practical ear-training and keyboard work in additional regularly scheduled laboratory sessions. Prerequisite(s): a reading knowledge of music. Open to first-year students. Staff.

232. Music Theory II. A continuation of Music Theory I. Students develop their skills in practical ear-training, sight-singing, keyboard playing and conducting in regularly scheduled laboratory sessions. Prerequisite(s): Music 231. Open to first-year students. J. Parakilas.

233. Jazz Performance Workshop. Participants study jazz composition and harmonic theory and apply that knowledge to the practice and performance of small-group jazz improvisation. Course activities include the transcription and analysis of historical performances, composing and/or arranging, individual practice, group rehearsals on a common repertoire of standards, and at least two public performances. Vocalists and performers on any instrument may enroll. Prerequisite(s): Music 231. Recommended background: instrumental or vocal performance experience. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Gordan.

235. Music Composition. Composition may be pursued by students at various levels of expertise and training. The course includes a weekly seminar and private lessons, and concentrates upon — without being limited to — contemporary idioms. Prerequisite(s): Music 232. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. W. Matthews.

236. The Piano as a Culture Machine. The piano has been part of the furniture of private and public life for three centuries. It has an amazingly rich repertory of its own, and it used to be the main medium for propagating every kind of music in Western culture. It was at the center of women's upbringing and at the root of the worldwide entertainment industry. The course explores the development of the instrument, its music, and its role in shaping our culture. J. Parakilas.

237. Computers, Music, and the Arts. A hands-on study of music-making with computers, using the facilities of the Bates Computer Music Studio. Topics include digital synthesis, sampling, MIDI communications, simple programming, and the aesthetics of art made with computers. No computing experience is presumed, and the course is especially designed for students of the arts who wish to learn about new tools. Work produced in the course is performed in concert. Enrollment limited to 18. W. Matthews.

239. Black Women in Music. Angela Davis states, "Black people were able to create with their music an aesthetic community of resistance, which in turn encouraged and nurtured a political community of active struggle for freedom." This course examines the role of black women as critics, composers, and performers who challenge externally defined controlling images. Topics include: black women in the music industry; black women in music of the African diaspora; and black women as rappers, jazz innovators, and musicians in the classical and gospel traditions. This course is the same as African American Studies 239 and Women's Studies 239. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. L. Williams.

240A. Topics in Western Music: Music and Identity, 1600-1789. Music played an important role in the formation of cultural identities in early modern Europe. Italy could take credit for the invention of opera—the realization of a union of drama and music—while the French laid claim to the dance, for instance. Grand theatrical spectacles often accompanied important state events like weddings, coronations, funerals, and victory celebrations. In this course, students read from primary sources in translation, master the historical outlines of the period, and develop an understanding of the ways musical spectacle displayed, revealed, and manipulated cultural identity and power in this era. Students examine a wide range of musical materials from theatrical spectacle to broadsheet ballads. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, or 231. Open to first-year students. R. Pruiksma.

241. Music Literature of the Medieval and Renaissance Periods. A survey of music up to circa 1600, beginning with an examination of sacred and secular monophony, and continuing with the emergence of polyphony in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and its development in such forms as chanson, madrigal, mass, and motet to the end of the sixteenth century. Emphasis on works by such composers as Dunstable, Dufay, Josquin, and Palestrina. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. A. Scott.

242. Music Literature of the Baroque Period. A study of the early composers of the period as well as the two giants at its close: George Frederick Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. Staff.

243. Music Literature of the Classic Period. Beginning with the music of such preclassic composers as the sons of J.S. Bach, Stamitz, and D. Scarlatti, the study moves to works of Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven. Students analyze form and harmony. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. J. Parakilas.

244. Music Literature of the Romantic Period. A study of nineteenth-century piano music, song, orchestral music, and opera, concentrating on the Chopin Preludes, Schubert songs, a Brahms symphony, and Bizet's Carmen. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. Staff.

245. Music Literature of the Twentieth Century. A study of music from Debussy and the expressionistic compositions of Schönberg through the development of twelve-tone techniques. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. M. Anderson.

247. Jazz and Blues: History and Practice. American jazz and blues offer two rich traditions through which one can study music, race, and American history. Through extensive listening, reading assignments, and interaction with musicians themselves, students study the recorded history and contemporary practice of jazz and blues. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, or 231. Enrollment limited to 96. Not open to students who have received credit for Music s26. Open to first-year students (new for Fall 01). W. Matthews.

249. African American Popular Music. When Americans stared at their black-and-white television sets in the early 1950s, they saw only a white world. As with music, variety shows primarily spotlighted the talent of white performers. Change came slowly, and during the late 1950s American Bandstand introduced viewers to such African American artists as Dizzy Gillespie and Chubby Checker. Over the last two decades, however, the emergence of music videos has created the need for a critical and scholarly understanding of the emerging forces of African American music, dance, and drama in the United States from the 1950s to the present. This course is the same as African American Studies 249. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. L. Williams.

254. Music and Drama. How do music and drama go together, and how are the possible relationships between them exploited in different media? This course is a study of dramas that use music, principally operas. Works are heard and seen on records and videocassettes, and the class may attend an opera performance in Boston or Portland. Gender issues pertaining to all phases of opera are discussed throughout the course. Term projects may include productions and performances of music-theatrical works or excerpts. Prerequisite(s): new for Fall 2001 - no prerequisites. Open to first-year students (for Fall 2001). J. Parakilas. New description for 2001-2002.

255. The Orchestra. The orchestra has come to represent a stronghold of Western Culture-the massive and serious ensemble for which the "masters" set down their most profound musical ideas. Challenging notions of the "masterwork" and the transcendence of orchestral music, this course explores the origins of the ensemble—grounded in the dance—and presents changing cultural contexts and the concurrent changes in the status of orchestral music across time. Students listen to repertory ranging from the music of Louis XIV's court to Duke Ellington's jazz orchestra, through the filter of cultural studies. Class discussion, research projects, and readings provide students with the critical apparatus to evaluate and articulate their responses to a wide variety of musics. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, 231, or 232. Open to first-year students. R. Pruiksma.

260. Women and Music. Through a concentration on American women musicians of the twentieth century (including, but not limited to, Laurie Anderson, Amy Beach, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Joan Tower), this course addresses the variety of contributions that women make to music and considers how feminist aesthetics relate to music. Recommended background: basic ability to read music and some capacity to use musical vocabulary, or one or more women's studies courses. Open to first-year students. Staff.

262. Ethnomusicology: African Diaspora. This introductory course is a survey of key concepts, problems, and perspectives in ethnomusicological theory drawing upon the African diaspora as a cross-cultural framework. This course focuses on the social, political, and intellectual forces of African culture that contributed to the growth of ethnomusicology from the late nineteenth century to the present. This course is the same as Anthropology 262 and African American Studies 262. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. L. Williams.

265. Great Composers. A study of the works of one composer, such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, or Stravinsky. Open to first-year students.

    265A. Johannes Brahms. This course explores the music of Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Recommended background: ability to read music. Open to first-year students. A. Scott, F. Glazer.

    265B. Beethoven and Schubert. Symphonies, chamber music, and piano music of Beethoven are compared with and contrasted to works by Schubert. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Staff.

    265C. John Cage. The controversial composer John Cage (1912–1992) is widely recognized as one of the most influential artistic thinkers of the twentieth century. This course examines Cage's engagement with music, visual arts, dance, literature, Zen, nature, and social protest by studying his commitment to the work of Satie, Duchamp, Joyce, Rauschenberg, Buckminister Fuller, Thoreau, and others. Cage's innovations in instrumental, vocal, and electronic techniques; chance and indeterminate procedures; and multimedia performance art inform students' assessment of his interdisciplinary influence. Students evaluate performances; study Cage's texts, scores, recordings, graphics, and collaboration with Merce Cunningham; and perform some of Cage's works. Open to first-year students. A. Beal.

    265D. Beethoven. This course examines the life, compositions, and reception of Beethoven. Through a close reading of this composer's connection to German Romanticism and the French Revolution, and through theoretical analysis of his sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies, we evaluate Beethoven's position as a link between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical style. The course also considers the myths and legends surrounding the figure of Beethoven, as well as the momentous reception-both musical and scholarly-his work received during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 103. A Beal. New course for 2001-2002.

270. Applied Music. An exploration of the literature for voice or solo instruments through weekly instruction. Problems of performance practice, style, and form are emphasized equally to build technique. One course credit is granted upon completion of every two consecutive semesters of lessons. A maximum of four course credits may be earned in Music 270. Students register for Music 270 whenever they take the course; the actual sequential course number (271–278) is recorded in the student's registration. Students studying voice or instruments for credits are expected to participate in a College-sponsored musical organization. Corequisite(s): Participation in a department ensemble during both semesters of study. A special fee of $290 per semester is charged for each course. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the department chair is required. W. Matthews.

280. Applied Music II. See Music 270 for course description. Students register for both Music 270 and 280 if they are studying two musical instruments (or an instrument and voice) during the same semester. Students register for Music 280 whenever they take the course; the actual sequential course number (281–288) is recorded in the student's registration. A maximum of four course credits may be earned in Music 280. Corequisite(s): Music 270. A special fee of $290 is charged for each course. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the department chair is required. W. Matthews.

331. Music Theory III. A continuation of Music 231–232 emphasizing four-voice textures, tonal sonata forms, and Schenkerian analysis. Students compose music in several forms and styles, and continue practical ear-training and keyboard work. Regularly scheduled laboratory sessions. Prerequisite(s): Music 232. W. Matthews.

332. Music Theory IV. A continuation of Music Theory III, emphasizing chromatic harmony and the post-tonal styles of the twentieth century. Prerequisite(s): Music 331. M. Anderson.

360. Independent Study. Independent study of individually selected topics. Periodic papers and conferences are required. Permission of the department is required. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Staff.

365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered from time to time and reserved for a special topic selected by the department. Staff.

399. Junior–Senior Seminar in Analysis. Intensive analytical study for advanced students. Students either consider a single compositional or theoretical principle (e.g., sonata form, Schenker's theory) across a variety of musical styles or approach a smaller range of music with various analytic techniques. The particular topic varies from year to year according to the needs and interests of students and instructor.

    399B. Junior–Senior Seminar in Ethnomusicology. This course introduces students to ethnomusicological methods by encouraging the development of critical and analytical tools of inquiry necessary for fieldwork and research. The course focuses on the social, cultural, political, and intellectual forces that shaped the growth of ethnomusicology in the United States and abroad. Students are expected to undertake an innovative research project on a theoretical approach for studying music in its cultural and historical context. Students critically examine the music, current philosophical thoughts on ethnomusicology, and their own personal interviews with musicians. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: African American Studies/Music 249, African American Studies/ Anthropology/Music 262 or Music 232. This course is the same as African American Studies 399B. Enrollment limited to 15. L. Williams.

    399D. Junior-Senior Seminar in Musical Variations. Variation is such a pervasive and universal musical procedure that it almost seems to define music. It works very differently, though, in a jazz improvisation, a baroque dance, an Indian raga, and a minimalist ensemble. In this course music from a wide variety of musical traditions and repertories is explored and the following questions are asked: How broadly can the concept of the variation be usefully applied? What purposes are served by variation in music? Is it best analyzed as a form or as a process, or in some other way? Musical analysis is the main activity in the course, but opportunities are provided for performance and composition as well. Prerequisite(s): Music 332. J. Parakilas.

    399E. Junior-Senior Seminar in Analysis: Recent and Contemporary Topics. This seminar for advanced students offers opportunities for intensive research and analytical study of music in all styles composed after 1950. Students choose a particular stylistic area they wish to consider, and during the semester they examine that music's development, its forms and sound sources, performance practices, historical context, and economic and political place in society. Students polish writing and research skills and give frequent class presentations. Prerequisite(s): Music 332. A Beal. New course for 2001-2002.

457, 458. Senior Thesis. An independent study program culminating in: a) the writing of an essay on an aspect of music history or theory; b) an original composition accompanied by an essay on the work; or c) a recital accompanied by an essay devoted to analysis of works included in the recital. Students register for Music 457 in the fall semester and for Music 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Music 457 and 458. Staff.

Short Term Units

s22. Analysis and Interpretation. In order to perform intelligently, the performer must form his or her decisions on phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and articulation through a thorough understanding of the individual work. The unit involves structural analysis of selected works, examination of the stylistic contexts to which they belong, historical study of the appropriate performance practices, and consideration of various more general performance issues. The unit culminates in a performance based on this study. Prerequisite(s): an ability to perform. Written permission of the instructor is required. M. Anderson.

s24. Hollywood's Dreams of Genius. The primary materials for this unit are films like Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, Impromptu, Lady Sings the Blues, Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould, and others, that depict the lives of musicians. What do these films say about the nature of genius? How do gender and race figure in these films' portrayals of preternatural musical abilities? What are we being asked to believe about a life in music (and why is good health such a rare commodity in these portrayals)? Each film is paired with at least one nonfictional source about the musician in question: the point of the comparison is not to debunk the films, but to examine the different layers of truth and untruth in different media, and the needs fulfilled by both. Open to first-year students. Staff.

s27. Exploring Jazz Guitar. This unit explores the nature of the guitar in jazz. A historical survey of jazz guitarists includes extensive listening and viewing of video performances, with special attention to the techniques that established their individual voices on the instrument. Elements of guitar acoustics are discussed and demonstrated in the laboratory. While the unit is designed for players or nonplayers, it includes a discussion of jazz theory and analysis. Private lessons are available for guitarists. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. J. Smedley.

s28. Survey of Western Music. A survey of Western music from circa 1000 C.E. to the present. Compositions are studied chronologically and within their cultural context. Extensive listening assignments provide material for daily class lectures and discussion. Required of all majors. Open to first-year students. J. Parakilas, W. Matthews.

s29. American Musicals on Film. From The Jazz Singer of 1927 to Purple Rain of 1984, American musicals on film have been remarkably reflexive: "show business about show business." On closer analysis, they provide us with fascinating clues about American popular taste and our culture in general. The unit examines twenty-three films and includes the videotaping of a class production. W. Matthews.

s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit may be granted by the department only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the department who agrees to direct the study and evaluate the results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Staff.


[home] [up] [reply] [help]

© 2000 Bates College.
All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: 7/27/01 by mkm