Upper-Division

First quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works. (Formerly History of Western Music, c. 1150 - 1750.)

Surveys major developments in European (and some U.S.-American) composition, performance practice, style and aesthetics, and music business (patronage, institutions, publishing, etc.) between approximately 1750 and 1910. Second quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works: Baroque, Classical, Romantic. (Formerly History of Western Art Music.)

Surveys major stylistic developments in European and American composition during the 20th and 21st centuries.Third quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western art music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works: Romantic, 20th, and 21st Century. (Formerly History of Western Art Music.)

In-depth ethnomusicological studies of selected music cultures of South and Southeast Asia. Emphasizes comparison of historical, theoretical, contextual, and cultural features. Includes basic ethnomusicological points of reference, as regards organology, music ritual, notation and transcription, and aspects of field research. (Formerly MUSC 180A, Studies in World Musics: Asia and the Pacific.)

In-depth ethnomusicological studies of selected music cultures of sub-Saharan Africa and South and North America, including Native America. Emphasizes comparison of historical, theoretical, contextual, and cultural features. Includes basic ethnomusicological points of reference, as regards organology, music ritual, notation and transcription, and aspects of field research. (Formerly MUSC 180B, Studies in World Musics: Africa and the Americas.)

An in-depth, ethnomusicologically oriented course on select music cultures in Central Asia. Comparison of theoretical, historical, and cultural aspects of musical practices from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Xinjiang region of China, as well as from the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia). Students are expected to become conversant in both musical and cultural norms of the region, in order to develop their skills in the analysis of non-Western musics. (Formerly MUSC 180C, Studies in World Musics: Central Asia.)

Comparative studies of selected music cultures focusing on the cosmology, music rituals, and organology of varied cultures in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. Introduction to ethnomusicology field research and transcription, and hands-on ensemble workshops. (Formerly MUSC 180D.)

A study of selected works for orchestra, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment restricted to juniors and seniors.

A study of selected works for orchestra, culminating in one or more public concerts. Prerequisite(s): admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting.

Traces major developments in the history of American music since the Revolutionary Era, focusing on what makes music in the United States unique. Material drawn from classical, popular, religious, jazz, and avant-garde traditions.

A comparative study of the folk and traditional musical productions of five different cultural communities found in California, through a body of media that intersects history, sociology, anthropology, ethnomusicology, and more.

Survey of four centuries of early keyboard music, including representative genres, instruments, composers, and compositions from the late-Gothic to the Classical period. Harpsichord, virginal, organ and fortepiano works studied through scores, recordings, and live performance. Social context, instrument tuning and representative performance practices will coordinate each unit.

Explores the history and global spread of hip hop music and culture. In addition to hip hop history and hip hop studies in the U.S., course also examines the ways that hip hop artists outside of the U.S. have employed African American modes of cultural resistance and commercial engagement. Within that process, continuities between the African American experience of “double consciousness” and the global discrepancies and asymmetries in the postcolonial world are unveiled.

Cross Listed Courses

Prerequisite(s): MUSC 81A or MUSC 81H; or by permission of the instructor.

Study of music repertories and performance practices based on improvisation and collaborative approaches to real-time composition in the areas of jazz and other new music.

Prince Rogers Nelson was a complex and sophisticated African-American musician who challenged aesthetic and music genre boundaries. Prince’s political thought fueled his musical commentaries. A shrewd businessman who had an ambivalent relationship with the internet, he was a pioneer in selling music in digital format (e-commerce). Since his death in 2016, the burgeoning critical music studies discourse has blossomed in multidisciplinary directions. Course examines how Prince’s musical practices have become a locus to study composition, performance and production techniques, racial politics, and gender fluidity. This is an interdisciplinary course designed for undergraduate students who want to know more about Prince’s contributions to American popular music while being introduced to a critical music studies discourse. (Formerly MUSC 81U.)

Traces the changing landscape of the secular solo song from the earliest notated examples of the troubadours through the explosion of monody in print at the beginning of the 17th century. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Contact instructor for enrollment details.

Traces the development of opera from its origins in the late 16th century through the works of the early 18th century. Explores all aspects of this multimedia genre, with significant research and writing components. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Contact instructor for enrollment details.

Research-based survey of the history of the piano and related keyboard instruments. Topics include instrument mechanics, design, and tuning; important players and innovators in piano technique; repertoire written for piano in classical, jazz, vernacular, and experimental traditions and performance practices, including improvisation; the socioeconomics of the piano industry; the piano's use as a pedagogical tool.

Traces the development of the string quartet from its origins in the mid-18th Century through the works of the mid-late 20th Century. Emphasis is on listening and analysis with significant research and writing component. (Formerly The String Quartet from Haydn to Shostakovich.)

Focuses on Russian music in its historical development from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Class lectures, as well as listening and reading materials, draw together different musical strata. All musical events viewed in their cultural, historical, and social contexts.

Explores tuning and acoustics across various cultures throughout music history. Surveying foundational tuning theories developed in ancient Greece, the course follows tuning developments up to the modern era with a focus on how these theories are manifest in the acoustics of instrument building. Categorizations specific to instruments and instrument building (chordophone, aerophone, idiophone, etc.) are outlined in relationship to their historical acoustic and tuning practices. Additionally, the categorizations of monophony, heterophony, and polyphony are applied to the various cultures of music that is surveyed, informing the ensuing considerations pertaining to tuning, acoustics, and instrument building.

Focuses on the act of gathering in the context of Mexican folk living culture. Discussions are centralized around music-making spaces that call people into action thinking about Christopher Small's characterization of "musicking" (1998). Course asks what goes into organizing a gathering, what goes on during a gathering, and positions students to think about what people potentially leave with from an event.

Instruction in individual composition offered in the context of a group; composition in traditional large and small forms. Repeatable for credit with different instructors.

Analytic exploration of the evolution of jazz in America. The process involves independent listening, analysis, transcription, weekly seminar discussions, and oral presentation to students in MUSC 11B lecture (if courses are offered concurrently). (Formerly MUSC 111B.)

A study of the nature of each instrument of the orchestra. Scoring for various small instrumental combinations, culminating in a transcription for full orchestra. (Formerly MUSC 121.)

The development of basic conducting techniques, including understanding and demonstration of the conductor's posture, best practices of dynamics, left hand usage, mixed meter, and breath.

Introduction to electronic music studio techniques, electronic music composition and relevant electroacoustical studies. Course provides practical exposure to the UCSC electronic music studios. Required application form available on department website during last three weeks of the previous quarter. Preference given to music majors, students in the film and game design programs, and those with substantial musical experience. Prerequisite(s): MUSC 80C or MUSC 30A placement. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor via application.(Formerly MUSC 123, Electronic Sound Synthesis.)

Continued study of electronic music studio techniques as developed in MUSC 123A, including a deeper look into sound synthesis, audio analysis, and sound processing techniques. Emphasis placed on creating a number of short works that require varied approaches to electronic music composition. Prerequisite(s): MUSC 123A. Enrollment is by placement exam or by permission of the instructor. (Formerly MUSC 124, Intermediate Electronic Sound Synthesis.)

The final course in the electronic synthesis & composition sequence continues to develop studio skills and centers around the student’s own creative practices and interests. Emphasis is placed on building a portfolio of projects and creative work, and on skills in critique and communication surrounding the completed work. Prerequisite(s): MUSC 123A or placement via exam. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. (Formerly MUSC 125, Advanced Electronic Sound Synthesis.)

Explores the live performance practice of electroacoustic music, including historical repertoire, improvisation, and compositions by participants. All manner of electronic audio resources are applied to real-time performance. Participants need a basic proficiency in electronic audio and computer tools. Enrollments is by permission of the instructor at first class meeting.

A study of homophonic forms in tonal music. Architectonic, thematic, harmonic, and hermeneutic analyses of instrumental and vocal compositions in their historical context. Deliberations of various interpretational solutions and comparative analyses of historical and modern performances.

A course designed to synthesize the analysis and the composition of musical works. Tonal and post-tonal music compositions analyzed, including harmonic, rhythmic, and formal structure analysis. Works discussed include J.S. Bach (and related music by Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Benjamin Britten, Krzysztof Penderecki); Claude Debussy and Bela Bartok; Arnold Schoenberg (and Anton Webern); Olivier Messiaen (and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, Elliot Carter).

Tonal counterpoint modeled on the music of J.S. Bach. Imitative and non-imitative forms including binary dance, invention, canon, and fugue. Discussion and analytical application of generalized intervallic and harmonic models. Development of related keyboard, singing, and aural skills, including dictation in two and three voices. (Formerly Special Topics in Music Theory: Tonal Counterpoint.)

What is Southeast Asia (SEA) music? What is music theory, and how does theorization influence how we perceive SEA music? Course discusses SEA music and invites students to relearn and debunk music theory in SEA and global contexts. Students learn various SEA music scenes, understand music theory and various ways of making sense of the music of SEA (and beyond), and apply what they have learned when thinking of any music or scenes encountered. (Formerly Special Topics in Theory: Southeast Asia.)

Analysis, theory, musicianship, and aural skills associated with advanced tonal music. Study of chromaticism, larger forms, and other features of 19th-Century and early 20th-Century music. (Formerly MUSC 130, Harmony and Form in 19th-Century and Early 20th-Century Music.)

In-depth introduction into the music, culture, and theory of Hindustani music. (Formerly Special Topics in Music Theory: Hindustani Music.)

Through performance, composition, analysis, and transcription course gives students an opportunity to expand and enrich their skills in applying musical knowledge to the application of spontaneous composition over a range of jazz styles, including older standards and more contemporary tunes. (Formerly MUSC 174, Intermediate Spontaneous Composition and Improvisation.)

Through transcription, analysis, and performance of jazz standards, composition, arranging, improvisation, and spontaneous creation explored. Students write a series of improvisations, short compositions, and arrangements throughout the course. (Formerly MUSC 175, Jazz Theory II.)

How has noise become a resource for musicians, artists, and activists? Noise can be negative, disruptive, painful, annoying, or it can be transgressive, liberating, rebellious, and a critical expression of resistance. Noise can take on many forms: metaphorical, silent, visual, dissonant, literary, quiet or loud. Course focuses on modernist and postmodernist techniques and discourses, traversing many practices from how noise and silence have been used as weapons, to experimental art music, punk rock, death metal, Japanoise, improvised music, and electronic glitch amongst others in order to trace how noise has been harnessed as a tool for disruption.

Analysis and composition in two 20th-century popular song genres. Part one (of two) is drawn from 1930s swing or Tin-Pan Alley standards. Part two varies according to instructor and may include genres outside the United States. (Formerly Special Topics in Music Theory: 20th-Century Popular Song.)

This practice-based class explores the art of field recording and the aesthetic, social, political, and ethical questions it engages. Through critical reading, listening, discussion, recording, and creative projects, investigates how sound interacts with nature, urban spaces, objects, people, and networks. Uses sound as our lens in order to gain a stronger appreciation of its presence in our environments and how we create, interpret, and interact with them.

Examines both music and musical composition, and the characteristics they share with science, mathematics, and the natural world. Written for upper-division and graduate courses, the course text shows that music is part of an interdisciplinary collection of artistic modes of expression, and that these modes can be better understood in the context of what students observe in the real world. Thinking about music, through a variety of angles, students aim to understand that creativity is a vehicle through which to explore the evolution and interconnectedness of music as well as other phenomena in our universe.

Examines the analytic and compositional techniques associated with selected post tonal styles including the linear, harmonic, rhythmic, and textural elements of music by composers, such as Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy, Messiaen, Carter, Cage, and Reich. Students attend weekly keyboard/ear-training laboratories.

Examines theoretical practices and compositional methods of 20th-Century American composers including Charles Ives, Henry Cowell, Ruth Crawford, Johanna Beyer, Harry Partch, Conlon Nancarrow, John Cage, James Tenney, Kenneth Gaburo, George Russell, and Ornette Coleman.

Introduces music and performance practice from South Africa. Covers a selection of repertoire in many languages and many traditions, with strong emphasis on vocal music. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students must audition for the class in order to provide information about their skill level.

A workshop for singers, accompanists, and directors, the course develops a wide variety of skills related to opera through scenework. Attention will be given to movement, acting, coaching, and operatic stage-directing technique. Instruction culminates in studio productions of scenes from operas and musicals. Admission by permission of vocal instructor, or by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting.

A production workshop, culminating in one or more staged performances of an entire opera or selected scenes from the operatic repertory. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting; auditions usually take place in fall quarter.

One hour of individual instrumental or vocal instruction. Repertory, technique, and performance practice. A minimum of nine hours per week of individual practice is required. Concurrent enrollment in an ensemble in the lesson instrument or voice is required. Students are billed a course fee of $650. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment priority given to music majors and minors.

One-half hour of individual instrumental or vocal instruction, intended for upper-division students. Repertory, technique, and performance practice. A minimum of six hours per week of individual practice is required. Concurrent enrollment in an ensemble in the lesson instrument or voice is required. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment priority given to music majors and minors.

Group instruction in instrumental or vocal techniques, including group and individual performance experience. A minimum of six hours per week of individual practice is required. Intended for upper-division students. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting.

One hour of individual instruction for advanced students. Study of repertory, technique, and performance practice. A minimum of 18 hours per week of individual practice and at least one 30-minute recital are required. May be taken three times for credit. Concurrent enrollment in an ensemble in the lesson instrument or voice is required. Students are billed a course fee of $650. Admission by juried audition.

Performance of a variety of early Western traditions—so-called “baroque ’n roll”—culminating in at least one concert. A broad range of instruments for student use available, including lutes, early guitars, viols (bowed strings), early flutes, baroque violins, harpsichord, organ, and incorporation of folk and/or “modern” instruments. Admission is by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting. (Formerly Early Music Ensemble.)

Instruction in combo performance and techniques of the jazz idiom. The class forms several ensembles that prepare a specific repertory for public performance. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting. (Formerly offered as Jazz Ensembles.)

A study of selected works for various small combinations of instruments, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting.

The study of selected works for small vocal ensemble from the 15th through 20th centuries, with performances on and off campus throughout the academic year. Students must have demonstrated vocal and music reading skills. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting.

Continuing studio work in electronic music. Students carry out individual projects, meeting in weekly seminar to share problems and discoveries. Relevant advanced topics are covered, including new developments in the art.

Seminar in modern studio recording. Students learn aspects of recording from pre-production through mastering and distribution. Weekly recording sessions give students hands-on experience in running recording sessions and working with musicians. Admission by interview with instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment is restricted to music majors.

A study of selected works for various small combinations of instruments and voice, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with instructor. Contact instructor prior to first class meeting.

Comparative studies of selected music cultures focusing on the cosmology, music rituals, and organology of varied cultures in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. Introduction to ethnomusicology field research and transcription, and hands-on ensemble workshops.

Teaching of a lower-division seminar under faculty supervision. (See course 42.) Upper-division standing and a proposal supported by a music faculty member willing to supervise required.

Preparation of senior thesis over one or two quarters. If taken as a multiple-term course, the grade and evaluation submitted for the final quarter applies to the previous quarter. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Preparation of senior thesis over one or two quarters. If taken as a multiple-term course, the grade and evaluation submitted for the final quarter applies to the previous quarter. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Prerequisite(s): juried audition or approved composition portfolio. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Students are billed a course fee of $650. Prerequisite(s): juried audition.

A program of directed study arranged with a department faculty member. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

A program of directed study arranged with a department faculty member. Class time is proportionally less than a five-credit course. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.