Study of vocal and choral techniques in the context of ensemble rehearsals, often culminating in public performance. Repertoire to include varied works for treble choir, both a cappella and with instrumental accompaniment. Familiarity with basic music notation recommended. Some additional rehearsal time, both individually and with the group is required. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting.
A study of selected works for mixed chorus, with emphasis on masterworks for chorus and orchestra, culminating in one or more public concerts. Familiarity with basic music notation recommended. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Students are billed a materials fee.
A study of selected works for orchestra, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Students are billed a materials fee.
Instruction in performance in large jazz ensembles with written arrangements. Prepares a specific repertory for public performance. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Students are billed a materials fee.
Instruction in diverse musical traditions, and their culturally-grounded performance contexts, of Native American, Ibero-American, and African American music cultures of Latin America, including texted music in Spanish and Quechua or other regional languages. The class forms an ensemble that prepares varying cultural and national repertoires for public performance. Some Spanish language ability is recommended. Attend first class meeting.
Development of Latin American, Native American, Ibero-American, African American, and/or Nueva Canción (New Song) repertoire in a small ensemble setting. Three quarters of course 4A or previous enrollment in course 4B required prior to enrolling in this course. Admission by audition with instructor at first class meeting.
Instruction in practice and performance of gamelan music from Java or Sunda. Preparation of several works for public presentation.
Instruction in practice and performance of gamelan music from Java or Sunda. Preparation of several works for public presentation. Attend first class meeting.
Instruction in practice and performance of gamelan music from Java or Sunda. Preparation of several works for public presentation. Attend first class meeting.
Study of selected repertoire and instruction in performance for classical guitar ensemble. Ensembles for guitar and other instruments will prepare works for public performances both on and off campus. All students enrolled in individual guitar lessons are expected to enroll. Students of other instruments or voice may also audition. Some additional rehearsal time, individually and with the group, is required. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting.
An interdisciplinary examination of various topics and issues in music, featuring an array of guest speakers. Part of the spring quarter Arts Division Dean's Lecture Series.
Instruction in Balinese gamelan. Utilizes pitched percussion instruments to learn highly ornate and complex pieces through rote learning; students are not required to read music. Focuses on traditional repertoire and basic gamelan techniques for public performance. Enrollment by permission of the instructor at the first class meeting. (Formerly Balinese Gamelan Ensemble.)
Instruction in Balinese gamelan. Utilizes pitched percussion instruments to learn highly ornate and complex pieces through rote learning; students are not required to read music. Focuses on advanced traditional and contemporary repertoire for public performance.
A study of selected advanced-level works for wind ensemble, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Students are billed a materials fee.
Performing ensemble focusing on the vernacular and art musics of the Eurasian continent, with emphasis on Central Asia. Admission by instructor determination at first class meeting.
A study of significant works of classical music from Gregorian chant to the present day in relation to the historical periods they represent. Emphasizes the listening experience and awareness of musical style and structure. Illustrated lectures and directed listening. (Formerly Classical Music from the Middle Ages to the Present.)
Designed to provide students with thorough and comprehensive background in history and roots of jazz as a musical style from its African roots to the present. Essential jazz styles and traditions are discussed through lectures, required listening, readings, lecture demonstrations, and film presentations.
Covers topics reflecting distinctive features of selected world music cultures. Introduces content, scope, and method of ethnomusicology. Focuses on understanding the musical styles, performance practices, and cultural functions of these musical traditions. Incorporates live class performance of selected music.
Focuses on the stylistic practice of mariachi music of Mexico. Centralizes efforts learning dance music as the son jalisciense, as well as popular singing genres that include the huapango, canción ranchera, corridos, and boleros. Students must have previous experience with music performance and applicable instruments.
Instruction in the aesthetic, cultural, and historical dimensions of Mexican Folklorico dance and music. Brings together a dance ensemble and a music ensemble. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor.
Fundamentals of sound production notation in music. Emphasis on the development of the ear and rhythmic skills. Course involves significant participation through in-class performance.
Students learn basic elements of musical language: rhythms, meters, scales, intervals, and chords. All of these elements will be studied both singly and in their interrelationships within musical compositions. The study of structural elements of music will incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects of learning, including written, keyboard, singing, and aural exercises.
Basic studies in musicianship related to Western European notation and literature. Students with prior training in music notation develop literacy in basic tonal melody and harmony. Skills include dictation and sight-reading. Simple composition and analysis exercises accompany the training. Enrollment by placement examination and permission of instructor.
Explores the physics and socio-historical foundations of music so that students are effectively equipped to undertake further culturally informed study in music theory. No prior formal music education is required for this class, though students should have some experience singing or playing an instrument.
Integrated musicianship, theory, and analysis. Species counterpoint and fundamentals of tonal harmony. Analysis of literature from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Ear-training, taught in smaller sections, emphasizes recognition of triad and dominant-seventh inversions, dictation of diatonic melodies, and aural analysis of simple diatonic interval and chord progressions. Most of the ear-training materials consist of homophonic and polyphonic examples from music literature performed live in class. Prerequisite: admission by core curriculum placement examination.
Integrated musicianship, theory, and analysis. Diatonic harmony and fundamentals of chromatic harmony and musical form, with an emphasis on early 18th-century styles. Ear-training, taught in smaller sections, emphasizes recognition of triad and seventh-chord qualities and inversions, dictation of moderately complex melodies and multi-voice chorales, and aural analysis of chord progressions including secondary functions. Most of the ear-training materials consist of homophonic and polyphonic examples from music literature performed live in class. Prerequisite(s): course 30A; instructor determination at first class meeting.
Integrated musicianship, theory, and analysis. Chromatic harmony and large forms, with emphasis on late 18th- and early 19th-century styles. Ear-training, taught in smaller sections, emphasizes melodic and multi-voice dictation, as well as aural analysis of chord progressions, with materials including digressions, modulations, and advanced chromatic idioms. Most of the ear-training materials consist of homophonic and polyphonic examples from music literature performed live in class. Prerequisite(s): course 30B; instructor determination at first class meeting.
The study and performance of vocal repertoire from 1400 to the present, including solo song, oratorio, opera, ensemble music. Emphasis is given to the development of effective performance skills, culminating in public performance. Attend first class meeting; concurrent enrollment in individual voice lessons with instructor of this course is required.
Designed to give guitar students who are pursuing the music major and minor, a weekly performance opportunity. Student performers receive feedback and constructive criticism from the instructors and from their peers. The instructors also offer insight and tips on choosing repertoire, performance anxiety and solutions, and historical and cultural context of the composers and music performed in the class. Enrollment by permission of instructor.
A course covering the music of North India taught using the oral traditions of Indian music. For beginners as well as more experienced students, this course is well suited for instrumentalists and vocalists. Interview; instructor determination at first class meeting.
Introduces students to the richness of North Indian rhythms. Includes hands-on exploration of the language of rhythm that is specific to learning the tabla.
An active, hands-on introduction to music where no previous musical experience is needed. Using pitched and non-pitched percussion, students are placed into small groups where they create and perform new pieces. Within this framework, students learn about scales, modes, rhythmic structures and form.
Provides a selective historical and technical survey of jazz guitar. In addition to short lectures that provide historical context, students will also learn the basic building blocks of accompaniment and soloing in a variety of styles. Enrollment by permission of instructor.
Explores the craft of songwriting through listening, analysis, performance, and songwriting assignments. Students are exposed to a variety of writing styles from diverse musical backgrounds such as pop, rock, folk, jazz, avant-garde, classical, and world music. Students gain the ability to analyze a song's form, its textual rhythmic scheme, mood, and performative aspects. Students also compose, record, and perform song samples demonstrating their understanding and creative approach to the concepts discussed in class.
Introductory instruction in piano technique, staff notation, and music theory. Includes group and individual performance experience. A minimum of six hours per week individual practice required. Appropriate for students with little/no piano experience. Students are billed a materials fee. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students audition to determine their skill level.
Elementary instruction in piano technique, including group and individual performance experience. A minimum of six hours per week of individual practice is required. Curriculum is coordinated with keyboard requirements of course 30A. Concurrent enrollment in course 30A is required. Students are billed a course fee. Prerequisite(s): Instructor determination at first class meeting. (Formerly Group Instruction in Piano.)
One-half hour of individual instrumental or vocal instruction. 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. Students are billed a course fee. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment priority given to music majors and minors.
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. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment priority given to music majors and minors.
Elementary group instruction in instrumental (excluding piano) or vocal techniques, including group and individual performance experience. A minimum of six hours per week of individual practice is required. Students are billed a course fee. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting.
Studies in the modes, scales, chord alternations and extensions, chord voicings, chord progressions, and forms that underlie jazz improvisation, composition, and arranging in a variety of styles.
Exploration of the commonalities between music cultures found along ancient trade routes through Asia.
Introduces basic concepts of ethnomusicology; instructs students in the development of listening and analytical skills; and explores selected musical areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
This survey of electronic music from previous centuries to the present studies the works and aesthetics of important composers, acoustics, musical perception, the effects of technological innovation on cultural evolution, and the development of synthesizers and computer music.
Survey of American music and its dynamic formation through cultural constructions of racial difference. Students hear music as contentious signals of identity, power, and transgressions, contextualized by wide-ranging testimony on racial difference, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and musical practice.
In-depth study of select music cultures of Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru. Characteristic regional genres, ensembles, instruments, and music rituals. Case studies by ethnomusicologists with expertise in specific regional musics. Also Latin American Nueva Canción, women's musics, and overarching themes in Latin American music, as a whole. Offered on a rotational basis with other non-Western courses in the 80 series.
Surveys American musicals from operetta through rock musicals with a historical approach focusing on selected examples from the literature. Music reading or musical experience helpful but not required.
Introductory study of the Hollywood music film, exploring the theory of film sound, the musical genre, and representative works from the 1920s to the present. Students expected to view about two films each week, read assigned section of texts, and contribute to class discussions.
Historical, musicological, and anthropological study of the many (and often conflicting) worlds brought together by Israeli popular and art music: Jewish and Arabic traditions, Western ideals, and modern beats.
Surveys American folk music, both instrumental and vocal, by region and period. Approach is primarily through listening. Previous musical experience helpful, but not required.
Study the role of sound in artistic creation and scientific research related to the environment. Topics include: environmental sound monitoring, increasing environmental awareness, social activism, discovery of sound phenomena, knowledge of audio tools and techniques, sound and environmental problem-solving.
An introduction to basic concepts in music and artificial intelligence, and to algorithmic composition (composition by a set of explicit instructions, often using the computer). Other topics include basic introductions to related concepts in linguistics, mathematics, neural nets, pattern matching, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, and interactive systems. Previous experience in one or more of these topics is helpful but not required. Students produce a project based on one of the models presented in class.
A survey of film music including a discussion of current trends and film composers. Techniques and styles of film music are explored through lectures, required listenings, readings, and viewing of relevant films. A musical background, including the ability to read music, is helpful but not necessary.
In-depth exploration of the music of the Grateful Dead. Contextual study of the sociology and history of the late 1960s psychedelic movement supplies background for study of the music as the band evolved through time.
Examination of relationship between music, politics, and protest in the U.S. in the 20th century, with focus on how music commented upon and reflected different eras in American cultural and political life.
Introduces music and cultural studies, surveys popular music in the United States from 18th-century minstrelsy to 21st-century social media consumer-producers. Emphasizes narratives of race, complicated by ethnicity, gender, and class, informing ways of valuing music, and its capacity for social representation. (Formerly Music 11C, Introduction to American Popular Music.)
Traces the various stylistic musical areas throughout the African continent and explores the development of traditional African music from antiquity into the 20th century.
A survey of how the Internet has influenced how music is made, transmitted, and consumed. Students discuss the history and ethics of file sharing and open source software, telematics and methods of music-making via the Internet, virtual communities, and social media. Students explore these topics through research and creative projects. (Formerly Music and the World Wide Web.)
An exploration of the sociological position of women as composers and performers in Western and non-Western musics, with a focus on both ethnographic and historical sources.
A survey of the musical traditions of the Jews of North Africa and the Middle East. Based on the Maqamat, the Arabic musical modes, Jewish music flourished under Islamic rule, encompassing the fields of sacred, popular, and art music.
The most significant group in the history of popular music, the Beatles spanned the gamut of styles from hard-edged R & B to sophisticated art-rock. This course explores their work in detail, in its own terms, and in the historical/cultural/technological contexts. Students cannot receive credit for both this course and course 180V in the same quarter. Course 11C is recommended but not required as preparation.
Explores the many facets of the music industry: history, technology, economics, sociology, and legislation. Provides both a broad understanding of the industry and a pragmatic survey of available career paths. Students cannot receive credit for both this course and course 180W in the same quarter.
A survey course in Hindustani (North Indian) and Karnatak (South Indian) music covering the Raga (modal system) and Tala (metric system) as they have developed in the two traditions. Consideration is given to the historical development of the music, from Vedic chanting to the modern Raga system; social functions of the music throughout history; and instrumental and vocal forms with an emphasis on listening.
The musical legacy of the Holocaust: music and anti-Semitism in the 19th century; morality, collaboration, and composing in the Third Reich; music in the ghettos and concentration camps; impact on post-war music; second-generation composers' trauma; music in Holocaust films.
Basic digital audio editing and mixing; related concepts in the physics of sound, psychoacoustics, and the digital representation and computer control of audio. Musical notation of musical pulse, meter, and rhythm, and sonic realization via MIDI (musical instruction digital interface). Using their own computers, students complete projects involving recording and spectral analysis, creative editing and mixing of existing recordings, composition of polyphonic drum rhythms, and constructing a collaborative sonic environment.
Involves examination, evaluation, performance, and discussion of rap music and its relationship to hop hop culture. Looks at three primary areas: historical periods of rap, aspects of performance practice, and lyrical content related to issues in contemporary society. Students engage in listening exercises, performances and presentations, and discuss the placement of rap in an academic setting. No prior musical knowledge is required.
This cultural study of global popular musics explores musical sounds, practices, and discourse via an examination of the development of the category world music. It explores how music and mass media engage broader issues around globalization, ethnic, national, and transnational identities; popular resistance; censorship; and cultural hegemony.
Introduces the role of music and musical practices in social movements, cultural changes, and activism in the 20th and 21st centuries in Latin America and Latina/o communities in the United States and other parts of the world where Latin American cultures are vibrant.Case studies covered in class demonstrate how actions occur within social, political, economical, and environmental spheres that impact the formation of identities, the negotiation around human rights, and the well-being of communities.
Surveys the history of the guitar--one of the world's most popular, adaptable, and ubiquitous instruments--by tracing its organological development in the late Renaissance and analyzing representative historical moments of widespread cultural relevance through a technological lens.
During the Golden Age Era of Hip Hop (late 1980s to mid-1990s) there was a creative explosion of musical representation in rap/hip hop music. Beginning after the commercial success of Run DMC in 1986, class focus continues until the deaths of Tupac Shakur (1996) and the Notorious BIG (1997). In between these points some of the most influential and controversial figures in hip hop history emerge.
Provides a general overview of music practices native to the Indonesian archipelago. Students study cultural and political histories of Indonesia and analyze a variety of music styles. Students also learn to perform a selection of Indonesian music styles in hands-on performance labs.
Examines global cultural history through the primary lens of jazz music evolution from its traditional African source through the nexus of the primary elements of sound. Students use music to examine and explore the intersections between many global cultural developments.
Examines the process of music making and how it is tied to the notion of space, place, identity and ethnicity, focusing on musical styles, genres, forms, and repertoires in Chicana/o and Latina/o communities in the United States.
Survey of the diverse and rich musical traditions of Jewish music in the diaspora from biblical times to the present. Examines the historical, social, and anthropological aspects of the different communities from sacred music through art and popular songs. (Formerly course 80P.)
Rock in the 1970s topped music charts while expanding far beyond the radio single. Many 70s artists, such as Elton John, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd, enjoy continuing popularity today. Students examine this decade of rock, its roots, and its biases.
Examines the historical and cultural role of music in science fiction literature, film, and television, asking students to question how music is used to convey the strange and unfamiliar and to further think critically about why music is able to do so. Also covers science fiction in opera, symphonic music, and popular music, highlighting the musical elements that comprise the sounds of science fiction.
A practical introduction to the tools and techniques used for live sound reinforcement and studio recording. Hands-on demonstrations of different microphones, speakers, hardware and software processors, analog and digital systems.
Provides a means for a small group of students to study a particular topic in consultation with a faculty sponsor. Admission requires approval of department.
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.
First quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western art music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque. Formerly History of Western Art Music.
Second quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western art music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works: Baroque, Classical, Romantic.
Third quarter of a three-quarter chronological study of Western art music. Coordinated lectures, readings, listening, and analysis of representative works: Romantic, 20th Century.
A study of selected works for orchestra, culminating in one or more public concerts. Admission by audition with conductor prior to first class meeting. Students are billed a materials fee. 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. Students are billed a materials fee.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Prerequisite(s):
MUSC 30A and consent of instructor.
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.
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 course 11B.
Instruction in individual composition offered in the context of a group; composition in traditional large and small forms. Counts as one of two choices for a capstone course.
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 course 130.)
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, relevant electroacoustical studies, and procedures of electronic music composition. Practical experience in the UCSC electronic music studio with an analog synthesizer; mixing, equalization, multitrack recording equipment, and other sound processing. Application form available at department office during last two weeks of the previous quarter. Preference given to music majors, students in the film/video major, and those with substantial musical experience. Prerequisite(s): instructor determination via application; course 80C or course 30A placement.
Composition with the use of small computers in the electronic music studio. Techniques covered include hybrid synthesis, digital synthesis, and MIDI-controlled systems. No programming is involved, but basic computer literacy is helpful.
Continuing study in the electronic music studio, with concentration on compositional development. Includes advanced applications of skills developed in courses 123 and 124, expansion of background knowledge and relevant electroacoustical studies.
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. Enrollment is restricted to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Enrollments is by permission of the instructor at first class meeting.
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.
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. (Formerly course 100B, Theory, Literature, and Musicianship II.)
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.
In-depth introduction into the music, culture, and theory of Hindustani music.
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.
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. (Formerly Post Tonal Composition and Analysis.)
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. Students are billed a materials fee.
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. Students are billed a materials fee.
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. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting. Enrollment priority given to music majors and minors.
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. Admission by juried audition.
A study of selected works for varied early music instrumental and vocal resources, culminating in one or more public concerts. Individual lessons are recommended in conjunction with consort work. Recommended for students who have instrumental or vocal competence and music literacy. Admission by audition with instructor prior to first class meeting. (Formerly Early Music Consort.)
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.
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. Students are billed a materials fee.
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 prior to first class meeting. (Formerly Contemporary Music Ensemble.)
Develops basic skills through a range of advanced bop, quasi-modal and post-bebop styles—including selected free jazz and avant-garde repertoire. Prerequisite(s): course 75; audition with instructor at first class meeting.
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.
In-depth ethnomusicological studies of selected music cultures of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. 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.
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.
In-depth, ethnomusicologically oriented course on select music cultures in Central Asia. Compares theoretical, historical, and cultural aspects of music and culture from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan , Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the Xinjiang region of China, Mongolia, and Tuva.
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. 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.
Practical introduction to graduate study in music focusing on research methods, music sources and bibliography, techniques of scholarly writing, and critical readings in the discipline. Culminates in a public oral presentation on the model of a professional conference paper.
Study and analysis of pre-tonal and tonal music from the Greeks through the 18th century. Course combines a history of theory with analyses that utilize contemporaneous theoretical concepts.
Encompasses various forms of linear analysis, set theory, and selected topics in current analytical practice.
A study of performance practices in medieval music from Gregorian chant to the 14th century. History of instruments and notation. Rhythmic interpretations of chant and a study of improvised practices in organum. Editing and performance of representative works. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
A study of performance practices in Renaissance music, including concepts of mode, musica ficta, ornamentation, text underlay, tempo, and articulation. Basic principles of white notation and a brief history of instruments. Transcription, editing, and performance of a Renaissance work. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
An examination of historically informed performance practice techniques in Baroque music, with attention to aspects of ornamentation, articulation, figured bass realization, dance choreography, rhythm and tempo, and organology. In-class performances and editing of source materials are included. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Issues in performance practice focusing on selected topics and styles from the time of C.P.E. Bach through Haydn. Development of selected genres and ensembles, sources and editing, and interpretation and improvisation. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Interpretation of music from Beethoven to Scriabin through examinations of both the musical texts (form, genre, harmony, texture, orchestration, etc.) and the period performance practices. Topics range from interpretative analyses of selected compositions to critical assessments of modern as well as documented 19th- and early 20th-century performances. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Projects in analysis, notational studies, extended instrumental techniques, and the aesthetics and performance practices associated with composers from Debussy to the present. Reading and listening focuses on the writings and performances of the composers themselves and upon interpretive writings by informed performers of 20th-century music. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Ethnomusicological field methodology; vocal and instrumental performance practices as related to the ethnomusicological endeavor. Specific topics: philosophical paradigms, historical overview, and definitional issues of ethnomusicology; field research concepts and procedures; studies in instrumental and vocal performance practices of diverse cultures; selected writings of Charles Seeger; transcription and analysis issues; studies in micromusics. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Intensive examination of the vocal and instrumental performance practices of living musical traditions of Indonesia, Latin America, or other regions. Topics may incorporate soloistic and ensemble traditions, secular and sacred traditions. Research rubrics include tuning, tone quality, performance posture and rhetoric, and improvisational and fixed patterns, as dictated by regional norms. May be repeated for credit in a different area. Offered on a rotational basis with other courses in the 203 series.
Provides graduate students with an opportunity to reflect on and practice a wide variety of pedagogical skills necessary to teach post-secondary music in a number of settings, including rehearsals, lectures, sections, and labs. These skills may include lesson planning, inclusive teaching, active learning, assessment, evaluation, teaching with technology, syllabus design, teaching statement writing, and lesson facilitation. Pedagogical skills modeled through a series of facilitated activities.
Focuses on the mechanics of academic writing (including grammar and syntax) with a focus on styles specific to writing about music. Topics covered will include writing music criticism, developing ethnographic descriptions of musical events (i.e., "thick description"), crafting written descriptions of musical sound, and academic writing for general audiences. Students also utilize the workshop to develop large-scale writing projects specific to their course of study (such as preparatory qualifying exam essays, composition program notes, dissertation and thesis chapters, conference papers, etc.).
Focused analysis of selected works from the Western classical music repertoire, Emphasis is on aural and analytical skills, the modal and tonal foundations of Western music, and the evolution of form and expression.
A broad survey of traditional and vernacular musical practices from around the world with an emphasis on aural analysis and critical listening skills.
Studies in the history, structure, and cultural function of music from cultures as diverse as Global African, central European, Korean, Latin American, Indonesian, and Indian traditions. Examines ways in which composers such as Bartok, Anthony Braxton, Chou Wen-Chung, Lou Harrison, and Takemitsu sought and integrated such influences. Students choose to write critical and analytic essays on musics exhibiting diverse cultural influences, or to compose music that takes a vernacular or non-European music as a model for a compositional/improvisational approach.
Study of techniques of algorithmic and computer-assisted composition in a variety of contemporary idioms. Topics may include stochastic methods, generative grammars, search strategies, and the construction of abstract compositional designs and spaces. Final project for course involves students formulating and algorithmically implementing their own theoretical assumptions and compositional strategies.
Investigations in the psychology of musical listening and awareness. Topics include time and rhythm perception, auditory scene analysis, pattern recognition, and theories of linguistics applied to harmony, melody, and form in the music of diverse cultures. Explores applications of the cognitive sciences to music transcription, analysis, composition, interpretation, and performance practice. Students apply existing knowledge in the cognitive sciences to a developing creative or analytical project, or develop and conduct new experiments.
Short compositional exercises incorporating diverse contemporary techniques with emphasis on problem solving and development of compositional skills. Exercises focus on particular strategies for organizing and coordinating aspects of pitch, rhythm, timbre, and other musical dimensions, depending on interests of instructor and students. (Formerly course 219A.)
Instruction in individual composition offered in the context of a group; composition in large forms of the 20th century with emphasis on techniques since 1950. May be taken by upper-division undergraduates for credit. Interview with instructor at first class meeting.
Explores the transformations and aesthetic possibilities of the digital age through a study of perceptual shifts of the past, from orality to literacy, gift to commodity, pre-colonial to colonial, pre-modern to modern, and the technological revolutions that accompanied these shifts.
An interactive colloquium featuring presentations by faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars on research projects in composition, musicology / ethnomusicology, and performance practice, followed by focused discussion.
Explores trends in musical scholarship in the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on broad questions and modes of inquiry within historical musicology and ethnomusicology. (Formerly Pitch, Melody, and Tuning Systems)
Traditional and experimental rhythmic and temporal systems representing diverse cultures, with emphasis on unmeasured, divisive, additive, and multilayer practices in cultural context. Students examine rhythmic composition, improvisation, and rubato performance in selected cultures, including rhythmic notation and transcription systems.
Addresses both song and musical performance as modes of discourse. For song: musical and textual phrase and verse structures and their interrelationships. For musical performances: musical performance as rhetoric and emblem.
Explores ethnography—the description of culture—as it relates to musicology and ethnomusicology, particularly where culture and cultural production are historically dynamic and geographically porous. Examines music with sensitivity to such complexities of context, and the disciplinary points of reference from which cultural difference is calculated. Considers the ideological imprint of methodology on cultural analysis: how to study an unfamiliar music in a way that transcends the measure of difference from the familiar, and, conversely, how to conduct an objective study of a familiar music.
Performance can describe activities in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Recognizing the mappings of this concept, this course examines selected performances and performative behavior through theoretical and critical lenses. Emphasis is on investigating the act and practice of musical performance in multicultural context, and on analyzing scholarly writing as performative discourse. (Formerly Performance Theory and Practice.)
Comprehensive study of musical instruments including, but not limited to, physical and engineering concepts; theory and methods of description, analysis, systematic, and cultural classifications; physiology and performance techniques; cultural significance; anthropomorphic and zoomorphic symbolism; ritual usage; and more. Previous enrollment in introductory ethnomusicology course (e.g., course 11D) helpful, but not required. Enrollment by interview only, except music M.A. and Ph.D. students. Enrollment restricted to junior and senior music majors, electronic music minors, anthropology majors, or physics majors,and graduate students.
Explores the influence of Asian musics on Western composers from Debussy to Britten to American experimentalists such as Harrison, Cage, Riley, and Rudyard. Questions of cultural appropriation and originality are addressed through specific examples and critical readings.
Examines the life and work of composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). In addition to a close study of his biography and musical compositions, course considers the role of historiography and reception history in the development of his "heroic" status and Romantic cultivation of the "cult of genius." Also critically examines issues having to do with canon construction, positivist research vs. "new musicology," and how Beethoven has been used for political purposes and in popular culture.
Introduces the ways jazz history has been conceptualized, evaluated, and transmitted. Examines the social, intellectual, and cultural formations that have influenced this historiography. Considers the interdisciplinary project of new jazz studies in relation to established and alternative historical narratives.
Seminar focuses on musicological and ethnomusicological work incorporating feminist and queer theories published since the late 1980s. Cross-cultural approach to the examination of music, gender, and sexuality, drawing examples from both Western and non-Western traditions.
In-depth examination of John Cage's interdisciplinary work, his pioneering activity in live electronic technology, and his influence in current multimedia creativity. Approximately one-half of the seminary is devoted to student research and creative projects and reflect Cage's legacy.
Explores San Francisco's musical life during the city's first century, including opera, symphony, Chinese music, musical theater, and other genres. Considerable emphasis on music and society, including issues of race.
Drawing on Jose Esteban Munoz's suggestion that queer politics is most radical when it is looking to the possibilities of the future rather than the pragmatics of the present, this course interrogates the radical vision of postcolonial and queer music-making.
Covers the period in United States history between the Revolutionary Era and the Civil War (approximately 1770-1865). Examines historical and contemporary writings about music in the United States, its composers, musicians, musical institutions, economics, and performance practices.
Dissertation research grant applications and their attenuating dissertation proposals represent the first time most graduate students think through the theoretical issues and strategic planning of a major project and convince others within and outside their field of its academic validity. This seminar (primarily for Ph.D. and D.M.A. students in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year who are applying for grants to support doctoral research) provides guidance on topics about dissertation research, professional development, and grant applications.
One hour of individual instrumental or vocal instruction for graduate students. Repertory, technique, and performance practice. A minimum of nine hours per week of individual practice is required. Students are billed a course fee. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting.
Participation by graduate students in ensembles. Enrollment limit appropriate to the size of each ensemble. Admission by audition with the instructor prior to first class meeting.
Graduate-level techniques and procedures of computer music composition and visualization. Practical experience in the UCSC electronic music studio with computer composition systems and software, including visualization and interactive performance systems. Extensive exploration of music and interactive graphic programs such as Max/MSP/Jitter. Enrollment is by permission of instructor; appropriate graduate experience required. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
Directed reading, which does not involve a term paper. May be repeated once for credit. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.
Independent study, creative work, or research for graduate students who have not yet begun work on their thesis. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.
A public performance in the student's primary area of interest, related to the thesis or dissertation project, under the supervision of a faculty member. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.
A thesis consisting of a substantive and original creative or scholarly work, related to the graduate recital, under the supervision of a faculty member. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.