Select graduate course descriptions

MUS 380: Advanced Studies in the History of Music

Historical studies of various periods in Western music; extensive discussion of musical repertory and cultural context for a specific era. Class size: 5-20.

MUS 381J.1: Foundations of Musicology

The purpose of this course is threefold: (1) to introduce students to the issues that have shaped the academic study of music in the USA ("musicology" and its offshoots); (2) to provide an opportunity to reflect on how the structure and scope of musicological genres and institutions shape the construction and dissemination of knowledge within the field; and (3) to begin to explore the paths that musicology (in its broadest definition) may take in the twenty-first century. Class size: 5-15.

MUS 381J.2: Foundations of Ethnomusicology

This course is meant as an in-depth introduction to the field of ethnomusicology, as conceived and practiced since the early 20th century in European and American (hemispheric) circles primarily. Emphasis is placed on the ideological history of the discipline and on its emerging interdisciplinarity. The main objectives of the course are (1) to acquaint students with the bibliographic and historical resources of ethnomusicology and its conceptual issues, (2) to provide an overview and a basis for further work in the discipline, and, (3) for the non-specialist, to provide a basis for understanding ethnomusicology in relation to other areas of musical/humanistic/social scientific inquiry about music processes and meanings. Class size: 5-15.

MUS 381J.3: Musicological Research Methods

An introduction to some of the bibliographical tools and research techniques used in historical musicology. The course also emphasizes critical reading and scholarly writing. The course is designed as a series of contrasting and complementary research topics so that students may gain exposure to various problems, types of evidence, approaches, and methods used in the discipline. Class size: 5-10.

MUS 385J: Ethnographic and Analytical Methods

This course is concerned with ethnomusicological method. Thus, we investigate approaches to conceptualizing, formulating, doing, documenting, analyzing and reporting field research in ethnomusicology. Our task includes engaging the full spectrum of analytical approaches to the study of music as a cultural phenomenon that exists in the discipline of ethnomusicology. We take an experimental and creative approach towards the development of practical analytical skills. Topic areas that serve as points of departure for assigned readings, discussion and/or practical exercises include: types of ethnomusicological studies; basic problems of fieldwork; research methods, including collection methods--structured and unstructured approaches, sampling, participant observation, description/documentation practices, interviewing methods (formal & informal), performance practice in the field, and more; sound and visual recording techniques and technologies; ethics in fieldwork; analysis and synthesis of collectanea; the ethnomusicological monograph. Critical examination of the analytical methods employed in ethnomusicology occupies a substantial part of the course. In this connection, there are several short verbal reports to be delivered in class by each student, as well as two written assignments to be completed during the semester.

Given its prominence as an analytical tool in the past, transcription is a major focus of the course. In this regard, a basic working knowledge of Western staff notation is assumed, as is an ability to take music dictation equivalent to what may be expected in sophomore level ear training. A portion of class time is devoted to "on the spot" transcription of music examples that pose particular problems for the transcriber. There are also regular assignments of analytical exercises to be completed outside of class and subjected to group discussion in class.

An important component of this course is to provide the student with an opportunity to engage in ethnomusicological fieldwork. Thus, each student is required to engage in a field project somewhere in central Texas during the greater part of the semester. Finally, students report on individual analysis projects drawn from materials collected during fieldwork and submit a formal written report of this exercise. Class size: 5-10.

MUS 385: Special Topics in Musicology

Detailed study of practices in Western music. Topics include history of music theory (two semesters, pre-1750 and post-1750), history of Western musical notation, and history of musical instruments. Class size: 5-10.

MUS 385J: Special Problems in Musicology and Ethnomusicology

Historical and/or ethnographic studies focusing in depth on a specific issue surrounding one or more musical traditions, including historical Western stylistic periods and contemporary Western and non-Western repertories. Recent topics have included: the Delta Blues; Editing Liturgy and its Music; Bartók's String Quartets; Music and Globalization; Problems/Prospects in Latin American Ethnomusicology; Music and Theater in the Italian Renaissance; Performance and Social Theory; Josquin des Prez; Performance and Popular Culture in South Africa; American Music; the Idea of Absolute Music; Cultural Studies, Feminist Theory, and the "New Musicology." Class size: 5-12.