Course Offerings

For complete information as to courses offered in the current year, students
should consult the schedule of course offerings available each semester in the
Registrar’s Office. Courses numbered 100 through 499 are undergraduate
level; courses numbered 500 through 999 are graduate level. Course numbers
preceded by a “»” are typically offered each academic year. Course numbers
followed by a “T” are taught to mixed classes of undergraduates and graduates.
Undergraduate students may register for graduate-level courses with the
instructor’s permission. Courses followed by a “*” are repeatable for credit.
Courses followed by a “**” are repeatable for credit if the topic has changed
(permission from Academic Advisor required).

MUSIC THEORY

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM

»THYU 093 – Fundamentals of Music Theory
Focuses on the rudiments of music (scales, intervals and chords). The
course consists of three tracks. The first track continues through the entire
semester, and helps students develop their understanding of fundamentals
through notation, ear training, and keyboard harmony. A second track
contains the same material as the first track, but at an accelerated pace;
it lasts for seven weeks. A third track, also lasting seven weeks, focuses
primarily on ear training and keyboard skills. Students who are enrolled for
the entire semester will earn two credits; students enrolled in the seven-week
tracks will earn one credit. For all tracks, proficiency is evaluated at the
end of the course through a departmental exam; the student must pass this
exam before continuing on to Tonal Practice I or Solfège II. (1 or 2 credits –
credits do not fulfill graduation requirements) Faculty

»THYU 101 – Solfège I
Stresses knowledge of tonality, as represented by scales and scale-degree
functions. Topics include treble and bass clefs; melodies in major and minor
keys; rhythms in standard meters; modulations to the dominant, relative
major and relative minor, and their function in small forms. Materials
include Bach chorales and Mozart symphonies. Students must demonstrate
sight-singing competency in the departmental examination to pass the
course. (3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 102 – Solfège II
Topics include note identification in treble, bass, and alto clefs; melodies in
major and minor keys; increasingly remote modulations; complex rhythmic
subdivision and syncopation; small forms; score reading. Materials include
Bach chorales, classical symphonies, other vocal and instrumental works.
Students must demonstrate sight-singing competency in the departmental
examination to pass the course. Continuation of THYU 101. Prerequisite:
THYU 101. (3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 106 – Tonal Practice I
Focuses on diatonic tonal language of the Common Practice period, with
emphasis on the phrase as the vehicle for musical motion. Students study the
role of underlying harmonic functions (tonic, predominant, and dominant)
within the phrase, and explore how the contrapuntal relationship between
the soprano and bass contributes to directed motion towards the cadence.
The course also includes (1) the study of counterpoint (first and second
species) to sensitize students to the relationship between melodic lines, and
(2) an introduction to formal analysis, with emphasis on phrases, periods,
and sentences. Topics are introduced and/or reinforced through ear training.
Prerequisite: passing Fundamentals of Music Theory exam, THYU 101.
(3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 201 – Solfège III
Topics include note reading and transposition using five clefs (treble,
bass, soprano, alto, and tenor), rhythms using changing time signatures
and complex subdivisions, tonal melodies featuring rapid modulation,
and score reading. Materials include Renaissance vocal music, Bach
chorales in open score, Beethoven symphonies, and other instrumental
scores with transposing instruments. Students must demonstrate sightsinging
competency in the departmental examination to pass the course.
Prerequisite: THYU 102 and THYU 106. (3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 202 – Solfège IV
Topics include note reading and transposition (using up to seven clefs),
advanced rhythmic subdivision, syncopation, conducting, chromatic and
atonal melodies, and score reading. In the spring semester, each Solfège
IV section focuses on a particular topic or body of repertoire, with general
emphasis on 20th-century music. Students must demonstrate sightsinging
competency in the departmental examination to pass the course.
Prerequisite: THYU 201 and THYU 207. (3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 207 – Tonal Practice II
Focuses on writing, hearing, and analyzing chromatic harmony and
modulations to closely related keys; analysis of binary and ternary forms;
introduction to sonata form. Prerequisites: THYU 106 and THYU 102.
(3 credits) Faculty

»THYU 208 – Tonal Practice III
Studies typical chromatic progressions and large-scale tonal designs
representative of the later Common Practice period; analysis of larger
works, with emphasis on works in sonata form. Continuation of THYU 207.
Prerequisites: THYU 207 and THYU 201. (3 credits) Faculty

THYU 305: 20th Century Compositional Practices
Theoretical study of the music of three composers active in the first half
of the 20th century: Bartok, Stravinsky, and Debussy. Format of study
is three-phased: analyses of given works, student composition exercises
modeled on works analyzed, and revisiting of original works with renewed
understandings gained from modeling. Though this is not a “composition”
course, student models will be performed in class and in a public concert at
the end of the term. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Sandler

THYU 306 – 20th-Century Compositional Practices
Study of compositional practice through model composition and analysis of
selected techniques and procedures employed by composers in the second
half of the 20th century. Topics include: Postwar serialism, indeterminancy,
minimalism, and the quest for new sounds. Composers include: Varese,
Cage, Messiaen, Boulez, Stockhausen, Crumb, Berio, Cowell, Carter, Ligeti,
Reich, Brown, and others. Student compositions will be performed in class.
Continuation of THYU 305. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Sandler

THYU 307 – Extended Tonality
Explores the 19th-century expansion of harmonic practice through analysis
of works from Schubert to Debussy. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits)
Stein

THYU 309 – Topics in Early 20th-Century Music
Explores aspects of the evolution from conventional 18th- and 19th-century
harmonic and formal practices to their 20th-century manifestations. The
approach and emphasis will depend on the individual faculty member.
Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits**) Faculty

THYU 315 – Analysis and Performance of 19th-Century Lieder
Examines both German Romantic poetry and the musical settings of
Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, and others. As the Lied genre
developed, the poetic text seemed to encourage innovation and daring in
virtually every aspect of musical composition. Study of the poetic text will
lead to greater understanding of all aspects of the musical setting: harmony,
tonality, melody, motive, meter, rhythm, articulation through texture,
register, timbre, etc. Where possible, students will perform various Lieder
in the classroom. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Stein

THYU 327 – Performers’ Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis
Introduces facets of Schenker’s analytical process most pertinent to
performers: how a work is shaped by a counterpoint of melody and bass;
how harmonic flow and melodic shape involve prolongation; how melodic
lines evolve; and how motivic elements recur. Demonstrates the application
to performance through student performances informed by analysis.
Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Stein

»THYU 329 – Order and Chaos in Music since 1945
Study of the development of musical language after 1945 includes dramatic
shifts in the concepts of melody, harmony, tonality, and non-tonal languages,
meter, rhythm, form and expressivity. Composers include Carter,
Messiaen, Cage, Babbitt, Ligeti, Boulez, Stockhausen, Reich, and Glass.
Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Miljkovic

THYU 351 – Counterpoint in the Style of Bach
Studies the contrapuntal practice of Johann Sebastian Bach with particular
attention to his two-part keyboard inventions and fugues from the Welltempered
Clavier. Aspects of style and compositional technique will be
explored through listening, analysis, and performance, as well as through
constant writing of contrapuntal exercises modeled on Bach’s music. During
the semester, each student will compose one complete two-part invention
and a three-part fugal exposition (for keyboard or a combination of melodic
instruments), which will be performed and discussed in class. Prerequisite:
THYU 202,208. (3 credits) Truniger

THYU 361 – The String Quartets of Beethoven
Studies Beethoven’s String Quartets, with special attention to formal
design, harmonic structure, motivic development, and texture, as well as
the implications of these for performance. (3 credits) Graybill

THYU 362 – Bach’s Music for Solo String Instruments
Explores aspects of style, compositional technique, and performance
practice in the instrumental music of Johann Sebastian Bach, focussing on
his Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, BWV 1001-1006, and his Suites for
solo cello, BWV 1007-1012. Specific aspects to be studied include musical
texture, harmony, counterpoint, polyphonic melody, rhythm, form, and
ornamentation. Students’ work will involve listening, analysis, and reading
assignments, as well as compositional exercises modeled on Bach’s music. As
a mid-term project, each student will write a dance movement in the style of
Bach (for any melodic instrument), which will be performed and discussed
in class. Analytical exam at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: THYU
202,208. (3 credits) Truniger

THYU 368 – The American Art Song and 20th Century Tonality
Theoretical study of songs by American Composers active in the 20th
century, namely: Barber, Ives, Larsen, Musto and Rorem. Format of study
includes: study of analytical methods needed for making musical sense of
the songs, study of various styles that co-mingle in the songs, background
on the poets/lyricists, and hands-on analysis of select pieces. Prerequisite:
THYU 202,208. (3 credits) Sandler

»THYU 371 – American Experimental Music Since 1960
This is conceived as an intense, “hands on” course, emphasizing score
reading, composing, and class performances. The course explores American
experimental music from the early 1960s to the present and its close ties with
plastic art, film, literature, and theater, as well as with musical traditions
from around the world. Composers to be studied in class include Cage,
Feldman, Young, Rzewsky, Brown, Monk, Oliveros, Curran and Zorn,
among others. Throughout the semester, students will become acquainted
with many resources for new music, including journals, festivals, web
forums and performance spaces. Prerequisite: THYU 202,208. (3 credits)
Miljkovic

THYU 372 – Music Modernism and Thereafter
This course addresses the multi-faceted phenomenon of modernism from an
analytical perspective. It examines composers and works from the Second
Viennese School, the French-Russian School, German Expressionism, and
the frequently neglected “indigenous” and experimentalist modernist
movements that appear outside Western Europe. It also introduces and
assesses a variety of analytical models that are applied to music of the era.
The repertory addressed in the context of this course covers a period of time
from the early 1920s until today, with primary focus on the era before World
War II. It includes the work of composers from Western Europe and the
European periphery, the former Soviet Union, East Asia and the Americas.
To provide a broader understanding of the phenomenon of modernism in its
totality, the course also addresses developments in visual arts, literature and
architecture, attempting to draw parallels between developments in these
fields and music. Prerequisite: THYU 202,208. (3 credits) Minakakis

»THYU 406T – Advanced Solfège
Expands sight-singing skills to include a broad range of musical styles and
application to contemporary literature. Topics include further investigation
of reading skills with respect to note patterns, transpositions, interval
studies, complex rhythms, complex tonal systems, and score reading from
an advanced perspective. Continuation of THYU 202. Prerequisite: THYU
202, 208 or instructor’s permission. (3 credits) Buys

»THYU 411T – 16th-Century Counterpoint
Analyzes Lassus’s canons and two-voice motets; composing compositions
in the style. Readings in Pietro Aaron, Aldrich, Cook, and Wittkower.
Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Davidson

»THYU 412T – 16th-Century Counterpoint
Analyzes composition of motets and mass movements in three or four
voices. Readings from Zarlino. Continuation of THYU 411T. Prerequisite:
THYU 411T. (3 credits) Davidson

THYU 413T – Invention in the Style of Bach
Studies Baroque counterpoint with special attention to Johann Sebastian
Bach’s keyboard inventions. Aspects of style and compositional technique
are explored through analysis, listening, and performance, as well as
through constant writing of contrapuntal exercises modeled on Bach’s
music. As a final project, each student will compose a two-voice invention
(for keyboard or two melodic instruments), which will be performed and
discussed in class. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Truniger

THYU 414T – Fugue in the Style of Bach
Examines more complex contrapuntal forms, such as canons and fugues, in
the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Course work includes compositional
exercises, as well as reading, analysis, and listening assignments. As a final
project, each student will compose a three-voice fugue (for keyboard or
three melodic instruments), which will be discussed and performed in class.
Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Truniger

THYU 415T – Byzantine Music
This course focuses on the ecclesiastic (sacred) and secular music initiated
and developed before, during and after the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
The course addresses issues on the music theory and practice of the Greek
Antiquity, the origins of the Byzantine music notation (parasemantics),
the ways the Ancient Greek music theory, notation, tuning system, and
vocal practices laid the foundation for the Byzantine and Demotic music.
Course assignments and tests include weekly singing in Byzantine solfège
and tuning; listening quizzes; a composition of a hymn in the Byzantine
style; selected readings; a transcription project of a hymn or a demotic song
that includes detailed notation (western) and analysis; and an analytical
term paper followed by a presentation during the Finals. Prerequisite:
THYU 202, 208 (3 credits) Kordis

»THYU 417T – Microtonal Composition and Performance
Students learn to hear, sing and play intervals as small as a twelfth tone,
and discover a thrilling new world of melody and harmony through
compositional and improvisational exercises. Students are performing their
own short works by semester’s end. To put these pursuits in context, we
also take a look at early explorations with microtonality from the turn of the
twentieth century through the 1950s (Carrillo, Ives, Wyschnegradsky, Partch
and others). Listening to recordings, studying scores and reading essays, we
try to answer the question “Why microtones?” Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208.
(3 credits) Werntz

THYU 418T – Microtonal Composition and Performance
As writing and improvisational exercises become more extensive, our
exploration of style, esthetics and practical matters becomes more involved.
A recital at semester’s end concludes the year. Our study of recordings and
scores also continues, focusing on the period from the 1950s to the present.
Continuation of THYU 417T. Prerequisite: 417T. (3 credits) Werntz

THYU 419T – The Music of Xenakis and Ligeti
The work of Xenakis and Ligeti is of seminal importance to contemporary
music. Both outsiders to the Franco-German post-1945 avant-garde, their
unique vision established them as two of the most formidable explorers of
music in Europe and throughout the world. While their personal idioms
are highly distinct, both Xenakis and Ligeti frequently addressed common
compositional issues. From their 1950s critique of serialism, to their later
interest in complex patterns, their development was often triggered by
identical impulses. This course examines aspects of Xenakis’ and Ligeti’s
work through the prism of the solutions both composers provided to the
same problems. Prerequisite: THYU 202, 208. (3 credits) Minakakis

THYU 425 – Solfège for Singers
Designed for singers, but also encourages instrumentalists, who need
additional music reading skills and proficiency in sight-singing. Emphasizes
the development of sight-reading skills from the perspective of application
to vocal repertoire and practice. Develops score reading skills from
Renaissance motets to operatic excerpts and their application to a cappella
ensemble sight-reading, score analysis and preparation for auditions and
recitals. Prerequisite: THYU 202,208. (3 credits) Scripp

GRADUATE CURRICULUM

»THYG 082 – Principles of Harmony and Form
Designed to aid graduate students with deficiencies in harmony and formal
analysis. The course, which includes both written and aural components,
covers diatonic and chromatic harmony as well as principles of form
(including the study of formal units such as phrases, periods, binary and
ternary forms, and sonata form). (0 credit) Faculty

»THYG 511T – 16th-Century Counterpoint
Analyzes Lassus’s canons and two-voice motets; compositions in the style.
Readings in Pietro Aaron, Aldrich, Cooke, and Wittkower. (2 credits)
Davidson

»THYG 512T – 16th-Century Counterpoint
Analyzes composition of motets and mass movements in three or four
voices. Readings from Zarlino. Continuation of THYG 511T. Prerequisite:
THYG 511T or instructor’s permission. (2 credits) Davidson

THYG 513T – Invention in the Style of Bach
Studies Baroque counterpoint with special attention to Johann Sebastian
Bach’s keyboard inventions. Aspects of style and compositional technique
are explored through analysis, listening, and performance, as well as
through constant writing of contrapuntal exercises modeled on Bach’s
music. As a final project, each student will compose a two-voice invention
(for keyboard or two melodic instruments), which will be performed and
discussed in class. (2 credits) Truniger

THYG 514T – Fugue in the Style of Bach
Examines more complex contrapuntal forms, such as canons and fugues, in
the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Course work includes compositional
exercises, as well as reading, analysis, and listening assignments. As a final
project, each student will compose a three-voice fugue (for keyboard or
three melodic instruments), which will be discussed and performed in class.
(2 credits) Truniger

THYG 515T – Byzantine Music
This course focuses on the ecclesiastic (sacred) and secular music initiated
and developed before, during and after the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
The course addresses issues on the music theory and practice of the Greek
Antiquity, the origins of the Byzantine music notation (parasemantics), the
ways the Ancient Greek music theory, notation, tuning system, and vocal
practices laid the foundation for the Byzantine and Demotic music. Course
assignments and tests include weekly singing in Byzantine solfège and
tuning; listening quizzes; a composition of a hymn in the Byzantine style;
selected readings; a transcription project of a hymn or a demotic song that
includes detailed notation (western) and analysis; and an analytical term
paper followed by a presentation during the Finals. (2 credits) Kordis

»THYG 517T – Microtonal Composition and Performance §
Students learn to hear, sing and play intervals as small as a twelfth tone,
and discover a thrilling new world of melody and harmony through compositional
and improvisational exercises. Students are performing their own
short works by semester’s end. To put these pursuits in context, we also take
a look at early explorations with microtonality from the turn of the twentieth
century through the 1950s* (Carrillo, Ives, Wyschnegradsky, Partch and
others). Listening to recordings, studying scores and reading essays, we try
to answer the question “Why microtones?” (2 credits) Werntz

THYG 518T – Microtonal Composition and Performance
As writing and improvisational exercises become more extensive, our
exploration of style, esthetics and practical matters becomes more involved.
A recital at semester’s end concludes the year. Our study of recordings and
scores also continues, focusing on the period from the 1950s to the present.
Continuation of THYG 517T. Prerequisite: THYG 517T. (2 credits) Werntz

THYG 519T – The Music of Xenakis and Ligeti
The work of Xenakis and Ligeti is of seminal importance to contemporary
music. Both outsiders to the Franco-German post-1945 avant-garde, their
unique vision established them as two of the most formidable explorers of
music in Europe and throughout the world. While their personal idioms
are highly distinct, both Xenakis and Ligeti frequently addressed common
compositional issues. From their 1950s critique of serialism, to their later
interest in complex patterns, their development was often triggered by
identical impulses. This course examines aspects of Xenakis’ and Ligeti’s
work through the prism of the solutions both composers provided to the
same problems. (2 credits) Minakakis

THYG 537 – Teaching Music Theory: Methods and Materials
This course contains three basic components: (1) an overview of pedagogical
philosophies and their implications for pedagogy and theory curricula;
(2) a survey of pedagogical materials in the areas of fundamentals, sightsinging
and ear training, harmony and voice-leading, and counterpoint; and
(3) the development of teaching skills for the music theory classroom. The
coursework includes readings, assignments, an annotated bibliography of
selected texts and journal articles, and a small research project that explores
issues covered in the course. Students will also develop basic pedagogical
skills for teaching a music theory class, and will be asked to do at least one
teaching demonstration during the semester. Prerequisite: 1 MM Theory
Elective. (2 credits) Graybill, Davidson

THYG 548 – Contrapuntal Principles and Practice: Bach to Present
Explores the evolution of contrapuntal practice and its underlying theoretical
principles from the Baroque period up to the late 20th century.
Music to be examined includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms,
Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Webern, and Carter. Students will deepen
their understanding of diverse contrapuntal approaches through constant
writing of compositional exercises, as well as through analysis, listening,
and performance. Additional insight will be gained from theoretical texts by
Schenker, Salzer/Schachter, Schoenberg, Seeger, and Krenek. Topics are to
include tonal counterpoint, imitation procedures, dissonant counterpoint,
serial counterpoint, and rhythmic stratification. (2 credits) Truniger

THYG 551 – Compositional Practice: Medieval to Bach
Compositional experience for students who plan a career that includes teaching,
theory, or composing. Composition, and criticism of others’ compositions,
using a variety of historical, cultural, and theoretical approaches, based on
Cogan and Escot’s Sonic Design: Practice and Problems. Critical review of
counterpoint, harmony, and composition texts. (2 credits) Escot

THYG 552 – Compositional Practice: Bach to the Moderns
Continuation of THYG 551. (2 credits) Escot

»THYG 553 – Schenkerian Analysis and Performance: Introduction
Heinrich Schenker’s seminal theories of tonality and analysis and their
influence on musical hearing, thinking, and performance. Theoretical,
aural, and performance study of his treatment of diminution, voice-leading,
counterpoint, harmony, and motive, including his methods of graphic
display, in excerpts and short compositions primarily from Bach through
Brahms. Focus on keyboard literature, along with selected chamber and
vocal examples. (2 credits) Zaritsky

THYG 555 – Psychophysical Analysis Ia: Tone Color Analysis
(Instrumental)
Introduces the scientific analysis of sound. Analysis, including computer
spectrographs, of the sounds of musical instruments and their combinations,
and of the ways sonic qualities are chosen by composers and
performers to shape and color musical contexts and works. Sonic design in
music of different periods and cultures; relationship of tone color to other
parameters and to visual color. Text: Cogan, New Images of Musical Sound.
(2 credits) Cogan

THYG 556 – Psychophysical Analysis Ib: Tone Color Analysis (Vocal)
Analysis, including computer spectrographs, of the sounds of voices,
languages, and their combinations, and of the ways vocal-linguistic
properties color whole musical contexts and works. Vocal-linguistic music
of different periods and cultures; performance comparisons; relationship to
instrumental color; and theories of linguistic phonology. Text: Cogan, New
Images of Musical Sound. (2 credits) Cogan

THYG 557 – Psychophysical Analysis II: Space-Time Design
Theories of musical space and time (rhythm, dimensions, proportion),
with attention to diverse musical practices, and to scientific analysis,
including computer spectrographs, of sound and time. Combines relevant
ideas of information theory, linguistics, and the history and philosophy of
science and art. Presents musical works from diverse cultures and periods.
(2 credits) Cogan

»THYG 561 – Advanced Ear Training: Music of Bach through Brahms
Intensive practice in perception and performance of advanced melodic and
tonal motions; linear and multilinear formations; rhythmic subdivisions;
harmonic and contrapuntal textures; chromaticism and modulation. Based
on Gestalt pedagogy of Jersild’s Ear Training. Dictation; prepared and
sight-singing; aural analysis; semester project. Vocal and instrumental music
from Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods – especially by Bach, Mozart,
Beethoven, Brahms, and Wolf. (2 credits) Zaritzky

»THYG 562 – Advanced Ear Training: Music of Stravinsky through Ligeti
Hearing and singing 20th-century idioms. Intensive practice in perception
and performance of rhythm, interval, scale, and tone-set formations. Based
on Gestalt pedagogy of Edlund’s Modus Novus. Dictation, prepared and
sight-singing, aural analysis; semester project. Music of European and
American 20th-century composers. (2 credits) Zaritzky

»THYG 563 – Mathematical Systems
Introduces the application of mathematical ideas and structures to musical
composition and theory. Selected topics in statistics, set theory, probability,
nonlinear phenomena, proportional theory, fractals, and geometry as they
apply to music from earliest to modern times. (Mathematical expertise is not
a prerequisite.) (2 credits) Escot

THYG 564 – Ambiguity in 18th- and 19th-century Music
Focuses on various forms of musical ambiguity in the great repertoire of the
18th and 19th centuries, beginning with Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and
ending with Mahler and Debussy. The course will look at various kinds of
ambiguity: harmonic and tonal, rhythmic and metric, and formal (including
phrase ambiguity). Short works (Lieder and miniature piano pieces)
will model ambiguity types and larger works, such as single movements
from larger multi-movement works, will demonstrate how ambiguity is
created and, in many but not all cases, resolved. Some repertory will be
chosen based on class instrumentation, and in-class performances will be
encouraged as much as possible. (2 credits) Stein

THYG 567 – 18th- and 19th-Century Forms: Hearing, Analysis,
Performance
Aural and score study of thematic and tonal forms in compositions of Bach,
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, including
binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, cycle, and fantasia designs, using approaches
of Schoenberg, Schenker, and others. Historical contexts, theoretical
resources, analytical methods, performance concerns. Aural and written
homework; readings; semester aural and written exams. (2 credits) Zaritzky

THYG 569 – Bartok’s String Quartets: Theoretical Traditions
and Innovations
The six Bartok String Quartets are a microcosm of the early 20th-century
reconception of European musical arts–formal, timbral, tonal, metric,
and societal. They likewise represent a “macrocosmos” of Bela Bartok’s
increasingly-influential musical legacy. Through a cross-referencing traversal
of the quartets, we will review classical European concepts and discover
their new Bartokian formulations by means of spectral, tone-set, rhythmic,
formal, and proportional ear training and analysis. Weekly theoretical
reading, and analytical listening and score study. Comparisons with other
Bartok and related works. Ongoing semester project on a student-selected
non-quartet Bartok movement or small piece. (2 credits) Zaritzky

THYG 570 – Bach’s Solo Sonatas, Suites, and Partitas: The Nature of
Unaccompanied Melody
Besides string and flute players, for whom Bach specifically composed his
“solo” works “senza basso,” virtually every instrumentalist and even vocalist
can engage these works in transcription. The course explores this literature,
considering how a single melodic part conveys a whole thematic, rhythmic,
spatial, timbral, and tonal texture – everything from mono-thematic
preludes to polyphonic fugues, with all degrees of textures in between.
Exercises in hearing, singing, improvisation, analysis, composition, and
performance of Bach (including transcriptions) and of related music by
others. Includes monthly graded assignments and a semester project
individually selected to engage “unaccompanied” melodic expression
within the student’s own repertoire. Project format choices include analysis,
composition, transcription, improvisation, or performance-demonstration.
(2 credits) Zaritzky

THYG 572 – Beethoven’s String Quartets
Studies Beethoven’s quartets in light of modern historical research and
analytical theory, with attention to their harmonic, contrapuntal, motivic,
and structural formation, and the implications of these for understanding
and performance. (2 credits) Graybill

»THYG 573 – German Lied: Analysis and Performance
Examines poetic texts and their musical settings from Schubert to Wolf,
with attention to analytic methods and their performance implications.
(2 credits) Stein

THYG 574 – The Music of Schoenberg, Webern and Berg
Study and discussion of various approaches to hearing, analysis, and
performance of the seminal atonal and serial music of the Second Viennese
School. Emphasis on vocal and instrumental music, such as Schoenberg’s
Wind Quintet and String Quartets, Berg’s Violin Concerto and early songs,
and Webern’s Concerto for Nine Instruments and later songs. Students
may select additional repertoire and may choose analysis, performance, or
composition as the focus for a semester project. (2 credits) Faculty

»THYG 575 – Music Since 1945
Introduces the analysis and understanding of selected composers active
since World War II: Carter, Messiaen, Cage, Babbitt, Ligeti, Boulez,
and others. Readings and listening; analytical, performance, and/or
compositional projects. (2 credits) Miljkovic

THYG 576 – Ragas and Talas
A close examination of the concepts of raga (melodic mode) and
tala (rhythm systems) as a generative grammar for composition and
improvisation in North Indian (Hindustani) music. Many types of ragas and
talas are analyzed in the context of various performance traditions drawing,
in part, from descriptive models developed by Bharatamuni (Natyasastra,
c. 200 AD), Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (Kramik Pustak Malika, 1954-9),
Walter Kaufmann (The Ragas of North India, 1968), and Nazir Jairazbhoy
(The Ragas of North Indian Music, 1971). (2 credits) Row

THYG 577 – The Chamber Music of Johannes Brahms
Studies Brahms’s chamber music, with special attention to formal design,
harmonic structure, motivic development, and counterpoint, as well as the
implications of these for performance. (2 credits) Graybill

THYG 578 – Asian Modal Systems
Based, in part, on Harold Powers’ profoundly important contribution to
the study of modal concepts, this course explores the nature of modality
across and within several musical cultures: Arab, Persian, Indian, Javanese,
Chinese and Japanese. The theoretical systems of each culture are studied
and are applied analytically to pieces within the repertoire of each culture.
(2 credits) Row

THYG 580 – Analysis of Masterworks
An intensive and in-depth examination of a composer’s specific work.
Analysis from a variety of relevant theoretical perspectives will be undertaken
and pertinent writings will be examined. A perspective within the
composer’s oeuvre will be established and the significance of the work
as a model for others will be considered. Traditions of performance will
be explored, as will the sonic and design features newly illuminated by
spectrographic analysis. (2 credits) Cogan

»THYG 581 – Interpretive Analysis I
Analysis for performers; concepts of rhythm, line, harmony, and form;
performance implications of analytic conclusions; performance and analysis
of works from students’ areas of specialization. (2 credits) Heiss

»THYG 582 – Interpretive Analysis II
Continuation of THYG 581. (2 credits) Heiss

THYG 583 – 20th-Century American Composition and Theory
Exploration through analysis, research, listening, and performance of
innovative 20th-century American concert music, from Charles Ives to
Ruth Crawford through Elliott Carter and John Cage; as well as important
theoretical developments connected with American creation (including
among others the theories of Charles Seeger, Howard Hanson, Harry Partch,
Roger Sessions, and Milton Babbitt). (2 credits) Escot

THYG 589 – Musical Narrative and Analysis
Explores ways of analyzing a musical work as a narrative structure, with
primary focus on instrumental music. We will first consider how a nontexted
work can (or cannot) be regarded as a narrative, and then proceed to
investigate topics such as musical plot, musical agency, gesture and music,
and the role of metaphor in musical discourse. The work for the course
includes readings, but the primary emphasis will be on analysis of music
from the repertoire. (2 credits) Graybill

»THYG 694 – Analytical Thesis
Analytical approaches in various styles, periods, or cultures. Supervised in
studio instruction; submitted to the Music Theory department. (0 credit)
Faculty

»THYG 695 – Compositional Thesis
Compositional approaches in various styles, periods, or cultures. Supervised
in studio instruction; submitted to the Music Theory department. (0 credit)
Faculty

»THYG 697 – Portfolio (first year)
See Music Theory program of study. (0 credit) Faculty

»THYG 699 – Portfolio (second year)
See Music Theory program of study. (0 credit) Faculty

»THYG 901 – Doctoral Seminar: Theoretical Practice – Past,
Present, Future
Explores major patterns of theoretical thought and practice, and major
developments of 20th-century theory. Considers cross-currents between
theory, creation, and performance, as well as those between music theory
and other domains of human creativity and culture. Theoretical readings and
analysis of musical works. (3 credits) Sandler

»THYG 902 – Doctoral Seminar: Advanced Theoretical Projects
Projects in theoretical research, analysis, historical compositional techniques,
or composition that relate to individual interests and needs, and
that enhance theoretical technique and knowledge. Two projects in different
areas are required, one of which may be a class project. Seminar meetings
are devoted to presentations and critiques of individual and class projects.
(3 credits) Cogan

2012-08-14