Lecture: Killian Justus Grider '22 MM, Music Theory

NEC: Pierce Hall | Directions

241 St. Botolph St.
Boston, MA
United States

NEC's students meet one-on-one each week with a faculty artist to perfect their craft. As each one leaves NEC to make their mark in the performance world, they present a full, professional recital that is free and open to the public. It's your first look at the artists of tomorrow.

Tonight's lecture/recital is " Queering the Dominant: Disco and the V Chord's Second Wave."

Killian Justus Grider '22 MM studies Music Theory with Andrew Schartmann.

This is an in-person event with a private stream available to the NEC community here: https://necmusic.edu/live

Artists
  • Killian Justus Grider '22 MM, lecturer
  • Kaitlyn Knudsvig and Hannah O'Brien, violin
  • Jacqui Armbruster, viola
  • Karl Henry, cello
  • Keegan Marshall-House, piano
  • Mitch Selib, guitar
  • Ben Friedland, bass
  • Alex Yoo, drums
  • Madeleine Wiegers and Emmy Guo, soprano
  • Sahana Narayanan and Huntley McSwain, alto
  • Andrew Schartmann, studio teacher

  1. CHAPTER ONE: Introduction

    Walter Murphy: A Fifth of Beethoven  (1976)
    Donna Summer: On the Radio  (1979)
    Franz Schubert: Allegro from String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor  D. 810, “Death and the Maiden”  (1824)  
    Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt: Dream a Little Dream of Me (1933)
    Domenico Modugno, Franco Migliacci: Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare) (1958)

    String Quartet, Jazz Band

  2. CHAPTER TWO: Methodology

    Bobby Hebb: Sunny  (1976)

    Artists
    • Keegan Marshall-House, piano

  3. CHAPTER THREE: Analysis

    Henry Mancini (Audrey Hepburn): Moon River  (1961)
    Gloria Gaynor:     I Will Survive  (1978)
    Pat Ballard (The Chordettes):     Mr. Sandman  (1954)
    Hues Corporation:     Rock the Boat  (1974)
    Jay Livingston, Ray Evans (Doris Day):     Que sera, sera  (1955)
    Cheryl Lynn:     Got to Be Real  (1978)
    Carole King (Shirelles):  Will You Love Me Tomorrow  (1960)
    Bee Gees:     Stayin’ Alive  (1977)
    ABBA:     Waterloo  (1974)
                Dancing Queen  (1976)

    String Quartet, Jazz Band, Vocal Quartet

  4. CHAPTER FOUR: The Queering of Sexual Metaphor in American Popular Music

  5. CHAPTER FIVE: Conclusion

    Donna Summer: Last Dance  (1978)

    String Quartet, Jazz Band, Vocal Quartet

  6. Thank you all for taking this elective course!  Please refer to the class policies listed below:

    - Food and drink ARE permitted unless security has told you otherwise, in which case they are not.
    - Cell phones are strictly prohibited unless you are sharing the password to the livestream with someone, checking the time, replying to that one last text message, or looking up song lyrics to sing along.
    - Emotional listening is encouraged. Feel free to clap, cheer, weep, laugh, boo, etc. to your heart's content, though please do so convincingly.
    - While the door to knowledge shall remain evermore open, the double doors of Pierce shall not. Enter or leave the hall with equal parts confidence and haste.
    - After the contents of this performance, you are not permitted to listen to music as you did beforehand.
    - Smile even if you're bored! It's better for my anxiety.

    If you zone out at any time, refer to the sparknotes below:

    Recurring Names
    Betty Friedan - Second Wave Feminist and author of The Feminine Mystique (1963); wanted women to find financial and sexual independence from men

    Susan McClary - Feminist music theorist who claims Western classical directional harmony and cadence-based form represent conquest-based male sexuality

    William Caplin - Music theorist who describes the use of cadence and harmony within Western classical music

    Jason Summach - Music theorist who describes the form of popular music according to modules; common examples are AABA ballads and verse-chorus (VC) songs

    Modules (8-16-bar units of popular music)
    A (Strophe) - Harmonically self-contained, often with a refrain; mutually exclusive with V and C
    B (Bridge) - Typically moves from predominant to dominant harmonies and signals return to other module
    V (Verse) - Lyrically variant and usually emphasized tonic; dependent on C
    C (Chorus) - Lyrically invariant, with more energy than verse, also usually emphasizes tonic
    P (Prechorus) - Builds momentum from verse to chorus; may emphasize predominant or dominant
    Z (Postchorus) - Vaguely any repeated section after chorus that serves one of many purposes

    Important Terms
    Queer (v) - To consider or interpret from a perspective that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality

    Teleology - The focus of the purpose rather than the genesis of an object; defining something by its goal or functionality; goal-orientation (i.e. The V chord's purpose is to return to the I, thus it provides harmonic teleology to the music.)

    Second-Wave Feminism -  A short-hand for the many simultaneous interpretations of feminism ranging from 60s to 80s in Europe and the Americas; broadly emphasized sexuality, women's reproductive and financial rights, and overall gender equality; would later be continued in third and fourth-wave which would explore intersectionality, respectability politics, and dissolution of patriarchy, among many other things.

Tags
Student RecitalsCollegeMusic Theory