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Introduction to Musical Composition >> Content Detail



Study Materials



Readings

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For a course text, students use a draft of Professor Robison's forthcoming book Putting Music Together (not yet available to the public).

This book is supplemented by additional readings, mostly from the following works:

Amazon logo Fisk, Josiah, ed. Composers on Music: Eight Centuries of Writings. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9781555532796.

Amazon logo Ford, Andrew, ed. Composer to Composer: Conversations About Contemporary Music. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 1994. ISBN: 9781863734431.

Amazon logo Schwartz, Elliott, and Barney Childs. Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music. 2nd ed. (reprint). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780306808197.

Amazon logo Simms, Bryan. Composers on Modern Musical Culture. New York, NY: Schirmer Books, 1999. ISBN: 9780028647517.

Amazon logo Zorn, John, ed. Arcana: Musicians on Music. New York, NY: Granary Books, 2000. ISBN: 9781887123273.

Students are responsible for reading these selections before the class, and must write a paragraph or two about them for their journal, to submit in class on that date.


LEC #TOPICSSupplemental Readings
1Welcome - Ritual Reading of the Syllabus - Overview
Unit One: The Big Picture
2What is "Music"? What is a "Score"? How are they Related?Amazon logo Cook, Nicholas. "Music: An Imaginary Object." Chapter 4 in Music: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780192853820.
3Form and Proportion; Large-scale Rhythm and Phrase Rhythm (Special Guest: Jewlia Eisenberg, Composer-performer)Selections in Fisk:

Byrd, W. "Performing and listening."
Schoenberg, A. "A definition of music."
Varèse, E. "Organized sound."
Copland, A. "Listening to music."
Busoni, F. "Notation and improvisation."
Bernstein, L. "Hearing vs. listening."

Selections in Zorn:

Crispell, M. "Elements of improvisation."
Ochs, L. "Devices and strategies for structured improvisation."
4Speed, Volume, and Register

Quiz 1
Selections in Fisk:

Mahler, G. "Tempo in conducting."

Selections in Zorn:

Ribot, M. "Earplugs."
5TimbreSelections in Fisk:

Cage, J. "The use of noise," and "Tradition."
Bach, J. S. "Trying out an organ."
Bach, C. P. E. "Performance."
Mozart, W. A. "Vibrato," and "Practicing."
Berlioz, H. "Choral singing."

Selections in Schwartz and Childs:

Foss, L. "The changing composer-performer relationship: A monologue and a dialogue."
6Texture and ArticulationSelections in Fisk:

Ligeti, G. "Conformity."
Boulez, P. "Cultural conditioning."
Harbison, J. "Music history," and "Concert music and popular music."

Selections in Schwartz and Childs:

Ligeti, G. "An interview with Josef Häusler."
Unit Two: Rhythm
7Symmetric MeterSelections in Fisk:

Rameau, J.-P. "Rhythm."

Selections in Ford:

"Opening and closing doors: Steve Reich."

Selections in Schwartz and Childs:

Reich, S. "Music as a gradual process [1968]."
8Accent and Syncopation

Quiz 2
9Polyrhythm and PolymeterSelections in Fisk:

Messiaen, O. "Independence as a composer."
Cage, J. "Composer explications."
Boulez, P. "Aphorisms and observations."
Glass, P. "The composer's voice."
Harbison, J. "Control."

Selections in Zorn:

Hemingway, G. "Awake at the wheel."
10Asymmetric MeterSelections in Fisk:

Rameau, J.-P.. "Composition" and "Taste."
Bach, J. S. "Teaching composition" and "Talent and industry."
Beethoven, L. "Composition [from a written conversation...]"
Verdi, G. "Musical education" and "Self-evaluation."
Bizet, G. "Talent versus ideas."
Tchaikovsky, P. I. "Composition and instrumentation."
Janácek, L. "Inspiration."
11Alternatives to MeterSelections in Simms:

Berg, A. "What is atonality?"

Selections in Fisk:

Rameau, J.-P. "Harmony."
Stravinsky, I. "Consonance and dissonance" and "Tonality and atonality."
Milhaud, D. "Polytonality."
Copland, A. "Modern music."
Unit Three: Melody and Harmony
12Consonance and DissonanceSelections in Fisk:

Nielsen, C. "Knowledge and inspiration" and "Imagination vs. emotion."
Busoni, F. "Musical laws."
Satie, F. "Intelligence and musicality among the animals."
Schoenberg, A. "Form and expression," "Art versus science," and "A real composer."

Selections in Simms:

Schoenberg, A. "Aesthetic evaluation of chords with six or more tones."
13Intervals and Harmony

Quiz 3
14Melodic Construction and TransformationSelections in Fisk:

Janácek, L. "Speech melodies" and "Moravany! Morawaan!"
Stravinsky, I. "Composing."
Webern, A. "Knowledge."

Selections in Zorn:

Klucevsek, G. "Maim that tune."
15Contrapuntal RelationshipsSelections in Fisk:

Bach, J. S. "Melody and counterpoint."

Selections in Simms:

Hindemith, P. "Musical inspiration."
16Drone, Ostinato, Chaconne and PassacagliaSelections in Fisk:

Varèse, E. "Rules and experimentation."
Thomson, V. "Composers and teaching."
Sessions, R. "Talent and ideology," "Rules," and "Organization."
Cage, J. "Compositional techniques."
Ligeti, G. "The teaching of composition."
Boulez, P. "Research."
Takemitsu, T. "The nature of composition."
17Contrasting Harmonic Areas

Quiz 4
Selections in Fisk:

Schumann, R. "Advice to a young composer" and "Rules and maxims for young composers [1848]."
Mahler, G. "Advice to a young composer."
Debussy, C. "Advice to younger composers."
Stravinsky, I. "Advice to young composers."
18Deadline For Final Projects
Unit Four: Onward and Beyond
19Sampling, Quotation, Paraphrase, and Allusion

Read-through of Large-ensemble Compositions
Selections in Fisk:

Bach, C. P. E. "Criticism."
Beethoven, L. "Critics."
von Weber, C. M. "Criticism."
Berlioz, H. "Critics."

Selections in Zorn:

Oswald, J. "Plunderstanding ecophonomics."
20Polystylism

Rehearsal of Large-ensemble Compositions
Selections in Fisk:

Satie, E. "Critics."
Stravinsky, I. "Critics."
Hindemith, P. "'Good' and 'bad' music."
Thomson, V. "The music consumer and the critic."
Harbison, J. "Critics."

Selections in Schwartz and Childs:

Cardew, C. "On criticism."

Selections in Zorn:

Johnson, S. "The counterpoint of species."
21What (and How) do Sounds Mean?Selections in Fisk:

Mendelssohn, F. "The meaning of music."
Schumann, R. "Music as expression," and "Aphorisms."
Janácek, L. "Inspiration."
Schoenberg, A. "Form and expression."
Stravinsky, I. "Music and expression."
Milhaud, D. "Musique d'ameublement ['furniture music']."
Hindemith, P. "Emotion in music."
Shostakovich, D. "Music and meaning."
21Dress Rehearsal of Large-ensemble Compositions

Quiz 5
22-24Performances Of Final Projects

Post-concert Discussion of Performances
25Report on Your Final Project
Final Examination

 








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