Thinking about Music: Ideas, History, and Musicology

Core concepts and perspectives for the serious study of music. Students will explore music, meaning, and\ud musicological method in a variety of contexts through a set of six foundational themes and questions: “Music and the\ud Idea of Genius,” “Who Owns Music?” “Music and Technology,” “Music and Gender,” “Music and the State,” “Tonality,\ud Sense, and Reason.” Each unit will use a small number of musical works, performances, or documents as focal points.\ud In each unit we will also read current musicological work in attempt to understand the methods, arguments, and\ud perspectives through which scholars interpret music and its many meanings.\ud We will list to many different styles and kinds of music, from DuFay and Monteverdi, to Charlie Parker and Dizzy\ud Gillespie, plus works by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, Rameau, Webern, Cage, and Shostakovich, among others