MUSC 1008 Bob Dylan's America
Few figures in American music have had the far-ranging influence of Bob Dylan, who, willingly or not, personified the social turmoil of the 1960s. In this course we will examine the musical and literary traditions on which Dylan draws (rock 'n' roll, country music, the urban folk revival, and the Beat poets), assess his art of crafting songs, and survey the principal phases of his career. Drawing on a range of biographical and historical materials, we will also consider the relationship between the social movements of the post-1960s and the carefully crafted public persona that Robert Zimmerman named Bob Dylan. ART NOR (L. Hamberlin)
MUSC 1010 The Craft of Popular Songwriting
In this course we will study the techniques of songwriting in popular idioms. Analysis will consider poetic and narrative aspects of lyrics, the interactions of harmony, melody, and musical form, and the complex symbiosis of words and music. Student lyricists and composers will demonstrate mastery of songwriting skills by collaborating in a series of song projects. Each lyricist and composer will receive constructive feedback from peers and the instructor during class meetings and from the instructor during individual appointments. Selected student projects will be presented in a public concert at the end of the term. (Approval Required) ART (B. Robison)
Limit on Enrollment: 15
MUSC 1011 Arranging for A Cappella Ensembles
The music of a cappella groups represents virtually all styles and genres of music. In this course, vocal musicians will explore influences and techniques for arranging in a cappella. Beginning and advanced arrangers will study transcription, interpretation, style influence, voicing for singers, vocal pedagogy and technique. Music reading or theory is not required but strongly encouraged, and students will be required to reproduce and teach their vocal arrangements. ART (J. Buettner)
Limit on Enrollment: 16
MUSC/PHIL 1012 Philosophy of Music
In this course, we will explore the following questions through critical essays and creative music projects: What is music? What features distinguish a mere collection of sounds from a musical piece? Are these features universal, rooted in our psychology, or are they culturally variant? What are the differences and similarities between musical improvisation and composition? Are judgments about music merely subjective expressions of preference or do they have a deeper and/or broader meaning? How do new technologies and instruments change our conceptions of music? Some musical experience as an instrumental performer/singer recommended. ART PHL (P. Hamlin, K. Khalifa)
MUSC 1013 The Contemporary Musical in Performance
A survey of the last five decades of the American Musical will lay the groundwork for a fully-mounted production of Gypsy, one of the finest and most challenging examples of the form. The production, staged at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater, will include the Middlebury College Orchestra. (Approval required, please contact Doug Anderson at danders@middlebury.edu or Carol Christensen at christen@middlebury.edu) ART (D. Anderson, visiting winter term instructor, C. Christensen Evancho, T. Peters)
Douglas Anderson teaches music theater in the Department of Music, and is the executive director of Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. Carol Christensen teaches voice in the Department of Music. Troy Peters conducts the Middlebury College Orchestra. They have collaborated on productions of "Falsettos", "Company", and last year’s "Sweeney Todd".
MUSC 1014 Blues Women and the Ladies that Swing
This is a performance course that will examine the music, lives and influence of black women musicians, composers and arrangers. Students will be encouraged to explore, through written and performance projects, ideas of how the Blues served to provide a focal point for the construction of an African-American identity and concomitant politic. This course is open to all students who wish to participate in a live music production of an original workshop performance. (Approval required) ART (A. Speaks)
Limit on Enrollment: 16
MUSC 1066 The History of The American Negro Spiritual and Its Influence On Western Civilization
In this course we will survey in broad terms the gathering of indigenous African peoples from numerous tribes and countries for the New World 'slave trade' and its impact on the burgeoning economies. We will discuss the role of religion and music in controlling and focusing the slave population in the agrarian economy. Influences, changes, and trends will be discussed and compared to modern technologies. The role of universities and churches will be discussed (specifically the Fisk Jubilee Singers and other university choirs). Further development will center on how gospel music emerged from this tradition, and how the two are interwoven in today's church. The lives of abolitionists and their legacy will be reviewed. In addition, we will explore the uniqueness of the Harlem Renaissance, its writers, artists, and musicians, and the role of the American Negro Spirituals in their lives and work. Singers and non-singers will be welcome. During the month of January, participants will be required to attend 4 regular Tuesday and Thursday evening chorus rehearsals from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Mead Chapel to put our classroom theory into practice. As a bonus, the combined ‘ad hoc chorus’ will be asked to sing 3 or 4 Negro Spirituals at the traditional Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. ART NOR (F. Clemmons)