Courses offered in the past four years. Courses offered currently are as noted.

Course Description

Introduction to Music
In this course we will develop critical listening skills through guided study of selected works of Western classical, popular, and folk music, as well as a sampling of music from non-Western cultures, from the Middle Ages to the present. Students will learn to listen actively, to identify how music uses basic sound materials— such as rhythm, melody, timbre, texture, and harmony—to create meaning and expression, and to draw connections between music and its social and historical context. Previous musical training is not required.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART, CMP, HIS

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Course Description

American Popular Music: From the Blues to Hip-Hop (and Beyond)
In this course we will use a broad historical approach to investigate the musical and cultural history of American Popular Music, from Minstrels and the Blues to the present moment, focusing on both the historical context and the social and political impacts of various musical styles, and centering on the contributions of culture and gender diversity of the artist. We will also explore how the business of the music industry and the technological developments and trends of the 20th and 21st Centuries have impacted - and been impacted by - the music itself. Class meetings will combine lectures with pointed discussion and critical listening to cover key points, and assignments will involve further listening.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

ART, HIS

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Course Description

Creativity and Musical Values
Composers and performers make countless decisions each day while creating their work. These choices are rooted, consciously or subconsciously, in aesthetics and priorities they have encountered throughout their lives. Such values can often be expressed in dualities: beautiful or sublime, poetry or prose, “authentic” or experimental, individual or universal, popular or underground, facile or meticulously-wrought, free or predetermined, Classicism or Romanticism, economy or virtuosity, art or entertainment—to name a few. Through reading, writing, listening, viewing, discussing, analyzing, and reflecting, we will examine how musical values have played out in a wide range of eras and styles, both classical and popular, and how they persist in our time. We will also design our own creative musical projects exploring these ideas.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, CMP, HIS

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Course Description

Introduction to Electronic Music
In this course we will unpack the fundamentals of audio recording, music production, and songwriting including analog / digital audio, signal processing, recording, producing, sequencing, automation, and MIDI. The course has two goals: 1) to build technical skills using a digital audio workstation (DAW) and 2) to apply these skills toward creative projects and exercises. Through lectures, listening sessions, readings, labs, creative projects, film screenings, and hands-on activities, we will build the necessary skills to produce a musical idea or composition in the digital domain for playback and release. 2 hrs. lect. / 1 hr. lab.

Terms Taught

Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Requirements

AMR, ART

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Course Description

Musicking Power and Resistance
Why has music been considered a threat to power, and thus been censured or banned in various geographic and historical moments? Why and how has it served as a form of resistance and protest that has given the oppressed a voice in others? We will use these questions as guiding frameworks for exploring how music has related with power and resistance in a global context. Engaging with music’s sonic and extra-sonic elements, we will develop skills for analyzing how these elements have shaped spiritual, political, social, and economic forms of power and resistance in a series of case studies drawn from different time periods and geographic locations. Course activities will include reading, writing, music and video analyses, performance-related activities and concert attendance, as well as lectures and discussions. No prior musical training required.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, CMP, HIS

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Course Description

What in the World is Music?
In this course we will explore global musical cultures in order to better understand both those musical cultures and our own in relation to one another. The course has two goals: to introduce students to unfamiliar ways of listening to and thinking about different elements of music (including – but not limited to – rhythm, melody, timbre, texture, harmony, and form); and to develop skills for appreciating cultural significances of these elements. We will achieve these goals through readings, lectures, discussions, film screenings, listening sessions, workshops, concerts, and hands-on activities. 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021

Requirements

ART, CMP

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Course Description

How to Improvise
Have you ever watched a friend while they jam away on their guitar, awed that they can make things up on the spot? This is called improvisation. Perhaps you would like to learn how to improvise. In this course we will learn how to best express what we hear and see in an improvised performance. We will discuss strategies for making the prospect of extemporaneous performance less daunting for a novice. Students will also learn about the foundational influence Black musicians have on the US American improvisational tradition through the study of the philosophies of such artists as Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, and George Lewis.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

AMR, ART

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Course Description

Introduction to Jazz Methods for Beginning and Intermediate Jazz Musicians
In this course we will explore several key methods used by jazz musicians to increase their mastery of the jazz language. Classwork will focus on using the voice to unlock jazz creativity, then using such methods as transcribing, backing tracks and developing critical listening ability as well as exploring a number of theoretical approaches to improvisation, and playing in small groups. Coursework will include transcription exercises, written analyses and recordings as well as an independent practice and rehearsal schedule. Instrumental or vocal proficiency is required; previous jazz experience is not. The ability to read music and basic theory knowledge are also required. Beginning and intermediate jazz players are encouraged to enroll. (Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Music Theory I: Fundamentals
This course is an introduction to the basic elements and theoretical concepts of Western music. We will focus on such topics as basic keyboard skills, sight singing, musical notation, rhythm, and harmony and form. Theoretical work and drills will be combined with compositional and performance projects. The goal of the course is to expand students’ musical intuition and skill and to provide the technical basis for further music study. No prior musical experience is required. (Students who wish to take upper-level composition or music theory courses must either complete this course or pass a theory and musicianship test administered by the department to demonstrate equivalent experience.) (Formerly MUSC 0109). 2.5 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Performance Lab
Credit can be conferred for performance in faculty-supervised ensembles: (see listing of "Ensembles" in the requirements section). One unit of credit to accrue over two semesters (spring then fall only). The appropriate supervising faculty will give grades, based on attendance and quality of performance. A student should inform the ensemble director of intent to sign up for this course before starting, and should actually register for MUSC 0205 only the SECOND of the two terms by adding it as a fifth course. MUSC 0205 does not fulfill any major course requirements and may not be taken more than once. (Approval required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Music I
Music I focuses on the materials and grammar of music through compositional exercises. As part of these explorations, we will examine the elements of harmony (scales, triads and seventh chords), notation, rhythm, polyrhythm, binary and ternary forms, two-voice counterpoint, variation, transposition, as well as skills in conducting, analysis, ear-training, and sight-singing. Students will write short pieces for a variety of instruments and ensembles, notate their pieces, and rehearse and perform them, thereby learning about music through discovery and observation. The assignments are designed for students with or without compositional experience. (Ability to play an instrument or sing; MUSC 0160, or passing score on the MUSC 0160 placement exam) 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. lab.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Music II
This course is a continuation of MUSC 0209. While using the same format, including composing and labs, as in MUSC 0209, the course covers elements of modality (western and non-western), functional harmony, heterophony, fugal processes, strophic forms, melodic analysis, serial processes, and extensions of tonality and atonality. (MUSC 0209 or by permission) 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. lab.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Advanced Topics in Electronic Music
Building on the topics covered in "Introduction to Electronic Music", this hands-on course will explore advanced techniques in music production including sound design, mixing, and mastering. The goal of the course is to apply these advanced techniques toward individual creative projects and a class compilation album to be released through a record label. In addition to lectures, listening sessions, critiques, labs, creative projects, film screenings, and hands-on activities, we will hear from active professionals in the field of music, business, and publicity in order to build the necessary skills to become active working professionals. 2 hrs. lect. / 1 hr. lab.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Songwriting and Production Workshop
In this course we will offer student singer/songwriters a workshop setting for the creation and production of original songs. The course will revolve around student projects produced in the college’s electronic music studio and campus recording studio. Student projects will explore concepts of musical form and harmony, recording and production techniques, use of Digital Audio Workstations, and the incorporation of electronic sounds in a production. Lectures and demonstrations will provide theoretical and practical background to support those projects, and a collaborative environment will also allow students to learn from each other. (MUSC 0209 or permission).

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Fall 2023

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Storytelling with Sound: The Sound Designer's Art
In this course, students will learn about the evocative storytelling power of sound and its use in music, theater, film, television, video games and narrative media like radio and podcasting. The course is structured around weekly creative projects and 4 larger projects exploring the possibilities of expressive sound. Students will acquire a foundation of knowledge in acoustics and recording techniques and will work with sound recording, processing, and mixing tools along with basic video editing tools. The course will also explore a wide variety of sound design examples in popular films and TV shows and other media, with opportunities for analytical writing.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Topics in Music: Music in Film
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.

Terms Taught

Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

AMR, ART, CMP, HIS

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Course Description

African Soundscapes
This course will introduce students to musical cultures and practices from the African continent with a focus on particular regional styles. Through readings, lectures, discussions, film screenings, listening sessions, concerts, and hands-on activities, we will develop skills for analyzing and appreciating the diversity of African musical practices and their social, economic, and political value in traditional and contemporary contexts. Some background in music may be necessary. 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020

Requirements

AAL, ART, SAF

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Course Description

The Cultural Work of Country Music
“I like all kinds of music...except country.” Arguably, aversion to American country music often tracks with class- and race-based assumptions about both makers and consumers of this genre. In this course we will challenge those views while studying the history of the form. Balancing our consideration of the big picture with case studies of performers like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and The Chicks, we will explore what types of music the “country” tag comprises; some of the major themes and motifs associated with the form; the Black and White roots of country music; and the politicization of the music and its performers throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Source materials for the course will include Bill Malone’s Country Music, USA; Ken Burn’s Country Music documentary; Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity, and A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

AMR, HIS, SOC

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Course Description

Performing Chamber Music
In this performance-based course we will deal with practical ensemble performance challenges related to ensemble playing. Some class time will be devoted to analysis of the works being performed and their historical perspective. Students will be asked to do research on the biographical details of the composers and the place of the assigned works within the composer’s oeuvre. Performance techniques appropriate for each piece will be investigated. The course will culminate with a final concert (or concerts). Enrollment by audition. 3 hrs. lect/disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Conducting
In this course students will develop basic skills of conducting including movement, aural skills, creative gesture, and score study. Daily work will include preparation to conduct an ensemble of classmates. Score reading ability and proficiency on an instrument or in singing is required. (MUSC 0160 or by approval of instructor. Score-reading ability is required.)

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Spring 2022

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

African Music and Dance Performance
This course will introduce students to various techniques of performing East African (primarily Ugandan) musical and dance traditions through regular rehearsals, culminating in an end-of-semester concert. As an ensemble, we will learn and master how to play and sing/dance to bow-harps, thumb-pianos, xylophones, tube-fiddles, bowl-lyres, gourd shakers, struck gourds, reed-box rattles, ankle bells, leg rattles, and various types of drums. Some background in performing music is recommended, but prior knowledge of performing African music and dance is not required. 3 hrs. lect./lab

Terms Taught

Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023

Requirements

ART, SAF

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Course Description

Collaborative Improvisation: All-Arts Ensemble
In this course/ensemble we will open dialogues of performance, improvisation, and social interaction across disciplines in the arts. How do the various disciplines relate to each other in a performance environment? It may be easy to see points of commonality between music and dance or writing and theater, but what about the act of painting and the process of musical improvisation? Through the work of Ornette Coleman, Del Close, John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, and others, students will explore improvisation in music, theater, dance, and visual art. The class will culminate in a performance. All students are welcome. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

A Cappella Ensemble Performance
Unaccompanied vocal music is rich in cultural expression and artistic beauty. Singing in an unaccompanied vocal ensemble enhances creativity, musicianship, and communication skills. This course affords an opportunity to develop analytical and ensemble skills that contribute to creative and informed performance. Through study of scores and source readings, students will explore vocal technique, performance, and cultural context in European art music, North American folk songs, and styles of improvisation. This course will conclude with a public performance and may include additional performances off campus. Music reading is required, prior singing experience is not. A preview of the reading requirement is available at go/Ensemble246.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021

Requirements

ART, CMP

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Course Description

Performing Jazz
In this course we will explore language, idiom, and improvisation in the mainstream and bop traditions of jazz. In-class work will focus on repertoire, jazz theory, approaches to improvisation and playing in a combo. Additional work will include written analyses, transcription exercises and self-recording, anchored by independent listening and practice. Instrumental or vocal proficiency is required; previous jazz experience is not. Basic theory knowledge and the ability to sight-read are advised. (Instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect/disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Music Theory II: Diatonic Theory
This course is an in-depth technical study of the materials of music, a study which expands one’s ability to analyze and create music and to understand different musical styles. We will cover harmonic materials, introduce musical form, and work with traditional compositional skills. These techniques are applied to the analysis of classical music, jazz and popular music. (MUSC 0160 or passing score on the MUSC 0160 placement exam.) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Music Theory III: Chromatic Theory
This course is a continuation of MUSC 0260. Students will study more advanced harmonic devices including modulation and chromaticism, jazz harmony, and post-tonal techniques. In-depth analysis of classical music, jazz, and popular music supports a more advanced study of musical form. (MUSC 0260) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

The Guitar in American Culture
Although it has European and African antecedents, modern acoustic and electric guitars are American inventions. From the genteel parlor guitars of the 19th century elite to the electric weaponry of today’s rock stars, the guitar is an essential artifact of American material culture. Drawing on histories, cultural critiques, interviews, and sound and video recordings, we will study both the evolution of the instrument and the builders and players who have helped define its role. Examining artifacts and talking with working guitar builders will illuminate the craft of guitar making. The culmination of the course will be a student-curated exhibition.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022, Spring 2023

Requirements

AMR

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Course Description

Advanced Composition
In this course we will focus on writing for string quartet, brass quintet, a cappella singing, piano, or performance art and involve issues of technique, style, and practical considerations, as well as study of selected elements of the literature. The course will culminate with a reading of student works by a professional ensemble or solo performer. This semester we focus on composing for the string quartet. We will discuss a variety of string techniques as well as issues of form and orchestration. We will listen to important works for that medium and discuss the styles from the Classical period to this century. (MUSC 0209 and 0210 or approval of instructor). 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024

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Course Description

Music in Western Cultures
In this course we will develop skills for assessing music’s social, economic, and political importance in Western societies. Through a series of units focusing on various aspects of music (such as composition, performance, dissemination, and reception) and on various eras from ancient Greece to the present, students will engage with the principal questions and methods of historical musicology. Students will learn to interpret musical works’ formal, stylistic, and performative characteristics through close engagement with scores and recordings, and draw connections between musical works and the institutions and wider socio-cultural conditions that have shaped and continue to shape music-making. (MUSC 0101) 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Requirements

ART, CMP, CW, HIS

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Course Description

Music in World Cultures
In this course students will develop skills for analyzing a wide range of music styles and appreciating their social, economic, and political importance. We will explore selected case studies through readings, lectures, discussions, film screenings, listening sessions, workshops, concerts, and hands-on activities. (MUSC 0209 or MUSC 0261) 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, CMP, CW

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Course Description

Approaches to Music Inquiry
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Independent Study
Admission by approval. Please consult published departmental guidelines and paragraph below.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Work
Senior work is not required of all music majors and joint majors. However, students interested in and eligible for departmental honors (see guideline above, in "Departmental Honors" section) may propose one or two-semester Senior Work projects. Projects may be in history, composition, theory, ethnomusicology, performance, or electronic music, and should culminate in a written presentation, a public performance, or a combination of the two. MUSC0704 does not count as a course toward fulfillment of the music major.

Project and budget proposals for Independent Study and Senior Work should be submitted by the previous April 1 for fall and winter term projects, and the previous October 15 for spring term projects. Budget proposals will not be considered after those dates. Project proposals will be considered after the deadline but are more likely not to be approved due to previous commitments of faculty advisors or other scheduling reasons.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

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.

Terms Taught

Winter 2021

Requirements

AMR, ART, NOR, WTR

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Course Description

The American Musical in Performance
A survey of the American Musical will lay the groundwork for a fully-mounted production of a significant work. The production, staged at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater, will be a collaboration of college faculty, student actors, musicians and designers, and area residents. The production also involves collaboration with the Department of Theater. A theater major gets advanced credit for designing and building costumes for the show. (Approval required; please contact Doug Anderson at danders@<a href="http://middlebury.edu">middlebury.edu or Carol Christensen at christen@middlebury.edu)
Douglas Anderson (director) Carol Christensen (musical director) are now entering their 13th year of creating musical theater productions with Middlebury students, from Falsettos (2006) to Les Misérables (2014), Ragtime (2015), Chicago (2016) and City of Angels (2017)./

Terms Taught

Winter 2022, Winter 2023

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Music, Image, and Imagination
Music’s fusions with dance, visual art, theater, and film have produced some of the most iconic partnerships in our culture. From compelling artistic statements to political propaganda, music has always played a major role. This course will explore how we tell these stories through those alliances. How does it start? What comes first, music or the other medium? What makes them so powerful? Embracing European, American, and Asian traditions---from ballet, opera, and gamelan to theater, film, video, and intermedia art of the present day---students will study the many changing synergies these collaborations have accrued. Individual and collaborative exercises focused on developing relationships between music and image will extend to students creating their own fusions of music with other media.

Terms Taught

Winter 2023

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Electronic Music: Digital Audio Synthesis & Production
In this intensive course, taught exclusively in Ableton Live, we will explore the fundamentals of digital audio synthesis and electronic music production. In the context of an original project, each student will learn to design sounds, warp and process audio samples, arrange MIDI, deploy effects, automate parameters, and creatively utilize these skills in tandem. We will also delve into the basic principles of digital audio, signal flow, mix engineering, and emulation theory within software synthesizers. Final projects will be presented in a public exhibition at end of term. Students should expect a substantial amount of work outside of class time. (not open to students who have taken MUSC 0112 or MUSC 0212) (Approval required; please contact Jack Tipper at atipper@middlebury.edu)

Jack Tipper ’15.5 is an independent multidisciplinary artist and audio technologist. He currently develops creative tools and releases music under his professional moniker “Aotu”./

Terms Taught

Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2025

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Artistic Creation Through Breath
In this course we will explore what artistic creation and performance become when the artist connects their practice to their breathing. We will discuss the act of breathing, meet with artists who have centered breathing in their practices, and create work in which breathing is an integral part of the composition process. We will read James Nestor’s Breath and Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening. This discussion- and performance-based course will culminate in a performance and/or exhibition. All are welcome regardless of artistic discipline or artistic proficiency.

Terms Taught

Winter 2023

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Live Coding - Computer Programming as Musical Performance
In this course we will learn the art of live coding, an electronic music improvisation/performance practice in which the computer programmer creates music in real time. Live coding is an excellent introduction to computer programming for beginners, and also offers opportunities for more advanced programmers. Students will learn the techniques of live coding, basics of sound design and acoustics, and fundamentals of music theory. Class projects will include solo and group performances and recordings. All students will need a laptop computer (Windows or Mac) with a reasonable amount of free disc space. No previous music or coding experience required.

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Winter 2022

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Visualizing Sound - Creating Animated Computer Art from Music
In this course we explore the many ways that sound and music can be transformed into animated computer art using a software tool called Touch Designer. The project-driven course will offer a series of creative projects that explore various approaches to the topic. In the class, we will learn about and apply concepts of music theory, acoustics, and the psychology of music, as well as computer programming techniques used within Touch Designer. Students will need a laptop computer (Windows or Mac) with ample storage space. No previous music or coding experience required.

Peter Hamlin, Christian A. Johnson Professor Emeritus of Music at Middlebury, is a Middlebury alum who has worked as a radio host/producer, TV host, composer, performer, and music professor. At Middlebury, he taught courses in music theory, composition, electronic music, and served as Music Department Chair for many years./

Terms Taught

Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2025

Requirements

WTR

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Course Description

The Music of Miles Davis
For almost fifty years, there was no greater catalyst in improvised music - and arguably, in all creative music - than Miles Davis. He repeatedly revolutionized Jazz and its associated styles, guiding them from bebop through cool jazz, post-bop, jazz-rock fusion, third stream, psychedelic rock, and hip-hop. In this course we will dive into this path of influence, through a comprehensive look at his music, his collaborators, and his life. In addition to in-class lectures, selected readings, and discussion, we will listen to and analyze Davis’ landmark recordings to chart his path of constant reinvention, and explore the ways in which he continues to influence modern creative music.

Kyle Saulnier is a composer, performer, and educator, specializing in modern American music./

Terms Taught

Winter 2024, Winter 2025

Requirements

ART, WTR

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Course Description

Investigating Musical Theatre
In this course, we will explore what it means to be a collaborative performing artist in the 21st century through the lens of musical theatre. This course will function as both a seminar to discuss performance theory and processes as well as a lab for embodied practice. To engage with the latter, we will dedicate much of our class time to the three key elements of musical theatre: acting, singing, and dancing. Our engagement with these skills will culminate in a final performance at the end of the term. Readings include the likes of Stephen Sondheim, Linda Sabo, and Liz Lerman. Screenings include Falsettos, Allegiance, Leave It on the Floor, Into the Woods, Lift, and London Road.

Madison Middleton '22.5 is a multi-disciplinary artist with foci in theatre, music, and teaching artistry. They currently work at Middlebury College as an assistant director, sound designer, and program assistant for Beyond the Page./

Terms Taught

Winter 2024, Winter 2025

Requirements

WTR

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Course Description

Music in the United States
In this course we will examine folk, classical, and popular music in the United States from the 17th century to the present. We will use historical and analytical approaches to gain insight into the music, the musicians, and the social and cultural forces that have shaped them. Students will explore music’s relation to historical events, other artistic movements, technological changes, and questions of national identity and ethnicity. Topics will include music in the British colonies, minstrelsy, American opera and orchestras, jazz, popular music, and the experimentalist composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Terms Taught

Winter 2022, Winter 2023

Requirements

AMR, ART, NOR, WTR

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Course Description

Sing the World into Place
Would you enjoy spending your winter term...singing? Are you excited to learn and compare different ways of singing? Do you perceive singing as a way to develop community? In this course, we will address these questions as we explore singing of different places, purposes, and time periods. Through daily workshops supported by readings, listening, and discussion, we will build a broader understanding of how and why we sing. Our repertoire will span genres, including global folk, traditional, classical and popular music broadly defined. We will reinforce positive attributes of group singing and refine our narrative of the collective singing experience. No prerequisite or vocal performance experience required. go/singtheworldintoplace Lecture/disc.

Terms Taught

Winter 2024, Winter 2025

Requirements

ART, WTR

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