syllabus
Texts
Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On, 4th ed. by Michael Campbell Schirmer, CENGAGE Learning. This book is available in hard copy from the boostore or as an ebook (6 months) from the publisher at its website: www.cengage.com/music/campbell. Whichever you purchase you must get the Digital Music Downloads Printed Access Card which gives you access to all the songs covered in the book.. The card, if ordered alone from the publisher, is: ISBN10:1-285-05737-6 or ISBN-13: 978-1-285-05737-8
The Pop, Rock, and soul Reader, 2nd ed. by David Brackett; Oxford University Press
Recorded Examples: A collection of 182 (partial) songs used for in-class demonstration and for the listening quizzes is available in mp3 format on Blackboard. You can listen on your computer and/or download them. (As it says below, there are typos on a few of these files; all the correct information is in Content on blackboard under “INFO FOR ALL QUIZ SONGS”.)
Overview
No previous musical knowledge or experience is assumed in this course. We will begin with the basics and explain all the concepts carefully. Our aim is to help you perceive and understand the musical workings of popular music more deeply, to get some idea of what it is to think and listen like a musician, to understand the historical context and importance of different genres, and see cross-influences among them. You will be expected to learn and understand some technical musical terms, and to recognize details of rhythm, form, instrumentation, and style in the music you hear. For some of you this may be very difficult; if you are having trouble, don’t hesitate to ask us for help during office hours.
Course Work
Reading: You will find each week’s reading assignments on Blackboard. It is very important that you keep up with the reading for each class and listen (repeatedly!) to the musical examples. As you listen, try to identify musical and stylistic elements.
Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On, 4th ed. by Michael Campbell Schirmer, CENGAGE Learning. This book is available in hard copy from the boostore or as an ebook (6 months) from the publisher at its website: www.cengage.com/music/campbell. Whichever you purchase you must get the Digital Music Downloads Printed Access Card which gives you access to all the songs covered in the book.. The card, if ordered alone from the publisher, is: ISBN10:1-285-05737-6 or ISBN-13: 978-1-285-05737-8
The Pop, Rock, and soul Reader, 2nd ed. by David Brackett; Oxford University Press
Recorded Examples: A collection of 182 (partial) songs used for in-class demonstration and for the listening quizzes is available in mp3 format on Blackboard. You can listen on your computer and/or download them. (As it says below, there are typos on a few of these files; all the correct information is in Content on blackboard under “INFO FOR ALL QUIZ SONGS”.)
Overview
No previous musical knowledge or experience is assumed in this course. We will begin with the basics and explain all the concepts carefully. Our aim is to help you perceive and understand the musical workings of popular music more deeply, to get some idea of what it is to think and listen like a musician, to understand the historical context and importance of different genres, and see cross-influences among them. You will be expected to learn and understand some technical musical terms, and to recognize details of rhythm, form, instrumentation, and style in the music you hear. For some of you this may be very difficult; if you are having trouble, don’t hesitate to ask us for help during office hours.
Course Work
Reading: You will find each week’s reading assignments on Blackboard. It is very important that you keep up with the reading for each class and listen (repeatedly!) to the musical examples. As you listen, try to identify musical and stylistic elements.