MUSC 507: Theory IV
Credit Hours: (3)
Shaping features of texture, timbre, rhythm and tonal motion at various levels. Dissolution of tonality from late chromatic harmony through the emergence of 20th century techniques, including Impressionism, set theory, 12-tone technique, experimentation and neo-Impressionism.
Content
The course focuses on chromatic harmony and its ultimate dissolution and the emergence of 20th-century techniques through the study short part-writing examples and large-scale works. Examination of texture, timbre, rhythm and tonal motion at various levels in the music of Chopin, Wagner, Debussy, Ravel, and Schoenberg. Continued study of principal works composed since 1950. For those taking this course for graduate credit, additional analyses of several large scale works will be required.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
The course will include lecture, short part-writing assignments, and large-scale written projects. Students will become acquainted with harmonic devices first by completing short part-writing assignments and through examination of excerpts. They will then be asked to complete full-scale analyses of representative works from the late-Romantic and 20th-Century. This will allow students to synthesize their enlarged harmonic vocabulary with traits found in music of earlier periods. 20th-Century music will be addressed through short compositional assignments and short analyses of representative music.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students should be familiar with important harmonic and formal features found in music composed during the Romantic and Modern periods. They should be able to approach music with a sound analytical approach and articulate observable features comprehensibly.
Assessment Measures
Course assessment will be based on written analyses completed by students during the term, short part-writing and harmonic analyses, and examinations given at mid-term and at end of term. Examinations will assess students ability to complete a short and more lengthy analyses which will identify important harmonic and formal features found in the music.
Other Course Information
A variety of music scores will be required reading and listening to their respective recordings.
Approval and Review
May 13, 2024