Music - graduate program

Music

[ undergraduate program | graduate program | faculty ]

All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice.

Courses

For course descriptions not found in the UC San Diego General Catalog 2019–20, please contact the department for more information.

Note: The following course offerings outline the general scope of our program. Not all courses are offered every year. It is essential that students work closely with departmental advisers when planning their degree programs.

Lower Division

MUS 1A. Fundamentals of Music A (4)

This course, first in a three-quarter sequence, is primarily intended for students without previous musical experience. It introduces music notation and basic music theory topics such as intervals, scales, keys, and chords, as well as basic rhythm skills. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 1B. Fundamentals of Music B (4)

This course, second in a three-quarter sequence, focuses on understanding music theory and in developing musical ability through rhythm, ear training, and sight singing exercises. Topics include major and minor scales, seventh-chords, transposition, compound meter and rudiments of musical form. Prerequisites: MUS 1A.

MUS 1C. Fundamentals of Music C (4)

This course, third in a three-quarter sequence, offers solid foundation in musical literacy through exercises such as harmonic and melodic dictation, sight singing exercises and rhythm in various meters. Topics include complex rhythm, harmony, and basic keyboard skills. Prerequisites: MUS 1B.

MUS 2A-B-C. Basic Musicianship (4-4-4)

Primarily intended for music majors. Development of basic skills: perception and notation of pitch and temporal relationships. Introduction to functional harmony. Studies in melodic writing. Drills in sight singing, rhythmic reading, and dictation. Prerequisites: passing score on proficiency exam. Must be taken in sequence. Music majors must be concurrently enrolled in MUS 2AK, 2BK, and 2CK (Basic Keyboard).

MUS 2AK-BK-CK. Basic Keyboard (2-2-2)

Scales, chords, harmonic progressions, transposition, and simple pieces. Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in MUS 2A, B, C.

MUS 2JK. Jazz Keyboard (2)

This course will introduce basic voicings and voice leading, stylistically appropriate accompaniment, and basic chord substitution. For majors with a Jazz and the Music of the African diaspora emphasis to be taken concurrently with MUS 2C. Prerequisites: MUS 2AK and 2BK or passing proficiency exam, or consent of instructor. Concurrent enrollment in MUS 2C. Majors only.

MUS 4. Introduction to Western Music (4)

A brief survey of the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present. Much attention will be paid to the direct experience of listening to music and attendance of concerts. Class consists of lectures, listening labs, and live performances. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 5. Sound in Time (4)

An examination and exploration of the art and science of music making. Topics include acoustics, improvisation, composition, and electronic and popular forms. There will be required listening, reading, and creative assignments. No previous musical background required. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 6. Electronic Music (4)

Lectures and listening sessions devoted to the most significant works of music realized through the use of computers and other electronic devices from the middle of this century through the present. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 7. Music, Science, and Computers (4)

Exploration of the interactions among music, science, and technology, including the history and current development of science and technology from the perspective of music. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 8. American Music: Jazz Cultures (4)

Jazz is one of the primary foundations for American music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This course highlights the multicultural and international scope of jazz by taking a thematic rather than a chronological approach to the subject, and by highlighting the music and lives of a diverse array of jazz practitioners from around the country and around the world. Students may not receive credit for both MUS 8 and MUS 8GS. Prerequisites: none. (Offered in selected years.)

MUS 9. Symphony (4)

The symphonic masterworks course will consist of lectures and listening sessions devoted to a detailed discussion of a small number of recognized masterworks (e.g., Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Ligeti, etc.). Prerequisites: none. (Offered in selected years.)

MUS 11. Folk Music (4)

A course on folk music of the world, covered through lectures, films, and listening sessions devoted to detailed discussion of music indigenous to varying countries/areas of the world. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 12. Opera (4)

A study of opera masterworks that often coincide with operas presented in the San Diego Opera season. Class consists of lectures, listening labs, live performances, and opera on video. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 13. Worlds of Music (4)

Through surveying selected musical traditions and practices from around the world, this course explores the ways in which music both reflects and affects social, cultural, and ecological relationships. Specific case studies will be covered through lectures, films, and listening sessions. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 14. Contemporary Music (4)

This course offers opportunities to prepare oneself for experiences with new music (through preview lectures), hear performances (by visiting or faculty artists), to discuss each event informally with a faculty panel: an effort to foster informed listening to the new in music. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 15. Popular Music (4)

A course on popular music from different time periods, covered through lectures, films, and listening sessions. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 16. The Beatles (4)

This course will explore The Beatles from musical, cultural, historical, technological, and critical angles. It will place them in context, examining their assorted confluences and wide influences. The group will be critically examined as artists, innovators, and public personalities. Listening, watching, and discussion will provide a broader, deeper, and more personal understanding of the group’s enduring appeal. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 17. Hip-Hop (4)

This class presents a broad chronological overview of the development of hip-hop as a musical form from the late 1970s through today. It examines the development of the style in relation to direct context and to earlier African American musical and cultural forms and considers the technological and legal issues that have impacted its development. The class is listening intensive and students will be expected to know and recognize essential structures and production techniques. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 18. Klezmer Music (4)

A survey of Eastern European Jewish folk music, Yiddish theatre and popular song, and their transition to America. Credit not allowed for MUS 18 and JUDA 18. (Cross-listed with JUDA 18.) Prerequisites: none.

MUS 20. Exploring the Musical Mind (4)

How do we transform complex sounds into comprehensible and meaningful music? What physiological, neurological, cognitive, and cultural systems are involved? Why do we make music in such diverse ways around the globe? Does music have evolutionary or ecological significance? What is the relationship between music, motion, and emotions? This course explores contemporary understandings of how we hear and how we become musical and invites students to listen to new music in new ways. Students may not receive credit for both MUS 20 and COGS 20. (Cross-listed with COGS 20.) Prerequisites: none.

MUS 32. Instrumental/Vocal Instruction (2)

Individual instruction on intermediate level in instrumental technique and repertory. For declared music majors and minors. Students must be simultaneously enrolled in a performance ensemble or nonperformance music course. May be taken six times for credit. Prerequisites: audition and department stamp.

MUS 32G. Group Instrumental Instruction (2)

Group instruction in instrumental or vocal technique and repertory. Intermediate level. Intended for students who make an important contribution to Department of Music ensembles. Prerequisites: written recommendation of ensemble director and audition for performance faculty on first day of classes required. Department stamp required. May be taken for credit six times. (Offered in selected years.)

MUS 32V. Vocal Instruction (1)

Individual instruction on intermediate level in vocal technique and repertory. For declared music majors and minors. Students must be simultaneously enrolled in a performance ensemble or nonperformance music course and in MUS 32VM. May be taken six times for credit. Prerequisites: audition and department stamp.

MUS 32VM. Vocal Master Class (1)

All students enrolled in voice lessons (32V, 132V, or 132C) perform for one another and their instructors. Students critique in-class performances, with emphasis on presentation, diction, dramatic effect, vocal quality, and musicality. Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in MUS 32V, 132V, or 132C.

MUS 33A. Introduction to Composition I (4)

First course in a sequence for music majors and nonmajors pursuing an emphasis in composition. The course examines “sound” itself and various ways of building sounds into musical structures and develops skills in music notation. Students compose solo pieces in shorter forms. Students may not receive credit for both MUS 33 and 33A. Prerequisites: MUS 2C or consent of instructor.

MUS 33B. Introduction to Composition II (4)

Second part of course sequence for students pursuing a composition emphasis. Course continues the building of skills with the organization of basic compositional elements: pitch, rhythm, and timbre. It explores issues of musical texture, expression, and structure in traditional and contemporary repertoire. Writing for two instruments in more extended forms. Prerequisites: MUS 33A.

MUS 33C. Introduction to Composition III (4)

Third part of course sequence for students pursuing a composition emphasis. Course continues the development of skills in instrumentation and analysis. It includes a survey of advanced techniques in contemporary composition, with additional focus on notation, part-preparation, and the art of writing for small groups of instruments. Prerequisites: MUS 33B.

MUS 43. Department Seminar (1)

The department seminar serves both as a general department meeting and as a forum for the presentation of research and performances by visitors, faculty, and students. Required of all undergraduate music and music humanities majors every quarter a student is a declared music major. Four units or four quarters of enrollment are required of all undergraduate ICAM music majors who choose the MUS 43. Department Seminar option for their Visitor Series requirement. P/NP grades only. May be taken for credit up to twelve times.

MUS 80. Special Topics in Music (1–4 )

This course presents selected topics in music and consists of lecture and listening sessions. No prior technical knowledge is necessary. The course will be offered during summer session.

MUS 87. Freshman Seminar (1)

The Freshman Seminar Program is designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman Seminars are offered in all campus departments and undergraduate colleges, and topics vary from quarter to quarter. Enrollment is limited to fifteen to twenty students, with preference given to entering freshmen.

MUS 95. Ensemble Performance (2)

Performance in an ensemble appropriate to student abilities and interests. Normally each section requires student participation for the whole academic year, with credit for participation each quarter. Sections of MUS 95W have included: African drumming, Korean percussion, Indian sitar and tabla, koto, and Indonesian flute. Not all sections will be offered every year. May be repeated for credit. Grading on participation level, individual testing, comparative papers on repertoire covered, etc. Prerequisites: audition and consent of instructor for each section. Materials fee required.

Note: Students in the MUS 95 series courses may enroll with a letter grade option a total of twelve units for registered music majors and a total of six units for all other students; after which students may continue to enroll in MUS 95 courses, but only with a P/NP grade option. There is one exception to the above grading policy. MUS 95G, Gospel Choir, can only be taken for a P/NP grading option.

Section B. Instrument Choir

Section C. Concert Choir

Section D. Symphonic Chorus

Section E. Chamber Orchestra

Section G. Gospel Choir

Section JC. Jazz Chamber Ensembles

Section K. Chamber Singers

Section L. Wind Ensemble

Section W. World Music Ensembles

Upper Division

MUS 101A. Music Theory and Practice I (4)

Study of modal counterpart in the style of the sixteenth century. Two-voice species counterpoint studies. Analysis of music of the period. Musicianship studies: sight-singing, dictation, and keyboard skills. Prerequisites: MUS 2C and 2CK.

MUS 101B. Music Theory and Practice II (4)

Study of tonal harmony and counterpoint. Analysis of Bach chorales and other music from the Baroque period. Musicianship studies: sight-singing, dictation, and keyboard skills. Prerequisites: MUS 2C.

MUS 101C. Music Theory and Practice III (4)

Tonal harmony and counterpoint. Analysis of larger classical forms: Sonata, Variation, Minuet and Trio, Rondo. Musicianship studies: sight-singing, dictation, and keyboard skills. Prerequisites: MUS 101B.

MUS 102. Topics in Music Theory (4)

Selected topics in music theory. Covers Western classical repertoire from 1850 to the present. Includes chromatic and post-tonal harmony, formal analysis. May be taken for credit up to two times. Prerequisites: MUS 101B.

MUS 103A. Seminar in Composition I (4)

First part in composition course sequence. Individual projects will be reviewed in seminar. Techniques of instrumentation will be developed through examination of scores and creative application. Assignments will include short exercises and analysis, and final project for standard ensemble. Prerequisites: MUS 33C.

MUS 103B. Seminar in Composition II (4)

Second part in composition course sequence. Intensive work in free composition by drafting a composition for presentation at the end of MUS 103C. Written analysis of contemporary repertoire is introduced. Instruction about calligraphic conventions including computer engraving programs. Prerequisites: MUS 103A.

MUS 103C. Seminar in Composition III (4)

Third part in composition course sequence. A mixture of individual lessons as well as group meetings, with discussion of topics germane to the development of composers, including musical aesthetics and contemporary orchestration techniques. Final performance of students’ work will take place at the end of the quarter. Prerequisites: MUS 103B.

MUS 103D-E-F. Honors Seminar in Composition (4-4-4)

Advanced individual projects for senior music majors pursuing honors in composition. Projects will be critically reviewed in seminar with fellow students and faculty composers. Prerequisites: MUS 103A-B-C and admission into the Department of Music Honors Program in composition. Department stamp required.

MUS 105. Jazz Composition (4)

This course will explore a range of compositional possibilities from song forms to modal and more extended forms. May be taken for credit two times. Prerequisites: MUS 101A and 101B or consent of instructor.

MUS 106. Topics in Musical Analysis (4)

Topics in musical analysis. Covers full range of musical repertoire 1900 to present, including music that does not depend on notation. May be taken for credit up to two times. Prerequisites: MUS 2C.

MUS 107. Critical Studies Seminar (4)

This seminar explores the history of music in relation to critical issues, such as race, gender, sexuality, the environment, and politics. Readings include recent literature in cultural studies, musicology, and sociology. Topics vary. May be taken three times for credit. Prerequisites: MUS 120C.

MUS 110. Introduction to Ethnomusicology Seminar (4)

This seminar introduces the central theories, methods, and approaches used to study the music of contemporary cultures, in their local contexts. In addition to surveying key writings, students will document music from their local environment. Prerequisites: upper-division standing or consent of instructor.

MUS 111. Topics/World Music Traditions (4)

A study of particular regional music in their repertory, cultural context, and interaction with other traditions. Topics vary. May be taken for credit up to three times. Prerequisites: none.

MUS 112. Topics in European Music Before 1750 (4)

This course will address topics in medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music; topics will vary from year to year. May be repeated five times for credit. Prerequisites: knowledge of music notation or consent of instructor; MUS 4, 8–10, or 120 recommended.

MUS 113. Topics in Classic, Romantic, and Modern Music (4)

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This course will focus on Western music between 1750 and the early twentieth century; topics will vary from year to year. May be repeated five times for credit ected Group Study...