Transcript title

Intro to Music: Antiquity-1800

Credits

3

Grading mode

Standard letter grades

Total contact hours

30

Lecture hours

30

Course Description

Introduces the history of Western fine-art music and its literature. Encompasses the study of musical vocabulary, style, form, principal composers and the historical development of music from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.

Course learning outcomes

1. Identify notable works of music and composers in the Western tradition from antiquity through 1800.
2. Use musical arts vocabulary and language.
3. Discuss the relationships between music and society in historical, social, cultural, and philosophical contexts.
4. Explain traditional Western compositional and performance techniques musicians used from antiquity through 1800.

Content outline

1. Basic Fundamentals of Listening
2. Musical Elements - melody, rhythm, harmony, texture and forms
3. Musical Instruments
4. Music of the Middle Ages
5. Music of the Church - monophonic chant, mass, organum, and motet
6. Music of the Kings – singer/songwriters and the development of instrumental music
7. Music of the Renaissance
8. Music of Upheaval – Church music vs. Aristocratic music and the new music these tensions create
9. Music of the Baroque
10. Music and the Public – the rise of public venues, musical virtuosos and the explosion of instrumental music
11. Eighteenth Century Classicism
12. Symmetry and Balance – the influence of Classical architecture and its relevance to new forms that create a more approachable musical style
13. Music and the Middle Class – a new audience develops and creates a desire for different musical styles.

Required materials

Class will require a textbook and/or readings determined by the instructor.

General education/Related instruction lists

• Arts and Letters