Music
- MUSI E-1a Major Composers and Developments in Western Music: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Periods (Fall)
- MUSI E-1b Major Composers and Developments in Western Music: Classic, Romantic, and Modern Periods (Spring)
- MUSI E-54/W Introduction to Jazz, 1900-1945 (Fall)
- MUSI E-100 Music Theory and Composition (Spring)
- MUSI E-139 A History of Blues in America (Fall)
- MUSI E-142 The Future of Music (Spring)
- MUSI E-145 Electronic Music: History and Aesthetics of Popular Music Since the 1960s (Spring)
MUSI E-1a
Major Composers and Developments in Western Music: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Periods (11595)
(Print View)
4 units. Noncredit $325, undergraduate credit $550.
Fall
term
*** MUSI E-1a has been CANCELLED.***
Composers include Machaut, Dufay, Josquin des Prez, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Purcell, Bach, and Handel. Emphasis is on appreciation and understanding based on a consideration of both vocal and instrumental music.
Top of page
MUSI E-1b
Major Composers and Developments in Western Music: Classic, Romantic, and Modern Periods (20187)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Cynthia Verba, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
4 units. Noncredit $325, undergraduate credit $550.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7:35-9:35 pm, Music Building, Room 2.
Spring
term
Composers include Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Berlioz, Liszt, Verdi, Wagner, and Brahms, as well as key figures leading into and defining the modern period.
Top of page
MUSI E-54/W
Introduction to Jazz, 1900-1945 (10209)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Thomas G. Everett, MS, Director of the Harvard University Band.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $325, undergraduate credit $550.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 pm, Music Building, Room 2.
Fall
term
Discussion and outline of the history of jazz (from origins to swing era) with emphasis on outstanding innovators and stylists Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Benny Goodman. Class time spent discussing the artists and listening to prime examples of their work. Desirable background: a varied listening experience.
Top of page
MUSI E-100
Music Theory and Composition (20345)
(Website) (Print View)
John D. Stewart, EdD, Senior Preceptor in Music, Harvard University.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Music Building, Room 2. Optional sections to be arranged.
Spring
term
The basic materials of music theory (scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, and meter) and their use in simple composition exercises. Includes ear-training drill. The course is designed to accommodate a wide range of backgrounds and interests. Students who wish to enroll for graduate credit should consult with the instructor at the first class.
Top of page
MUSI E-139
A History of Blues in America (12261)
(Website) (Print View)
Charles M. Sawyer, Jr., MS, Consulting Software Engineer and Project Consultant, B. B. King Museum.
4 units. Noncredit $325, undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7:35-9:35 pm, Music Building, Room 2.
Fall
term
A study of blues from 1900 to the present. Major artists include McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters), Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf), Marion Walter Jacobs (Little Walter), Otis Spann, B. B. King, Paul Butterfield, and Kim Wilson. Development of the unique voices of principal instruments (guitar and harmonica) and the role of amplification in establishing the defining style of blues is given special attention. Class time includes listening to and discussing recordings, viewing historic footage, and hearing lecture-demonstrations by major artists. The history of the music is set in the context of social changes that allowed "race" music to enter the mainstream.
Top of page
MUSI E-142
The Future of Music (22408)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Isaiah Jackson, DMA, Music Director, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston.
4 units. Noncredit $325, undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Monday, Jan. 30, 7:35-9:35 pm, Music Building, Room 1.
Spring
term
Has jazz run its course? What lies ahead for classical music, opera, musical theater, even rap? Exploring music since 1900, we investigate how we arrived at the music of today. Where, though, are we headed? Through recorded examples and meetings with shapers of the new music, we examine some possibilities.
Top of page
MUSI E-145
Electronic Music: History and Aesthetics of Popular Music Since the 1960s (22252)
(Website) (Print View)
Wayne G. Marshall, MA.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $625, graduate credit $1,525.
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7:35-9:35 pm, Music Building, Room 2. Optional sections to be arranged.
Spring
term
Online and on-campus options. See the Distance Education website. Lecture 1
video. See course website for all other lectures.
From dub to hip-hop, disco to techno, avant-garde experimentation to mass-produced pop, this course illuminates the ways that electronic and digital technologies have shaped popular music production and consumption over the last 50 years. Analysis of musical style accompanies examination of the music in its social and cultural contexts.
Top of page
- DRAM E-24 The History and Practice of American Musical Theater