Spelman College Department of Music: Course Listings

Course Listings

MUS 000 - MUSIC SEMINAR (0)
A weekly meeting of all music majors and minors for the purpose of student recitals (matinees), seminars, workshops, special lectures, guest recitals, and listening labs.
Professor: Laura English-Robinson
Required Materials: Website domain name.

MUS 001 - PIANO PROFICIENCY (0)
Keyboard proficiency is a basic competency of all musicians. Therefore, music majors and minors must demonstrate the required level of piano proficiency for graduation in their chosen curriculum.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Text: Not Applicable.

MUS 100 - FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSIC (2)
A study of the basic materials used in the graphic and phonal aspects of music expression: notation, intervals, chord progression, via sight singing, ear training and keyboard principles.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: Kinney, Michael. Mastering Music Fundamentals: A Guided Step by Step Approach.
                         ISBN: 0534618340

MUS 113A - MUSIC THEORY I (4)
A course covering the fundamentals of music theory, triad and chord building, harmonizing of melodies, keyboard harmony, simple modulation, harmonic analysis, ear training, and sight singing. Emphasis on the acquisition of writing and analytical skills. Laboratory assignments using computer-assisted instruction.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: Kostka, Stefan/Payne, Dorothy. Tonal Harmony: With An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (textbook and workbook).
                         ISBN: 0073401358

MUS 113B – MUSIC THEORY II (4)
A course involving advanced ear training and sight singing, higher discords, chromatic harmony and modulation. Prerequisite: MUS 113A.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: Kostka, Stefan/Payne, Dorothy. Tonal Harmony: With An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (textbook and workbook).
                         ISBN: 0073401358

MUS 113C - MUSIC THEORY III (4)
A course involving advanced analytical, compositional and aural development skills in the music of the post-Romantic and modern time periods. Prerequisite: MUS 113A and 113B.
Professor: Hyunjung “Rachel” Chung
Required Text: Kostka, Stefan/Payne, Dorothy. Tonal Harmony: With An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (textbook and workbook).
                         ISBN: 0073401358

MUS 120 - MUSIC HISORY AND APPRECIATION (4)
A listening course designed to give the general student a chance to develop an appreciation for music of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classic, and Romantic periods. Records, lectures, and concerts are the basic tools used.
Professor: Pamela Dillard
Required Text: Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation, Brief Sixth Edition with Multimedia Companion.
                         ISBN: 0073043885

MUS 121 - INTRODUCTION TO WORLD MUSICS (4)
A survey of selected musical traditions from around the world, studied within their cultural contexts. Music from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America.
Professor: Lawrence Schenbeck
Required Text: Miller, Terry E./Shahriari, Andrew. World Music A Global Journey, 2nd ed.
                         ISBN: 9780415988780

MUS 123-126 - CLASS PIANO (1)
Class Piano is a course designed to provide students with keyboard skills needed in order to function at the keyboard.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Texts: Lancaster, E.L./Renfrow, Kenon D. Alfred’s Group Piano for Adults, Book 1.
                          ISBN: 0739035266

                          Lancaster, E.L./Reenfrow, Kenon D. Alfred’s Group Piano for Adults, Book 2.
                          ISBN: 0739049259

MUS 130 - WOMEN IN MUSIC (4)
A course designed to highlight the achievements of women in all aspects of musical life from the Middle Ages to the present. The course focuses on the woman’s important role in and influence on culture at various points in history.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Text: Neuls-Bates, Carol. Women in Music: An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle Ages to the Present.
                         ISBN: 1555532403

MUS 200 - INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TECHNOLOGY I (2)
A comprehensive introduction to computers and their uses in music sequencing and digital audio recording. A workshop experience with current music notation software, sequencing software, sampling and an overview of mixing and studio technology.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Materials: USB Flash Drive, Headphones with a quarter-inch adapter

MUS 201 - INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TECHNOLOGY II (2)
A comprehensive introduction to computers and their uses in music sequencing and digital audio recording with a focus on ProTools.
Professor: TBA
Required Materials: USB Flash Drive, Headphones with a quarter-inch adapter

MUS 202 - MUSIC TECHNOLOGY FOR MAJORS (2)
Aimed at teaching music majors the basics of computer technology, particularly the use of computers in music notation and music production. The course will introduce various concepts of music notation, sequencing, sampling, and mixing through a number of project-based activities. Software applications that will be covered in the course will include Finale, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, iWeb, and iDVD.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Materials: USB Flash Drive, Headphones with a quarter-inch adapter

MUS 203 - INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC BUSINESS (2)
A general overview and study of the major functional areas within the music industry. Attention is given to practical applications of business practices within the music industry and how the various segments of the industry operate on a day-to-day basis.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Text: Wacholz, Larry. Off the Record: The New Music Business Guide Workbook for the Digital World, 2nd Edition.
                         ISBN: 9780984057207

MUS 210 - CHORAL CONDUCTING AND LITERATURE (2)
A focus on conducting skills, choral literature, and techniques for organizing different choral ensembles. Students are expected to have skills in sight singing and playing the piano.
Professor: Lawrence Schenbeck
Required Texts: Ulrich, Homer. A Survey of Choral Music.
                           ISBN: 0155848631

                           Moses, David/Demaree, Robert W./Moses, Don V. The Complete Conductor.
                           ISBN: 0131730142

MUS 211 - 18TH-CENTURY COUNTERPOINT (2)
A study of the basic contrapuntal techniques and principles underlying the harmonically oriented counterpoint of J.S. Bach, and selected contemporary music. Prerequisite: MUS 113A and 113B.
Professor: Hyunjung “Rachel” Chung
Required Text: Owen, Harold. Modal and Tonal Counterpoint: From Josquin to Stravinsky.
                         ISBN: 0028721454

MUS 213 - JAZZ THEORY (2)
Jazz Theory is a course designed to expose students to the fundamental theories, principles, and practices of jazz music. Prerequisite: MUS 113B.
Professor: Joseph Jennings
Required Text: Levine, Mark. The Jazz Theory Book.
                         ISBN: 1883217040

MUS 230 - OPERA AND SOCIETY (2)
Surveys operatic literature from 1600 to the present. Examines opera both as performance genre, stressing historical development of styles and techniques in the repertoire, and also for a range of social and cultural messages embedded in representative works. An Honors course, open to non-majors by permission.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 240 - SURVEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC (4)
A survey of the music of African Americans from the antebellum period to the present. Major genres include slave songs, blues, gospel, jazz, and art music. Designed to articulate the sociocultural experiences out of which this music has grown.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Text: Stewart, Earl L. African-American Music: An Introduction.
                         ISBN: 0028602943

MUS 241 - AMERICAN POP (4)
A sociocultural and historical study of American popular music development from the 1870s to the present. Lectures, readings, discussions and audiovisual materials unearth the tremendous impact African- Americans have made in general to the evolution of popular music in the United States.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 242 - AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGIOUS MUSIC (4)
An examination of African- American religious music and its social, cultural and historical contexts as it has evolved from indigenous African ritual practices throughout the development of the antebellum and postbellum periods to urban contemporary or newly composed forms in the United States.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 288 - ARTS JOURNALISM: WRITING ABOUT THE ARTS (4)
This workshop course in arts criticism and analysis emphasizes personal experience and creative presentation. It provides orientation in concepts, terms, and considerations of arts writing, including basic aesthetic theory, social dimensions of art dissemination and mediation, and the mechanics of shaping and publishing one’s work. Generic emphases (e.g. music, film, visual arts) will be determined partly by class makeup and preferences. Prerequisites: English 103 and one other Fine Arts division course.
Professor: Lawrence Schenbeck
Required Texts: Guralnick, Peter/Wolk, Douglas. Da Capo: Best Music Writing 2000.
ISBN: 0306809990

Hickey, Dave. Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy.
ISBN: 0963726455

Supplementary Texts: Atkins, Robert. ArtSpeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present.
ISBN: 0789203650

                                    Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer.
                                    ISBN: 0312413238

MUS 302 - JAZZ COMPOSITION AND ARRANGING (2)
Jazz Composition and Arranging is an introductory course for writing and arranging music for small ensembles of nine members or less. Prerequisites: MUS 113B and 113C.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 309 - VOCAL LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY (2)
A survey of significant literature for the voice. Principally concerned with the following: textural analysis of songs, problems with interpretation, poets, function of the accompaniment, repertoire for all voices, and program building. Designed for music majors and minors only.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 310 - VOCAL DICTION FOR SINGERS (2)
The fundamentals of lyric diction used by singers—English, French, German, and Italian. A study of the International Phonetic Alphabet and its application to singing in these languages will be included.
Professor: Laura English-Robinson
Required Text: Wall, Joan. Diction for Singers: A Concise Reference for English, Italian, Latin, German, French, and Spanish Pronunciation.
                         ISBN: 1877761516

MUS 313 - ORCHESTRATION AND INSTRUMENTATION (2)
A study of the instruments of the orchestra, their playing techniques, capabilities, and tonal characteristics, and essentials of instrumental combinations. An analysis of typical problems in orchestration. Prerequisite: MUS 113A and 113B.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: Adler, Samuel. The Study of Orchestration.
                         ISBN: 039397572X

Supplementary Texts: Blatter, Alfred. Instrumentation and Orchestration.
ISBN: 0028645707

Del Mar, Norman. Anatomy of the Orchestra.
ISBN: 0520050622

Forsyth, Cecil. Orchestration.
ISBN: 0486243834

Shatzkin, Merton. Writing for the Orchestra: An Introduction to Orchestration.
ISBN: 0139534318

                                    Kennan, Kent/Grantham, Donald. Technique of Orchestration.
                                    ISBN: 0130771619

MUS 317 - CHAMBER MUSIC LITERATURE (2)
A comprehensive introduction to chamber music from the end of the 16th century to the present. Designed for music majors and minors only.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 319 - KEYBOARD LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY (2)
A survey of literature for keyboard instruments from the 16th century through the 20th century. Such elements as medium, form, keyboard style, idiom, and performance problems are considered in relation to the music of specific composers or periods. Designed for music majors and minors only.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 321 - FORM AND ANALYSIS (2)
An examination of the design and tonal structure of music of the traditional period, ranging from simple binary form to complex sonata and concerto forms. Analysis included. Prerequisite: MUS 113A and 113B.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: Spring, Glenn/Hutcheson, Jere. Musical Form and Analysis.
                         ISBN: 0697153673

MUS 330 - HISTORY OF JAZZ (4)
A course designed to expose the general student to the fundamental concepts of “jazz” (African American classical music), along with its chronological development, outstanding repertoire, and major innovators.
Professor: Joseph Jennings
Required Text: Gridley, Mark C. Concise Guide to Jazz.
                         ISBN: 0131733311

MUS 341 - THE STUDY OF MUSIC IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (4)
A study of traditional, popular and art musics which have emerged from the dispersal of Africans throughout North, South and Central America and the Caribbean based on the ethnomusicological paradigm which views music as culture, learned behavior and the sum total of life experiences translated into sound.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS/EDU 342, 450 - METHODS AND MATERIALS FOR TEACHING MUSIC (4, 4)
Courses designed to provide opportunities to explore music teaching procedures at the elementary and high school levels. Activities include supervised observation in the public schools of Atlanta. MUS 342 is required for Child Development majors. MUS/EDU 342—Grades Preschool through 5 (4) and MUS/ EDU 450—Grades Preschool through 12 (4) are required of music majors who wish to teach.
Professor: Paula A. Grissom
Required Text: Rozmajzl, Michon/Boyer, Rene. Music Fundamentals, Methods, and Materials for the Elementary Classroom Teacher.
                         ISBN: 0205449646

MUS 350 - HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC I (4)
A survey of major styles, significant creative figures and important musical works in Western art music from antiquity through the late Baroque era. Prerequisite: MUS 113C.
Professor: Lawrence Schenbeck
Required Text: Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Tradition, 3rd ed.
                         ISBN: 9780195379884

MUS 351 - HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC II (4)
A survey of major styles, significant creative figures and important musical works in Western art music from the pre-Classical era to the present. Prerequisite: MUS 113C.
Professor: Lawrence Schenbeck
Required Text: Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Tradition, 3rd ed.
                         ISBN: 9780195379884

MUS 353 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN MUSIC HISTORY (4)
Course will be offered from time to time in order to help students meet graduation requirements and explore one major genre, one creative figure or one cultural movement in greater depth. Prerequisite: MUS 113C.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 392 - AUC ORCHESTRA (1)
A course designed for the study of symphony orchestra performance. Emphasis is placed on the development of performance skills and the study of a variety of styles and periods of symphony orchestra literature.
Professor: TBA
Required Text: TBA

MUS 451/452 – INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITION (2,2)
A course designed to introduce the student to the basics of composition with an emphasis on 20th-century techniques. Prerequisite: MUS 113A, 113B, and 113C.
Professor: Marian Harrison
Required Text: TBA

MUS 490A/490B – SENIOR PROJECT (1,1)
Directed research leading to completion of a project in music history, theory, jazz studies, African American music, or performance. Students will meet periodically to engage in critical dialogue related to their projects and other related musical topics. Prerequisite: For seniors only. The Piano Proficiency Exam must be successfully passed.
Professor: Various
Required Text: Not Applicable.

350 Spelman Lane S.W. Atlanta, GA P.O. Box 979 30314-4399