Professors: Scott, Anderson (on leave, winter semester and Short
Term), Matthews, Chair (fall semester) (on leave, winter semester and Short
Term), and Parakilas, Chair (winter semester and Short Term); Assistant
Professor: Williams and Beal; Mr. Glazer, Mr. Gordan, and Ms. Pruiksma
The Department of Music gives students the opportunity to study music
from cultural, historical, ethnomusicological, theoretical, creative, and
interpretive perspectives. The courses offered are suitable for general
liberal-arts students and for music majors and include study of Western
and non-Western musical traditions. In recent years, students have completed
a number of interdisciplinary and double-major programs including substantial
work in music.
The department sponsors active extracurricular performing organizations:
the College Choir, the Chamber Singers, the "Fighting Bobcat" Orchestra,
the Concert Band, the Jazz Ensemble, the Steel Pan Orchestra, and ad
hoc vocal and instrumental ensembles performing chamber music or jazz.
Music 101, 102, and 103 are three independent introductions to the study
of music, through different repertoires and methodologies. Each of them,
however, introduces students to a common set of analytical concepts and
the vocabulary essential to further work in the department. Students considering
a major or secondary concentration in music should enroll in Music 231
as their first course in the department.
Major Requrements. All students majoring in music are required
to take four courses in music theory (Music 231, 232, 331, and 332), one
two-semester course of applied music, two 200-level courses, Music 399,
Music s28, and Music 457 or 458. Honors candidates or others pursuing full-year
theses register for both 457 and 458.
Remaining major requirements are designed to suit the special needs
of performers, composers, musicologists, theorists, and ethnomusicologists.
Performers take two additional credits of applied music and participate
in at least four semesters of small and large departmental performing ensembles.
Composers take Music 235 and Music 237. History and theory students take
two additional 200- or 300-level courses of their choice. Ethnomusicology
students take Music 262 and an additional course in ethnomusicology.
Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/Fail grading may be elected for
courses applied toward the major.
Secondary Concentration. Students who wish may earn a secondary
concentration in music. This secondary concentration consists of seven
courses: Music 231–232, 331–332, and three additional 200- or 300-level
courses.
Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may be elected for
courses applied toward the secondary concentration.
A reading knowledge of German or French is recommended for students
planning graduate work in music.
Applied Music. Some private instruction in music is available.
Applied music lessons emphasize performance practice, style, and form to
build technique. Students taking music lessons through Bates may earn one
course credit for every two consecutive semesters of applied music, but
must enroll in a course in music during the year in which they are taking
lessons for credit. Students register for Music 270 to take voice or instrument
lessons for credit. They register for Music 270 and 280 if they are studying
two instruments (or one instrument and voice).
Instruction is normally offered in voice (Ms. Christina Astrachan, Mr.
John Corrie); harpsichord (Mr. Marion R. Anderson); piano (Mrs. Natasha
Chances, Mr. John Corrie, Mr. Frank Glazer, Mr. Mark Howard); jazz piano
(Mr. Stephen Grover); organ (Mr. Marion R. Anderson); violin (Mr. Stephen
Kecskemethy); viola (Ms. Julia Adams); violoncello (Ms. Kathleen Foster);
double bass (Mr. George Rubino); folk fiddling (Mr. Gregory Boardman);
bassoon (Ms. Ardith Freeman); oboe (Ms. Alison Kreiling); clarinet (Ms.
Carol Furman); trumpet (Mr. John Furman); French horn (Mr. John Boden);
saxophone (Mr. Richard Gordan); classical guitar (Mr. Kenneth Labrecque);
harp (Ms. Jara Goodrich); recorder (Mr. Kerry Byrne); percussion (Ms. Nancy
Smith); jazz improvisation (Mr. Richard Gordan); and drum set (Mr. Stephen
Grover). Instruction may also be offered in other instruments if there
is sufficient demand.
General Education. Music s28 (Survey of Western Music) may serve
as an option for the fifth humanities course.
Courses
101. Introduction to Listening. Reading and listening
assignments, demonstrations, and class discussion provide opportunity to
become familiar with the structure of music. The elements of music and
the sociology of music-making are studied, using repertoire from various
cultures and historical periods, chosen mostly from music of the United
States. Emphasis is placed on the student's perception of and involvement
in the musical work. The course is open to, and directed toward, students
unskilled in reading music as well as those with considerable musical experience.
Enrollment limited to 96. W. Matthews.
102. Composers, Performers, and Audiences.
Designed for students with little or no previous experience of the subject,
this course considers the ways composers, performers, and audiences have
affected one another in the history of Western music-making. What were
the employment conditions for composers? What is the relation between the
composer and the performer? What sorts of audiences have different composers
addressed, and how? The lives of a small number of composers, including
Hildegard von Bingen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Clara
Schumann, and Duke Ellington serve as case studies as students address
these questions, and basic musical vocabulary is introduced both at the
beginning of the course and along the way. Enrollment limited to 96. M.
Anderson.
103. Introduction to World Music. This course
introduces students to the fundamental elements of music in selected music
cultures of the world. The lectures use recordings, films, live performance
and hands-on training to enhance the student's understanding of performance
practices and musical belief systems. The course explores: the basic principles
of ethnomusicology; musical connections to dance and ritual; and specific
performance contexts in representative cultures of the United States,
Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Enrollment limited to
40. A. Beal. New description for 2001-2002.
231. Music Theory I. Beginning with a study
of notation, scales, intervals, and rhythm, the course proceeds through
composition and analysis of melodic forms, a study of harmonic motion,
an introduction to the principles of counterpoint, and the analysis and
composition of complete works from several popular and classical styles.
The course includes practical ear-training and keyboard work in additional
regularly scheduled laboratory sessions. Prerequisite(s): a reading knowledge
of music. Open to first-year students. Staff.
232. Music Theory II. A continuation of Music
Theory I. Students develop their skills in practical ear-training, sight-singing,
keyboard playing and conducting in regularly scheduled laboratory sessions.
Prerequisite(s): Music 231. Open to first-year students. J. Parakilas.
233. Jazz Performance Workshop. Participants
study jazz composition and harmonic theory and apply that knowledge to
the practice and performance of small-group jazz improvisation. Course
activities include the transcription and analysis of historical performances,
composing and/or arranging, individual practice, group rehearsals on a
common repertoire of standards, and at least two public performances. Vocalists
and performers on any instrument may enroll. Prerequisite(s): Music 231.
Recommended background: instrumental or vocal performance experience. Open
to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required.
R. Gordan.
235. Music Composition. Composition may be
pursued by students at various levels of expertise and training. The course
includes a weekly seminar and private lessons, and concentrates upon —
without being limited to — contemporary idioms. Prerequisite(s): Music
232. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor
is required. W. Matthews.
236. The Piano as a Culture Machine. The piano
has been part of the furniture of private and public life for three centuries.
It has an amazingly rich repertory of its own, and it used to be the main
medium for propagating every kind of music in Western culture. It was at
the center of women's upbringing and at the root of the worldwide entertainment
industry. The course explores the development of the instrument, its music,
and its role in shaping our culture. J. Parakilas.
237. Computers, Music, and the Arts. A hands-on
study of music-making with computers, using the facilities of the Bates
Computer Music Studio. Topics include digital synthesis, sampling, MIDI
communications, simple programming, and the aesthetics of art made with
computers. No computing experience is presumed, and the course is especially
designed for students of the arts who wish to learn about new tools. Work
produced in the course is performed in concert. Enrollment limited to 18.
W. Matthews.
239. Black Women in Music. Angela Davis states,
"Black people were able to create with their music an aesthetic community
of resistance, which in turn encouraged and nurtured a political community
of active struggle for freedom." This course examines the role of black
women as critics, composers, and performers who challenge externally defined
controlling images. Topics include: black women in the music industry;
black women in music of the African diaspora; and black women as rappers,
jazz innovators, and musicians in the classical and gospel traditions.
This course is the same as African American Studies 239 and Women's Studies
239. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. L. Williams.
240A. Topics in Western Music: Music and Identity,
1600-1789. Music played an important role in the formation of cultural
identities in early modern Europe. Italy could take credit for the invention
of operathe realization of a union of drama and musicwhile
the French laid claim to the dance, for instance. Grand theatrical spectacles
often accompanied important state events like weddings, coronations, funerals,
and victory celebrations. In this course, students read from primary sources
in translation, master the historical outlines of the period, and develop
an understanding of the ways musical spectacle displayed, revealed, and
manipulated cultural identity and power in this era. Students examine
a wide range of musical materials from theatrical spectacle to broadsheet
ballads. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, or
231. Open to first-year students. R. Pruiksma.
241. Music Literature of the Medieval and Renaissance
Periods. A survey of music up to circa 1600, beginning with an examination
of sacred and secular monophony, and continuing with the emergence of polyphony
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and its development in such forms
as chanson, madrigal, mass, and motet to the end of the sixteenth century.
Emphasis on works by such composers as Dunstable, Dufay, Josquin, and Palestrina.
Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to
first-year students. A. Scott.
242. Music Literature of the Baroque Period.
A study of the early composers of the period as well as the two giants
at its close: George Frederick Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach. Prerequisite(s):
one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students.
Staff.
243. Music Literature of the Classic Period.
Beginning with the music of such preclassic composers as the sons of J.S.
Bach, Stamitz, and D. Scarlatti, the study moves to works of Haydn, Mozart,
and early Beethoven. Students analyze form and harmony. Prerequisite(s):
one of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students.
J. Parakilas.
244. Music Literature of the Romantic Period.
A study of nineteenth-century piano music, song, orchestral music, and
opera, concentrating on the Chopin Preludes, Schubert songs, a Brahms
symphony, and Bizet's Carmen. Prerequisite(s): one of the following:
Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students. Staff.
245. Music Literature of the Twentieth Century.
A study of music from Debussy and the expressionistic compositions of Schönberg
through the development of twelve-tone techniques. Prerequisite(s): one
of the following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Open to first-year students.
M. Anderson.
247. Jazz and Blues: History and Practice. American
jazz and blues offer two rich traditions through which one can study music,
race, and American history. Through extensive listening, reading assignments,
and interaction with musicians themselves, students study the recorded
history and contemporary practice of jazz and blues. Prerequisite(s):
one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, or 231. Enrollment limited
to 96. Not open to students who have received credit for Music s26. Open
to first-year students (new for Fall 01). W. Matthews.
249. African American Popular Music. When Americans
stared at their black-and-white television sets in the early 1950s, they
saw only a white world. As with music, variety shows primarily spotlighted
the talent of white performers. Change came slowly, and during the late
1950s American Bandstand introduced viewers to such African American artists
as Dizzy Gillespie and Chubby Checker. Over the last two decades, however,
the emergence of music videos has created the need for a critical and scholarly
understanding of the emerging forces of African American music, dance,
and drama in the United States from the 1950s to the present. This course
is the same as African American Studies 249. Open to first-year students.
Enrollment limited to 40. L. Williams.
254. Music and Drama. How do music and drama
go together, and how are the possible relationships between them exploited
in different media? This course is a study of dramas that use music, principally
operas. Works are heard and seen on records and videocassettes, and the
class may attend an opera performance in Boston or Portland. Gender issues
pertaining to all phases of opera are discussed throughout the course.
Term projects may include productions and performances of music-theatrical
works or excerpts. Prerequisite(s): new for Fall
2001 - no prerequisites. Open to first-year
students (for Fall 2001). J. Parakilas. New
description for 2001-2002.
255. The Orchestra. The orchestra has come to represent a stronghold
of Western Culture-the massive and serious ensemble for which the "masters"
set down their most profound musical ideas. Challenging notions of the
"masterwork" and the transcendence of orchestral music, this course explores
the origins of the ensemblegrounded in the danceand presents
changing cultural contexts and the concurrent changes in the status of
orchestral music across time. Students listen to repertory ranging from
the music of Louis XIV's court to Duke Ellington's jazz orchestra, through
the filter of cultural studies. Class discussion, research projects, and
readings provide students with the critical apparatus to evaluate and
articulate their responses to a wide variety of musics. Prerequisite(s):
Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101, 102, 103, 231, or 232.
Open to first-year students. R. Pruiksma.
260. Women and Music. Through a concentration
on American women musicians of the twentieth century (including, but not
limited to, Laurie Anderson, Amy Beach, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday,
Bessie Smith, and Joan Tower), this course addresses the variety of contributions
that women make to music and considers how feminist aesthetics relate to
music. Recommended background: basic ability to read music and some capacity
to use musical vocabulary, or one or more women's studies courses. Open
to first-year students. Staff.
262. Ethnomusicology: African Diaspora. This
introductory course is a survey of key concepts, problems, and perspectives
in ethnomusicological theory drawing upon the African diaspora as a cross-cultural
framework. This course focuses on the social, political, and intellectual
forces of African culture that contributed to the growth of ethnomusicology
from the late nineteenth century to the present. This course is the same
as Anthropology 262 and African American Studies 262. Open to first-year
students. Enrollment limited to 25. L. Williams.
265. Great Composers. A study of the works
of one composer, such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, or Stravinsky.
Open to first-year students.
265A. Johannes Brahms. This course explores
the music of Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). Prerequisite(s): one of the
following: Music 101, 102, or 231. Recommended background: ability to
read music. Open to first-year students. A. Scott, F. Glazer.
265B. Beethoven and Schubert. Symphonies,
chamber music, and piano music of Beethoven are compared with and contrasted
to works by Schubert. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music 101,
102, or 231. Staff.
265C. John Cage. The controversial composer
John Cage (1912–1992) is widely recognized as one of the most influential
artistic thinkers of the twentieth century. This course examines Cage's
engagement with music, visual arts, dance, literature, Zen, nature,
and social protest by studying his commitment to the work of Satie,
Duchamp, Joyce, Rauschenberg, Buckminister Fuller, Thoreau, and others.
Cage's innovations in instrumental, vocal, and electronic techniques;
chance and indeterminate procedures; and multimedia performance art
inform students' assessment of his interdisciplinary influence. Students
evaluate performances; study Cage's texts, scores, recordings, graphics,
and collaboration with Merce Cunningham; and perform some of Cage's
works. Open to first-year students. A. Beal.
265D. Beethoven. This course examines the
life, compositions, and reception of Beethoven. Through a close reading
of this composer's connection to German Romanticism and the French Revolution,
and through theoretical analysis of his sonatas, string quartets, and
symphonies, we evaluate Beethoven's position as a link between the Classical
and Romantic eras of musical style. The course also considers the myths
and legends surrounding the figure of Beethoven, as well as the momentous
reception-both musical and scholarly-his work received during the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Music
101, 102, or 103. A Beal. New course for 2001-2002.
270. Applied Music. An exploration of the literature
for voice or solo instruments through weekly instruction. Problems of performance
practice, style, and form are emphasized equally to build technique. One
course credit is granted upon completion of every two consecutive semesters
of lessons. A maximum of four course credits may be earned in Music 270.
Students register for Music 270 whenever they take the course; the actual
sequential course number (271–278) is recorded in the student's registration.
Students studying voice or instruments for credits are expected to participate
in a College-sponsored musical organization. Corequisite(s): Participation
in a department ensemble during both semesters of study. A special fee
of $290 per semester is charged for each course. Open to first-year students.
Written permission of the department chair is required. W. Matthews.
280. Applied Music II. See Music 270 for course
description. Students register for both Music 270 and 280 if they are studying
two musical instruments (or an instrument and voice) during the same semester.
Students register for Music 280 whenever they take the course; the actual
sequential course number (281–288) is recorded in the student's registration.
A maximum of four course credits may be earned in Music 280. Corequisite(s):
Music 270. A special fee of $290 is charged for each course. Open to first-year
students. Written permission of the department chair is required. W. Matthews.
331. Music Theory III. A continuation of Music
231–232 emphasizing four-voice textures, tonal sonata forms, and Schenkerian
analysis. Students compose music in several forms and styles, and continue
practical ear-training and keyboard work. Regularly scheduled laboratory
sessions. Prerequisite(s): Music 232. W. Matthews.
332. Music Theory IV. A continuation of Music
Theory III, emphasizing chromatic harmony and the post-tonal styles of
the twentieth century. Prerequisite(s): Music 331. M. Anderson.
360. Independent Study. Independent study of
individually selected topics. Periodic papers and conferences are required.
Permission of the department is required. Students are limited to one independent
study per semester. Staff.
365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered
from time to time and reserved for a special topic selected by the department.
Staff.
399. Junior–Senior Seminar in Analysis. Intensive
analytical study for advanced students. Students either consider a single
compositional or theoretical principle (e.g., sonata form, Schenker's theory)
across a variety of musical styles or approach a smaller range of music
with various analytic techniques. The particular topic varies from year
to year according to the needs and interests of students and instructor.
399B. Junior–Senior Seminar in Ethnomusicology.
This course introduces students to ethnomusicological methods by encouraging
the development of critical and analytical tools of inquiry necessary
for fieldwork and research. The course focuses on the social, cultural,
political, and intellectual forces that shaped the growth of ethnomusicology
in the United States and abroad. Students are expected to undertake
an innovative research project on a theoretical approach for studying
music in its cultural and historical context. Students critically examine
the music, current philosophical thoughts on ethnomusicology, and their
own personal interviews with musicians. Prerequisite(s): one of the
following: African American Studies/Music 249, African American Studies/
Anthropology/Music 262 or Music 232. This course is the same as African
American Studies 399B. Enrollment limited to 15. L. Williams.
399D. Junior-Senior Seminar in Musical Variations.
Variation is such a pervasive and universal musical procedure that it
almost seems to define music. It works very differently, though, in
a jazz improvisation, a baroque dance, an Indian raga, and a minimalist
ensemble. In this course music from a wide variety of musical traditions
and repertories is explored and the following questions are asked: How
broadly can the concept of the variation be usefully applied? What purposes
are served by variation in music? Is it best analyzed as a form or as
a process, or in some other way? Musical analysis is the main activity
in the course, but opportunities are provided for performance and composition
as well. Prerequisite(s): Music 332. J. Parakilas.
399E. Junior-Senior Seminar in Analysis: Recent
and Contemporary Topics. This seminar for advanced students offers
opportunities for intensive research and analytical study of music in
all styles composed after 1950. Students choose a particular stylistic
area they wish to consider, and during the semester they examine that
music's development, its forms and sound sources, performance practices,
historical context, and economic and political place in society. Students
polish writing and research skills and give frequent class presentations.
Prerequisite(s): Music 332. A Beal. New course
for 2001-2002.
457, 458. Senior Thesis. An independent study
program culminating in: a) the writing of an essay on an aspect of music
history or theory; b) an original composition accompanied by an essay on
the work; or c) a recital accompanied by an essay devoted to analysis of
works included in the recital. Students register for Music 457 in the fall
semester and for Music 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors
thesis register for both Music 457 and 458. Staff.
Short Term Units
s22. Analysis and Interpretation. In order to
perform intelligently, the performer must form his or her decisions on
phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and articulation through a thorough understanding
of the individual work. The unit involves structural analysis of selected
works, examination of the stylistic contexts to which they belong, historical
study of the appropriate performance practices, and consideration of various
more general performance issues. The unit culminates in a performance based
on this study. Prerequisite(s): an ability to perform. Written permission
of the instructor is required. M. Anderson.
s24. Hollywood's Dreams of Genius. The primary
materials for this unit are films like Amadeus, Immortal Beloved,
Impromptu, Lady Sings the Blues, Thirty-Two Short Films
about Glenn Gould, and others, that depict the lives of musicians.
What do these films say about the nature of genius? How do gender and race
figure in these films' portrayals of preternatural musical abilities? What
are we being asked to believe about a life in music (and why is good health
such a rare commodity in these portrayals)? Each film is paired with at
least one nonfictional source about the musician in question: the point
of the comparison is not to debunk the films, but to examine the different
layers of truth and untruth in different media, and the needs fulfilled
by both. Open to first-year students. Staff.
s27. Exploring Jazz Guitar. This unit explores
the nature of the guitar in jazz. A historical survey of jazz guitarists
includes extensive listening and viewing of video performances, with special
attention to the techniques that established their individual voices on
the instrument. Elements of guitar acoustics are discussed and demonstrated
in the laboratory. While the unit is designed for players or nonplayers,
it includes a discussion of jazz theory and analysis. Private lessons are
available for guitarists. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited
to 30. J. Smedley.
s28. Survey of Western Music. A survey of Western
music from circa 1000 C.E. to the present. Compositions are studied chronologically
and within their cultural context. Extensive listening assignments provide
material for daily class lectures and discussion. Required of all majors.
Open to first-year students. J. Parakilas, W. Matthews.
s29. American Musicals on Film. From The
Jazz Singer of 1927 to Purple Rain of 1984, American musicals
on film have been remarkably reflexive: "show business about show business."
On closer analysis, they provide us with fascinating clues about American
popular taste and our culture in general. The unit examines twenty-three
films and includes the videotaping of a class production. W. Matthews.
s50. Individual Research. Registration in this
unit may be granted by the department only after the student has submitted
a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during
the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the department
who agrees to direct the study and evaluate the results. Students are limited
to one individual research unit. Staff. |