School for Studies in Art and Culture
(Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
Music (MUSI) Courses
Note: the majority of courses are open to non-Majors; students are advised to consult the Discipline. Priority is given to Music students.
Introduction to the Study of Music
Introduction to issues and methods in the study of music. Development of writing and research skills; methodological approaches in all academic areas of music (historical musicology, ethnomusicology, popular music studies, music theory).
Lectures three hours a week.
A History of Western Classical Music: Medieval to the Present
Western classical music from the medieval period to the present. Major historical periods (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, Postmodern) are examined through representative music ranging from Gregorian chant to contemporary experimental trends.
Issues in Popular Music
History of world popular music from the 19th century until the present. Topics may include the growth of the music industry, the impact of technology, stardom, world music, the role of the press, copyright, censorship, and sexuality.
Understanding Music
Through musical examples drawn from diverse cultures and historical periods, students develop the ability to describe and analyze different aspects of music and deepen their appreciation of music as a cultural experience. Prior musical knowledge is not required.
Elementary Materials of Music
An introduction to the rudiments of music and aural training. Successful completion of this course will fulfil the prerequisite for entry into MUSI 1700. Not available to B.Mus. students for credit.
Theoretical Studies: Foundations of Music Theory
An introduction to the organizational principles underlying tonal music including intervals, scales, rhythm, metre, chords, counterpoint, form, cadences, and harmonic progressions.
Lectures three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Common Practice I
A study of the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and formal structures of music of the common-practice period, with emphasis on the development of analytical and written skills of diatonic music.
Theoretical Studies: Aural Training I
A study of ear training, sight singing, and basic keyboard skills in relation to classical and popular musics, with emphasis on melodic, harmonic, and formal structures.
Lectures three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Applied Rhythmic Training I
A study of the rhythm of selected classical, popular, and world musics, with emphasis on applied performance, movement, and dictation.
Lectures three hours a week.
Performance I
Individual vocal or instrumental instruction in classical, traditional or popular idioms.
Performance II
Individual vocal or instrumental instruction in classical, traditional or popular idioms.
Choral Ensemble I
Participation in a choral ensemble, by arrangement with the Supervisor of Performance and Practical Studies. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Choral Ensemble II
A continuation of MUSI 1912. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble I
Participation in an instrumental ensemble, by arrangement with the Supervisor of Performance and Practical Studies. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble II
A continuation of MUSI 1914. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Introduction to Jazz History
A survey of ragtime and jazz from their roots in pre-twentieth-century black music and white music to contemporary jazz idioms, including an examination of New Orleans jazz and Dixieland, swing, bebop, cool jazz, and free jazz.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Popular Musics before 1945
Selected aspects of the development of Anglo-American popular musics from their roots in the nineteenth century until the shifts and tensions which led to the advent of rock `n' roll and soul in the 1950s. Genres to be examined include blues, country, the sentimental ballad, and Broadway music.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Popular Musics after 1945
Selected aspects of the development of Anglo-American and world popular musics from the advent of rock `n' roll and soul to the present. Early rock `n' roll, British rhythm `n' blues, Motown, West Coast music, punk, heavy metal, new wave, disco and country.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music of the World's Peoples
A survey of musical traditions from various regions of the world, with an emphasis on the sociocultural contexts in which those musics are created and performed.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music of Asia
A comparative and analytical study of music in Asia, including India, China, Korea, Indonesia, Japan, and the Arabic world, through an examination of the music, musical instruments and theoretical systems.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music in the Middle Ages
A survey of music in its courtly, national and ecclesiastical contexts from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries, including the study of secular monophony, medieval polyphony and liturgical music.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music in the Renaissance
A survey of music from 1400 to 1650, including works from the Burgundian and Flemish schools, French chanson, sacred Latin music, Italian and Elizabethan madrigal, and dance music. Transitions from the renaissance to baroque style.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music in the Baroque Era
A survey of the major genres and composers in the period 1600 to 1750. Instrumental music, oratorio, motet, cantata, sonata, concerto, and opera genres. Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, Couperin, Rameau, Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music in the Classical Era
European music from the early 18th century to the beginning of Romanticism. The evolution of the Classical style in important works of composers from the 1720s and the Viennese school of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music in the Romantic Era
European classical music from c.1790 to c.1910. Important genres (art song, symphony, opera, etc.); individual and national styles in the context of the socio-political climate of the period.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Twentieth-Century Music to World War II
A survey of European classical music from c. 1890 to c. 1945. Idioms to be examined in the socio-political climate of the period include Debussyan impressionism, Viennese expressionism, nationalism, and Stravinskyan neoclassicism.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Music Since World War II
Selected aspects of the musical avant-garde in the Western classical tradition in the socio-political climate of the post-War period. Serialism, colouristic and textural composition, music of political commitment, electronic music, musical theatre, process music and the music of chance.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Orchestration and Instrumentation
Introduction to the fundamentals of effective and professional arranging. All aspects of the various instruments of the orchestra and matters having to do with the practicalities of orchestration for both small and large ensembles, and accepted professional standards of score presentation.
Lecture three hours a week.
Composition I
Introduction to theories and technicalities involved in original creative writing through the preparation of individual assignments; based in the practice of recent music in the Western Classical tradition while allowing for the music of other Western styles and traditions to be addressed.
Lectures and workshops three hours a week.
Choral Conducting
Introduction to the special stylistic features of choral music from the Renaissance to the present as well as to a variety of practical techniques (vocal production, gesture, conducting patterns, diction, etc.).
Lectures three hours a week.
Computer Music I: Fundamentals of Electronic Music Production
Introduction to the theory and practice of electronic music creation, focusing on audio editing, synthesis, sampling, beat-making, signal processing, and sound design, using a variety of professional-grade software packages.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures and studio demonstrations three hours a week.
Computer Music II: Production, Collaboration and Performance
Computer-based music-making with an emphasis on collaborative approaches and performance-oriented tools and techniques. Introduces practices of remixing, live sound manipulation, preparation of original material for performance, and the use of hardware controllers in live performance and real-time musical collaboration using mobile technologies.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures and studio demonstrations three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Common Practice II
A continuation of the study of the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and formal structures of music of the common-practice period and early twentieth century, with emphasis on chromaticism and the development of analytical and written skills.
Lectures three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Popular Music Practice
A study of the rhythmic, melodic, harmonic and formal structures of popular musics.
Lectures three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies VI: Practical Keyboard Skills
A practical study of rhythm, harmony and melody on the keyboard, with an emphasis on vocal and instrumental accompaniment and the development of improvisation skills in a variety of styles.
Labs three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Aural Training II
A continuation of the study of ear training, sight singing, and basic keyboard skills in relation to classical and popular musics, with emphasis on melodic, harmonic, and formal structures.
Theoretical Studies: Applied Rhythmic Training II
A continuation of the study of the rhythm of common-practice and world musics, with emphasis on applied performance, movement, and dictation.
Performance III
A continuation of MUSI 1901.
Performance IV
A continuation of MUSI 2900.
Choral Ensemble III
A continuation of MUSI 1913. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Choral Ensemble IV
A continuation of MUSI 2912. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble III
A continuation of MUSI 1915. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week through either the fall or winter term, and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble IV
A continuation of MUSI 2914. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Canadian Music
An examination of various issues related to the study of music in Canada and by Canadians, and an examination of various genres of Canadian music, including art music, folk music, popular music, First Peoples music and music of various immigrant groups.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Popular Musics of Canada
A survey of popular musics in Canada from early colonial times to the present. The course will consider a wide range of musical styles and genres, along with related cultural and historical issues.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Popular Musics of the World
Popular musics of the world, including those of Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. Special attention to the interaction between some world popular musics and the Western record industry.
Lectures three hours a week.
Classical Indian Music I
An introduction to the history and theory of classical Indian music including ragas, instruments, rhythm and improvisation.
Lectures three hours a week.
Special Topics
Courses focusing on one selected aspect of music, in the area of musicology, theory or composition. The course offerings change from year to year.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Special Topics
Courses focusing on one selected aspect of music, in the area of musicology, theory or composition. The course offerings change from year to year.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Specialized Studies
Courses designed for Music Honours students who have acquired an extensive background through courses in theory, musicology, performance, or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Specialized Studies
Courses designed for Music Honours students who have acquired an extensive background through courses in theory, musicology, performance, or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Music and Gender I
The role of gender in the theory and practice of music in western and non-western cultures.
Lectures three hours a week.
Introduction to Music Therapy
Literature, practice and theory of music therapy. The use of music (improvisation, the voice, and reception) with various populations, including children and adults with special needs, people in long term care, people with neurological disorders, and in palliative care.
Lectures three hours a week.
A History of Opera before 1800
A survey of the development of opera from the beginnings to about 1800. The major monuments of Italian, French, German and English opera, by such composers as Monteverdi, Cavalli, Scarlatti, Purcell, Lully, Gluck, Rameau, Mozart and Haydn.
Lectures three hours a week.
A History of Opera from 1800 to 1945
A study of romantic and contemporary opera through an examination of selected works from Weber's Der Freischütz to Britten's Peter Grimes, including an investigation of national styles from Wagnerian music drama and Italian verismo to Russian realism and German expressionism.
Lectures three hours a week.
Film Music
The use of music in film, from the silent era to the present day, studying the techniques, styles and theory of film music through the examination of selected scenes.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week, screening two hours a week.
Music Industries
An introduction to the structure and history of the music industries.
Musical Theatre
A survey of the styles, works, and artists of the musical theatre genre as well as the artistic elements that comprise musical theatre.
Lectures three hours a week.
Instrumental Music: Music for Orchestra
Origins and development of orchestral music from its beginnings as an independent form in the 18th century to the present. Major symphonies and symphonic poems by composers like Haydn, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Strauss, and Shostakovich, brief examination of concerto and ballet music.
Lectures three hours a week.
Instrumental Music: Chamber Music
History of chamber music and the cultural contexts within which it rose to prominence in Europe and North America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Genres by representative composers including the sonata, duos, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, divertimenti, and works for small chamber orchestra.
Lectures three hours a week.
Composition II
Designed to enable students to develop abilities in the writing of original music. The study and appreciation of modern and contemporary styles and techniques are encouraged.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 2601, MUSI 2602, and MUSI 2700, or permission of the instructor.
Lectures, workshops, and individual consultations three hours a week.
Computer Music Techniques
An introduction to the techniques of sound synthesis primarily through practical experience at the digital synthesizer and computer. The basics of machine operations, software and computer applications to composition and synthesis. Enrolment is limited.
Lectures three hours a week, plus individual studio time.
Computer Music Projects
A continuation of MUSI 3603. The various applications of digital equipment are examined through the realization of original projects. Students may focus on studio composition, software development or analytic research. Appropriate compositional techniques and problem solving strategies are also discussed. Enrolment is limited.
Lectures three hours a week, plus individual studio time.
Instrumental Conducting
Introduction to the practice of conducting Instrumental music from the Classical era to the present as well as to a variety of practical techniques (rehearsal techniques, gesture, conducting patterns, score study, etc.).
Theoretical Studies: Seminar in Theory and Analysis
A study of a selected topic in music theory. Topics will change yearly and may include: methods of music analysis, analysis of selected works, styles and structures of common practice or post common practice period, music, modal, tonal, or post-tonal counterpoint, history of music theory.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 2700 or permission of the instructor.
Seminars three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Jazz Styles and Structures
Techniques of arranging and composition for small and large ensembles will be studied through the examination of selected works drawn from the jazz repertoire. Works will be selected for stylistic and theoretical analysis, for exercises in aural recognition, and for arranging purposes.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 2701 or permission of the instructor.
Workshops three hours a week.
Introduction to Physics and Psychoacoustics of Music
Basic topics in physics and psychoacoustics, with an emphasis on those concepts that are most useful for music performance, analysis, composition, and musicology.
Lectures three hours a week.
Improvisation in Theory and Practice
Selected forms of improvisation from diverse musical and cultural traditions. In addition to weekly seminar meetings, the class will engage in experiential forms of learning by actively improvising in a weekly performance-oriented seminar.
Discussion and performance seminars three hours a week.
Performance V
A continuation of MUSI 2901.
Performance VI
A continuation of MUSI 3900.
Choral Ensemble V
A continuation of MUSI 2913. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Choral Ensemble VI
A continuation of MUSI 3912. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble V
A continuation of MUSI 2915. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble VI
A continuation of MUSI 3914. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Issues in Jazz Studies
An examination of key issues in the study of jazz including history/historiography, gender, genre, race, politics, identity and performance.
Issues in the Study of Popular Music
An introduction to current issues in the study of popular music. The course will be organized around a series of case studies.
Seminars three hours a week.
The Composer in Context
Examination of the life and music of a selected composer, and the historical, social, cultural, and political factors that shaped the context within which she/he worked. Focus on history, biography, musical style and analysis.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Theory and Methods in Ethnomusicology
Selected readings and discussion of major works in ethnomusicology, focusing on schools of thought and contemporary issues. Introduction to a variety of methods and strategies for ethnomusicological research, including field work, musical transcription and data analysis.
Seminars three hours a week.
Ethnomusicology of Canadian Traditions
Issues of anthropological, sociological, and analytical significance are examined in the context of selected developments in folklore and ethnomusicological research on Canadian traditions.
Also offered at the graduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 5015, for which additional credit is precluded.
Seminars three hours a week.
Musics of Canada's First Peoples
The context and significance of musical expressions of selected Canadian Aboriginal groups and the contributions of individuals in the creation of music and meaning in First Peoples' communities.
Also offered at the graduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 5016, for which additional credit is precluded.
Seminars three hours a week.
Issues and Processes in African Music
Surveying five different geographic regions of Africa, traditional and modern musical styles will be studied through the lens of the global, local and social issues surrounding them.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Classical Indian Music II
A continuation of MUSI 3107, featuring more in-depth study of the history and theory of classical Indian music.
Seminars three hours a week.
Special Topics
Courses focusing on one selected aspect of music, in the area of either musicology, theory or composition. The course offerings change from year to year.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Special Topics
Courses focusing on one selected aspect of music, in the area of either musicology, theory or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Specialized Studies
Courses designed for Music Honours students who have acquired an extensive background through courses in theory, musicology, performance, or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Specialized Studies
Courses designed for Music Honours students who have acquired an extensive background through courses in theory, musicology, performance, or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Specialized Studies
A course designed for Music Honours students who have acquired an extensive background through courses in theory, musicology or composition. Course offerings change from year to year.
Music and Gender II
The relationship between the social and formal organization of music and the social and formal organization of sexual difference. The role of music in the social construction of gender; the role of gender in the determination of musical style and taste.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 3302 or permission of the instructor.
Seminars three hours a week.
Composition III
A continuation of MUSI 3602, focusing on the development of creative individual approaches to music composition.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 3602, or permission of the instructor.
Lectures, workshops, and individual consultations three hours a week.
Theoretical Studies: Advanced Seminar in Theory and Analysis
A study of a selected topic in music theory. Topics will change yearly and may include: methods of music analysis; analysis of selected works; styles and structures of common practice or post common practice period music; modal, tonal, or post-tonal counterpoint; history of music theory.
Introduction to Jazz Arranging
The art of arranging for small and large jazz ensembles is introduced through analysis of recordings by artists such as Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Rob McConnell, and Maria Schneider. Topics may include 2-, 3-, and 4-voice writing in a jazz idiom.
Topics in Music Perception and Cognition
Selected advanced topics in the perception and cognition of music. Where appropriate, emphasis will be placed upon areas of overlap between psychological research and issues in aesthetics and cultural theory.
Seminars three hours a week.
Tonal Counterpoint
This course deals with the development of writing skills and knowledge of counterpoint as manifest in the Baroque era. Topics may include invention, canon, fugue, dance forms, the compositional language of J. S. Bach, and contrapuntal techniques in the late 18th century and beyond.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Post-Tonal Theory and Analysis
Fundamentals of post-tonal music theory and analysis. Neo-tonal, atonal, twelve-tone and third-stream jazz. Students will develop the critical skills to understand these theoretical tools and be conversant with some of the aesthetic precepts associated with them.
Lectures and seminars three hours a week.
Practicum in Music
Practical experience in music-specific projects such as recording studios, librarianship, research, multimedia, etc. at local institutions. A maximum of one credit of practicum may be offered in fulfilment of Music requirements.
Practicum in Music
Practical experience in music-specific projects such as recording studios, librarianship, research, multimedia, etc. at local institutions. A maximum of one credit of practicum may be offered in fulfilment of Music requirements.
Performance VII
This is an optional performance course for B.Mus. students with high standing.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year B.Mus. standing, MUSI 3901, A- or higher average in MUSI second and third year performance courses, and permission of the Music performance supervisor.
Individual instruction.
Graduating Demo Recording
A graduation recording of substantial duration arranged in consultation with the discipline. A proposal must be submitted one week before the last day for course changes. All recording costs must be borne by the student.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 3901 and fourth-year standing in B.Mus. with a grade of A- or higher average in MUSI second and third year performance courses and permission of both the relevant associate music instructor and the music performance supervisor.
Individual instruction.
Honours Portfolio in Composition
The course requires the composition of an original work of substantial proportions, with an accompanying analytical paper. Application to the Discipline for permission to register must be received by September 1.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year standing, MUSI 3600 and permission of the Discipline.
Graduating Recital
Public recital arranged in consultation with the Supervisor of Performance and Practical Studies. An outline of the program must be submitted one week before the last day for course changes.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year B.Mus. standing, MUSI 3901, A- or higher average in MUSI second and third year performance courses, and permission of both the relevant associate music instructor and the Music performance supervisor.
Individual instruction.
Honours Essay in Musicology
An Honours research essay of approximately 50 pages. A written outline of the project must be submitted to the Honours committee changes by the first day of classes.
Portfolio in New Media
The course requires the creation of an original work (or works) of substantial proportions using applications in the electronic studios. A high level of independence and originality will be required. Requests to the Discipline for permission to register must be received by September 1.
Choral Ensemble VII
A continuation of MUSI 3913. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Choral Ensemble VIII
A continuation of MUSI 4912. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B. Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble VII
A continuation of MUSI 3915. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term and participation in concerts.
Instrumental Ensemble VIII
A continuation of MUSI 4914. Registration, but not participation, is restricted to students in the B.Mus. program. Graded Sat/Uns.
Ensemble work approximately two hours a week throughout either the fall or winter term participation in concerts.
Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca
Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca