ENSEMBLES
MUA 101 (1/4 course), W&J Choir
Participation in the W&J Choir offers training in vocal and ensemble techniques, sight-reading, and a wide-ranging repertory. Along with regularly-scheduled concert performances, the W&J Choir also sings at important College functions and at various community events. All students are welcome to participate with consent of the director, who will determine voice placement.
MUA 111 (1/4 course), Wind Ensemble
The W&J Wind Ensemble performs the standard band literature as well as more specialized repertoire utilizing the concept of one player per part. Performing each semester at the Olin Fine Arts Center, the ensemble also plays for community events and tours on occasion. Students registering in the Wind Ensemble must have prior experience playing a reed, brass, or percussion instrument, and read music fluently. The director determines seating placement according to instrumental ability.
MUA 201 (1/4 course), Camerata Singers (audition required)
A small, select vocal ensemble, the Camerata Singers perform a wide variety of music ranging from madrigals to jazz and popular styles. Seeking mastery of a fine body of repertory in a stylistic manner, W&J's Camerata performs frequently, both on and off campus. The director determines eligibility and placement.
MUA 211 (1/4 course), Jazz Ensemble (audition required)
An ensemble of 18 members that performs standard works from the jazz repertoire in addition to new works written by today's most innovative composers, the W&J Jazz Ensemble rehearses twice weekly with occasional supplementary sectional rehearsals. The instrumentation includes five saxophones, four trombones, five trumpets, bass, drums, guitar, and piano. The group makes at least one concert appearance each semester, performs in the community and also hosts master classes by leading visiting jazz performers. The director determines seating placement according to instrumental ability.
MUA 221 (1/4 course), Chamber Music Ensemble (faculty permission required)
Available by consent of the music faculty to all instrumentalists (including piano and strings) interested in forming duos, trios, and other chamber ensembles to learn the traditional and contemporary literature, as well as to singers interested in the art song repertory. Special attention is given to ensemble techniques and stylistic concerns of the selected repertory. A presentation of the music studied is required to receive credit. Note: Chamber ensembles seeking coaching by outside specialists may incur private coaching fees. Contact music faculty for details.
APPLIED STUDY (1/2 course)
Weekly private lessons (12 per term) for partial credit are available. Each studio focuses on building skills in technique, musicianship, and repertory, enabling students to gain proficiency in performance. For specific studio guidelines, students are encouraged to contact the instructor prior to registering. End-of-term juries and Student Recognition Recitals offer evaluation and performance opportunities to those taking private music instruction.
MUA 121, Applied Piano (Juliana Yap, Susan Woodard)
MUA 122, Applied Organ (George Rau)
MUA 131 Applied Voice (Katy Williams, Jeffry Johnson, Lara Lynn Cottrill)
MUA 141 Applied Saxophone (Curtis Johnson)
MUA 142 Applied Flute (Susan Hartger)
MUA 143 Applied Clarinet (Susanne Ortner-Roberts)
MUA 144 Applied Oboe (Renata Sakins)
MUA 145 Applied Bassoon (position open)
MUA 151 Applied Trumpet (Carlos Ortiz)
MUA 152 Applied Trombone (Matthew Murchison)
MUA 153 Applied Euphonium/Tuba (Matthew Murchison)
MUA 154 Applied French Horn (David Lintz)
MUA 161 Applied Violin (Richard Diadamo)
MUA 162 Applied Viola (Courtney Grant)
MUA 163 Applied Cello (Laura Evans)
MUA 164 Applied Bass (position open)
MUA 165 Applied Guitar (Scott Elliott)
MUA 171 Applied Concert Percussion (Ryan Frost)
MUA 172 Applied Drum Set (Michael Berry)
MUA 173 Applied Comprehensive Percussion (Ryan Frost, Michael Berry)
LECTURE COURSES
MUS 103, Introduction to Music Listening (does not count toward major or minor requirements)
A course designed to acquaint students with basic listening skills as well as relationships among the major stylistic periods in Western and non-Western music. The goal of this course is to expand the student's musical perception through a variety of listening approaches, assigned readings, lectures, live performance attendance, and discussions. Emphasis is on the distinguishing characteristics of music from various eras and composers.
MUS 141, Music of the World (taught annually; does not count toward major or minor requirements)
This course focuses on a collection of diverse music-cultures from around the globe, addressing art, folk, and popular music styles. Using directed listening and guided, hands-on experiences, students will develop the intellectual tools needed for grasping what it means to make music in a different culture. Because music in non-Western contexts is not an isolated discipline, related cultural ideas such as belief systems, modes of communication and transmission, and musical instrument design are also important to the study.
MUS 201/202, History of Western Music (sequence offered 2011-12 and in alternate years thereafter)
MUS 201 Antiquity through the Baroque
MUS 202 Age of Enlightenment into Twenty-First Century
This course sequence is a survey of the musical heritage of Western civilization. Selected major musical works will be examined from a variety of historically oriented standpoints, including their cultural milieu, their main stylistic aspects, and performance practice.
MUS 204 Music Theory Fundamentals (does not count toward major or minor requirements, but is a prerequisite for Theory I when the student does not pass the placement test)
This course is an introduction to the basic materials of music—the development of skills in rhythmic and melodic notation, scales, and elementary harmony. Presented in both traditional and computer-assisted styles, the course seeks to develop critical listening and music reading/writing skills.
MUS 205/206, Music Theory I, II (sequence offered 2010-11 and in alternate years thereafter)
Music Theory I focuses on the musical style of the common-practice period. Students will analyze scores from this repertoire with respect to harmony, melody, rhythm, growth, and other musical characteristics. Students will compose examples illustrating stylistic characteristics, including harmony, voice leading, and counterpoint. Through sight singing and dictation, students will also develop aural skills. Music Theory II continues to build skills of analysis and composition. Scores from a wider scope of music history will be analyzed, exposing students to a variety of harmonic and formal techniques. Composition assignments will allow students to apply new techniques observed in analysis. Students also will continue to develop aural skills through more advanced sight singing and dictation. Both MUS 205 and 206 are presented in traditional and computer-assisted styles. Three hours lecture, one hour lab.
Prerequisites: MUS 204 or placement exam; 205 is prerequisite to 206
MUS 221, Music and Theatre (typically offered every other year)
Presenting music in the medium of theatre, this course considers works of various forms and styles, demonstrating the broad implications of theatre. Students will exit this course having a conversant knowledge of the genres of dance, opera, operetta, musical theatre, and incidental music for theatre, and be able to differentiate between styles and various examples within those genres.
MUS 231, Beethoven
An exploration of the composer's life, work, and in-depth study of representative music from each of his creative periods, current theories and analyses of Beethoven's compositional technique are considered alongside the traditional investigations, enabling students to compare various interpretations by scholars and performing musicians. Exposure to a wide range of critical inquiry, live performances, and guest lecturers enrich this course.
MUS 241, Global Music Regional Survey
Open to all students without prerequisite. This course mirrors MUS 141, but with a closer focus on a particular region of the globe (Asia; Europe and the Middle East; Africa and South America; or Pacific Rim and North America). It addresses “classical,” folk, and popular music styles, as appropriate to the culture. Using directed listening and guided, hands-on experiences, students will develop the intellectual tools needed for grasping what it means to make music in a different culture. Because music in non-Western contexts is not an isolated discipline, related cultural ideas such as belief systems, modes of communication and transmission, and musical instrument design are also important to the study.
MUS 245, Music and the Natural Environment typically taught every other year)
This course examines musical models of the environment by focusing on programmatic music, i.e. music that has specific associations beyond its inherent musical design. In order to understand how different cultures musically interpret their environments, we must consider both Western and non-Western perspectives. Characteristic of such a study is an examination of how humans relate to the environment emotionally and spiritually, not just physically and quantitatively. Student work will focus on learning how to hear environmental messages in music and practicing the communication of these skills orally.
MUS 251, Jazz History
Through readings and extensive listening, this course will focus on the leading personalities of jazz from the early twentieth century to the present. The evolution of major stylistic trends will be examined, as well as social, political, and economic influences.
MUS 255/256, Topics in Music
This course is an in-depth study of a subject chosen from topics varying from year to year. Among those topics courses offered recently are Minimalism; Mozart and His Music; The Art of Accompanying; Venice, Vivaldi and The Four Seasons; A Pilgrimage to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Film Music and Women in Music. Current topics in music will be published in the preregistration bulletin.
MUS 261, American Music (typically taught every other year)
This course is an historical and stylistic examination of a variety of vernacular and art music reflecting American culture. Such forms as folk and popular songs and dances, jazz and concert music, America's diverse sacred styles, opera, and musicals will be considered.
MUS 270, The Art of Conducting
This course introduces the basics of conducting, a skill with many practical applications. Through hands-on participation, students will learn baton technique, beat patterns, expressive gestures, and the ways in which interpretive elements may be communicated to an ensemble. Each class will become a supportive lab/rehearsal where students learn to conduct effective rehearsals by employing meaningful gestures, score study and rehearsal preparation skills. Using both recorded and live-performance media, students will be exposed to the conducting challenges of standard instrumental and vocal repertoire. Student presentations, individual and group coaching, and offsite rehearsal observation figure prominently in class activities. Students must be able to read music to take this course.
Prerequisite: Student must be able to read music
MUS 300, Music Since 1900 (typically taught every other year)
This course traces the creative development of musical ideas during the twentieth century. Derivations from the visual arts, theatre, dance, and multicultural sources are examined, as is the eclecticism of influences in the modern world. Beginning with the impressionists in France, the course surveys primary personalities and stylistic paths in Europe, Russia, England, Latin America, and the United States.
Prerequisite: One of MUS 103, 201, 202, 205, 206, 241, 261, or permission of instructor
MUS 306, Music Theory III (typically taught in the semester following MUS 206)
Music Theory III continues to build skills of analysis, composition, and ear training. Scores from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries will be analyzed and used as models for original composition, exposing students to a wider spectrum of harmonies and formal structures. Students will continue to develop aural skills through sight singing, chord identification, and multi-voice dictation exercises.
Prerequisite: MUS 205 and 206
MUS 309, Nineteenth-Century Romantic Music
A study of that music of the nineteenth century giving voice to the Romantic Movement, this course examines music in its respective circles of men and women who compose, perform, write about and influence its creation. Selected genres are studied, focusing on short lyric forms, programmatic and absolute music, including symphonies, piano sonatas, chamber music, art songs and opera. The relationship of the musicians to their culture and connections with other arts of the period will be considered. Live performances will enrich lectures, class discussions, and writing projects.
Prerequisite: One of MUS 103, 201, 202, 205, 206, 241, 261, or permission of instructor
MUS 310, Writing about Music (typically taught every other year)
A discussion-based course that explores the relationship between words and music, and examines the challenges to insightful, effective writing in the arts. Class sessions are devoted to reading selections and identifying observational perspective, vocabulary development, music research methods and peer-reviewing. Writing forms emphasized include press releases, critical reviews, program notes, essays, research papers and annotated bibliographies. Drafting, editing, and revising are guided by the instructor, along with preparing work for publication and presentations for an audience beyond the classroom. Typically, a guest music critic visits campus and speaks with students. This course is part of W&J's Professional Writing Program.
Prerequisite: One of MUS 103, 201, 202, 205, 206, 241, 261, or permission of instructor
MUS 341, Music of the African Diaspora and Modern Africa (offered fall every other year)
People of African descent have enriched nearly every kind of music one encounters in the Western hemisphere. This course will look at modern manifestations of African music (juju, highlife, afrobeat) and African-derived music in the Caribbean and Americas (vodou, samba, reggae, calypso). The course also will acquaint students with the methods of inquiry of ethnomusicology, integrating the study of history, culture, and society with the study of music.
Prerequisite: One of MUS 103, 201, 202, 205, 206, 241, 261, or permission of instructor
MUS 361, Micromusics of America: Urban and Regional Styles (offered fall every other year, alternating with MUS 341)
Confounding any efforts to describe a distinctly "American" style of music is the incredible diversity of urban, ethnic, and regional styles found in this country. This course will look at America not as a "melting pot" but as a "stew," in which indigenous music from around the globe are preserved, but with localized variants and innovations. Students will learn to Identify and accurately describe these styles of music and performance practice. A significant part of the class will be devoted to using technological tools and statistical instruments of the social sciences to examine the importance of this music to our society.
Prerequisite: One of MUS 103, 201, 202, 205, 206, 241, 261, or permission of instructor
MUS 401, Music Seminar (offered spring term)
Music seminar provides a forum in which students who have completed upper-level courses in music, along with those seriously interested in the subject matter, can engage in meaningful discourse about a variety of relevant topics and issues. Readings and musical examples are assigned for each seminar meeting, participants being given principal responsibility for leading discussions. The range of topics includes, though is not limited to, the evaluation of new music, the historical performance movement, ethnomusicology and cultural musicology, and performance and repertory subjects related to scheduled performances at the College and in Pittsburgh. Participants in music seminar will be expected to make formal presentations during the semester, submitting written work for each. Music majors and minors will present their senior music projects during the seminar, as a capstone experience in music.
MUS 500/501, Independent Study
Independent study projects allow a student to do individual work, under the guidance of a qualified director, on a topic of special interest to the student. The student is responsible for the overall scope and direction of the project, but receives course credit only with the approval of the independent study director.
During the January Intersession term, the independent study option is open to all students. During the fall or spring term, juniors and seniors are permitted and encouraged to pursue some course of independent study. Sophomores may petition the Academic Status Committee for permission to pursue independent studies. Application forms are available from the Office of Academic Affairs. The project must be approved by the student’s advisor, the academic department supervising the project, and the Office of Academic Affairs.
