Colorado Creative Music Case Study Part 2 [UPDATED]
The Music Department at Colorado College strives to be an all-inclusive place where musicians of all interests and skills can come to participate in music activities. No audition is required to enter the department, and while we offer a course of study for both music majors and minors, all students at Colorado College are eligible to attend our classes and sign-up for our ensembles. In fact, many of the 350 students who are active in the department do so only for their own pleasure.
Colorado Creative Music Case Study Part 2
The Department of Music invites all students to indulge their musical interests, either through participating in adjunct credit lessons and ensembles, or perhaps through an elective course to enhance a different major. Music majors and minors have a growing wealth of options available to explore their specialties in considerable depth and prepare themselves for professional careers performing, composing, producing, and teaching. Our course offerings range from general and introductory classes to specialized studies in theory, Western music history, ethnomusicology, popular music, composition, and music technology. Our faculty includes a composer, an ethnomusicologist, music historians, theorists, and world-class performers, as well as a steady stream of visiting professors and performers from many disciplines and from all corners of the globe.
During the academic year the music department sponsors a series of performances by faculty, student ensembles, and visiting artists. Upon declaration, music majors must enroll in a .25 unit, extended-format Concert Attendance adjunct (MU216). As a part of this adjunct, majors will attend and/or perform in 8 department-approved concerts per semester to broaden their understanding of the rewards and challenges of the concert world and to gain a deeper understanding of performance practices and literature. Students will reflect upon all of this as part of the Concert Attendance adjunct.
During the academic year the music department sponsors a series of performances by faculty, student ensembles, and visiting artists. Upon declaration, music minors must enroll in a .25 unit, extended-format Concert Attendance adjunct (MU216). As a part of this adjunct, minors will attend and/or perform in department-approved concerts to broaden their understanding of the rewards and challenges of the concert world and to gain a deeper understanding of performance practices and literature. Students will reflect upon all of this as part of the Concert Attendance adjunct.
The list below reflects the requirements for both the music major and education minor leading to teacher licensure. All interested students need to meet with Deb Mortenson in the Education Department to talk through the possibilities for licensure.
Surveys the musical cultures of eight world areas. Develops musical vocabulary and listening skills through style description and analysis. Explores relationships between music and culture through ethnographic case studies. Introduces traditional vocal and instrumental performance techniques through workshops taught by native musicians. (Fulfills only one unit of the Social Science distribution requirement.) This course meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2023-24).
Study of the methods and practices for teaching elementary music by learning about elementary general music education in school settings, planning lessons, delivering instruction, and designing assessments guided by the national and Colorado music standards. Practicum portion includes observations and participation in several elementary schools. (Not offered 2023-24).
Special topics in ethnomusicology, approached through emphasis on a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre or repertory, compositional technique, or instrument. The course is devoted to non-Western musical cultures. Meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor. (Not offered 2023-24).
Special topics in ethnomusicology, approached through emphasis on a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre or repertory, compositional technique, or instrument. The course is devoted to non-Western musical cultures. Meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor.
This interdisciplinary course traces the many musical traditions of the Jewish world communities in a journey from Temple singing and desert ceremonies in biblical times, through music of Mendelssohn, Mahler, and Schoenberg, to works of individuals such as Gershwin, Copland, Berlin, and Bernstein. Included will be a comparative study of the three major religions of the Western world exploring their respective voices and musical interaction. Sociology, literature, religion and history, as well as issues of ethnicity, cultural unity and self-expression, will be engaged in this multicultural search for musical identity. (Also listed as Religion 224.) May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement.
Special topics in music history, theory, creativity, or technology. Topics vary from year to year, but typically emphasize a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre, repertory, creative/compositional technique, or instrument.
Special topics in music history, theory, creativity, or technology. Topics vary from year to year, but typically emphasize a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre, repertory, creative/compositional technique, or instrument. Courses may be offered as half-block or regular-block offering.
This course builds on the basic aspects of musicianship while introducing students to the harmonic language and techniques of 17th-19th century western music. Students will analyze chorals and other harmonic genres, learn to interpret figured bass, write basic four-part chord progressions according to proper voice leading rules, and be able to demonstrate these musical genres at the keyboard. A major component of this course is the development of aural skills and sight singing including intervallic and chordal quality recognition as well as melodic and rhythmic dictations. The course will cover the full scope of diatonic through Chromatic harmony, including secondary dominants, extended subdominants, special sixth chords, modulations, and simple score reading. (Not offered 2023-24).
How do some musicians challenge the musical, cultural, technological, and societal norms of their time? What gives rise to such challenges, and what can be their impact? The development of music in the last 100 years has been marked by numerous paths of innovation and experimentation. Some have left behind mere traces of originality and vision, while others evolved into essential features of today's musical vocabulary. In this course, students will examine a wide spectrum of key experimental musical works, through the lens of several core aesthetic elements. works explored will range from the mid-20th century American Classical -avant-garde and early pioneers of Electronic Music, through a diverse array of artists (from John Cage, Steve Reich, and Pauline Oliveros, to Public Enemy, Laurie Anderson, Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, and others), and to today's more unconventional and envelope-pushing corners of music-making. Listening will be enhanced by a critical discussion of the works, as well as their context, impact, and potential connections to other artistic and cultural developments. Importantly, students will explore the topics covered in the course also through a series of creative projects, including assignments that involve basic digital audio editing and processing. No previous experience or musical background required. 1 unit. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement. (Not offered 2023-24).
A study of Mozart's life, character and works in the context of 18th century Europe. The course will examine each genre of music composed by Mozart and compare his works with those of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries such as Handel and Haydn. Mozart's place in 18th century society - his relationships with employers, contemporary musicians and works, family, friends, and the Masonic movement - will be examined as a context for the study of his music. No musical background is required. (Not offered 2023-24).
An exploration of the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1771-1827). The course will begin with an overview of Beethoven's artistic inheritance from Haydn and Mozart, particularly in regard to symphonies, piano sonatas and concertos, string quartets, music for the stage, and sacred music. The powerful and daring works of Beethoven's middle period, the time of his increasing deafness, proved a challenge to this inheritance, and these compositions dominated the aesthetic concerns of the most important Western composers who followed Beethoven in the nineteenth century. The transcendental, reflective, and even puzzling works that Beethoven created in his last years - while his behavior was becoming more erratic and disturbing - were not fully appreciated by his contemporaries and immediate successors. Indeed, their artistic value and influence were not generally acknowledged until the twentieth century. This course will focus on the musical and biographical considerations that can be used to describe Beethoven as a Viennese Classical, Romantic, and post-Romantic figure, as well as his role in forming the modern concept of the performing artists and composer. No musical background is required. (Not offered 2023-24). 041b061a72