All Courses
MUS 103 Introduction to Music — LA
A listener’s introduction to musical styles of the high baroque, Viennese classical, romantic, and contemporary periods. The course is designed for students with no previous musical background and is taught essentially without musical notation. Emphasis is on guided analytic listening to selected works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Two lectures, one class. S. Morrison
MUS 104 When Music Is Made — LA
An introduction to the fundamental materials of a variety of musics, including Western concert music, jazz, and popular music. Course activities center around interrelated theoretical, compositional, and analytical projects that serve to explore issues of music theory, style, and creativity. Two lectures, two preceptorials. P. Lansky
MUS 105, 106 Music Theory through Performance and Composition — LA
An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. Prerequisite: ability to read music. D. Tymoczko (105, fall); B. White (106, spring)
MUS 205 Species Counterpoint — LA
An introduction to the principles of voice leading and linear construction through a series of systematic compositional exercises. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 106 or equivalent. D. Trueman
MUS 206 Tonal Syntax — LA
An introduction to the syntactic structure of the music of the 18th and 19th centuries through exercises in analysis and composition. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 205 or equivalent. D. Trueman
MUS 210 Beginning Workshop in Musical Composition — LA
A continuous cycle of creation, discussion, and response based on the creative musical activity of the students. Varieties of kind and style—notated composition, multimedia music, multitracking, and improvisation—are encouraged. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. Two 90-minute classes. P. Lansky
MUS 213 Projects in Instrumental Performance — LA
Guides students in extended projects in performance. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. M. Steinberg, S. Canin, M. Amory, N. Lee
MUS 214 Projects in Vocal Performance — LA
Guides students in extended projects in performance. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. A. Egger, M. Pratt
MUS 215 Projects in Jazz Performance — LA
A performance course that focuses on the development of style, concept, and repertoire in the jazz idiom. Students are coached by faculty in extended projects in performance. One three-hour class. R. Bowen
MUS 216 Techniques of Conducting — LA
This course will introduce the vocabulary and skills necessary for a conductor to communicate with an ensemble, including score-reading, hearing, rehearsing, interpreting, and solving problems in the musical text. As the final project, students will conduct an ensemble of instruments and/or singers in a concert. Prerequisite: background in music theory, some keyboard skill, permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 220 The Opera — LA
An introduction to opera. Lectures deal with works by major composers, conventions of libretto poetry, singers and voice types, musical forms and dramatic pacing, and opera staging. Classes are devoted to close study of two works and the plays on which they were based. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, or some musical background, or instructor’s permission. Open to freshmen. Staff
MUS 221 Choral Music (also REL 221) — LA
A survey of vocal literature (excluding opera) from the early Middle Ages to the present. Relations between text and music are stressed. The classes are devoted to a close study of two or three works. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 225 Instrumental Music: The Symphony from Haydn to Stravinsky — LA
A study of the development of the symphony from its origins in the mid-18th century through the first half of the 20th. Representative works will be chosen for detailed study in the class meetings. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 226 Instrumental Music: The Concerto — LA
A study of the concerto genre persisting through stylistic and formal changes from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 230 Music in Antiquity and the Middle Ages — LA
Major developments of Western music up to about 1400, including some of the following: the origin and growth of chant, its liturgical context and musical properties; medieval secular song; early polyphony and Parisian organum; the French ars nova and Machaut; the Italian trecento; English medieval music. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 232 Music in the Renaissance — LA
Introduction to the history and current scholarship of European music in the period 1400–1600. The principal thread is compositional history; in addition, the course includes extensive coverage of these topics: aesthetics, orality/literacy, improvisation, gender and sexuality. Staff
MUS 234 Music of the Baroque — LA
An introductory survey of style developments, aesthetic trends affecting music, and principal vocal and instrumental genres (opera, cantata, concerto, sonata, and suite) of the period 1600–1750. Major figures to be considered include Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and J. S. Bach. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: any music course or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 236 Music of the Classical Period — LA
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the music of the Viennese classical period. In addition to becoming familiar with some 20 musical works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, students will engage the cultural context of this music, including historical, aesthetic, and biographical issues. Includes units on the primary instrumental genres of the classical style and concludes with a series of in-depth analyses of large-scale works by each composer. Two lectures, one class. Staff
MUS 238 Music of the Romantic Era — LA
A study of major styles and issues in European music from the death of Beethoven through the generation after Wagner, as seen against the aesthetic and cultural backgrounds of the time. Selected works from Schubert through Strauss and Mahler may be included. Two one-hour lectures and one one-hour class. Prerequisite: any music course, or some musical background, or instructor’s permission. S. Morrison
MUS 240 Musical Modernism 1890–1945 — LA
An introduction to modern music, beginning with its origins in late Romanticism, up to World War II. Composers considered include Mahler, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, and Berg. Topics range from urban centers for modern music (Paris and Vienna), the relationship of musical modernism to contemporary literature and visual arts, music and politics, to the impact of recording technology and cinema on musical arts. Prerequisite: any music course, some classical music background, or instructor’s permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff
MUS 242 Music since 1945 — LA
European and American music since World War II. Study of many recent approaches to music and their cultural, social, and philosophical bases. Topics include: postwar European avant-garde, American extensions of serialism, technological developments, influences of popular and folk cultures, American avant-garde. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor’s permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial. P. Lansky
MUS 250 World Music Cultures (also ANT 250) — LA
Music cultures outside the mainstream European and American tradition. Focus on aspects of musical style as well as on understanding social, cultural, and historical context of folk art and tribal musics of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The course is designed for nonmajors. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff
MUS 251 Music and Film — LA
An examination of the effect of different compositional practices and different sound technologies on the film viewer. The course will focus on three parameters of film music: music that has a visual point of origin on the screen (diegetic music), music that does not have a visual point of origin on the screen (nondiegetic music, also called background scoring), and music that floats between these two realms. Prerequisite: 103, or 105, or permission of instructor. One three-hour seminar. Staff
MUS 257 Introduction to the Music of India — LA
An introduction to the melodic types (raga), metric types (tala), and the principal vocal and instrumental genres of South Asian art music. One three-hour class. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 258 Music of Africa (also AFS 258) — LA
Introduction to the vocal and instrumental music of Africa south of the Sahara. Topics include the place of music in society, the influence of language on musical composition, principles of rhythmic organization, urban popular music, “art” music as a response to colonialism, and the impact of African music on the earliest forms of African American music. Two 90-minute lectures. Staff
MUS 260 Music in the United States — LA
Introduction to the history of American music from the 18th to mid-20th centuries, including sacred music and folk song in the American colonies, concerts and opera, spiritual songs, dances, band music, ragtime, the “high-art” music traditions, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, jazz, swing, blues, musicals. Prerequisite: 103. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 262 Evolution of Jazz Styles (also AAS 262) — LA
An introduction survey examining the historical development of jazz from its African origins through the present. The course will place emphasis on the acquisition of listening skills and explore related musical and social issues. A. Branker
MUS 264 Urban Blues and the Golden Age of Rock — LA
Examines post-World War II blues, rock music mostly of the late sixties and early seventies, and the connections between them. Explores wider musical and extramusical connections. Two lectures, one class. Staff
MUS 270 Medieval and Renaissance Music from Original Notation — LA
A “hands-on” course that explores music from before 1600 using the pedagogical methods of the period. Medieval and Renaissance techniques of sight-singing, memorization, improvisation, and harmonization will be learned. Modern computer technology will also be used to investigate the deeper mystical and philosophical content of music from this period. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: ability to read modern music notation comfortably. Staff
MUS 308 Contemporary Music through Composition and Performance — LA
An introduction to a variety of 20th-century approaches to composition. Emphasis on understanding different techniques, syntaxes, and musical languages through exercises in compositional emulations and in performance projects of student and studied works, using available performance skills of participants. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor’s permission. One three-hour seminar, one preceptorial. Staff
MUS 309 Advanced Tonal Analysis — LA
The course will deal closely with a small number of works from the tonal repertoire and will serve as a critical introduction to several pertinent and influential analytical methodologies, including motivic, formal, semiotic, and voice-leading analysis. The focus will be on the musical and aesthetic values that each method either enhances or attenuates. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor’s permission. One three-hour seminar. D. Tymoczko
MUS 310 Advanced Workshop in Musical Composition — LA
An opportunity for students who have developed sufficient compositional skills to work on more extended and advanced projects. Prerequisite: 210 or instructor’s permission. Three hours per week. Staff
MUS 311 Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition I — LA
An exploration of the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic principles of the bebop paradigm. The course includes analysis of representative works by various jazz masters and will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 312 Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition II — LA
An examination of the theoretical principles found in modal jazz through analysis of representative works by such composers as Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Herbie Hancock. The course will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 314 Computer and Electronic Music through Programming, Performance, and Composition (also COS 314) — QR
An introduction to the fundamentals of computer and electronic music in the context of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk). The music and sound programming language ChucK, developed here at Princeton, will be used in conjunction with Max/MSP, another digital audio language, to study procedural programming, digital signal processing and synthesis, networking, and human-computer interfacing. D. Trueman, P. Cook
MUS 315 Transforming Reality by Computer (see COS 325)
MUS 316 Computer and Electronic Music Composition — LA
Compositional projects involving computers and synthesizers. Some work may involve interactions between live and electronic sounds. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 314 or permission of instructor. D. Trueman, P. Cook
MUS 323 Studies of Orchestral Music — LA
Particular works or groups of works by a single composer but with reference to other music, either by the same or by related composers. Two 90-minute lectures. Prerequisite: 206. Staff
MUS 324 Romantic Piano Music — LA
A survey of piano music in the 19th century, including works for solo piano, songs for piano and voice, and concerti. Topics include the piano as instrument and innovation, piano genres and idioms, social contexts for piano performance, virtuosity. Prerequisites: 105, or experience as performer, or permission of instructor. One three-hour seminar. Staff
MUS 332 Monteverdi: Madrigal and Opera 1575–1650 — LA
Detailed examination of the principal genres of Italian secular music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, using the works of Monteverdi as a main point of reference. Some attention to placing musical issues in a context of political and social history. Classes will concentrate on a close analysis of selected works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries, with emphasis on the relationship between text and music. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: one year of theory or permission of instructor. Staff
MUS 333 Bach and Handel — LA
The contrasting careers and oeuvres of the two greatest representatives of the late baroque in music will be considered both individually and comparatively. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 335 Mozart’s Operas — LA
A study of the integration of music, language, and drama through close reading of the seven completed operas of Mozart’s maturity. One three-hour class-seminar. Prerequisite: one year of music theory or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 336 Beethoven — LA
A survey of Beethoven’s works, touching in addition upon his life, the music of his contemporaries, and his influence upon later composers. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a year of theory (105/106) or instructor’s permission. Staff
MUS 337 Wagner (also GER 302) — LA
An introduction to Richard Wagner’s operas, to Wagner as a revolutionary presence in 19th-century musical and aesthetic thought, to Wagner’s theoretical and polemical prose writings, and contemporary writings about him. Three hours. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor’s permission. Ability to read German helpful but not necessary. Staff
MUS 339 Russian Music (also SLA 311) — LA
A detailed survey of Russian national and international composers. Topics of discussion and analysis will include magic opera, realism, orientalism, the relationship between composers and poets of the Russian Symbolist era, the World of Art movement and the Ballets Russes, Soviet film music, Soviet arts doctrine, and musical aesthetics (especially as they pertain to authorship and identity). Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 352 Music in Antebellum America, 1800–1860 (also AMS 342) — LA
An introduction to the varieties of musical experience in 19th-century America through the Civil War, paying particular attention to popular music, classical music, hymns, and African American traditions. The course will relate these experiences to contemporaneous literature, painting, sociocultural, political, and racial conditions. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
MUS 366 American Musical Theater History (see THR 366)
MUS 430, 431 Topics in History, Analysis, and Interpretation — LA
Topics chosen from, but not limited to: a group of works by a single composer (Leonin’s organa, Monteverdi’s madrigals, Brahms’s symphonies); a certain genre (19th-century choral works, Hindustani Khayal, contemporary rock, late 16th-century madrigal); a specific theoretical or historical problem (atonal theory, composers’ sketches and musical analysis, the origins of opera). One three-hour seminar. Staff
