Compositional Language(s) Instructor: Prof. SIGMAN Tuesday 13:00-15:00 Lecture I.
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Transcript of Compositional Language(s) Instructor: Prof. SIGMAN Tuesday 13:00-15:00 Lecture I.
Compositional Language(s)
Instructor: Prof. SIGMANTuesday 13:00-15:00
Lecture I
Welcome/Willkommen/Bienvenue/Benvenuti/Welkom!
0. Administrata
Required Textbooks
1) Weiss/Taruskin, Music in the Western World: A History in Documents
2) Burkholder/Grout/Palisca, A History of Western Music, 8th Edition
[available via Amazon, Kyobo, etc.]
Additional articles/excerpts/book chapters supplied and assigned by instructor.
Assessment
• Weekly assignments• Midterm Exam • Final Exam• Final Paper (6-7 pages) • Attendance/Participation
Office Hours
• Tuesday/Thursday 16:00-17:00, or by appointment
• Room 376
• Feel free to email me at any time!
Lecture slides…
• …will be emailed to you after each class
I. Course Content
A. Topics
• Musical terminology, ca. 1300-2012• German, French, Italian, English, and perhaps
a few other languages• Musical aesthetics• The influence of other arts, philosophy, and
natural sciences on musical concepts • Writing about music: analysis, research, and
scholarly writing methods
B. Activities
• Reading and interpretation: primary sources and commentary
• Music analysis (scores/recordings) • Research and writing
B. Why take this course?
1. This course will NOT…
• a) -> ++ ¥/€/$
• b) make you a better composer (in any direct way)
2. But it will…
• a) help you better understand musical tendencies and concepts in an historical context
• b) create a bridge between composition and research • c) familiarise you with terminology in Western
European languages in music and related fields• d) prepare you for further study and/or your career!
(especially if you are interested in studying or working abroad!)
• e) prepare you for other courses that I will be teaching in the future
C. Course Language
• English, primarily
• If anything is unclear, please let me know!!!
D. Course Structure
• 1) by compositional dimension
• 2) by chronology (+/-)
• Rather than considering historical periods in isolation, we will be comparing and contrasting concepts and approaches of different historical periods side by side.
E. Caveats
• 1) Syllabus subject to change!
• 2) Not ALL subtopics will be covered!!
III. Writing Music vs. Writing About Music
A. About Me:
hi
Besides composing, I:
• Write articles, book chapters, interviews, and reviews
• Edit Search Journal for New Music and Culture (www.searchnewmusic.org)
• Translate
• Have a background in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and computer science
B. A Paradox
• Composers are completely immersed in the creative process, and therefore the best at writing about music.
• Composers are biased and isolated by being completely immersed in he creative process, and therefore the worst at writing about music.
• How is this resolved????
C. New Concepts, New Vocabulary
• New musical concepts = new musical vocabulary
• Invent new terms, transform older terminology, or borrow/steal from other fields
D. Interpretation and Research
• In writing about/discussing a composer or piece, it is therefore essential to:
• a) be consistent and precise in use of terms• b) have a sense of the origin of the terms• c) have a sense of the application and context for
the terms• d) differentiate between subjectivity and objectivity
in the application and context of these terms
E. Why Write/Talk About Music?
• Music (and particularly contemporary music) does NOT “speak for itself”
• A) It is important to understand how a piece works• B) It is important to understand a composer’s musical thinking
and aesthetic intentions • C) It is important to understand the context(s) in which a
composer is/was operating • D) It is important to develop connections between different
historical periods, geographic locations, and disciplines (arts and other fields).
• E) It is important to develop a discourse around A)-E).
F. How to write/talk about music?
• There is no single “right answer”
• To be addressed throughout the course!
IV. Basic Musical Dimensions, Basic Problems
A. What are music’s basic ingredients?
• Sound
• Time
B. Typical Musical Parameters
• Pitch • Rhythm (Pulse/Meter) • Melody• Harmony• Dynamic • Register• Timbre • Texture • Orchestration
C. Metaphors: Visual Culture
• Pitch/Register as “high” or “low” (spatial metaphor)• Pitch and timbre as “colour” (visual metaphor) • Texture (visual metaphor) • Dynamic as “soft” (tactile metaphor) • Orchestration as “thick” or “thin” (tactile metaphor) • Harmony as “widely” or “narrowly” spaced (spatial
metaphor) • Sound as “sculptural” (visual and spatial metaphor) • [These metaphors exist in German, French, and Italian as
well.]
D. Music Described in Terms of…
• A) Acoustics• B) Psychology (Perception and Cognition)• C) Literature and Poetry • D) Philosophy • E) Visual Art (including Film)• F) Architecture • G) Theatre and Dance• H) Chemistry, Physics, Neuroscience, Computer
Science…