2017-18 Academic Catalog

An investigation into the nature of musical sounds and the way they are combined to form rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and form. Topics include the spectral composition of musical pitches, the structure of musical scales and their influence on melody, chords and their interval content, and the symmetry and complexity of rhythmic patterns. Student work includes building a musical instrument, programming a drum machine, analyzing the statistical distribution of pitches in a folksong corpus, and form in the music of the Grateful Dead. Prerequisite: Music 101, or permission of the instructor as assessed by a diagnostic exam administered at the start of the term