Music

This course provides basic knowledge and understanding of music in culture, with emphasis on listening skills and repertoire. Brief survey of world music and the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods in European music. The functions of music in culture. Study of music vocabulary and early genres of music. 

This course examines Western music from the Classical, Romantic and Modern periods (approx. 1750 to the present day). Survey of the development of major styles, genres and forms of European music, including symphony, concerto and sonata. Lives and works of the great composers including Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinsky.  

This course surveys folk, art, and popular musics from around the world. Course content covers musical systems, instruments, performance practices, social structures, and religious belief systems. Musical analysis is integrated with theoretical concepts to develop a cross-cultural appreciation of music, including: race, cultural identity, post-colonialism, and globalization. Musical cultures to be explored may include those of Canada's First Nations, the Caribbean, Brazil, West Africa, Northern Europe, West Asia, India, China, Japan, and Indonesia.

This course explores the development of North American, British and non-western popular music. Lectures investigate key historical periods and genres which define the popular idiom in the west, such as blues, jazz, country, rock n' roll, folk, rap, and electronica, as well as popular idioms from beyond the western world. Changes in technology, economics and demographics will be discussed, as will links between popular music and the prevailing social conditions of each period.

Building on foundational concepts of musical structure examined in MUS 106, this course allows students to further develop their music theory skills through in-depth musical analysis and experiential learning. Particular attention will be paid to the historical development of compositional techniques and styles in Europe and North America. With examples from the Baroque to Contemporary periods, students will explore the backgrounds of important composers, and learn to conduct detailed compositional analyses of their works.