People | Faculty | Paul Steinbeck

Paul Steinbeck

Appointment:

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Music Theory

Education:

Ph.D., Columbia University, 2008

Contact:

Office: Goodspeed Hall 308
Phone: (773) 336-2277
Email: paul.steinbeck@uchicago.edu

Paul Steinbeck is a music theorist who specializes in the study of improvisation. His current research explores musical analysis, the social implications of improvisatory practice, conceptual models for improvisation, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). He is the recipient of fellowships from Reid Hall in Paris (2006) and the Mellon Foundation (2002–2003). Prior to his arrival at Chicago, Steinbeck taught at the University of British Columbia. He is also a bassist, composer, and recording artist.

Courses 2009-2010

  • 2010 “Analysis of Twentieth-Century Music” (spring).
  • 2010 “Harmony and Voice Leading III” (spring).
  • 2010 “Harmony and Voice Leading II” (winter).
  • 2009 “Improvisation” (autumn).

Selected Works

  • 2008 “‘Area by Area the Machine Unfolds’: The Improvisational Performance Practice of the Art Ensemble of Chicago,” Journal of the Society for American Music 2/3 (August): 397–427.
  • 2008 “Analyzing the Music of the Art Ensemble of Chicago,” Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie/Dutch Journal of Music Theory 13/1 (February): 56–68.
  • 2007 Paul Steinbeck Quartet, Sun Set (Engine Studios, e022).
  • 2005 Paul Steinbeck Quintet, Three Fifths (Engine Studios, e015).
  • 2004 Paul Steinbeck Quartet, Nine Ways (Engine Studios, e008).
  • 2002 Fred Anderson with Paul Steinbeck. Exercises for the Creative Musician (Chicago: Many Weathers Music).