Theory

Subsequent to the publication of Robert Gjerdingen’s Music in the Galant Style in 2007 there was renewed interest in musical schemas and a steady growth of schema theory. Expanding considerably beyond the musical practice of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (which were Gjerdingen’s focus), it now
seems that there is a schema for every time and occasion.

The seminar aims to take a step back from this proliferation of music-theoretical structures to consider how the notion of a schema developed over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, starting with Sir Henry Head’s use of the term in his 1920 Studies in Neurology. This consideration will show both
the promise and the limitations of schema theory as it is presently employed in close readings of musical works. Seminar readings will draw broadly from work in psychology, computational theory, cognitive science, and music theory.

The seminar will conclude with a mini-conference during tenth week, during which each participant will have twenty minutes to present a summary of their findings, followed by ten minutes of discussion. Seminar papers (which are typically around 15–20 pages in length) must be turned in no later than August 21, 2026 or no grade for the seminar will be given.

Hand-built circuits, tape loops, feedback, filters, ring modulators, turntables, live-processing software environments, microphones, and human-machine interface designs. In this course, we will study current and historical approaches to the performative use of hardware and software environments in music, and will follow the practice as it continues to redefine music composition and improvisation in the 21st century. Study will be repertoire-based, drawing from the work of artists ranging from David Tudor to Herbie Hancock to Grandmaster Flash to Kaija Saariaho.

This course introduces theoretical and analytical approaches to twentieth-century music. The core of the course involves learning a new theoretical apparatus—often called "set theory"—and exploring how best to apply that apparatus analytically to pieces by composers such as Schoenberg, Bartók, and Stravinsky. We also explore the relevance of the theoretical models to music outside of the high-modernist canon, including some jazz. The course provides an opportunity to confront some foundational questions regarding what it means to "theorize about music."

For decades, popular music has been the soundtrack to many Americans’ lives. This class explores the structure, function, and impact of a range of vernacular musics from the 20th and 21st centuries. Our approach to popular music will be by turns historical, analytical, and sociological. Students will learn about formal designs of pop songs, from verse-chorus to much more elaborate structures, along with antecedents in the Great American Songbook tradition. Students will learn to analyze the harmonic and melodic conventions in various genres, and also spend significant time with groove analysis and design. Finally, the class will interrogate the sociological relevance of vernacular musics, weaving in discussions of relevant social issues from radio play to popularity, and from subcultural appeal to racial identity. This class is open to anyone who listens carefully and with passion, and who wants to grow their ability to write about music. Experience as a practitioner of any type of music and/or a passing knowledge of music theory will be helpful, but it is not necessary to read notated music for this course.

This one-quarter elective course covers the basic elements of music theory, including music reading, intervals, chords, meter, and rhythm.

The third quarter undertakes the study of modulation, sequences, and additional analysis of classical forms. Musicianship labs in ear training and keyboard skills required.

This course aims to develop students' analytical and critical tools by focusing on a select group of works drawn from the Western European and American concert tradition. The texts for the course are recordings. Through listening, written assignments, and class discussion, we explore topics such as compositional strategy, conditions of musical performance, interactions between music and text, and the relationship between music and ideology as they are manifested in complete compositions.

MUSI 31200 is the second of a two-quarter sequence developing your skills to practically and critically engage with analysis in a variety of tonal musics. We will focus on chromatic harmony, modulation, and neo-Riemannian terminology; on metric theory; and on issues of corpus, form, and harmony in popular music studies. Our analytical work will be framed within an ongoing disciplinary conversation about what tonal analysis has been and can be in the field of music theory and beyond.