Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

This page summarizes the course goals and policies, followed by a calendar of topics.

Prerequisites

Students must have the ability to read music.

Course Overview

This subject covers a specific branch of music history: Western concert music of first sixty years of the twentieth century.

Although we will be listening to and studying many pieces (most of the highest caliber) the goal of the course is not solely to build up a repertory of works in our memory (though that is indeed a goal). We will be most concerned with larger questions of continuity and change in music. We will also consider questions of reception, or historiography - that is, the creation of history and our perception of it. Why do we perceive much of this music, so much closer in time to us than Mozart or Beethoven, to be so foreign? Is this music aloof and separate from popular music of the twentieth century or is there a real connection (perhaps hidden)?

The subject will continue to follow some topics of central interest to music before 1960, such as serialism and aleatory, beyond the 1960 cutoff. Conversely a few topics which get their start just before 1960 but which flourish later (minimalism, computer music) will be covered only in 21M.263.

The course will introduce many of the tools we use in studying music history. Many of these tools are also applicable to other repertories such as popular and world music which are (alas) mainly beyond the scope of this one-semester course.

Listening as much and as well as you can in an essential part of success in this course. Plan to spend at least six hours outside of class per week reading, listening and studying. If you cannot find six hours in your schedule you probably do not have time to take this course. The average class meeting will have 30-60 minutes of listening assigned, much of which is too dense to get at a first hearing. Some of the listening may be passive/familiarity listening - putting on the CDs while finishing a chemistry problem set or organizing your desk - but the majority will need to be active and without distraction. Make sure you have a place where you can do this.

Required Text

Morgan, Robert. Twentieth-Century Music. New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 1991. ISBN: 9780393952728.

This book is a strong and readable introduction to the period from about 1890-1945. The last fifteen years of our subject are covered less well (and does not cover music after 1960 much at all).

Textbook readings will be complemented by the writings of other people who were there in the 20th century.

We will also consult the scores of many works.

Assignments

Students are expected to write two papers and do at least one short presentation on a work.

Paper

The most important tools will be presenting and writing about music and reading other's writing about music. There will be one shorter (3-4 pages) paper and one longer (5-7 pages) paper for this course. The shorter paper will involve creating or substantially revising a Wikipedia article on music from this period.

Presentation

If the class enrollment is about 10, we will each do two short presentations on works (15-20 minutes), one of which might be done in pairs. If the enrollment is closer to 15, we will probably do one individual presentation (~30 minutes).

Exams

There will be two midterm quizzes and a final quiz which is only slightly longer than a midterm. A few (probably 1 or 2) short quizzes which will be scheduled with one class's notice. These are mostly just to keep us honest that we are still doing the listening when there are no assignments.

Participation

Participation (including but not limited to attendance) is important. (See grading at the end). Attendance is required at two concerts in which you are not a performer which include at least one piece (longer than 8 minutes) of a repertory is similar to that of this course (i.e., classical 1900-1960). Only one may be a student concert. Turn in the concert program (or a stub if no program existed) and jot a paragraph about something you liked or didn't. I will announce some concerts of particular interest.

Actually, one final requirement - it's music, so let's enjoy it. Please let me know if you ever have concerns about the course or if you have suggestions for changes or improvements.

Grading

A failing grade may, at the discretion of the instructor, be assigned for failure of any single component of the course.

Grading Scale

Many assignments and questions on exams will be graded 0-5 (some assignments will be weighed more than others, however). The scale will be very different than what you might be used to. Expect to get score in the 2-4 range. 60% of the typical grading scale is wasted on failing grades, while only 20% of the scale (80%-100%) decides between adequate and exceptional answers. The expectation here is that most answers will be good or better and that we don't need to waste the scale on work that does not meet this expectation:

A consequence of this scale is that, for instance, two excellent assignments (4pts each) and one missing (0) will average 2.7 points (B/B+), while three adequate assignments (2pts each) will earn a B/C+. The traditional system would give the first student a D+ and makes it nearly impossible to get an A or B+ range grade if you have even one bad or missing assignment (this is why so many professors fudge grades). There is also little reward in this scale for trying for trying to fill space on an exam on an answer you know absolutely nothing about, since a difference between a D and a 0 is little. Of course, if you know just a little, you should write what you do know.

The final consequence of the scale is it lets me reserve the grade of '5' for truly mind-blowing work. A 4.5 is usually the maximum given for a "perfect" assignment, while a '5' is once or twice a year event.

Calendar