Music: Intro to Western Music

A survey of musical styles from antiquity to the present drawing from the Western concert and other traditions.

Open to Degree and PACE students

Through this course you will expand your awareness and understanding of composers, performers, genres, and styles, with a focus on Western European and North American classical music from the Middle Ages into current times. The course also explores some Eastern European and Asian music, and the genres of jazz, musicals, and film music. The first two weeks of the course are an introduction to basic elements of music (including melody, harmony, rhythm, and meter). For the remainder of the semester, we will incorporate these elements into our discussions and assignments as we explore music history and its cultural contexts. As we compare approaches to creating, performing, and institutionalizing music across the centuries, you will become adept at connecting music history to the broader history of Western civilization.

Required Textbook: Kristine Forney and Andrew Dell’Antonio, The Enjoyment of Music, Essential Listening Edition, 5th Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 2024). 978-1-324-07113-6 This course fulfills specific degree requirements for the B.A. in Music with a concentration in Music Technology and Business, the Minor in Music Technology and Business, and the more generalized Minor in Music. It fulfills Gen. Ed. AH-1 (Arts)

Concert report, online activities, exams