Class Schedule | Fall 2018

Prereq: None 
Units: 4-0-8 
HASS-A, CI-H

Provides a broad overview of Western music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with emphasis on late baroque, classical, romantic, and modernist styles. Designed to enhance the musical experience by developing listening skills and an understanding of diverse forms and genres. Major composers and works placed in social and cultural contexts. Weekly lectures feature demonstrations by professional performers and introduce topics to be discussed in sections. Enrollment limited.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A, CI-H

An introduction to diverse musical traditions of the world. Music from a wide range of geographical areas is studied in terms of structure, performance practice, social use, aesthetics, and cross-cultural contact. Includes hands-on music making, live demonstrations by guest artists, and ethnographic research projects. Enrollment limited by lottery.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-1-8 
HASS-A

Introduces students to the rudiments of Western music through oral, aural, and written practice utilizing rhythm, melody, intervals, scales, chords, and musical notation. Individual skills are addressed through a variety of approaches, including keyboard practice in the required piano labs. Limited to 20 by lottery. Not open to students who have completed 21M.301 or 21M.302.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Through a progressive series of composition projects, students investigate the sonic organization of musical works and performances, focusing on fundamental questions of unity and variety. Aesthetic issues are considered in the pragmatic context of the instructions that composers provide to achieve a desired musical result, whether these instructions are notated in prose, as graphic images, or in symbolic notation. No formal training is required. Weekly listening, reading, and composition assignments draw on a broad range of musical styles and intellectual traditions, from various cultures and historical periods. Limited to 18.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9
HASS-A

Investigates how technology is used in the analysis, modeling, synthesis and composition of music, and its contribution to the artistic production practice. With an eye towards historical context as well as modern usage, topics include the physics of sound, digital representations of music, the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), analog and digital synthesis techniques, MIDI and sequencing, electronic instrument design, notation software, generative music systems, and computational analysis of music. Weekly assignments focus on both theory and practice, requiring technical proficiency, creative output, and aesthetic consideration.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Historical survey from roots in African and American contexts, including spirituals, blues, and ragtime, through early jazz, Swing, bebop, and post-bop movements, with attention to recent developments. Key jazz styles, the relation of music and society, and major figures such as Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, Goodman, Parker, Monk, Mingus, Coltrane, and others are considered. Some investigation of cross-influences with popular, classical, folk, and rock musics. Enrollment may be limited.

Prereq: 21M.301 or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A, CI-M

Surveys Baroque and Classical genres: opera, cantata, oratorio, sonata, concerto, quartet and symphony. Includes the composers Monteverdi, Schutz, Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart. Bases written essays, projects and oral presentations on live performances as well as listening and reading assignments. Basic music score-reading ability required.

(Subject meets with CMS.925) 
Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Surveys styles and dramatic functions of music for silent films of the 1910s-20s, and music in sound films from the 1930s to the present. Close attention given to landmark scores by American and European composers, including Korngold, Steiner, Rozsa, Prokofiev, Copland, Herrmann, Rota, Morricone, and Williams. Subsidiary topics include new trends in contemporary film-scoring, pop scores, the impact of electronics, and specialized genres (e.g., animation). Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments. Some background in the study of film and/or music is expected.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Provides an introduction to the fascinating, intricate music of Indonesia with a special focus on Bali. Examines diverse traditions across the archipelago from both musical and cultural perspectives, from the gamelan percussion orchestras of Bali and Java to the indigenous folk traditions of Borneo, from the most sacred ritual music to the most modern popular music. Students analyze and discuss the cultural significance of musical examples, and engage in hands-on music making.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Studies musical traditions of sub-Saharan Africa, with focus on West Africa. Explores a variety of musical practices and their cultural contexts through listening, reading and writing assignments with an emphasis on class discussion. Includes in-class instruction in drumming, song and dance of Senegal, Ghana, and South Africa, as well as live lecture-demonstrations by guest performers from throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Limited to 15; preference to majors, minors, concentrators. Admittance may be controlled by lottery.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Surveys the development of popular music in the US, and in a cross-cultural milieu, relative to the history and sociology of the last two hundred years. Examines the ethnic mixture that characterizes modern music, and how it reflects many rich traditions and styles (minstrelsy, music-hall, operetta, Tin Pan Alley, blues, rock, electronic media, etc.). Provides a background for understanding the musical vocabulary of current popular music styles. Limited to 20.

Prereq: 21M.030 or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Studies of selected topics in ethnomusicology (the study of music in culture).  Topics vary.  Examples include the social lives of musical instruments, music and storytelling, fieldwork methodologies, music and politics, and rhythms of the world.  May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

Fall 2018 Topic: Rhythms of the World
An introduction to the fundamentals of music through the lenses of non-Western, aural music cultures. Surveys selected traditions, from Bali to Ghana, South India to Zimbabwe, with a primary focus on oral skills, theory, and musical performance and embodiment. Instruction in diverse theories of rhythm and meter, melodic construction, and compositional aesthetic, as well as intensive hands-on music-making, builds listening, composing, and performing proficiency in multiple music practices, and strengthens overall musicality. Course requirements include individual performance exams and theory and composition assignments. No musical experience required.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-3-6 
HASS-A

Covers basic writing skills in music of the common-practice period (Bach to Brahms). Regular written assignments lead to the composition of short pieces. Analyzes representative works from the literature, keyboard laboratory, and sight-singing choir. Students should have experience reading music. Enrollment limited.

Harmony and Voice Leading (9781337560573) is recommended for only Section 1 of 21M.301.

Prereq: 21M.301 or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-2-7 
HASS-A
 
A continuation of 21M.301, including chromatic harmony and modulation, a more extensive composition project, keyboard laboratory, and musicianship laboratory. Limited to 20 per section.

Prereq: 21M.302
Units: 3-1-8 
HASS-A

Written and analytic exercises based on 18th- and 19th-century small forms and harmonic practice found in music such as the chorale preludes of Bach; minuets and trios of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven; and the songs and character pieces of Schubert and Schumann. Musicianship laboratory is required. Limited to 20.

Prereq: 21M.302, 21M.260 or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Students complete written and analytical exercises based on compositional forms and practices from the first half of the 20th century. Areas covered include compositions based upon artificial scales and modes, as in Debussy, Bartok, and Stravinsky; compositions based on atonal pitch organizations, as with Schoenberg and Webern; compositions based on rhythmic process, timbral exploration, and/or non-Western influences. Basic instrumentation will be taught, and compositions will be performed in class.

Prereq: Permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Explores composition and arrangement for the large jazz ensembles from 1920s foundations to current postmodern practice. Consideration given to a variety of styles and to the interaction of improvisation and composition. Study of works by Basie, Ellington, Evans, Gillespie, Golson, Mingus, Morris, Nelson, Williams, and others. Open rehearsals, workshops, and performances of student compositions by the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Limited to 20.

Prereq: 21M.302 or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Explores techniques associated with musical composition and/or analysis. Written exercises in the form of music (composition) and/or prose (papers) may be required, depending on the topic. Topics vary each year; examples include fugue, contemporary aesthetics of composition, orchestration, music analysis, or music and mathematics. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor. Limited to 18.

Fall 2018 Topic: Sound and Music Computing
This course investigates fundamentals of digital audio signal processing, musical acoustics and psychoacoustics, sound analysis and a variety of sound synthesis techniques as resources for composing music. We consider significant works from the computer music repertoire as models for exploring topics in computer-assisted composition, generative music, and interactive music systems. In weekly classwork and longer midterm projects, students use creative and technical skills to build programs and use them to compose engaging sounds, musical exercises and pieces. The course utilizes the Max/MSP visual programming environment in combination with the odot scripting language.

Prereq: None 
Units: 2-1-9 
HASS-A

Students develop basic skills in composition through weekly assignments focusing on sampling and audio processing. Source materials include samples of urban/natural environments, electronically generated sounds, inherent studio/recording noise, and pre-existing recordings. Audio processing includes digital signal processing (DSP) and analog devices. Covers compositional techniques, including mixing, algorithms, studio improvisation, and interaction. Students critique each other's work and give informal presentations on recordings drawn from sound art, experimental electronica, conventional and non-conventional classical electronic works, and popular music. Covers technology, math, and acoustics in varying detail. Limited to 10 per section; preference to Music majors, minors, and concentrators.

Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A
 
Explores various technologies in relation to musical analysis, composition, performance, culture, and quantitative methods. Topics vary each term and may include development and impact on society, generative and algorithmic music, recording techniques or procedural sound design. May involve hands-on components such as laptop music ensemble, new instrument building, or comparing the theory and practice of audio recording. Limited to 16.

Fall 2018 Topic: Performing with Computers
An investigation into musical communities and performance practices that have been made possible through incorporating computers into live performance. As in many domains, computers can support pre-existing conceptual models of musical performance, but also make possible many new and emerging practices. In this class, students will learn how musicians are employing cutting edge computer technologies to shape new visions for the future of music. Students will gain hands-on experience with computer music performance in a variety of styles, including gestural musical performance, live sampling, and live coding. Emphasis will be placed on the technical foundations which shape these performance practices, and the aesthetic norms which have arisen within their communities of practitioners.

Please note: While the subject listing page lists 21M.302 as the prerequisite for this class, the instructor is changing the prerequisite to 21M.051. So if you are interested and have taken 21M.051 or 21M.301, please sign up! 

(Same subject as 6.809[J])
(Subject meets with 21M.585) 
Prereq: (6.01 and 21M.301) or permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
http://musictech.mit.edu/ims 
HASS-A

Explores audio synthesis, musical structure, human computer interaction (HCI), and visual presentation for the creation of interactive musical experiences. Topics include audio synthesis; mixing and looping; MIDI sequencing; generative composition; motion sensors; music games; and graphics for UI, visualization, and aesthetics. Includes weekly programming assignments in python. Teams build an original, dynamic, and engaging interactive music system for their final project. Limited to 18.

(Subject meets with 21M.587) 
Prereq: 6.003, 6.01, and 21M.051
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A

Analyzes recorded music in digital audio form using advanced signal processing and optimization techniques to understand higher-level musical meaning. Covers fundamental tools like windowing, feature extraction, discrete and short-time Fourier transforms, chromagrams, and onset detection. Addresses analysis methods including dynamic time warping, dynamic programming, self-similarity matrices, and matrix factorization. Explores a variety of applications, such as event classification, audio alignment, chord recognition, structural analysis, tempo and beat tracking, content-based audio retrieval, and audio decomposition. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. Enrollment limited to 18.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-4-2 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Rehearsals and performance of primarily large-scale works for chorus, soloists, and orchestra--from the Passions and Masses of J. S. Bach to oratorios of our own time. Open to graduate and undergraduate students by audition.

Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-3 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Rehearsal and performance of choral repertoire for small chorus, involving literature from the Renaissance to contemporary periods. Limited to 32 by audition.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-4-2 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Rehearsals prepare works for concerts and recordings. Analyses of musical style, structure, and performance practice are integrated into rehearsals as a means of enriching musical conception and the approach to performance. Likewise, additional scores of particular structural or stylistic interest are read whenever time permits. Admission by audition.

(Subject meets with 21M.515) 
Prereq: None. Coreq: Participation in ensemble for vocalists 
Units: 3-0-3 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

For the singer and/or pianist interested in collaborative study of solo vocal performance. Historical study of the repertoire includes listening assignments of representative French, German, Italian, and English works as sung by noted vocal artists of the genre. Topics include diction as facilitated by the study of the International Phonetic Alphabet; performance and audition techniques; and study of body awareness and alignment through the Alexander Technique and yoga. Admission by audition; Emerson Vocal Scholars contact department.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-4-2 
http://web.mit.edu/~mitwe/www/ 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Designed for advanced instrumentalists who are committed to the analysis, performance, and recording of woodwind, brass, and percussion literature from the Renaissance through the 21st century. The repertoire consists primarily of music for small and large wind ensembles. May include ensemble music from Gabrieli to Grainger, Schuller, Mozart, Dvorak, and various mixed media including strings. Performance of newly commissioned works. Opportunities for solo work and work with recognized professional artists and composers. Admission by audition.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-4-2 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Designed for instrumentalists dedicated to the analysis, performance, and recording of traditional and contemporary jazz ensemble compositions. Instrumentation includes saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, guitar or vibraphone, bass, percussion and occasionally french horn, double reeds, and strings. Provides opportunities to work with professional jazz artists and perform commissioned works by recognized jazz composers. Experience in improvisation preferred but not required. Admission by audition.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-4-2 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Study of chamber music literature through analysis, rehearsal, and performance. Weekly seminars and coaching. Open to string, piano, brass, woodwind players, and singers. Admission by audition.

Prereq: Permission of instructor 
Units: 0-3-3 

A performing ensemble dedicated to the traditional music of Bali. Members of the ensemble study structures and techniques used on various Balinese gamelan instruments and learn to perform gamelan pieces. No previous experience required.

Note: 21M.450 is not being offered Fall 2018, but students interested in the Balinese Gamelan can contact Nicole Paschal (npaschal@mit.edu) for information on an independent study in Gamelan.

Prereq: None 
Units arranged 

Open by audition to pianists who wish to explore and develop their talents as accompanists. Pianists are paired with a music scholarship recipient and attend that student's private lesson each week. Accompanists prepare independently, rehearse with the student partner, and provide accompaniment at a juried recital or masterclass each term. Under supervision for music faculty and private lesson instructors, pianists may work with one or two scholarship students each term at 3 units each or one student in 21M.480/21M.512 for 6 units. Subject satisfies the performance requirement for pianists receiving music scholarships.

Prereq: None 
Units: 0-3-3 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

A performance ensemble focusing on the sabar drumming tradition of Senegal, West Africa. Study and rehearse Senegalese drumming techniques and spoken word. Perform in conjunction with MIT Rambax drumming group. No previous experience necessary, but prior enrollment in 21M.030 or 21M.293 strongly recommended. Limited to 30 by audition.

(Subject meets with 21M.512) 
Prereq: None 
Units: 1-2-3 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Designed for students who demonstrate considerable technical and musical skills and who wish to develop them through intensive private study. Students must take a weekly lesson, attend a regular performance seminar, and participate in a departmental performing group. Full-year commitment required. Information about lesson fees, scholarships, and auditions available in Music Section Office. Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments. Admission by audition.

Prereq: Permission of instructor 
Units: 3-0-9 
HASS-A, CI-M

Seminar that develops analytic and research skills in music history/culture or theory/composition. Topics vary, but are organized around a particular methodology, musical topic, or collection of works, that allow for application to a variety of interests and genres. Strong emphasis on student presentations, discussion, and a substantial writing project. May be repeated for credit with permission from instructor.

Spring 2018 Topic: Music Institutions

Graduate Level
(Subject meets with 21M.480) 
Prereq: None 
Units: 1-2-3 
This class can be combined with another 6-unit Music & Theater Arts samplings or performance ensemble for HASS credit.

Designed for students who demonstrate considerable technical and musical skills and who wish to develop them through intensive private study. Students must take a weekly lesson, attend a regular performance seminar, and participate in a departmental performing group. Full-year commitment required. Information about lesson fees, scholarships, and auditions available in Music Section Office. Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments. Admission by audition.

Graduate Level
(Same subject as MAS.825[J]) 
Prereq: Permission of instructor 
Units: 3-3-3 

In-depth exploration of contemporary concepts in music and media. Studies recent music that uses advanced technology, and the artistic motivations and concerns implied by the new media. Practical experience with computer music technology, including MIDI and post-MIDI systems. Special emphasis on the interactive systems for professionals as well as amateurs. Midterm paper and term project required.

Graduate Level
(Subject meets with 6.809[J], 21M.385[J]) 
Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 
http://musictech.mit.edu/ims 

Explores audio synthesis, musical structure, human computer interaction (HCI), and visual presentation for the creation of interactive musical experiences. Topics include audio synthesis; mixing and looping; MIDI sequencing; generative composition; motion sensors; music games; and graphics for UI, visualization, and aesthetics. Includes weekly programming assignments in python. Teams build an original, dynamic, and engaging interactive music system for their final project. Limited to 18.

Graduate Level
(Subject meets with 21M.387) 
Prereq: None 
Units: 3-0-9 

Analyzes recorded music in digital audio form using advanced signal processing and optimization techniques to understand higher-level musical meaning. Covers fundamental tools like windowing, feature extraction, discrete and short-time Fourier transforms, chromagrams, and onset detection. Addresses analysis methods including dynamic time warping, dynamic programming, self-similarity matrices, and matrix factorization. Explores a variety of applications, such as event classification, audio alignment, chord recognition, structural analysis, tempo and beat tracking, content-based audio retrieval, and audio decomposition. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. Enrollment limited.