T623 Fall 1995

The History of Music Theory 1 (3 cr.)

Prof. L. Rowell

3:00 - 5:00 PM W Room TBA

Practical, speculative, and poetic music theory from antiquity until ca. 1600, the first of a two-semester sequence: modal, contrapuntal, and rhythmic theories in ancient, medieval, and Renaissance treatises. The emphasis will be not upon "Who said what and when?" but upon the gradual accumulation and refinement of musical concepts, percepts, and explanations. In addition to the various technical issues, the course will explore musical speculation as a literary genre, its various historical, philosophical, and ideological contexts, and the evolution of various systems of musical tuning. The course will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and individual presentations. All readings will be in English, but some attention will be devoted to fundamentals of Latin grammar and developing a rudimentary lexicon of Greek and Latin musical terms. The course is required for Ph.D. candidates in music theory. Enrollment is limited to ten students, but graduate students in other fields are welcome to the extent that space is available. Grading will be based on class participation, an annotated bibliography on an approved topic, and a term paper. No text will be required, but students will want to set aside time and money for quite a bit of photocopying.

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