Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Semesters when certain courses are usually offered are indicated "fall", "spring", and "summer." Check the most recent schedule information to confirm availability.

N399 Honors Seminar (3 cr.) See T410 for list of past topics.

T109 Rudiments of Music I (3 cr.} Fundamentals of notation, ear training, and music reading. Melody and beginning harmony. A grade of C or better is required for the course. (fall, spring, summer).

T132 Musical Skills I (1 cr.) P: T109 Rudiments of Music I or equivalent; music majors only. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken concurrently with T152. Diatonic melody and harmony; two-part counterpoint. Aural skills, music reading, and keyboard. A grade of C or better is required for the course. (fall, spring, summer)

T151 Music Theory and Literature I (3 cr.) Introduction to the literature and analysis of music through detailed study of representative compositions. Introduction to diatonic harmony. (fall)

T152 Music Theory and Literature II (3 cr.) P: Either T151 Music Theory and Literature I (minimum grade D-) and T109 Rudiments of Music I (minimum grade C), or a grade of C or better in T151 (without the T109 requirement). Diatonic harmony continued, and introduction to chromatic harmony. Two-voice tonal counterpoint and analysis of small forms. (spring)

T231 Musical Skills II (1 cr.) P: T132 Musical Skills I; music majors only. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken concurrently with T251 Music Theory and Literature III. Melody, harmony, and counterpoint continued; some chromaticism. Aural skills, music reading, and keyboard. A grade of C or better is required for the course. (fall, spring, summer)

T232 Musical Skills III (1 cr.) P: T132-T231 Musical Skills I-II; music majors only. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken concurrently with T252 Music Theory and Literature IV. Chromatic melody and harmony. Aural skills, music reading, and keyboard. A grade of C or better is required for the course. (fall, spring, summer)

T251 Music Theory and Literature III (3 cr.) P: T151-152 Music Theory and Literature I-II. Study of music with an emphasis on the eighteenth century: counterpoint, basic harmonic procedures, and formal types. (fall)

T252 Music Theory and Literature IV (3 cr.) P: T151-T152-T251 Music Theory and Literature I-II-III. Study of music from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emphasis on structural analysis and advanced harmonic procedures. (spring)

T261 Music Theory and Literature III Honors (3 cr.) P: T151-152 Music Theory and Literature I-II. Study of music with an emphasis on the eighteenth century: counterpoint, basic harmonic procedures, and formal types. (fall)

T262 Music Theory and Literature IV Honors (3 cr.) P: T151-T152-T251 (or T261) Music Theory and Literature I-II-III. Study of music from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emphasis on structural analysis and advanced harmonic procedures. (spring)

T331 Musical Skills IV (1 cr.) P: T132-T231-T232 Musical Skills I-II-III; music majors only. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken concurrently with T351 Music Theory and Literature V. Twentieth-century materials. A grade of C or better is required for the course. (fall, spring, summer)

T351 Music Theory and Literature V (3 cr.) P: T151-T152-T251/T261-T252/T262 Music Theory and Literature I-II-III-IV. Study of music from around 1910 to the present; new compositional and analytical procedures. (fall, spring, summer)

T400 Undergraduate Readings in Music Theory (cr. arr.) Independent study on a topic approved by the Department of Music Theory prior to enrollment in the course.

T410 Topics in Music Theory (3 cr.) P: Junior standing or consent of instructor. Study of selected compositions of a particular composer, historical period, or genre. Emphasis on music and its relation to theoretical and compositional ideas. May be repeated for different topics.

• Spring 2010:  Mathematical Approaches to Music (Hook)
• Summer 2009:  Minimalism in Music (Fyr)
• Fall 2008: Variation in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Ivanovitch)
• Fall 2007: Theory and Analysis of Rap (Adams)
• Summer 2007: Variation in the 18C and 19C (Ivanovitch)
• Spring 2006: Mathematical Approaches to Music (Hook)
• Spring 2004: The Music of India (Rowell)
• Fall 2003: Mathematical Approaches to Music (Hook)
• Spring 2003: Analysis of Popular Music (Butler)
• Fall 2000: Early Romantic Music and Aesthetics (Hatten)
• Fall 2000: The Music of India (Rowell)
• Spring 1998 Interactions--Music, Mixed Media, and Interart Relationships (cross-listed with N399, Honors Seminar in Music)
• Summer Session II 1998: The Music of India
• Spring 1997 Topic
• Fall 1996 Topic
• Spring 1995 Topic

T412 Advanced Aural and Keyboard Techniques (3 cr.) P: T232 Musical Skills III and T252 Music Theory and Literature IV, or consent of instructor. Listening in context to music of various style periods. Keyboard skills (e.g., figured bass, harmonization, score reading).

T416 Counterpoint: Variable Topics (3 cr.) P: T232 Musical Skills III and T252 Music Theory and Literature IV. The techniques of counterpoint with an emphasis on a particular style, such as that of the sixteenth or eighteenth century.

T417 Analysis of Tonal Music (3 cr.) P: T232 Musical Skills III and T252 Music Theory and Literature IV. Analytical techniques for the study of tonal music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

T418 Music and Ideas (3 cr.) P: Junior standing or consent of instructor. An introduction to the philosophy of music and the history and problems of musical aesthetics.

• Fall 2006 Announcement
• Fall 2004 Announcement