The College Catalogue

First-Year Seminars

For a full description of first-year seminars, see the First-Year Seminar section.

10 {1010} c. Music and Race in Latin America. Fall 2012. Michael Birenbaum Quintero. (Same as Africana Studies 18 {1018} and Latin American Studies 10 {1010}.)

Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced Courses

61 {1051} c - VPA. Fundamentals of Music. Every year. Spring 2013. Anthony Antolini.

For the entry-level student. Explores the fundamental elements of music—form, harmony, melody, pitch, rhythm, texture, timbre—and teaches basic skills in reading and writing Western music notation for the purposes of reading, analyzing, and creating musical works.

101 {1101} c - VPA. Introduction to Music Theory. Every year. Fall 2012. Cristle Collins Judd.

Designed for students with some beginning experience in music theory and an ability to read music. Covers scales, keys, modes, intervals, and basic tonal harmony.

Prerequisite: Music 61, placement, or permission of the instructor.

102 {1401} c - VPA. Introduction to Classical Music. Fall 2013. Mary Hunter.

Introduction to some major works and central issues in the canon of Western music, from the middle ages up to the present day. Includes some concert attendance and in-class demonstrations.

103 {1402} c - VPA. Introduction to Opera. Spring 2013. Mary Hunter.

Opera has the reputation of being a ridiculous and unnatural entertainment for the elite. There’s something to that; but for the four hundred years of its existence opera has also had audiences from many walks of life who have been essentially addicted to its pleasures. In addition it is a genre that chronicles the preoccupations and anxieties of the places and times in which it is written and produced. Considers what opera is and where it fits in society; examines a number of representative works and excerpts; and discusses how phenomena like the Met HD broadcast affect opera’s place in society.

105 {1151} c - VPA. Introduction to Audio Recording Techniques. Every year. Spring 2013. Christopher Watkinson.

Explores the history of audio recording technology as it pertains to music, aesthetic function of recording technique, modern applications of multitrack recording, and digital editing of sound created and captured in the acoustic arena. Topics include the physics of sound, microphone design and function, audio mixing console topology, dynamic and modulation audio processors, studio design and construction, principles of analog to digital (ADA) conversion, and artistic choice as an engineer. Students will create their own mix of music recorded during class time.

Music 120 through 149 cover specific aspects of music history and literature, designed for students with little or no background in music. Course titles and contents may change every semester.

[130 {1591} c. History of Rock Music. (Same as Africana Studies 130 {1591}.)]

[131 {1201} c. Sound, Self, and Society: Music and Everyday Life.]

137 {1569} c - ESD, VPA. CuBop, Up-Rock, Boogaloo, and Banda: Latinos Making Music in the United States. Spring 2013. Michael Birenbaum Quintero.

Surveys the musical styles of Latinos in the United States. Discusses the role of these musics in articulating race, class, gender, and sexual identities for U.S. Latinos, their circulation along migration routes, their role in identity politics and ethnic marketing, their commercial crossover to Anglo audiences, and Latin/o contributions to jazz, funk, doo-wop, disco, and hip-hop. Case studies may include Mexican-American/Chicano, Puerto Rican/Nuyorican, and Cuban-American musics; Latin music in golden age Hollywood; Latin dance crazes from mambo to the Macarena; rock en español; the early 2000s boom of Latin artists like Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez; reggaetón, race politics, and the creation of the “Hurban” market; and the transnational Latin music industries of Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. (Same as Latin American Studies 137 {1337}.)

140 {1592} c. History of Hip-Hop. Fall 2012. Tracy McMullen.

Traces the history of hip-hop culture (with a focus on rap music) from its beginnings in the Caribbean through its transformation into a global phenomenon. Explores constructions of race, gender, class, and sexuality in hip-hop’s production, promotion, and consumption, as well as the ways in which changing media technology and corporate consolidation influenced the music. Artists/bands investigated include Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, Lil’ Kim, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Spooky. (Same as Africana Studies 159 {1592} and Gender and Women’s Studies 140 {1592}.)

[151 {2102} c - VPA. Write Your Own Beatles Tune.]

164 {1303} c. A cappella. Every other year. Spring 2013. Robert Greenlee.

A study of arranging and rehearsing a cappella music in recent styles, focusing on folk song arrangements, pop music in the collegiate a cappella tradition, and spirituals. Techniques of arranging include the use of chords, spacing and voice leading, textures, vocables, and adaptation of instrumental accompaniments to choral music. Also covered are conducting and vocal techniques; students are expected to sing.

Prerequisite: Music 61, 101, 271, or 273, or permission of the instructor.

201 {2591} c - ESD, VPA. Black Women, Politics, Music, and the Divine. Fall 2014. Judith Casselberry.

Seminar. Examines the convergence of politics and spirituality in the musical work of contemporary Black women singer-songwriters in the United States. Analyzes material that interrogates and articulates the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality, generated across a range of religious and spiritual terrains with African diasporic/Black Atlantic spiritual moorings, including Christianity, Islam, and Yoruba. Focuses on material that reveals a womanist (Black feminist) perspective by considering the ways resistant identities shape and are shaped by artistic production. Employs an interdisciplinary approach by incorporating ethnomusicology, anthropology, literature, history, and performance and social theory. Explores the work of Shirley Caesar, the Clark Sisters, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Abby Lincoln, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Dianne Reeves, among others. (Same as Africana Studies 201 {2201}, Gender and Women’s Studies 207 {2207}, and Religion 201 {2201}.)

202 {2101} c - VPA. Write Your Own Classic Show Tune. Fall 2012. Mary Hunter.

A course in which students write their own classic show tune in the style of Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter or George Gershwin. Skills taught include writing for keyboard, some keyboard harmony skills, chromatic harmony, text setting, melody writing and harmonization of pre-existent tunes. Not open to students who have received credit for Music 151 {2102}.

Prerequisite: Music 101, placement, or permission of the instructor.

203 {2103} c - VPA. Tonal Analysis. Spring 2014. Mary Hunter.

Through a survey of music from Bach to Chopin, the student learns to recognize the basic processes and forms of tonal music, to read a score fluently, and to identify chords and modulations.

Prerequisite: Music 151, or 101 with permission of the instructor.

211 {2201} c - VPA. Introduction to Ethnomusicology. Spring 2013. Michael Birenbaum Quintero.

An introduction to the principal theories and methods of ethnomusicology. Focuses on the foundational texts defining the cultural study of the world’s musics, drawing upon concepts and tools from both anthropology and musicology. Addresses issues regarding musical fieldwork, recording, and cultural analysis. Students engage in ethnomusicological field projects to put into practice what they study in the classroom.

Prerequisite: One course in music, or permission of the instructor.

218 {2351} c - VPA. Introduction to Electronic Music. Spring 2013. Frank Mauceri.

Examination of the history and techniques of electronic and computer music. Topics include compositional aesthetics, recording technology, digital and analog synthesis, sampling, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), and computer-assisted composition. Ends with a concert of student compositions.

Prerequisite: Music 101 or 151.

221 {2302} c. Improvisation. Fall 2012. Frank Mauceri.

Do we understand improvised and composed music differently, and, if so, how? Investigates musical syntax in improvised settings and its consequences for the organization of time in music. Also considers the social functions and meanings of improvisation. Analysis draws from recordings, interviews, and writings in ethnomusicology, semiotics, and music theory. At the same time, students participate in regular improvisation workshops exploring vernacular musics, avant-garde open forms, and interactive electronics.

Prerequisite: Music 151 or permission of the instructor.

227 {2592} c - ESD, VPA. Protest Music. Spring 2014. Judith Casselberry.

Focuses on the ways black people have experienced twentieth-century events. Examines social, economic, and political catalysts for processes of protest music production across genres including gospel, blues, folk, soul, funk, rock, reggae, and rap. Analysis of musical and extra-musical elements’ style, form, production, lyrics, intent, reception, commodification, mass-media, and the Internet. Explores ways in which people experience, identify, and propose solutions to poverty, segregation, oppressive working conditions, incarceration, sexual exploitation, violence, and war. (Same as Africana Studies 228 {2228} and Anthropology 227 {2227}.)

243 {2301} c - VPA. Introduction to Composition. Every year. Spring 2013. William Matthews.

An introduction to the art of combining the elements of melody, harmony, rhythm, form, and orchestration to create cohesive and engaging music. Students learn techniques for generating and developing musical ideas through exercises and four main compositional assignments: a work for solo instrument, a theme and variations for solo instrument and piano, a song for voice and piano, and a multi-movement work for three to five instruments. Students also learn ways to discuss and critique their own and one another’s work. Ends with a concert of student compositions.

Prerequisite: Music 101 or permission of the instructor.

255 {2401} c - VPA. The Western Canon. Every other year. Fall 2012. Mary Hunter.

The Western canon—the repertory of works and composers at the core of classical music—may seem pretty immutable. But in fact works and composers continually fall in and out of it, or move up and down in its hierarchy. At the same time, it has been extraordinarily difficult for the canon to include works by women, people of color, and non-Western composers. Examines the processes of, and pressures on, canon formation from about 1780 until the present and a number of pillars of classical music, from Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation to the symphonies of Shostakovich and the works of Nadia Boulanger’s students.

Prerequisite: Music 61 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

[257 {2402} c - VPA. Opera 1600–2010.]

258 {2202} c - VPA. Classical Music and Performance. Spring 2013. Mary Hunter.

Performing classical music is different from performing many other sorts of music partly because it requires detailed attention to the musical score, and partly because it inevitably raises questions of history. Considers how score-analysis contributes to performance and investigates a wider variety of historical performance practices and attitudes. Projects include student performances with commentary and comparisons of recorded performances. Includes concert attendance and visits by professional performers.

Prerequisite: Music 61 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

291–294 {2970–2973} c. Intermediate Independent Study in Music. The Department.

299 {2999} c. Intermediate Collaborative Study in Music. The Department.

302 {3102} c. Tonal Composition. Fall 2012. Robert Greenlee.

A compositional study of the stylistic traits of the common practice period in western Europe. Assignments include exercises in counterpoint and chromatic harmony, sight-singing and keyboard work, and the composition of a three-voiced baroque piece and a nineteenth-century operatic scene.

Prerequisite: Music 203 or permission of the instructor.

358 {3202} c - ESD, VPA. Music, Memory, and Identity. Every other year. Spring 2013. Tracy McMullen.

Explores how music relates to nostalgia, identity creation, repetition, memory, history, embodiment and “liveness” in the postmodern era. Traces the ways race, gender, sexuality, and class are performed through music. Music examined ranges from classical and jazz to “world music” and pop. Artists/bands examined may include Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Beethoven, Palestrina, and their various tributes and revivals. Authors may include Baudrillard, Boym, Butler, DeNora, Freud, Gates, Goehr, hooks, Huyssen, Jameson, Sterne, and Taruskin. Primarily intended for juniors and seniors with experience in critical and cultural studies. Sophomores admitted with consent of instructor during the add/drop period. (Same as Gender and Women’s Studies 358 {3202}.)

361 {3301} c. Topics in Music Theory: Orchestration. Every other year. Fall 2013. Vineet Shende.

An in-depth examination of factors to consider when writing for modern orchestral instruments. Students become familiar with all such instruments and arrange and transcribe works for ensembles such as string quartet, woodwind quartet, brass quintet, percussion ensemble, and full orchestra. Students also study scores by composers such as Brahms, Mahler, Ravel, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Takemitsu in order to further their knowledge of the techniques of instrumentation.

Prerequisite: Music 203, 243, or 302, or permission of the instructor.

401–404 {4000–4003} c. Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Music. The Department.

405 {4029} c. Advanced Collaborative Study in Music. The Department.

451 {4040} c. Senior Project in Music. Every spring. The Department.

All senior majors must take this course, which involves either a single semester of independent work or the second semester of an honors thesis. In addition to weekly individual meetings with a faculty advisor, students will meet as a group with the entire faculty several times during the semester. Must be taken in the spring of the senior year. Open only to senior music majors.

Performance Studies

Up to six credits of individual performance and ensemble courses together may be taken for graduation credit. Music 385–387 count for academic credit and are thus not included in this limitation. Students may participate on a non-credit basis in lessons, some large ensembles, chamber ensembles, and jazz ensembles upon instructor or departmental approval only.

285–289 {2851–2899} c. Individual Performance Studies. Every semester.

Prerequisite: Permission of the music department.

The following provisions govern applied music lessons for credit:

1. Individual performance courses are intended for the continued study of instruments with which the student is already familiar. Students must take at least two consecutive semesters of study on the same instrument to receive one-half credit per semester and to receive the reduced rate. The first semester of study on the first instrument will be designated Music 285. The second and all subsequent semesters of credit lessons on the same instrument will be designated Music 286. The first semester of study on a different instrument will be designated Music 287. The second and all subsequent semesters of study on that second instrument will be designated Music 288. The number Music 289 is reserved for all semesters of study on a third instrument.

2. One-half credit is granted for each semester of study. Students are graded with regular course grades. To receive credit, students must register for lessons at the beginning of each semester of study in the Office of the Registrar and the Department of Music. Note: Add/drop dates for lessons are earlier than add/drop dates for other courses. The deadline to add lessons is one week from the start of classes, and the deadline to drop lessons is two weeks from the start of classes.

3. Admission is by audition only. Only students who are intermediate or beyond in the development of their skills are admitted.

4. Beginning with the second semester of lessons, students must attend and perform in an end-of-semester public performance. Repertory classes, Lunchbreak Concerts, and other designated music department venues all count as public performances. Such performances must be registered with the department coordinator to count for credit.

5. To receive credit for Individual Performance Studies, the student must complete an academic course in music (which may include Music 385) within the first year and a half of study, or by graduation, whichever comes first.

6. Students taking lessons for credit pay a fee of $500 for twelve one-hour lessons per semester. Junior and senior music majors and minors may take two half-credits free of charge.

7. Student Recitals. In most circumstances, a student is required to take Music 385–387 (see below) in order to perform a solo recital. In some cases, however, a student may be allowed to perform a recital without taking Music 385–387, subject to permission of the instructor, availability of suitable times, and contingent upon a successful audition in the music department. The performance date and accompanist should be established the semester before the recital is to take place.

385–387 {3851–3879} c - VPA. Advanced Individual Performance Studies. Every semester.

Prerequisite: Music 286 and permission of the music department. The performance date and accompanist should be established the semester before the recital is to take place.

1. This option for private study is open only to students already advanced on their instruments. Students may take one or more semesters of this option. Music 386 may be repeated for credit. The first semester of study will be designated Music 385. The second and all subsequent semesters of private lessons on the same instrument will be designated Music 386. The number 387 is reserved for all semesters of study on a second instrument.

2. One credit is granted for each semester of study. Students are graded with regular course grades. To receive credit, students must register for lessons at the beginning of each semester of study in the Office of the Registrar and the Department of Music. Note: Add/drop dates for lessons are earlier than add/drop dates for other courses. The deadline to add lessons is one week from the start of classes, and the deadline to drop lessons is two weeks from the start of classes.

3. Admission is by departmental audition only. Subsequent semesters of advanced lessons on the same instrument may require further auditions.

4. To receive credit for lessons, the student must perform a thirty- to forty-five-minute recital at the end of the semester. The student is expected to write program notes for this recital and other written work acceptable to the faculty advisor.

5. To receive credit, the student must have an advisor from the music department faculty, and be able to demonstrate to that faculty member that he or she understands the structure and/or context of the music, and will meet all deadlines. The letter grade will be determined jointly by the applied teacher and the faculty member after the recital.

6. Fees as with half-credit lessons.

Instructors for 2012–2013 include Julia Adams (viola), Christina Astrachan (voice), Naydene Bowder (piano and harpsichord), Christina Chute (cello), Ray Cornils (organ), Matt Fogg (jazz piano), Carol Furman, (clarinet), Allen Graffam (trumpet), Steve Grover (percussion), Anita Jerosch (low brass), Timothy Johnson (voice), John Johnstone (classical guitar), David Joseph (bassoon), Stephen Kecskemethy (violin), George Lopez (piano), Greg Loughman (electric bass), Tracey MacLean (jazz voice), Kathleen McNerney (oboe), Kirsten Monke (viola), Joyce Moulton (piano), Gilbert Peltola (saxophone and clarinet), Bonnie Scarpelli (voice), Dean Stein (violin), Krysia Tripp (flute), Scott Vaillancourt (tuba), and Gary Wittner (jazz guitar).

Music Ensembles. Every semester.

The following provisions govern ensemble:

1. Most ensembles are auditioned. (No auditions required for Music 269, 275, and 281.) May be repeated for credit; returning students need not normally re-audition.

2. One-half credit may be granted for each semester of study. To receive credit, the student must register for the course in the Office of the Registrar at the beginning of each semester.

3. Grading is Credit/D/Fail. Members of ensembles must attend rehearsals regularly and participate in all dress rehearsals and performances, or they will receive a “D” or an “F” for the course.

4. Ensembles meet regularly for a minimum of three hours weekly, inclusive of time without the ensemble director; ensemble directors establish appropriate attendance policies.

269 {2691–2699} c. Middle Eastern Ensemble. The Department.

Meets once a week on Monday evenings, and performs pieces from the Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, and Greek traditions. Coached by oud player Amos Libby and percussionist Eric La Perna, the group does one performance per semester and often collaborates with the Bowdoin Belly Dance Club. No experience is required to join; students have the option of singing, learning new percussion instruments, or playing an instrument with which they are already familiar.

271 {2711–2719} c. Chamber Choir. Robert Greenlee.

An auditioned group of about thirty-five student singers. Repertory ranges widely, from Renaissance music to American contemporary music and folk music of the world. The choir performs at festivals and society meetings in the U.S. (American Choral Directors Association and Society of Composers), and it tours abroad during some spring breaks. Recent trips have taken the ensemble to Germany, Ireland, England, Chile, Hungary, and Slovakia. Monday through Thursday late afternoons must be reserved, but the choir usually rehearses only three of those days.

273 {2731–2739} c. Chorus. Anthony Antolini.

A choral ensemble composed of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Entrance is by audition. This ensemble has performed at the regional convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Baltimore. The chorus has toured throughout New England, New York, Washington, D.C., and Montreal. In summer 2008, the Chorus traveled to Greece. Recent performances have included Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, Jenkins’ Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem. Rehearsals are Thursday and Sunday evenings.

275 {2751–2759} c. Concert Band. John Morneau.

An ensemble open to all students with wind and percussion experience that performs several major concerts each year on campus, along with performances at campus events and ceremonies. Repertoire consists of a variety of literature, from the finest of the wind band repertoire to light classics, show tunes and marches. Students have been featured as soloists and conductors, and student compositions have been premiered by the ensemble. Rehearsals are Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

277 {2771–2779} c. Ensemble Performance. George Lopez.

Ensemble Performance is for instrumentalists who play orchestral instruments or piano and would like to play in chamber ensembles and the chamber orchestra. Participants (except pianists) must reserve Sunday evenings from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., and chamber ensemble rehearsals and coachings will be scheduled on an individual basis.

All students must audition for ensemble performance. One-half credit per semester can be earned if one participates in both the orchestra and a chamber ensemble; with permission of the director, some students may be allowed to play in only one or the other ensemble on a non-credit basis.

281 {2811–2819} c. Afro-Latin Music Ensemble. Michael Birenbaum Quintero.

Performs the musical forms of black populations in Latin America and the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on the marimba and drumming traditions of Afro-Colombians. May include also include Afro-Cuban, Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Puerto Rican, Afro-Dominican, and other musics. Students learn and perform multiple instruments, drumming, singing, and dance, culminating in a concert every semester. Occasional texts and audiovisual materials supplement musical learning by offering cultural and aesthetic contextualization. Rehearsals are Monday and Wednesday evenings.

283 {2831–2839} c. Jazz Ensembles. Frank Mauceri.

Groups of four to six students, formed by audition, and performing both modern and classic standards, plus some original compositions by students and faculty. They perform one concert a semester on campus, and appear occasionally in other venues. Rehearsals are arranged to suit the players’ and coach’s schedules.