The Willamette University music department offers students a program of rigorous and intensive training in specialized music disciplines combined with music core courses in theory, history and literature all within a broad spectrum of courses in other liberal arts disciplines. For the major and non-major alike, the department offers music study and performance through individual instruction, chamber music, large ensembles and general music courses, many of which meet the fine arts requirement of Willamette University's general education program.
The Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center houses the 450-seat Jerry E. Hudson Concert Hall, a rehearsal hall, percussion studio, keyboard lab, faculty teaching studios, practice rooms and the music department administrative offices. The adjoining Smith Fine Arts Building houses rehearsal rooms, music classrooms, faculty studios and offices, practice rooms, and the 1250-seat G. Herbert Smith Auditorium. A tracker-action organ is housed in the Cone Chapel located in Waller Hall while Hudson Hall features a Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano and a digital electronic organ. The music section of the University library contains a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of music scores, books, microfilm, CDs, videotapes, DVD's and archival recordings. The University Writing Center houses a 15 workstation Digital Music Studio. A selection of band, orchestra and percussion instruments are available for loan to music students.
Music scholarships, and other forms of institutional financial aid are available to entering students. Music students applying for admission are encouraged to audition before members of the music faculty for a music scholarship. If an applicant is unable to appear in person, a compact disc recording of a performance may be sent instead of the personal audition and interview.
Student employment opportunities under the Federal Work-Study program also are available to music students. These opportunities include accompanying, work in the Music Office and various secretarial and clerical jobs for music faculty. Information regarding employment may be obtained from the Music Department Chair or the Director of Student Financial Aid.
The Music Department presents a regular series of concerts and recitals performed by university ensembles, students and faculty. Music students and faculty engage in extensive concert activities both on and off campus. The major performing ensembles of the department tour regularly throughout the Northwest, California and Canada.
Guest artists with the Grace Goudy Distinguished Artists Series perform and present master classes on campus. The New Music at Willamette Series offers concerts organized by the Swindells Composer-in-Residence. In addition, the Music Department sponsors a weekly student recital to provide students with an opportunity to perform before faculty and peers and to experience repertoire from various media and music history periods. All music majors are encouraged to perform in these recitals. All performance majors are required to do so at least once each semester except for the first semester. All music events are open to the public and music majors are required to attend 15 performances per semester.
Applied music lessons are available in all band and orchestral instruments as well as in piano, voice and guitar. Prior to the beginning of classes in the fall semester, students may audition for placement in the studios of the various applied music teachers. There is an hourly, per-lesson charge that is billed to the student account each semester. For those students who major in music, there is no charge for lessons in the principal instrument. A modest studio fee is also charged to all students who are enrolled in applied music lessons. For more information on lessons and the applied lesson faculty, see the music department web pages.
The following music ensembles are open by audition to all Willamette students regardless of major:
Music majors are required to participate in an ensemble every semester. Policies and specific requirements for the B.M. degree (Performance, Composition, Emphasis in Music Education) or the B.A. degree are outlined in the Music Student Handbook. This handbook is distributed to all music students at the beginning of every year. Any student contemplating a major in music is strongly urged to read the handbook thoroughly and contact the Music Department Chair before registering. Students may also contact the Music Department directly to obtain a copy of the music handbook.
For Music majors the following degree programs are available:
The Bachelor of Music (Emphasis in Music Education) is the degree which best prepares the student to complete the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree. (See the Education section for further clarification of this degree program.) This course of study is designed for those students who plan to teach music at the elementary or secondary level.
The Bachelor of Music in Performance is a professional program for those students who are preparing for careers as performers, scholars, private teachers and as teachers at the college level. Majors are offered in voice, piano, organ, harp, guitar, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion instruments.
The Bachelor of Music in Composition is designed for those students choosing careers as professional composers or music theorists. The program emphasizes creativity while at the same time preparing the student with a solid foundation in compositional technique. A significant component of the curriculum includes the investigation of musical structure and meaning in a wide range of styles and epochs.
The Bachelor of Arts degree for music majors is designed for those students wishing to major in music while simultaneously taking a broader spectrum of elective and general courses in the College of Liberal Arts. See the catalog section which describes the B.A. degree and its requirements. For this degree at least 20 credits other than music must be earned for graduation. Music requirements for this degree appear later in the music section.
Some students may wish to earn a B.A. degree in music as well as a second B.A. in another discipline. It is important for such a student to consult the catalog section on double degrees and the Registrar's Office for information regarding the specific requirements which must be met to earn both degrees.
No later than the end of the junior year all candidates for music degrees (other than performance) must demonstrate instrumental, or vocal proficiency equivalent to that normally expected after three or four years of advanced private study. A minimum of one year of study at Willamette on that instrument must precede the satisfaction of this requirement. (Performance majors should see "Performance Related Requirements" section in the music handbook.) Proficiency requirements are satisfied by a performance for a faculty jury or in a student recital. Memory and repertoire requirements for each degree program are outlined in the Music Student Handbook.
During the senior year, each music major must satisfactorily complete a Senior Project, a Senior Seminar or present a Senior Recital, depending upon the degree sought.
The various majors satisfy this requirement as follows: Performance Majors - a Senior Recital; Composition Majors - a Senior Composition Project; Music Education Majors - Senior Seminar. Each student majoring in Music under the Bachelor of Arts program must complete either a Senior Recital or a Senior Research Paper.
All music majors must satisfy a set of basic music requirements as well as an additional set of requirements specific to each degree program. In addition, all degree candidates must satisfy the University's General Education Program. Bachelor of Music degree candidates are exempted from the portion of the General Education Program requiring study in a language other than English except as noted in the Voice Performance degree. Bachelor of Arts in Music degree candidates must fulfill the language requirement.
Note: Variable credit is given for Music 170, 270, 370 and 470: Applied Instrumental and Vocal Instruction (.25, .5, or 1). Performance majors take a one-hour lesson each week and are required to practice a greater number of hours weekly. Performance majors receive .5 credit for a one-hour lesson for the first two years of study. Upon passing the Qualifying Recital (by the end of the sophomore year) performance majors receive 1 credit for a one-hour lesson during the last two years of study. Non-performance majors who take a one-hour lesson per week earn .5 credit. Those non-performance majors who take a one-half hour lesson per week earn .25 credit.
7-9 credits
For this degree, at least 20 credits other than music must be earned for graduation.
Minimum of 10.5 credits
Minimum of 14.25 credits
One course per semester
Minimum of 9.5 credits
Minimum of 9.75 credits
Minimum of 9.75 credits
Minimum of 9-9.5 credits
The Minor Program in Music consists of 5 credits in Music chosen from the following courses in consultation with the Music Department.
Exploration of literature for chamber orchestra with special emphasis on music for strings. Spring semester may include performing in the pit for the production of Musical Theater Workshop. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to all students through interview
Music in various modern jazz ensemble styles will be studied through rehearsal and performance. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified instrumentalists by audition
The Willamette University Wind Ensemble is a large wind and percussion ensemble. The Wind Ensemble is not a set-instrumentation group. It is a pool of players from which many different ensemble configurations may be drawn. This system allows the Wind Ensemble to challenge the most talented and dedicated players on campus while allowing members with less time or experience to participate in a meaningful and artistic way. The ensemble performs music from a wide variety of styles, time periods, and traditions and gives two or three public concerts per semester. The Wind Ensemble is open to all students regardless of academic concentration.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
A workshop-based ensemble in which students research and prepare scenes for performance from traditional and contemporary musical theatre and operatic literature. Students participate in the development of thematic design, historical detail, and technical aspects of production. Semester culminates in a piano or instrumental-accompanied semi-staged public performance of scenes.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified musicians by audition
The coaching and performing of major works from the chamber music literature, with emphasis on rehearsal technique and small ensemble skills. Typical chamber groups are: Flute Choir, Trumpet Choir, Trombone Choir, Woodwind Quartet, Waller String Quartet, Brass Quintet, and Jazz Combo. Other chamber groups may be created depending on the availability of qualified instrumentalists. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Exploration of vocal jazz literature for small groups. Performs both on and off campus and tours annually. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified musicians by audition
Exploration of choral literature from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary style periods, including both unaccompanied and instrumentally accompanied works. In some years a concert tour is taken. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to advanced musicians by audition
Exploration of choral literature from Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary style periods, including both accompanied and instrumentally accompanied works. Class includes a mixture of Willamette students and community members. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified musicians by audition
Exploration of a wide variety of significant literature for band representing many styles and periods. A considerable amount of sight reading will be included and a number of concerts of widely varied appeal will be presented. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to all students through interview
Exploration of a wide variety of choral literature suitable for female voices. Particular attention will be given to the development of vocal technique and musicianship. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified musicians by audition
Exploration of a wide variety of choral literature suitable for male voices. Particular attention will be given to the development of vocal technique and musicianship. May be repeated for credit.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts (To receive Creating in the Arts credit in Music Ensemble courses, students must take four Music Ensemble courses in one discipline, i.e., vocal or instrumental)
Prerequisite: Open to qualified musicians by audition
The study of the art of piano accompanying. Emphasis on sight reading and the development of the listening and interpreting skills necessary for successful ensemble performance. Weekly seminar which includes live performances by students, lectures, discussions and assigned listening. May be repeated for credit.
This course is for students interested in exploring movement as it relates to playing a musical instrument or singing. Students will gain ease in performing and learn how improved coordination enables them to avoid fatigue, injury, and technical limitation. Open to majors and non-majors.
Prerequisite: Experience with singing or playing an instrument (need not be advanced)
Designed for beginning singers to try out their voices, learn the basics of vocal technique, and develop confidence by performing along side and in front of their classmates. This course may also help a student who is interested in subsequent private lessons or in joining one of Willamette's vocal ensembles. Some musical background and ability to read music is helpful but not required.
Prerequisite: Students without any musical training may prefer to start by taking MUSC 130
This course investigates the life, times and music of Mozart particularly through his letters and those of his family, as well as the comments of his contemporaries. Although the course studies the unique qualities of his music, no musical training is required.
General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing centered
Creating music offers insights into the composer's art and a means of personal expression. Current technology allows the opportunity to compose music even for those without traditional skills or training. Intended for the non-music major, this hands-on class will directly involve students in the creation and recording of origional music and sound resources. Final project recordings will be presented in a virtual concert.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts
Prerequisite: Students should have basic computing and computer file management skills
Designed for the non-music major, this course delves into the language of music through direct experience and creative activities. Students will develop musicianship skills by critically listening to recorded and live music, sight singing, improvisation, expressing music through movement, and composing melodies with basic harmonizations. When relevant, connections of music to other art forms will be encouraged and explored. At the end of the semester, each student will present a final project in the form of a composition and/or a performance. Emphasis on students' performing on their own instruments, where applicable.
General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Creating in the Arts
Intensive instruction in the rudiments of music, including clefs, notation, meters and their signatures, key signatures, scales, intervals, triads, and seventh chords. Two-voice composition; triads and seventh chords; the basic phrase model; chorale harmonization and figured bass; leading-tone, predominant, and 6/4 chords; tonic expansions, root progressions, and the mediant triad; the interaction of melody and harmony; cadences.
Prerequisite: By placement
Review of the rudiments of music, including clefs, notations, meters and their signatures, key signatures, scales, intervals, triads, and seventh chords. Two-voice composition; triads and seventh chords; the basic phrase model; chorale harmonization and figured bass; leading-tone, predominant, and 6/4 chords; tonic expansions, root progressions, and the mediant triad; the interaction of melody and harmony; and cadences.
Prerequisite: By placement
Rhythm, meter, scales, intervals, triads, and seventh chords. Introduction to computer applications and to keyboard harmony. Laboratory.
Prerequisite: By placement
The course content will include: diatonic sequences, secondary dominants, phrase rhythm, and motivic analysis, tonicization of scale degrees other than V, modulation to closely related keys, binary and ternary forms, ritornello and fugue.
Prerequisite: MUSC 130 or MUSC 131, or consent of instructor
A continuation of MUSC 132 with harmonic content expanded to include diatonic sequences, secondary dominants, tonicization of scale degree other than V, and modulation to closely related keys. Computer applications and keyboard harmony. Laboratory.
Prerequisite: MUSC 132 or consent of instructor.
This course will explore historical, theoretical, political, philosophical, and practice-based issues with a view towards providing students a foundation for understanding the current state of music education. Foundations of Music Education seeks to empower each student to think critically, reflectively, and in an informed manner as they continue the process of becoming educators.
The course is intended for nonmusic majors. After an initial introduction to the vocabulary of musical phenomena (beat, rhythm, pitch, harmony, texture, form), the course will explore specific works, primarily of Western European, Russian, and American art music, that intersect with expressions of death in literature, ritual, or in a composer's own imagination. Music will be viewed as a text unto itself, as well as a means of elevating verbal text to new levels of expressiveness. Students may present more contemporary musical expressions of death in a final oral presentation.
Mode of Inquiry: Interpreting Texts; Death Cluster
This class has two primary goals for each student: (1) the acquisition of a basic performance ability on and understanding of brass instruments including the acoustics, history, unique characteristics and other elements of each brass instrument; and (2) the acquisition of teaching techniques and resources for use in teaching brass for beginning brass classes of all ages and in a variety of settings, including elementary, junior high, middle and high schools, as well as in nonpublic school settings.
This course will involve the acquisition of a basic performance ability on percussion instruments, with some time devoted to developing the ability to teach concepts of playing percussion instruments to students. Much time will be spent developing a basic technique on snare drum, with the remaining time to be spent with timpani and other membranophones, the mallet percussion instruments, set drumming, the concert band or orchestra percussion section and the marching percussion section.
The purpose of this course is to acquaint future music educators with the basics of string playing, tto ground them in pedagogical concepts designed to promote a love of music in beginning string students and to create beneficial physical habits as the student progresses on the instrument of choice. Limited to music majors.
This course is designed for music education and music majors. It is intended to give the student an understanding of the physiology of the voice, how their own instrument functions and how to teach others to sing correctly. Identifying vocal problems in themselves and others and learning how to solve these problems through various teaching techniques is an important aspect of this course.
This class has two primary goals for each student: (1) the acquisition of a basic performance ability on and understanding of woodwind instruments, especially flute and clarinet, including the acoustics, history, unique characteristics and other elements of each woodwind instrument; and (2) the acquisition of teaching techniques and resources for use in teaching woodwind for beginning woodwind classes of all ages and in a variety of settings, including elementary, junior high, middle and high schools, as well as in nonpublic school settings. Limited to music majors.
Development of applied guitar terminology; basic notation for melody and accompaniment; beginning left and right hand techniques; basic music theory as applied to guitar; learning how to practice and play by ear. Performance of music in a variety of styles to include folk, blues, classical, and contemporary.
First year development of applied instrumental and vocal skills, starting with the student's level of attainment. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: MUSC 111; consent of instructor
Independent study in a course of one's choice. To be used at the discretion of an individual professor in order to fulfill a student's graduation requirements or to satisfy a student's interests. Such an option will usually be open only to seniors.
Improvisation is an approach to music making that crosses boundaries of medium, style, and culture from rock to raga, jazz to new music. With a focus on free and semi-structured approaches, this class will experiment with a range of musical elements and ideas through hands-on improvisational performance. Interactive improvising with other art forms will also be explored. All instrumentalists/vocalists are welcome. No prior improvisational experience is necessary.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
This course is intended to survey the growth and development of the musical arts in America. Starting with an introduction to fundamentals of music the course is followed by an overview of Native American, African, European, and Hispanic influences on the development of American Music. Special attention will be paid to how music was created and experienced; how music functioned in relation to society and religion; how meaning is inherent in both style and subject matter; and how music is important to us today.
Mode of Inquiry: Interpreting Texts
This course will present an overview of the evolution, contexts, and artistry of Jazz music and musicians. Primary focus will be on the recordings of seminal artists. Reading and discussion will offer additional perspectives. Students will synthesize these elements, constructing their own understanding of Jazz music and its many dimensions.
Mode of Inquiry: Interpreting Texts
Major works of Beethoven placed in historical perspective through a study of compositional styles before and after Beethoven to attempt to determine how his musical style reflects the Classic-Romantic spectrum of musical thought. Exploration of social change, artistic and philosophic thought from 1770 to 1830, with Beethoven's works interpreted in the light of the times of the French Revolution.
Topics include: Modal mixture chromatic mediants and submediants, the Neapolitan and augmented sixths, popular song and art song, variation and rondo, sonata form, advanced chromaticism.
Prerequisite: MUSC 133 or consent of instructor.
A continuation of MUSC 134, with harmonic content expanded to include modal mixture, chromatic mediants and submediants, the Neapolitan and augmented sixths, and advanced chromaticism. Computer applications and keyboard harmony. Laboratory.
Prerequisite: MUSC 134 or consent of instructor.
The course will focus on analysis and theories of twentieth-century music. Topics will include: extensions of tonality; non-diatonic modes and scales; pitch-class sets and set classes; twelve-tone rows and invariants; aspects of rhythm and form; serialism.
Prerequisite: MUSC 231 or consent of instructor.
A continuation of MUSC 232, with musical vocabulary expanded to include: modes, scales, and sets; sets and set classes; serialism and twelve-tone rows. Performance of complex rhythmic patterns. Computer applications and keyboard harmony. Laboratory.
Prerequisite: MUSC 232 or consent of instructor.
In this course students write pieces based on models from the Baroque and Classical periods. Concepts of harmony, phrase structure, form and articulation are developed in strict composition exercises. In consultation with the instructor, students also work on individual projects in free composition. A once-a-year concert or reading session is devoted to showcasing student works.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts
Prerequisite: MUSC 233 or consent of instructor
In this course students write pieces based on models from the Baroque and Classical periods. Concepts of harmony, phrase structure, form and articulation are developed in strict composition exercises. In consultation with the instructor, students also work on individual projects in free composition. A once-a-year concert or reading session is devoted to showcasing student works.
Mode of Inquiry: Creating in the Arts
Prerequisite: MUSC 236 or consent of instructor
This course is open to all students with a desire to understand jazz theory and jazz improvisation. Jazz chord theory and symbols, jazz scale theory, II, V, I chord progressions, the blues, application of jazz theory to jazz literature, beginning concepts of jazz improvisation. Students will apply theory to their own voice or instrument.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
This course is the first part of a three semester study intended to introduce the major styles and musical compositions of Western European culture. It covers the period from approximately 400 A.D. to 1620 and explores: Gregorian Chant through the beginnings of polyphony, English and Burgundian music at the close of the middle ages and Renaissance Music. Special attention will be paid to how music is created and experienced within a culture; how early music practice within the Catholic Church reflected various Mediterranean traditions; the aesthetic and religious dialogue surrounding the issue of text-setting, how concepts like dissonance are historically embedded, how socio-cultural factors influence music and conversely how music has influenced culture and society. Illustrations by means of lectures, score analysis, class performances and discussion.
Mode of Inquiry: Thinking Historically
General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing centered
Prerequisite: MUSC 231 and MUSC 232
An introduction to the materials and methods available to the prospective teacher of piano. This course will also provide examination and understanding of the various pedagogic and technical issues, in their proper historical context, that emerge in the teaching of the standard literature. Various traditions of piano technique will be examined in addition to discussion of "graded" approaches to the development of musical thought.
Basic techniques of choral and instrumental conducting. Techniques needed by music education majors and also to enhance any musician's participation in a baton-conducted ensemble. Emphasis on practical problems to gain experience.
Prerequisite: MUSC 132 and consent of instructor
Principles of English and Italian phonetics for singing. Learning to apply the International Phonetic Alphabet to song texts in each language.
Principles of French and German phonetics for singing. Learning to apply the International Phonetic Alphabet to song texts in each language.
Second year development of applied instrumental and vocal skills, starting with the student's level of attainment. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: MUSC 170; consent of instructor
Independent study in a course of one's choice. To be used at the discretion of an individual professor in order to fulfill a student's graduation requirements or to satisfy a student's interests. Such an option will usually be open only to seniors.
In this course students will apply the analytical techniques mastered in Theory III and IV to a few select works that will be studied in depth. The aim of the course is to enhance the understanding of musical style as it applies to individual composers and to musical periods, to engage historical and modern-day music-theoretical and musicological writings relevant to these composers and their works, and to hone students' writing skills in the context of musical analysis.
General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing centered
Prerequisite: MUSC 233
Students will master the principles of melodic construction, voice-leading and harmonic progression through the writing of musical exercises. The first half of the course will focus on species counterpoint. The second half will adapt species counterpoint to include harmonic progression. The course will culminate in the writing of an actual piece in Baroque style.
In this course the strict composition assignments employ chromatic harmony, serial procedures and larger formal designs. Contemporary orchestration techniques and notation are also introduced. Private lessons are devoted to a free composition project in consultation with the instructor. A once-a-year concert or reading session is devoted to showcasing student works.
Prerequisite: MUSC 237
In this course the strict composition assignments employ chromatic harmony, serial procedures and larger formal designs. Contemporary orchestration techniques and notation are also introduced. Private lessons are devoted to a free composition project in consultation with the instructor. A once-a-year concert or reading session is devoted to showcasing student works.
Prerequisite: MUSC 336
Students will explore digital music techniques through their application to creative projects. These techniques will include MIDI and Digital Audio sequencing, Digital Audio sound design, synthesis, and audio production techniques. Issues relating to the design and construction of digital music workstations will be addressed.
This course will focus on the various families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Ranges, transpositions, and idiomatic scoring for each instrument will be studied. Class projects include preparing scores for small instrument combinations and a final project preparing a full band or orchestral score.
The changes in Western music history from the early Baroque period through the classic and Romantic periods. Illustrations by means of class performances, score analysis and recordings. Readings in corollary cultural history.
Prerequisite: MUSC 233
A study of the major epochs and developments in music history in the modern and post-modern eras, from the premiere of Wagner's Tristan to the present.
Prerequisite: MUSC 342
The course will cover the elements common to pedagogies of all strings, violin through bass, and the elements unique to each instrument. The course includes philosophical and physiological approaches to teaching students of different ages. Included also is a review of some of the more common pedagogical literature and a consideration of different approaches. Each instrument's literature is studied for its appropriateness to students at various levels of development.
Prerequisite: Four semesters of private applied instruction at the college level
This course will examine the anatomy and physiology of the vocal instrument and study the history, theory, and practice of the teaching of singing in Western music. Direct observation of Willamette University voice faculty in studio lessons will be included in the course activities, which will culminate in the practical teaching experience of a series of lessons given by students.
Prerequisite: MUSC 170, MUSC 270 (four semesters of private voice instruction)
The course will include the study of choral literature, materials, principles, class procedures, ensembles, programming and performance, general administration and objectives in school vocal music on the secondary school level. Directed observation of vocal public school music practice will be included in course activities.
The course will include the study of instrumental literature, materials, principles, class procedures, ensembles, programming and performance, general administration, and objectives in school instrumental music on the secondary and elementary school level. Directed observation of public school instrumental music groups will be included in course activities.
The principle activity of this course is musical performance and an investigation of the various factors which define and enrich the experience. Performance of a composition is required in order literally and physically to realize the potential of a score. As musical composition has a very specific non-linguistic syntax, performance requires the process of interpretation. Written notes represent, at best, an abstraction of the composer's thoughts. However, the 'black dots' on paper bear no relation to the outcome in sound, and the emotions engendered by the music. Successful performance challenges all musicians. A performance is not simply the physical execution of the correct notes; every decision is subjective and must be informed by both the heart and mind. The analytical, historic, and theoretical tools which allow the student-performer to contextualize artistic choices that determine a performance will form the central discourse of this class.
Prerequisite: Experience with musical performance, or consent of instructor.
Mode of Inquiry; Creating in the Arts
With classroom practice as its frame of reference, this course will explore strategies and methods of general music education in elementary and secondary school settings. Through active participation in classroom music activities, students will develop their own creative approaches to musical, pedagogical and critical thinking in addition to reflective skills with a view toward empowering the design and implementation of curriculum for music appreciation, history, theory, composition, and alternative performance topics. Special attention will be paid to the integration of music technology and the National Standards for Arts Education.
Second year development of applied instrumental and vocal skills, starting with the student's level of attainment. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: MUSC 270; consent of instructor
Independent study in a course of one's choice. To be used at the discretion of an individual professor in order to fulfill a student's graduation requirements or to satisfy a student's interests. Such an option will usually be open only to seniors.
This course fosters advanced creative expression and technical competence. Students in this class will develop solo works and participate in collaborative projects with peers in Computer Science, Art Studio, and English courses. These projects will engage a number of music technology practices including composing with sequencers, sound design, recording, mixing, and mastering for contexts including multimedia, animation/video scoring, and CD production.
Prerequisite: MUSC 121 or MUSC 339
The course follows and builds on expertise gained in Basic Conducting for the Music Education major. Advanced conducting technique, score preparation, rehearsal technique and the artistic and musical performance of advanced choral and instrumental literature.
Prerequisite: MUSC 255
An in-depth analytical study of music composed for small groups (2-13 instruments), this course will focus on selected works composed between 1750 and 1950 which have made a significant impact in the evolution of Western music. The format of the class is lecture and discussion with students and professor taking turns presenting. Live performances by students, faculty and visiting ensembles will be used whenever possible. Designed primarily for music majors.
Prerequisite: MUSC 343 or consent of instructor
A study of the music and artistic theories of Wagner, concentrating on the Ring operas, Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal. The course will include analysis of musical structure and a study of the relations among drama, text and music. Writings from artists and philosophers contemporary with Wagner will be studied to provide intellectual, musical and political background.
Prerequisite: MUSC 343
A study of the music and relevant issues of aesthetics, style, genre, and form in the music of Haydn, concentrating on the string quartets, the symphonies, and the late vocal works. The course will include analysis of musical structure and a study of the relations among genre, style, and form. Writings from Haydn's early biographers and excerpts from contemporaneous reviews will provide insight into eighteenth-century assessments of his music. More recent discussions of the music of Haydn will acquaint students with present-day issues that arise in scholarly discussions of Haydn's music.
Prerequisite: MUSC 343
An examination of the development and repertoire of the art song genre (defined primarily as a work for a single voice with piano accompaniment) and of the response of composers of the German Lied, the French melody, and the English-language art song to the stimulus of a poetic text. Ability to read a piano-vocal score in musical notation is required. Reading knowledge of French and German is not required, but will be an asset to the student.
Mode of Inquiry: Interpreting Texts
Prerequisite: MUSC 343 or consent of instructor
Second year development of applied instrumental and vocal skills, starting with the student's level of attainment. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: MUSC 370; consent of instructor
Independent study in a course of one's choice. To be used at the discretion of an individual professor in order to fulfill a student's graduation requirements or to satisfy a student's interests. Such an option will usually be open only to seniors.
A senior seminar and supervised practicum for students completing the Emphasis in Music Education program. Theoretical, philosophical, and practice-based issues will be explored. Individual projects will involve writing and teaching presentations. Register Fall and Spring of senior year.
This course consists of one-on-one classes between the student and the conductor for either Chamber Choir, Wind Ensemble or Orchestra. Preliminary time will be spent in the music library researching scores, then sight-reading with the ensemble, rehearsing and preparing a score with the ensemble for public performance.
Prerequisite: MUSC 435
Preparation by all Bachelor of Music candidates in Performance, and by other suitable candidates, of representative works from all appropriate major stylistic periods. Required of all Performance Majors.
The final project is an original composition in a large-scale form: orchestra piece, wind quintet, string quartet, song cycle or choral cantata. The student will choose the particular medium and form in consultation with the professor. A defense of the composition before a panel of three faculty members will take place at the completion of the project. Required of all composition majors in the senior year, the course is taken one semester for a full credit or spread over two semesters for .5 credits each.