Course Description: Analysis of selected musical literature (formerly MUSI 4211).

Prerequisite: MUSI 2214.

Required readings and study scores are available through UH e-Reserve. A list of listening links for required listening is provided. Additional materials are on reserve at the Music Library.

Grading:   3 papers @ 15%      45% (includes class presentation of paper topics)
               3 quizzes @ 10%      30%
               Class participation    25%
                                            100%

Preparation and readiness to contribute in each class discussion is the student’s responsibility. Late papers cannot be accepted; Absences will be reflected in the class participation portion of the grade. (Absences in excess of four will result in a failing grade.); Tardiness will be penalized at the rate of three times tardy = one absence.

Academic dishonesty:
You are expected to do your own work on all assignments and exams unless instructed differently. Problems with academic dishonesty will be handled according to University policy. (See http://www.uh.edu/provost/policies/uhhonesty_policy.html.) The mere suspicion of academic dishonesty is enough to initiate official action; please do not put yourself in the position of having to deal with this kind of situation.

Disabilities:
If you have a disability that affects your capacity to complete assignments and exams in a timely manner, please inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester so that appropriate arrangements can be made. You will need to document your disability with the UH Center for Students with Disabilities. (See http://www.uh.edu/csd/.)

 
THREE ANALYSIS PROJECTS

FIRST ANALYSIS PROJECT. Choose a complete movement to analyze from the 19th-century repertoire. A movement in sonata form is recommended, but not required.

• With markings directly on a photocopied score, label harmony and formal divisions in detail.
• Include a formal diagram of the movement.
• Write a focused analytical essay on a specific aspect of the piece (four or five pages).

For Wednesday, Feb. 15, choose and begin examining your piece.

You are encouraged to meet with me individually as your work progresses.

Each student will present work drawn from the paper (10 minutes) in a small-group class discussion.

Create a study question to help your classmates become acquainted with your topic.

Analysis Paper 1 is due Wednesday, February 29 (at class time)

SECOND ANALYSIS PROJECT. A complete movement from the late nineteenth or early twentieth-century repertoire is recommended.

• With markings directly on a photocopied score, label harmony, special compositional techniques, and formal divisions in detail.
• Include a formal diagram of the movement.
• Write a focused analytical essay on a specific aspect of the piece (four or five pages).

You are encouraged to meet with me individually as your work progresses.

Each student will present work drawn from the paper (10 minutes) in a class presentation or group discussion.

Analysis Paper 2 is due Wednesday, March 28 (at class time).

THIRD ANALYSIS PROJECT. A complete movement composed after 1920 is recommended. Newer compositions and pieces from jazz and popular music traditions are welcome.

Determine an appropriate analytical approach based on careful listening and study of the score.

If you choose a jazz or popular music piece for which no accurate score is available, some aural transcription of musical examples is required. Your transcriptions can provide a useful startingpoint for analysis.

Provided detailed analytical markings on the score (or transcription) and write a focused analytical essay on a specific aspect of the piece (four or five pages).

You are encouraged to meet with me individually as your work progresses.

Each student will present work drawn from the paper (10 minutes) in a class presentation or group discussion.

Analysis Paper 3 is due Monday, May 7, 11:00 am (during exam week)

Selected books on reserve:

General Sources

Jan LaRue. Guidelines for Style Analysis, 2nd ed.  MT6.L146 G8 1992

Leonard Meyer. Style and Music.  ML430.5.M5 1989

Richard L. Crocker. A History of Musical Style.  ML430.5.C76

Douglass Green. Form in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analysis. 2d ed.  MT58.G75 1979

Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint

Thomas Benjamin. Counterpoint in the Style of J.S. Bach. (Schirmer Books, 1986).  MT55.B446 1986

Musical Form

Wallace Berry. Form in Music (Yale University Press, 1989)  MT58 .B34 

William Caplin. Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. (Oxford University Press, 1998)  MT58 .C37 1998.  

Peter Spencer and Peter Temko. A Practical Approach to the Study of Form in Music. (Waveland Press, 1994).  MT58.S63 P7 1994. 

Twentieth-Century Techniques

Stefan Kostka. Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music, 3rd ed. MT40.K8 1990