Introductory classes in fundamentals, music history and literature, and composition are offered for students with little or no experience; those with more experience may be able to exempt prerequisites and enter directly into the music theory or music history course sequence.
Students who demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the rudiments of music will be exempted from the MUSIC-100 prerequisite for certain courses and from the MUSIC-100 requirement associated with individual performance studies (please see below). For information on exemption from other courses, please contact the department.
MUSIC-100 Rudiments of Music
In this half-semester course students will become familiar with the elements of music notation (staves, clefs, pitch names, note and rest values) and with some of the basic skills necessary for college-level music instruction (e.g., construction and identification of scales, intervals, triads, and basic diatonic functions).
MUSIC-102 Music and Technology
It is now possible to record, manipulate, and compose music with a variety of powerful and flexible tools using the personal computer. Through reading, discussion, demonstration, listening sessions, technical tutorials and hands-on projects, we will explore the techniques, practices and aesthetics surrounding creative applications of current and emerging music technologies, including sound recording and editing, mixing, synthesis and music sequencing.
MUSIC-103 History of Jazz
This course will follow the origins and evolution of jazz from the late nineteenth century to the present, with emphases on prominent stylistic trends and significant individuals. Along with some analysis of the musical language jazz employs, the music will be examined in its relation to the social contexts that helped produce and shape it. The ability to read music is not a requirement for this course.
MUSIC-117 Foundations of Voice
This course will introduce singers to the physiology of human voice and healthy vocal technique through readings and visual sources on vocal anatomy. Students will examine vocal repertoire spanning approximately 500 years, explore various Western/international singing styles in English, Italian, French, German, etc., as well as receiving an introduction to diction, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and its application to various languages. Music of composers from historically marginalized backgrounds will be highlighted. Theoretical knowledge will culminate in practical demonstrations via presentations and performances in class.
MUSIC-128 The Hyperbolic World of Opera in 25 Episodes -- An Introduction to Western Classical Opera from the Renaissance to the Present Day
This course begins with the birth of opera at the end of the Renaissance Period, and ends with some of the most successful operas in the past decade. Our investigation includes operas in English, French, German, Italian and Russian. Alongside an introduction to the materials of opera, from vocal fachs, forms, and styles, to vocal virtuosity, the course situates opera as a cultural phenomenon by considering the unique set of historical, intellectual, social, political and economic conditions of each work of art. The course includes some opera projections; each one is preceded by an introduction of the period in which it was first performed and is followed by class discussion.
MUSIC-131 Basic Musicianship
Explores the ways in which sound is organized into musical structures. Topics include the physical properties of sound; the basic vocabulary of Western music (scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, rhythm, meter); and an introduction to musical form and analysis. Includes extensive practice in music reading, sight singing, ear training, and critical listening.
MUSIC-171 Topics in Music
MUSIC-199 Sonic Vanguard: Music in Contemporary Practice
In a time of increasing cross pollination between music and other disciplines, this course explores the work of some of the most active creators and scholars of our time, and some of the myriad influences that continue to impact their work today. E.g. Cerise Jacobs, Librettist and Producer working with animatronics and virtual reality. Structured as a mix of lecture and seminar formats, students will have the opportunity to interact with some of the musicians/artists/scholars featured, and engage in class discussions on the issues raised by the people, readings and works encountered. These encounters would thereby enable a conversation around turning points in the professional lives of the guest speakers, and the choices that influenced the course of their careers.
MUSIC-202 Electronic and Computer Music
This course will explore a range of approaches and techniques involved in the creation of electronic and computer music, including aspects of form and development, analog and digital synthesis and signal processing, basic computer music programming, and audio recording and production techniques. The focus of this seminar will be a series of exercises and creative projects that develop aesthetic and technical abilities. This creative work will be supported and enriched by selected reading and listening examples, as well as ongoing technical labs and demonstrations.
MUSIC-203 Acoustic Ecology and Sonic Art
The field of acoustic ecology is particularly concerned with how we create, interpret and interact with the sounds around us and how imbalances in the soundscape may affect human health and the natural world. Through reading, discussion, listening sessions, independent research, and hands-on projects, we will examine the broad interdisciplinary fields of acoustic ecology and sonic art. We will engage historical, conceptual, and aesthetic aspects of sound as a cultural, environmental, and artistic medium, with an emphasis on listening, psychoacoustics, soundscape studies, field recording and soundscape composition. We will question predominate ideas regarding the relationships between location, environment, sound, silence, music, and noise, and test these ideas through individual and group research as well as hands-on sonic art projects.
MUSIC-215 Intermediate Composition
Students will explore a number of musical styles and approaches in the process of creating their own extended works, with the possibility of performances at the end of the semester.
MUSIC-220 Music and Film
This course is for all who stay to the end of the credits, purchase soundtracks, and argue over who should have won the Oscar for Best Score, along with anyone else interested in the undervalued importance of music to the general effect of a motion picture. We will explore and discuss the myriad ways in which these two media interact. The course will focus on classic scores by Herrmann, Morricone, and Williams, as well as the uses of pre-existing music in films of Kubrick and Tarantino.
MUSIC-222 Music and Animation
This course offers a critical introductory survey of music and animation from the silent era to the digital age. After establishing a joint vocabulary for describing music and animated film, we will explore their interaction in shorts and feature films by studios like Disney, Pixar, and Ghibli, television shows, video games, music videos, and experimental animation. Our focus will be on audio-visual media that thematizes music, such as the Silly Symphonies short "Music Land," Hayao Miyazaki's "Mimi wo Sumaseba" (Whisper of the Heart), and the video game Guitar Hero. Final projects can range from critical-analytical papers and video essays to original audio-visual creative work.
MUSIC-226 World Music
This course is a survey of selected musical traditions from different parts of the world, including Africa, Indonesia, Indian, the Caribbean, and the United States. The course adopts an ethnomusicological approach that explains music as a cultural phenomenon, and explores the social and aesthetic significance of musical traditions within their respective historical and cultural contexts. It examines how musical traditions change over time, and how such changes reflect and relate to social and political changes within a given society. Weekly reading and listening assignments provide the basis for class discussions.
MUSIC-227 First Nights
We will examine five major musical works from the 17th to the 20th century: Orfeo (Monteverdi), Messiah (Handel), the Ninth Symphony (Beethoven), the Symphonie fantastique (Berlioz), and Le Sacre du printemps (Stravinsky). Using Thomas Kelly's book First Nights, recordings of modern performances, and selected readings, we will study how these works function as pieces of music and what makes them unique. By focusing on their premieres, we will place them in their cultural and social contexts, approaching them from the point of view of their first listeners. At the end of the course, we will jump into the 21st century by organizing and hosting premiers of works specifically composed for our class.
MUSIC-228 African Opera in Theory and Practice
In this course, African opera will provide the framework for exploring salient features of African music. The course will begin by examining a wide range of performance elements, including ensemble practice, the role of dance, and musical storytelling. The second part will feature practical sessions culminating in a public performance of an African opera. Students will work with visiting and local musicians and choreographer. The practical sessions will afford students an opportunity to reflect on the theoretical issues examined earlier on in the semester, and gain practical knowledge of the African operatic tradition.
MUSIC-229 African Popular Music
This course examines selected genres and their relationships to the political and social dynamics of their respective national origins. Regional examples like highlife, soukous, chimurenga, and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's Afro-beat will provide the basis for assessing the significance of popular music as a creative response to the African colonial and postcolonial environment. The course also discusses African hip-hop music by exploring how indigenous cultural tropes have provided the basis for its local appropriation. Themes explored include music and identity; music, politics, and resistance; interaction of local and global elements; and political significance of musical nostalgia. Students' final projects for this class could be in form of live performances or paper presentations focusing on any genre or aspect of African popular music.
MUSIC-231 Theory I
Studies diatonic harmony (part-writing, inversions, harmonization, figured bass and non-harmonic tones), continues with seventh chords, and begins the exploration of chromaticism. Includes analysis, ear-training, solfege, and keyboard harmony.
MUSIC-242 Conducting I
Fundamentals of conducting: gestures, rehearsal techniques, study of representative short scores, and practice leading primarily choral ensembles. Videotaping, class recital.
MUSIC-281 History of Western Music I: Music to 1700
The first in a three-semester survey of Western music history, Music 281 examines the cultures of art music in Europe and Americas to 1700, focusing on evolution of style and the changing roles of composers, performers, patrons, and audience.
MUSIC-282 History of Western Music II: Music from 1700 to 1900
The second in a three-semester survey of Western music history, Music 282 examines the cultures of art music in Europe and the Americas from 1700-1900, focusing on the evolution of styles and genres and the changing roles of composers, performers, and audiences.
MUSIC-283 History of Western Music III: Music Since 1900
The third in a three-semester survey of Western music history, Music 283 examines the cultures of art music in Europe and the Americas from 1900 to the present day, focusing on the evolution of styles and genres and the changing roles of composers, performers, and audiences.
MUSIC-315 Advanced Composition
Students will explore a number of musical styles and approaches in the process of creating their own extended works, with the possibility of performances a the end of the semester.
MUSIC-321 Advanced Interdisciplinary Topics
MUSIC-321AM Advanced Interdisciplinary Topics: 'Art, Music and the Brain'
Art and music are a part of all human cultures. Is there something about the human brain that drives us to paint and sing? We will examine how the brain simultaneously processes different aspects of visual and auditory stimuli, ask how this processing may affect the way we do art and music, and explore where these phenomena may occur in the brain. As we engage in discussion and hands-on activities, we will discover the commonalities between the arts and the sciences including practice, experimentation, exploration, innovation, and creativity.
MUSIC-332 Theory II
This course continues the study of harmonic practices in the 18th and 19th centuries, including modulation, chromatically altered chords, and an introduction to selected 20th- and 21st century techniques. Includes part-writing, analysis, ear training, solfege, and keyboard harmony.
MUSIC-334 Music Analysis
The course begins with an overview of the ways music analysis informs, and is informed by, other disciplines of musical inquiry: history, criticism, etc. The course culminates in an application of various analytic approaches to a small group of related works within the Western art music tradition.
MUSIC-341 Conducting II
Conducting II builds on fundamentals of conducting from Music 242. The course will include gestural vocabulary, moving fluently between choral and instrumental conducting, introduction to keyboard realization of scores, relationship between interpretation and conducting, and rehearsal preparation. The conducting class forms the core of the ensemble for the class.
MUSIC-371 Topics in Music
This seminar is designed to increase familiarity with and facility in the use of primary materials for musicological/ethnomusicological and/or theoretical research, as well as in the critical evaluation of published scholarship. Engagement with a shared topic at the outset of the semester provides the context from which each student fashions an independent project. Oral presentations and active discussion are integral to the course.
MUSIC-371CH Topics in Music: 'Music and Childhood in the Western Tradition'
This course examines significant moments in the history of children as creators, performers, consumers, and subjects of music, with a focus on Western Europe and the United States. From Mozart to Michael Jackson, medieval psalmody to playground games and beyond, we will survey the enlisting of children, childhood, and the childlike across a range of musical genres and pedagogical, aesthetic, and cultural-political agendas. For their final project, students may work with a historical artifact of children's musical culture, or research a local children's music program or ensemble.
MUSIC-371MD Topics in Music: 'Music and Disability'
In this seminar, we encounter foundational texts, methodologies, and case studies in the field of Disability Studies in Music. Grounded in a music-historical approach (but incorporating other music studies methods), we trace how musicking across a range of time periods and traditions both represents and constructs the cultures, policies, and tropes of bodymind difference and normativity. We center music, performance, and scholarship by disabled individuals and collectives, and emphasize the intersectional nature of disability justice, while also interrogating ableism in the music industry and the academy, as well as our own embodied positionalities as music makers, scholars, and consumers.
MUSIC-374 Advanced Seminar in Ethnomusicology
Designed for music and non-music majors, this advanced seminar examines core theoretical and methodological issues in ethnomusicology and the debates that have shaped its practice since its origins in the early twentieth century as comparative musicology. Drawing on musical traditions from different parts of the world and supplemented by workshops conducted by visiting professional musicians, the course explores the interdisciplinary approaches that inform how ethnomusicologists study the significance of music "in" and "as" culture. Topics covered will include ethnographic methods, the intersection of musicological and anthropological perspectives, the political significance of musical hybridity, applied ethnomusicology, and sound studies.
Official registration for all performance courses may only be done after successful completion of the audition process; at the audition students should be prepared to demonstrate their level of vocal or instrumental proficiency. All performance study is for academic credit. (See MUSIC-100 requirement below.)
The Department of Music offers private instruction in performance studies at three levels for areas listed. Students studying privately are encouraged to elect the 50-minute lesson but may, at their own option or when advised by the instructor, enroll for the 30-minute lesson.
Students will be placed according to the following order of priority: declared music majors and minors; first-, second-, and third-year students who demonstrate proficiency on their instrument at or above an upper elementary level, with order of placement determined by extent of experience and quality of performance; first-, second-, and third-year students who wish to begin their study of an instrument or voice, provided they enroll concurrently in MUSIC-100 or MUSIC-131; fourth-year students, with order of placement determined by extent of experience and quality of performance. Senior beginners must enroll concurrently in MUSIC-100 or MUSIC-131.
Additional fees are charged for performance study. Applied music fees, grants-in-aid, and fee exemptions are described in the Tuition and Fees chapter. No refund of fee after tenth academic day of classes. For fees, please see the department website.
Students enroll with Mount Holyoke performance faculty if the instrument they wish to study is offered by the department. Enrollment is limited according to teacher availability, and permission of the instructor is required. Please consult the department for audition dates and times.
Because the Department of Music believes students enrolled in individual performance studies should have a thorough knowledge of the rudiments of music, enrollment will be contingent on exemption from or concurrent enrollment in MUSIC-100 or MUSIC-131 regardless of whether a student is enrolled at Mount Holyoke or another Five College institution.
Following successful completion of 8 credits of performance study at the 100 level on one instrument, the student automatically advances to study at the 200 level, for which there are no credit limitations. Students enrolled in study at the 200 level must participate in at least one public performance per semester. Earlier entry into the 200 level is with permission of instructor.
Usually taken only in the senior year. Students may advance to the 300 level of performance studies upon completion of MUSIC-332, one history course at the 200 level, recommendation of the instructor, and permission of the department chair. Four credits are granted for each semester of performance study at the 300 level. Students enrolled in one semester of study at the 300 level will be required to prepare a half-recital or its equivalent. Students enrolled in a full year of study at the 300 level must prepare one full recital program or its equivalent. (“Equivalent”: two half-recitals, or one-half recital plus other significant public performance.) More detailed information on performance study at the 300 level is available from the Department of Music office.
MUSIC-151A Individual Performance Study: 'Piano'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151B Individual Performance Study: 'Voice'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151C Individual Performance Study: 'Flute'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151D Individual Performance Study: 'Oboe'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151E Individual Performance Study: 'Clarinet'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151F Individual Performance Study: 'Saxophone'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151G Individual Performance Study: 'Bassoon'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151H Individual Performance Study: 'French Horn'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151I Individual Performance Study: 'Trumpet'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151J Individual Performance Study: 'Trombone'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151K Individual Performance Study: 'Tuba'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151M Individual Performance Study: 'Percussion'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151N Individual Performance Study: 'Harpsichord'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151O Individual Performance Study: 'Organ'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151P Individual Performance Study: 'Harp'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151Q Individual Performance Study: 'Guitar'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151R Individual Performance Study: 'Violin'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151S Individual Performance Study: 'Viola'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151T Individual Performance Study: 'Cello'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151U Individual Performance Study: 'Bass'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151V Individual performance Study: 'Recorders/Early Winds'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151W Individual Performance Study: 'Loud Winds'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151X Individual Performance Study: 'Lute'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151Y Individual Performance Study: 'Early Strings'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-151Z Individual Performance Study: 'Music Technology'
Private study - individual instruction in the use of current and emerging technologies for the creation and performance of electronic music and sonic art.
MUSIC-251A Individual Performance Instruction: 'Piano'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251B Individual Performance Instruction: 'Voice'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251C Individual Performance Instruction: 'Flute'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251D Individual Performance Instruction: 'Oboe'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251E Individual Performance Instruction: 'Clarinet'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251F Individual Performance Instruction: 'Saxophone'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251G Individual Performance Instruction: 'Bassoon'
MUSIC-251H Individual Performance Instruction: 'Horn'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251I Ind. Perform. Study: Trumpet
MUSIC-251J Ind. Perform. Study: Trombone
MUSIC-251K Ind. Perform. Study: Tuba
MUSIC-251M Individual Performance Instruction: 'Percussion'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251N Individual Performance Instruction: 'Harpsichord'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251O Individual Performance Instruction: 'Organ'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251P Individual Performance Instruction: 'Harp'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251Q Individual Performance Instruction: 'Guitar'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251R Individual Performance Instruction: 'Violin'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251S Individual Performance Instruction: 'Viola'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251T Individual Performance Instruction: 'Cello'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251U Individual Performance Instruction: 'String Bass'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251V Individual Performance Instruction: 'Recorders/Early Winds'
MUSIC-251W Ind. Perform. Stdy: Loud Winds
MUSIC-251X Ind. Perform. Study: Lute
MUSIC-251Y Ind. Perform. Study: Early Strings
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-251Z Individual Performance Study: 'Music Technology'
Private study - individual instruction in the use of current and emerging technologies for the creation and performance of electronic music and sonic art.
MUSIC-351 Advanced Performance Study
MUSIC-351A Individual Performance Study: 'Piano'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351B Individual Performance Study: 'Voice'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351C Individual Performance Study: 'Flute'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351D Individual Performance Study: 'Oboe'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351E Individual Performance Study: 'Clarinet'
MUSIC-351F Individual Performance Study: 'Saxophone'
MUSIC-351G Individual Performance Study: 'Bassoon'
MUSIC-351H Individual Performance Study: 'Horn'
MUSIC-351I Individual Performance Study: 'Trumpet'
MUSIC-351J Individual Performance Study: 'Trombone'
MUSIC-351K Individual Performance Study: 'Tuba'
MUSIC-351M Individual Performance Study: 'Percussion'
MUSIC-351N Individual Performance Study: 'Harpsichord'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351O Individual Performance Study: 'Organ'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351P Individual Performance Study: 'Harp'
MUSIC-351Q Individual Performance Study: 'Guitar'
MUSIC-351R Individual Performance Study: 'Violin'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351S Adv. Perform. Study: Viola
MUSIC-351T Individual Performance Study: 'Cello'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351U Individual Performance Study: 'String Bass'
Performance study - individual instruction.
MUSIC-351V Individual Performance Study: 'Recorders/Early Winds'
MUSIC-351Z Individual Performance Study: 'Music Technology'
Private study - individual instruction in the use of current and emerging technologies for the creation and performance of electronic music and sonic art.
Enrollment in any large or small ensemble is by audition only. Enrollment in instrumental ensembles may be limited according to teacher availability. Permission of instructor is required.
MUSIC-143A Chamber Music: 'Wind Ensembles'
Chamber Music for wind instruments
MUSIC-143B Chamber Music: 'String Ensembles'
Chamber Music for string instruments
MUSIC-143C Chamber Music: 'Piano Ensembles'
Chamber Music for piano instruments
MUSIC-143D Chamber Music: 'Mixed Ensembles'
Chamber music for mixed ensembles.
MUSIC-143E Chamber Music: 'Brass Ensembles'
Chamber Music for brass instruments
MUSIC-143F Chamber Music: 'Klezmer Ensemble'
This ensemble, composed of all instruments--including piano, strings, brass, and woodwinds--performs dance music of Eastern Europe. Students at all levels of experience will use their classical training to go beyond the printed page into the folk tradition, learning to play different modes of the tunes and employing 'untraditional' techniques that are traditional in this unique folk music.
MUSIC-143G Chamber Music: 'Flute Choir'
Study and perform music for flute ensembles.
MUSIC-143H Chamber Music: 'Early Music Chamber Ensemble'
This course offers opportunities to play and sing chamber music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, collaborating with musicians from the Five Colleges and with the support of a specialist coach. Ensemble members will draw on historical context and performance practice as they refine performance technique and ensemble skills. Singers and instrumentalists will be sorted into ensembles based on level- from beginner to advanced- and areas of interest. Chamber ensembles also offer an opportunity to develop skills for more advanced projects such as those of the Five College Collegium (see MUSIC-147A). The Early Music Program has a large collection of historical instruments to loan.
MUSIC-143I Chamber Music: 'Percussion Ensembles'
Chamber Music for percussion instruments.
MUSIC-155A Jazz Ensemble: 'Big Band'
A mixed instrumental group for beginning, intermediate, and advanced musicians. Students study a variety of classic and contemporary swing, Latin, jazz, and pop standards. There are several performance opportunities each semester.
MUSIC-161 Beginning West African Drumming Ensemble
This course will focus on learning by ear and playing the polyrhythmic traditional music of the peoples of southern Ghana, Togo and Benin, including sections of Adjogbo and Agbekor. All students will learn drum, rattle and bell parts, some songs and some dance steps as well. Non musicians are welcome, but practicing between classes is required. The group will perform in a workshop at the end of the semester.
MUSIC-191 Mount Holyoke Orchestra
Studies and presents a variety of orchestra repertoire on and off campus. Multiple opportunities to perform each semester.
MUSIC-255A Chamber Jazz Ensemble: 'Chamber Jazz'
A select instrumental combo open to more advanced jazz musicians with emphasis on complex forms such as Dixieland, bop, and fusion. Students also learn exercises and techniques that will aid them in solo improvisation. There are several performance opportunities each semester.
MUSIC-261 Intermediate West African Drumming Ensemble
This course will focus on learning by ear and playing the polyrhythmic traditional music of the peoples of southern Ghana, Togo and Benin, including sections of Adjogbo and Agbekor. All students will learn drum, rattle and bell parts, some songs, and some dance steps. Non-musicians are welcome; practice between classes is required. The group will perform in a workshop at the end of the semester.
Enrollment in any large or small ensemble is by audition only.
The Five College Early Music Program provides practical experience in medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music. A faculty of distinguished performers and scholars provides applied, historical, and theoretical experience in performance. A collection of early music instruments is available. Students are encouraged to participate in one or more of the performing groups that meet regularly with a coach; ensembles are organized at all levels of ability, from beginning to advanced, to accommodate progress throughout a four-year academic program. For more information on the Five College Early Music Program, please visit their page on the Five College website.or
