MUS 161 Music Appreciation

Lecture Hours: 3
Credits: 3

Highlights 12th to 21st century instrumental and vocal music and the growth of the orchestra. Covers acknowledged masters such as Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.

Prerequisite: Placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 (or higher) with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes:

List and discuss the main elements of music and explain in general terms how they work.
Discuss how the families of musical instruments function in various combinations.
Describe how music developed and provide examples of music from each period studied.
Recognize and name some of the famous works by composers of each period and characterize some of their distinct qualities.
Diagram and describe the musical structures of selected compositions from the 17th to 20th centuries.
Compare or describe the forces that helped to shape the music and musicians of each period of music, including the social, political, and economic effects on the music.

Statewide General Education Outcomes:

Interpret and engage in the Arts and Letters, making use of the creative process to enrich the quality of life.
Critically analyze values and ethics within a range of human experience and expression to engage more fully in local and global issues.

Content Outline

Elements of Music
- Rhythm
- Melody
- Harmony and texture
- Structure
Making Music
- Strings
- Woodwinds
- Percussion and electronic instruments
- Instrumental ensembles: orchestra, band, chamber
- Vocal: vocal ensembles
Medieval Era
- Middle ages
- Church music
- Secular song
- Polyphony and the motet
- Genres of renaissance music
- Composers of renaissance music: France, Italy, England
Baroque Era
- Music of a new age
- Genres of baroque music
- Composers of baroque music: Italy, Germany
Classical Era
- Music of the enlightenment
- Genres of classical music
- Music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
- Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Romantic Era
- Music in a changing society
- Genres of romantic music
- Schubert and the art song
- Berlioz and romantic orchestra
- Romantic piano: composers, performers
- Romantic opera and its new directions
- Brahms, the “progressive” link between the traditional and the modern
- Nationalism in music
Turn of the Century Music
- Brahms, the “progressive conservative”
- Nationalism in music
- Stretching the limits of romantic orchestra music
- Impressionism
- Late romanticism
Modern Age
- The second Viennese school: Schoenberg and Webern
- Neo-classicism
- Music of Soviet Russia
- 20th Century American composers
- Experimentalists
- Post-war Europeans