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PROGRAMS OF STUDY & COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Music (MUS)

Major: Yeshiva College

PHILIP AND SARAH BELZ PROGRAM:
MUS 1111A, 1350–1351, 2111–2114, 2111L–2112L, plus an additional 13 MUS credits, including courses in each of the four areas within the discipline (music history and literature, music theory, musical performance, and applied study) as determined by the cluster advisor in consultation with each student. Students may count toward the major no more than 6 credits total in musical performance and applied study, with no more than 4 credits in applied study. Cluster advisor: Dr. N. Bartholomew.

Music majors must take a keyboard proficiency exam upon entrance to MUS 2111. A student who does not pass the exam must take Keyboard Skills, MUS 2113L; and/or 2114L, depending on placement. The 1 credit for each semester of Keyboard Skills counts toward the maximum 4 credits in applied study.

Minor: Yeshiva College
MUS 1111A, 1350–1351, 2111–2112 plus an additional 6 credits from any of the four areas noted above. Students may count no more than 4 credits total in musical performance and applied study toward the minor.

1111A The Sense of Music. 2 credits.
Insight into the art of music through guided listening experiences that aim to develop aural perception, a historical perspective, an awareness of the formal processes of music, and some critical bases for esthetic discrimination; emphasis on the cultivation of helpful listening habits. No previous training in music is required.

1141 or 1141H The Interpretation of Text Through Sound. 3 credits.
Texts, music, and their symbiosis.

1341 Music from Antiquity Through the Renaissance. 2 credits.
Evolution of the forms and practices of Western music, in antiquity, the medieval and the Renaissance eras; the development of polyphony and secular art music, emphasizing the works of Dufay, Ockeghem, Josquin, Willaert, Gesualdo, Gabrieli, and Monteverdi.
Prerequisite: MUS 1111.

1350 Music in the Baroque and Classical Eras. 3 credits.
The development of triadic music, tonality, and its forms in the Baroque era and continuing through the classical era. The growth of opera, concerto, fugue, sonata, and symphony; Western music from Monteverdi to Beethoven.

1351 Music in the Romantic and Modern Eras. 3 credits.
Musical practices in the 19th and 20th centuries, beginning with Beethoven’s monumental and universal works and their influence on later generations; the increase in chromaticism through the romantic era, the breakdown of tonality, and the harmonic-contrapuntal techniques and structural principles of 20th-century music; Western music from Beethoven to Adams.

1381 History of Jazz, Blues, and American Popular Music. 3 credits.
African, Afro-American, and Euro-American musical genres in the 19th century after emancipation; the mutual cross-cultural assimilation of these genres that synthesized into new, uniquely North American popular and then art music in the 20th century. Jazz styles considered in depth include traditional (early jazz), swing, bebop, and modal and free jazz, emphasizing recordings of influential, innovative performers of each era.

1400 or 1400H The String Quartet. 3 credits.
A genre course that provides insight into the art of music through guided listening experiences that aim to develop aural perception, a historical perspective and understanding of the formal processes in string quartets since Haydn’s Op. 33, and some critical bases for aesthetic discrimination. No previous training in music is required.

(1661 Survey of Operatic Literature).

1931, 1932 Musicology. 2–3 credits.
Seminars in special topics, one normally scheduled every other year after consultation with prospective students. The music of Bach; Haydn, Mozart, and classicism; Beethoven; Chopin and the piano; the age of Brahms; Schoenberg and Stravinsky; Jazz giants.
Prerequisite: Music MUS 2112 and at least one course in music history (1341, 1350, 1351, or 1381).

2111–2112 Diatonic Harmony. 3 credits.
Structural foundations of tonal music; principles of melodic construction, voice leading, harmony, and counterpoint.
Prerequisite: ability to read music.
Corequisite: an ear training laboratory (2111L–2112L) determined by placement exam at the beginning of the semester.

2111L–2112L Ear Training I and II. 1 credit.
Laboratory course designed to help students master the skills covered in MUS 2111, 2112. Emphasis on the development of relative pitch memory and recognition of interval, chord, and chord inversion. Students learn sight-singing from simple melodies and counterpoints, and practice elementary skills of chordal accompaniment at the keyboard.
No prerequisites.
Corequisite: MUS 2111–2112.

2113, 2114 Chromatic Harmony. 3 credits.
Continuation of 2111–2112. Principles of chromatic voice leading and chromatic harmony. Exploring those topics through model composition and analysis. The second semester also offers an introduction to post-tonal theory and analysis.
Prerequisite: MUS 2112.

2113L, 2114L Keyboard Skills I and II. 1 credit.
Piano instruction for adult beginners; practice techniques to the level of Bach’s Inventions and Clementi’s Sonatinas.

2127, 2128 Advanced Theory and Composition. 1–2 credits.
Seminar for advanced students in music theory, musicology, or music composition. May includes MIDI studies and electric-acoustic techniques.
Prerequisite: MUS 2114.

3461 through 3469 Musical Performance and Interpretation. 1 credit.
Music of selected composers rehearsed and analyzed to develop performance skills, an awareness of musical styles, and an approach to musical interpretation.

3461 through 3466 Classical Chamber Music (e.g., Bach, Schubert, Brahms).
See the cluster advisor before registering.

3467 through 3469 Jazz Ensemble.
By audition with the instructor.

4111; 4112; 4113; 4114 Applied Musical Studies. 1 credit.
Vocal or instrumental music lessons arranged by the Music staff. Literature, materials, techniques. A maximum of four credits may be taken in such courses.
Fee: on an individual basis, dependent on extent and nature of services provided.
Prerequisite: permission of the cluster advisor. (The above courses replace 4901, 4902 found in other disciplines).

4901 Independent Study

4911 Guided Project
Research in music theory, music history, or musicology; music composition in a large form; or an extended performance recital on an instrument or voice.
Meet with the Yeshiva College academic dean.