Musicianship Skills D

The goal of this course is to help students to not
be afraid of any kind of music they encounter.
Cross-stylistic strategies of identifying musical
material are used towards this end, including
octave equivalence, Jazz hearing, set-theory,
microtonality, extended harmonic function,
third-relations, and an awareness of
psycho-acoustic effects. Recognizing that we all
hear differently, this course tries to help each
student develop a personalized array of tools that
can help them approach any kind of music with a
philosophy of active amusement. Sub-topics will be
cross referenced with sight-singing, notation,
analysis, and a relatively humane sense of
dictation. Rapid frame-shifting will be practiced.
The book Modus Novus will be revered, hated, and
then revered again. Frequent short quizzes and
small group breakout sessions are designed to
further individualize a healthy, bemused
relationship between theory and practice.