Department: School of Music

Code Name Description
AART427 People's Theory Co-taught by John Mandel and Michael Fink, Music School faculty. An interdisciplinary seminar for Art School students and composers and performers in the Music School, it includes participants from other disciplines as well. This critique aims to cra...
AART627 People's Theory Co-taught by John Mandel and Michael Fink, Music School faculty. An interdisciplinary seminar for Art School students and composers and performers in the Music School, it includes participants from other disciplines as well. This critique aims to cra...
ICOM120 Coding Art Fundamentals Unlock your creative potential with coding! In this introductory course, learn fundamental coding concepts using p5js, a visual programming language. You'll create interactive visual art pieces, exploring color theory, animation, basic programming pr...
ICOM121 Coding Music Fundamentals This course extends previous graphics related programming experience into the audio domain. ChucK, a strongly-timed computer music language will be the focal language of the class, with opportunities to communicate to physical computing platforms lik...
MAIC100 Worlds of Music I: Europe & N. Am. 1900- An overview of the music of this centuries-of-changes, and the exploding diversity in the arts and society as we are facing them today. The course covers the development of the most important and influential musical branches of the 20th and 21st cent...
MAIC101 Music II: Africa, Asia, L. Am. This survey course is an introduction to music as a worldwide phenomenon covering folk, popular, art, tribal, religious, and ritual music of various geographical and cultural areas. Emphasis is placed on understanding music as a component of culture...
MAIC240 Jazz History A survey of the history of jazz and African-American musical traditions, emphasizing critical listening and aural analysis
MAIC314 The Music of Flamenco A study of the musical aspects (cante-singing and toque-guitar playing) in Flamenco through listening, reading and watching documentary films. We will look at the structure of many Flamenco forms (ie. Seguiriyas, Solea, Bulerias, Tangos, etc.), disc...
MAIC316 Blues Before 1960 A study of the development of the Blues through listening, watching documentary films and reading interviews with artists. We will concentrate on music, lyrics and each artist's individual style and consider the social and historical circumstances s...
MAIC317 Bach and Beyond: Rethinking Bach This course is designed to develop a deep and meaningful understanding and appreciation of JS Bach, the man, the myth and the music. There will be guided listening in and out of class, as well as reading of materials from Bach's time along with la...
MAIC343 To Exist in Sound: Ambient & 4th World It's been half a century since Brian Eno embarked on ambient music as a conceptual project, conceiving the idea for Discreet Music while lying incapacitated (recovering from a car accident), listening to a barely audible recording of harp music merge...
MAIC370 DIY Do-it-yourself - and the related concept of release-it-yourself - has been the ideological and practical underpinning of radical music for at least a half-century. Often identified with the punk rock movement, the DIY imperative actually predates pu...
MAIC401 Improvisation: Uses & Lineage Improvisation: Uses and Cross-Cultural Lineage This class will explore the nature of improvisation in all its forms-Indian music, flamenco, baroque, organ music, rock, jazz, contemporary, and "free" music. The class integrates material from a wide v...
MAIC403 Teaching Artistry Teaching Artistry is a lecture class that will focus on best practices of teaching. Through a combination of demo lessons, video clips, field observations, and discussion, participants will explore various pedagogical approaches. Each of these approa...
MAIC404 College Pedagogy This is a lecture class that will focus on best practices of teaching. Through a combination of demo lessons, video clips, field observations, independent research, and discussion, participants will explore various pedagogical approaches. Each of the...
MAIC412 Critical Reading Open to BFA3 and BFA4 students only. Where does human perception leave off and the object begin? Can we know the substance of the artistic object, or are we dealing with mental representations of it? What can art itself know? How does it connect with...
MAIC420 Composing for Improvisers This discussion-based seminar will present a survey of historical and contemporary musical idioms in which composers and sound artists have consciously and actively developed strategies for engaging performers in the act of improvisation. The goal of...
MAIC454 Sounding the Voice: Utterance, Phonetics Sounding the Voice: Utterance, Phonetics, Advanced Diction, Articulation and Sense. This course is an intermediate study of language and phonology for singers and other artists who work with the voice. It focuses on phonetics and language-like sound...
MAIC455A Focused Topics in Voice: Dada's Divas DADA'S DIVAS is a two-semester course (one historical, one performative) dedicated to the (re)discovery of the Dada movement's female pioneers, most of whom have been overshadowed historically by their male counterparts. These women, operating indepe...
MAIC455B Focused Topics in Voice: Dada's Divas DADA'S DIVAS is a two-semester course (one historical, one performative) dedicated to the (re)discovery of the Dada movement's female pioneers, most of whom have been overshadowed historically by their male counterparts. These women, operating indepe...
MAIC470 Hip-Hop Theory and Praxis Hip-Hop music and culture is fundamentally Black work. Hip Hop is Black work created in response to a set of conditions. In the words of Lupe Fiasco the question is always "Did you improve on the design? Did you do something new?" That's the question...
MAIC654 Sounding the Voice: Utterance, Phonetics Sounding the Voice: Utterance, Phonetics, Advanced Diction, Articulation and Sense. This course is an intermediate study of language and phonology for singers and other artists who work with the voice. It focuses on phonetics and language-like sound...
MBLE104 Tabla Ensemble Course available by Permission of Instructor only. The CalArts Tabla Ensemble is a performing ensemble that draws from the vast repertoire of North Indian tabla, ranging from classical to folk and traditional to contemporary.
MBLE106 Chamber Music Course open to Music School students only. Small ensembles for strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard instruments and voices, in varying combinations. Individual ensembles are coached by faculty members. Students may sign up for more than on...
MBLE109 Advanced World Percussion Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. An experimental performance class which works toward combining instruments and musical structures from various cultures. Improvisation, composition and performance practice are integrated. Emphasis is give...
MBLE117 Jazz Student Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. Performance of ensemble works written for small jazz groups and performed by all-student groups.
MBLE118 Jazz Faculty Ensemble Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. Performance of ensemble works written for small jazz groups. Faculty members lead groups and play alongside the students.
MBLE120 Brass Ensemble Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. Performance of ensemble works written for brass instruments, from quintet to dectet (or more).
MBLE121 Low Brass Studio Class Course open to trombone and euphonium players regardless of program focus. Focused work on specific instrumental needs outside of demands of performances while also providing space for students to present works being prepared for recitals and auditio...
MBLE122 Percussion Ensemble Course open to Percussion Program students only. Performance of ensemble works written for percussion instruments.
MBLE201 Beginning African Ensemble Instruction in the performance of authentic traditional music and dances of West Africa. These performances include singing in the language and playing percussion instruments indigenous to the area of origin.
MBLE202 Advanced African Ensemble Advanced instruction and performance of West African music and dance.
MBLE206 Beginning Talking Drum Ensemble Talking Drum Ensemble is a performance-based class. Students will participate in drumming traditional music from the Dagbani speaking people of Ghana, West Africa. We will watch video and discuss various aspects of Dagomba music, in order to create c...
MBLE207 Dahomey Women's Ensemble This is an all-women's ensemble that will primarily focus on learning how to play traditional drumming from Ghana, West Africa. Students will learn the complex layers and polyrhythms of this music as well as the songs and dances that accompany it....
MBLE210 Beginning Javanese Gamelan Instruction in playing and singing in the central Javanese classical orchestra, a traditional Eastern art form that integrates dance, drama and music.
MBLE211 Advanced Javanese Gamelan Advanced instruction in playing and singing in the central Javanese classical orchestra.
MBLE216 Advanced Talking Drum Ensemble TALKING DRUM ENSEMBLE - MUSIC OF THE DAGOMBA PEOPLE OF NORTHERN GHANA. This class will be a performance-based ensemble, with students learning traditional drumming, singing and dance from the Dagomba of Northern Ghana. In this musical tradition, drum...
MBLE220 Beginning Balinese Gamelan Instruction in the techniques of playing Balinese instruments, collectively called the Semar Pelgulingan.
MBLE221 Advanced Balinese Gamelan Advanced instruction in the techniques of playing Balinese instruments, collectively called the Semar Pelgulingan.
MBLE222 Gender Wayang Ensemble Small ensemble performances by quartet of metallaphones as accompaniment to Balinese shadow plays.
MBLE223 Balinese Flute Ensemble Training in Balinese flute playing sixteen various-sized bamboo flutes accompanied by percussion instruments. Students will perform as an ensemble.
MBLE224 Kecak Ensemble Balinese Monkey Chant ensemble. various-sized bamboo flutes accompanied by percussion instruments. Students will perform as an ensemble.
MBLE225 Korean Two-Stringed Instrument Workshop In this course, students will learn basic performance techniques of the haegeum (a two-stringed instrument of Korea): bowing, fingering, jangdan (rhythmic pattern), jo (modes), and Korean music notation. Repertoire will include classical pieces, folk...
MBLE230 North Indian Ensemble Course open to Music students only. Vocal and instrumental performance using both Indi various-sized bamboo flutes accompanied by percussion instruments. Students will perform as an ensemble.
MBLE235 Japan Ensemble In Japan Ensemble we have three sections to teach students their choice of traditional Japanese instruments: Strings (Koto/Shamisen), Shakuhachi (the Japanese bamboo vertical flute), or Taiko (Japanese drums). Instruction is separated by instrument,...
MBLE240 Persia Electric Ensemble This inaugural launch of the intersection between ancient and new forms is a year-long course. Paths will be re-traced along the Silk Road hundreds of years before, works rehearsed and performed on Persian and Western instruments alongside genres dev...
MBLE250 African Dance Instruction in the traditional dances of West Africa.
MBLE252 Balinese Dance Instruction in the traditional dances of Bali.
MBLE254 Javanese Dance (women) Instruction in the traditional dance techniques of Indonesia. There are separate sections for women and men.
MBLE256 Javanese Dance (men) Instruction in the traditional dance techniques of Indonesia. There are separate sections for women and men.
MBLE260 The Baltic Voice The ensemble will study, learn and perform Baltic folk music, particularly vocal music from the country of Latvia. Emphasis will be placed on the aural traditions of regional vocal styles that include recitation songs, antiphonal singing, and part so...
MBLE300 The Ensemble The Ensemble at CalArts is an umbrella course for conducted ensemble performance activities consisting of faculty performers and student musicians and is primarily devoted to the exploration and exposition of emerging languages in contemporary music...
MBLE302 Contemporary Vocal Ensemble Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (CVE) is a chamber choir committed to "exploring and expanding ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir" (crossingchoir.org). CVE's programs focus on works composed within the last 50 y...
MBLE309 Period Instrument Ensemble An Ensemble Dedicated to Historically Informed Performance Practice on Baroque Instruments Students will be immersed in weekly rehearsal and performance of repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries on Baroque instruments, gaining experience with...
MBLE310 Improvisation Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. Open to all instrumentalists and vocalists. With structured and unstructured improvisational studies, the course is designed to help the student develop his/her own creative voice. Concerts are presented r...
MBLE312 Interdisciplinary Improvisation Workshop This course serves as an interdisciplinary introduction to structured improvisation through Soundpainting, a sign language for spontaneous composition originally developed by Walter Thompson as part of the vibrant downtown improv scene in 1980s New Y...
MBLE325 Creative Electronic Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. An ensemble researching the interactive languages and the improvisational forms of live electronic music with a major philosophical focus on music technology and interactive, improvisational music.
MBLE327 Multi-Focus Ensemble This is a course for ensembles that are entirely initiated, organized and run by students. The personnel, repertoire and rehearsal times and places are decided by ensemble members. In order for members to receive credit, the ensemble needs to be coac...
MBLE328 Collaborative Music Ensemble Students work collectively to develop, rehearse and record experimental pop music in ensembles of 3-4 students each. Students will explore multiple approaches to collaboration: from rehearsing and recording as a live ensemble; to "turn-taking" overdu...
MBLE399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MBLE435 Microtonal Ensemble The microtonal ensemble will focus on hearing, playing, composing and improvising microtonally. We will develop our skills by looking at and playing contemporary pieces in a range of tuning systems, by improvising as a group, and by writing our own w...
MBLE450 Sonic Boom Ensemble Course open to all CalArts students playing an instrument, but, of course, especially school of music students. Sonic Boom is an ensemble/band somewhere between avant-garde rock, noise, electronica, ambient, new music, and other things that fall bet...
MBLE460 Golia Large Ensemble Course open to Music students only. The Large Ensemble, under the direction of faculty member Vinny Golia, is a loosely based chamber orchestra which improvises, and performs compositions and structured improvisations by Golia. The Large Ensemble is...
MBLE498C Electroacoustic Ensemble The electroacoustic ensemble explores electroacoustic and digital music performance practices using laptops, tablets, various sensors, controllers, synths, and multi-channel speakers. The ensemble will perform improvised and composed works and explor...
MBLE498D Creative Repertory Ensemble Students will immerse themselves in historical aspects of the resistance movement of the 1960s and 1970s as it relates to folk music and its intersection with afropunk and other elements of early rock and roll. The themes are futurism, androgyny and...
MBLE498E Folk Singing Ensemble The Folk Singing Ensemble, led by graduate student Elizabeth Ann Setzer, will delve into folk singing traditions from the Balkans, the Caucasus, and beyond. Through weekly rehearsals, virtual and in-person workshops with guest artists, and research/p...
MBLE500 The Ensemble The Ensemble at CalArts is an umbrella course for conducted ensemble performance activities consisting of faculty performers and student musicians and is primarily devoted to the exploration and exposition of emerging languages in contemporary music...
MBLE501 Beginning African Ensemble Instruction in the performance of authentic traditional music and dances of West Africa. These performances include singing in the language and playing percussion instruments indigenous to the area of origin.
MBLE502 Advanced African Ensemble Open to African Music & Dance Program students only. Advanced instruction and performance of West African music and dance.
MBLE506 Beginning Talking Drum Ensemble Talking Drum Ensemble is a performance-based class. Students will participate in drumming traditional music from the Dagbani speaking people of Ghana, West Africa. We will watch video and discuss various aspects of Dagomba music, in order to create c...
MBLE507 Dahomey Women's Ensemble This is an all-women's ensemble that will primarily focus on learning how to play traditional drumming from Ghana, West Africa. Students will learn the complex layers and polyrhythms of this music as well as the songs and dances that accompany it....
MBLE509 Advanced World Percussion Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. An experimental performance class which works toward combining instruments and musical structures from various cultures. Improvisation, composition and performance practice are integrated. Emphasis is give...
MBLE510 Beginning Javanese Gamelan Instruction in playing and singing in the central Javanese classical orchestra, a traditional Eastern art form that integrates dance, drama and music.
MBLE511 Advanced Javanese Gamelan Open to Balinese and Javanese Program students only. Advanced instruction in the techniques of playing Balinese instruments, collectively called the Semar Pelgulingan.
MBLE516 Advanced Talking Drum Ensemble TALKING DRUM ENSEMBLE - MUSIC OF THE DAGOMBA PEOPLE OF NORTHERN GHANA. This class will be a performance-based ensemble, with students learning traditional drumming, singing and dance from the Dagomba of Northern Ghana. In this musical tradition, drum...
MBLE520 Beginning Balinese Gamelan Advanced instruction in the techniques of playing Balinese instruments, collectively called the Semar Pelgulingan.
MBLE521 Advanced Balinese Gamelan Open to Balinese and Javanese Program students only. Advanced instruction in the techniques of playing Balinese instruments, collectively called the Semar Pelgulingan.
MBLE522 Gender Wayang Ensemble Small ensemble performances by quartet of metallaphones as accompaniment to Balinese shadow plays.
MBLE523 Balinese Flute Ensemble Training in Balinese flute playing sixteen various-sized bamboo flutes accompanied by percussion instruments. Students will perform as an ensemble.
MBLE524 Kecak Ensemble Balinese Monkey Chant ensemble.
MBLE525 Korean Two-Stringed Instrument Workshop In this course, students will learn basic performance techniques of the haegeum (a two-stringed instrument of Korea): bowing, fingering, jangdan (rhythmic pattern), jo (modes), and Korean music notation. Repertoire will include classical pieces, folk...
MBLE530 North Indian Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. Advanced vocal and instrumental performance using both Indian and European instruments.
MBLE535 Japan Ensemble In Japan Ensemble we have three sections to teach students their choice of traditional Japanese instruments: Strings (Koto/Shamisen), Shakuhachi (the Japanese bamboo vertical flute), or Taiko (Japanese drums). Instruction is separated by instrument,...
MBLE540 Persia Electric Ensemble This inaugural launch of the intersection between ancient and new forms is a year-long course. Paths will be re-traced along the Silk Road hundreds of years before, works rehearsed and performed on Persian and Western instruments alongside genres dev...
MBLE550 African Dance Instruction in the traditional dances of West African Dance
MBLE552 Balinese Dance Instruction in the traditional dances of Bali.
MBLE554 Javanese Dance (women) Instruction in the traditional dance techniques of Indonesia. There are separate sections for women and men.
MBLE556 Javanese Dance (men) Instruction in the traditional dance techniques of Indonesia. There are separate sections for women and men.
MBLE560 The Baltic Voice The ensemble will study, learn and perform Baltic folk music, particularly vocal music from the country of Latvia. Emphasis will be placed on the aural traditions of regional vocal styles that include recitation songs, antiphonal singing, and part so...
MBLE602 Contemporary Vocal Ensemble Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (CVE) is a chamber choir committed to "exploring and expanding ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir" (crossingchoir.org). CVE's programs focus on works composed within the last 50 y...
MBLE604 Tabla Ensemble Course available by Permission of Instructor only. The CalArts Tabla Ensemble is a performing ensemble that draws from the vast repertoire of North Indian tabla, ranging from classical to folk and traditional to contemporary.
MBLE606 Chamber Music Course open to Music School students only. Small ensembles for strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard instruments and voices, in varying combinations. Individual ensembles are coached by faculty members.
MBLE609 Period Instrument Ensemble An Ensemble Dedicated to Historically Informed Performance Practice on Baroque Instruments Students will be immersed in weekly rehearsal and performance of repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries on Baroque instruments, gaining experience with...
MBLE610 Improvisation Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. Open to all instrumentalists and vocalists. With structured and unstructured improvisational studies, the course is designed to help the student develop his/her own creative voice. Concerts are presented r...
MBLE612 Interdisciplinary Improvisation Workshop This course serves as an interdisciplinary introduction to structured improvisation through Soundpainting, a sign language for spontaneous composition originally developed by Walter Thompson as part of the vibrant downtown improv scene in 1980s New Y...
MBLE617 Jazz Student Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. Performance of ensemble works written for small jazz groups and performed by all-student groups.
MBLE618 Jazz Faculty Ensemble Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. Performance of ensemble works written for small jazz groups. Faculty members lead groups and play alongside the students.
MBLE620 Brass Ensemble Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. Performance of ensemble works written for brass instruments, from quintet to dectet (or more).
MBLE621 Low Brass Studio Class Course open to trombone and euphonium players regardless of program focus. Focused work on specific instrumental needs outside of demands of performances while also providing space for students to present works being prepared for recitals and auditio...
MBLE622 Percussion Ensemble Course open to Percussion Program students only. Advanced performance of ensemble works written for percussion instruments.
MBLE625 Creative Electronic Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. An ensemble researching the interactive languages and the improvisational forms of live electronic music with a major philosophical focus on music technology and interactive, improvisational music.
MBLE627 Multi-Focus Ensemble This is a course for ensembles that are entirely initiated, organized and run by students. The personnel, repertoire and rehearsal times and places are decided by ensemble members. In order for members to receive credit, the ensemble needs to be coac...
MBLE628 Collaborative Music Ensemble Students work collectively to develop, rehearse and record experimental pop music in ensembles of 3-4 students each. Students will explore multiple approaches to collaboration: from rehearsing and recording as a live ensemble; to "turn-taking" overdu...
MBLE635 Microtonal Ensemble The microtonal ensemble will focus on hearing, playing, composing and improvising microtonally. We will develop our skills by looking at and playing contemporary pieces in a range of tuning systems, by improvising as a group, and by writing our own w...
MBLE650 Sonic Boom Ensemble Course open to all CalArts students, but , of course, especially for School of Music students. An ensemble/band falling somewhere between avant-garde rock, noise, electronica, ambient, new music, and other things that fall between the cracks. This co...
MBLE660 Golia Large Ensemble Course open to Music School students only. The Large Ensemble, under the direction of faculty member Vinny Golia, is a loosely based chamber orchestra which improvises, and performs compositions and structured improvisations by Golia. The Large Ensem...
MBLE698C Electroacoustic Ensemble The electroacoustic ensemble explores electroacoustic and digital music performance practices using laptops, tablets, various sensors, controllers, synths, and multi-channel speakers. The ensemble will perform improvised and composed works and explor...
MBLE698D Creative Repertory Ensemble Students will immerse themselves in historical aspects of the resistance movement of the 1960s and 1970s as it relates to folk music and its intersection with afropunk and other elements of early rock and roll. The themes are futurism, androgyny and...
MBLE698E Folk Singing Ensemble The Folk Singing Ensemble, led by graduate student Elizabeth Ann Setzer, will delve into folk singing traditions from the Balkans, the Caucasus, and beyond. Through weekly rehearsals, virtual and in-person workshops with guest artists, and research/p...
MBLE699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MBLE799 Independent Proj: Ensemble Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MCMP105 Music Notation Open to Music Composition Program students only. A survey of conventional notation standards used by the music publishing industry. Guided remedial study in the use of music notation software is included on an individual basis as needed. Additional...
MCMP110 Introduction to Composition Workshop in which students outside the Composition Program may acquire some experience with composing. Topics include aural and visual analysis, the processes of composition, form, structure, and methodology. When possible, music written in the works...
MCMP112 Composing Experimental Pop This course will analyze the rhythmic, harmonic, melodic, timbral, and lyrical content of experimental pop and encourage students to perceive and describe its organization. Deconstructing compositions from a diverse range of artists including David...
MCMP120 Instrumental Composition I Course open to Composition Program or Performer/Composer Program students only. This course comprises foundational studies in the art of musical composition, complementing private composition lessons with directed listening and analysis. Composition...
MCMP121 Instrumental Composition II Open to Music Composition Program students; open to other students with permission of instructor. This course continues foundational studies in the art of musical composition, complementing private composition lessons with directed listening and anal...
MCMP130 Performer-Composer Laboratory What does it mean to integrate performance and composition into one creative practice? How can we make new and relevant work for ourselves and one another? What might we need to know about each other's voices, instruments, and practices? This course...
MCMP131 Performer-Composer Laboratory What does it mean to integrate performance and composition into one creative practice? How can we make new and relevant work for ourselves and one another? What might we need to know about each other's voices, instruments, and practices? This course...
MCMP290 Portfolio Review The student must prepare and submit for review a cumulative portfolio of their creative work. This portfolio will contain work produced at CalArts, a substantial portion of which should have been presented in performance or other appropriate manner....
MCMP306 Arranging Experimental Pop Experimental Pop artists who compose in a DAW have an unlimited arsenal of virtual musicians and drag-n-drop riffs available at their fingertips, ready to be deployed with the click of a mouse. No longer "constrained" by the natural order of instrume...
MCMP307 Arranging Arranging is a "secret sauce" between composition and performance. It is a design involving style, sound, technique, and feeling. Arrangers have been somewhat mercurial figures who emerged from the jazz age, and who adapted to the possibilities and t...
MCMP308 The Art of the Mix What do arranging and mixing look like in a modern recording studio or home studio? In the era of self-production (where the lines between composer, engineer, arranger and producer are blurred) and recording in a DAW with unlimited tracks and unlimit...
MCMP310 Jazz Composition By permission of instructor only. Permission will be given on Course Advising Day each semester. During this one semester course, each student will complete at least seven new original compositions to be played and recorded in class. Course content w...
MCMP314 Jazz Arranging Techniques and tools of arranging for mixed, small jazz ensembles, combined with advanced studies in hearing and transcribing the forms and materials of jazz literature.
MCMP317 Guitar(s) and ... For Composer/Guitarists and other Composer/Instrumentalists: This course encourages courageous exploration of composition for guitar(s) with other instruments. The students workshop new original pieces composed specifically for the class to perform....
MCMP325 Experimental Music Workshop I The Limits of Perception: This year the experimental music workshop class will deal with works that explore fundamental questions about musical perception. Repertoire we will work on or listen to will include John CageÈs 0È00» Alvin LucierÈs Vespers,...
MCMP326 Experimental Music Workshop II Course open to Music School students only. The Limits of Perception: This year the experimental music workshop class will deal with works that explore fundamental questions about musical perception. Repertoire we will work on or listen to will includ...
MCMP330 Writing for Strings Course available by permission of instructor only. Techniques of writing for strings in both individual and ensemble contexts. Course will include composition and recording projects.
MCMP331 Writing for Woodwinds Writing for Woodwinds is a workshop in composing music for wind instruments. Instrumental techniques from the traditional to the extended are demonstrated and discussed. In addition to listening assignments and study of scores of music, which range f...
MCMP332 Writing for Harp The course will incorporate a thorough investigation of the physical and notational aspects of harp techniques, with opportunities to apply what the student has learned in several composition projects. Throughout the course, students will compose sho...
MCMP333 Writing for Percussion Learning to write for the vast family of percussion. Course will include some hands-on experience in basic percussion techniques. Students will write for solo and ensembles of percussion, including some world music traditions.
MCMP334 Writing for Brass Techniques of writing for brass instruments in solo or mixed ensemble settings. This course will include composition and performance projects. Historical references will be explored alongside conventional and extended techniques, auxiliary instrument...
MCMP336 Writing for Voice This course is geared to students who are interested in writing solo or ensemble vocal music and who would like to learn more about how the voice functions and how best to write for it. Topics covered may include the functioning of the voice as an i...
MCMP339 Writing for Everything Else This course will examine the risks, rewards, realities, pleasures, pitfalls, and hazards of composing for instruments indigenous to cultures other than one's own. Technical and notation aspects related to writing for instruments played by performers...
MCMP342 Composition for Film & Television Course available by permission of instructor only. This course offers the opportunity to develop skills and techniques to compose music for film and video. Participants are expected to score a number of short clips from original films. Class discussi...
MCMP343 Experiments in Film Sound This course will explore the development of sound manipulation techniques for film--including Eisenstein's vertical montages, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's musique concrete strategies, David Lynch's industrial drones, and Wendy Carlos' synthesized s...
MCMP368 Sonic Collage In Sonic Collage, we will reimagine and recontextualize soundscapes by revisiting the art of the archive. Sonic Collage asks us to compose through the compost, to RE*member the dismembered and forgotten by sighting our sources. We will explore unorth...
MCMP369 The Studio As Instrument How has the merging of composing, recording, and production afforded by developments in studio technology--from the multitrack analog studios of the 1960's to the DAW-based home studios of today--opened up new ways of creating music and new musical f...
MCMP399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MCMP402 Orchestration A study of orchestral instruments and their combinations from expressive, structural, historical, pragmatic, and exploratory perspectives. This course will integrate composing/arranging exercises for a variety of instruments and ensembles, directed...
MCMP404 Field Recording Workshop Course available only by permission of instructor at Course Advising Day The Field Recording Workshop is an investigation into the historical, technical and aesthetic aspects of field recording as a means of documentation and as a musical practice. A...
MCMP405 Electroacoustic Seminar In this seminar we will learn about and explore non-linear creative systems for composition and performance with the Experimental Sound Studio serving as our exploratory vessel. A mixture of group discussion, lecture, and in-class presentations will...
MCMP407 Music for a Concert Hall In this course, we will discover the concert hall as an instrument. Instead of understanding the hall as a shell that provides a space for performers and audiences to engage with music, we will research the venue's acoustic properties, analyze its so...
MCMP408 Sound and Audio Walks While sound walks guide the attention of audience members to the sounding reality of their immediate surroundings, audio walks constitute a simple form of augmented reality where audience members listen to audio through headphones while walking throu...
MCMP415 Choreographers & Composers Course open to BFA4 Music School students only. This course brings together advanced composition students and advanced choreographers in projects combining the two disciplines.
MCMP416 Concert Theater Performing Landscapes: Music, Text, Space, Body, & Design investigates contemporary music-based performance through the lens of alternative modalities and non-traditional strategies emerging from music, theater, movement, and space. Intended for MFA...
MCMP421 Cross-Genre Hybrid Music Composition In this course students will focus on creating new compositions that are hybrid in nature. Students will be tasked with creating new works based on the blending or juxtaposition of varying sonic elements, drawn from specific historical eras or genres...
MCMP465 Composition with Max/MSP A course designed for qualified music students to gain facility in using graphical programming environments. For over twenty years such environments have been used by composers, artists, musicians, and scientists to create truly unique customized pro...
MCMP490 Graduation Portfolio Review In the semester preceding graduation, the student must prepare and submit for review a cumulative portfolio of their creative work. This portfolio will contain work produced at CalArts, a substantial portion of which should have been presented in per...
MCMP498O Music-Photo-Fiction This course takes music, photography and writing together as a unified creative process. In fact this is the combination in which recorded music typically appears on recorded media or online (eg. bandcamp) - but what are the ways that these media can...
MCMP498S Making Music Videos Students in this class will complete a number of collaborative music video production projects in groups that include students from the schools of music, dance, film/video and experimental animation. Music videos can be a wonderful tool for filmmake...
MCMP498T Architectural Instrument Building Students will design and build their own musical playground instruments, which they will then compose for and perform on. Discussions will include: instrument-building as pre-compositional process; instrumental architecture; and play theory, toys, an...
MCMP506 Arranging Experimental Pop Experimental Pop artists who compose in a DAW have an unlimited arsenal of virtual musicians and drag-n-drop riffs available at their fingertips, ready to be deployed with the click of a mouse. No longer "constrained" by the natural order of instrume...
MCMP507 Arranging Arranging is a "secret sauce" between composition and performance. It is a design involving style, sound, technique, and feeling. Arrangers have been somewhat mercurial figures who emerged from the jazz age, and who adapted to the possibilities and t...
MCMP508 Sound and Audio Walks While sound walks guide the attention of audience members to the sounding reality of their immediate surroundings, audio walks constitute a simple form of augmented reality where audience members listen to audio through headphones while walking throu...
MCMP510 Introduction to Composition Workshop in which students outside the Composition Program may acquire some experience with composing. Topics include aural and visual analysis, the processes of composition, form, structure, and methodology. When possible, music written in the works...
MCMP517 Guitar(s) and ... For Composer/Guitarists and other Composer/Instrumentalists: This course encourages courageous exploration of composition for guitar(s) with other instruments. The students workshop new original pieces composed specifically for the class to perform....
MCMP602 Orchestration A study of orchestral instruments and their combinations from expressive, structural, historical, pragmatic, and exploratory perspectives. This course will integrate composing/arranging exercises for a variety of instruments and ensembles, directed l...
MCMP604 Field Recording Workshop The Field Recording Workshop is an investigation into the historical, technical and aesthetic aspects of field recording as a means of documentation and as a musical practice. As a workshop, we will actively engage in making recordings, comparing and...
MCMP605 Electroacoustic Seminar In this seminar we will learn about and explore non-linear creative systems for composition and performance with the Experimental Sound Studio serving as our exploratory vessel. A mixture of group discussion, lecture, and in-class presentations will...
MCMP607 Music for a Concert Hall In this course, we will discover the concert hall as an instrument. Instead of understanding the hall as a shell that provides a space for performers and audiences to engage with music, we will research the venue's acoustic properties, analyze its so...
MCMP608 The Art of the Mix What do arranging and mixing look like in a modern recording studio or home studio? In the era of self-production (where the lines between composer, engineer, arranger and producer are blurred) and recording in a DAW with unlimited tracks and unlimit...
MCMP610 Jazz Composition By permission of instructor only. Permission will be given on Course Advising Day each semester. During this one semester course, each student will complete at least seven new original compositions to be played and recorded in class. Course content...
MCMP614 Jazz Arranging Techniques and tools of arranging for mixed, small jazz ensembles, combined with advanced studies in hearing and transcribing the forms and materials of jazz literature.
MCMP615 Choreographers & Composers Course open to Music School students only. This course brings together advanced composition students and advanced choreographers in projects combining the two disciplines.
MCMP616 Concert Theater Performing Landscapes: Music, Text, Space, Body, & Design investigates contemporary music-based performance through the lens of alternative modalities and non-traditional strategies emerging from music, theater, movement, and space. Intended for MFA...
MCMP620 Composing for Improvisers This discussion-based seminar will present a survey of historical and contemporary musical idioms in which composers and sound artists have consciously and actively developed strategies for engaging performers in the act of improvisation. The goal of...
MCMP621 Cross-Genre Hybrid Music Composition In this course students will focus on creating new compositions that are hybrid in nature. Students will be tasked with creating new works based on the blending or juxtaposition of varying sonic elements, drawn from specific historical eras or genres...
MCMP623 Modeling Propositional Music in Art-Sci Propositional music is a point of view about composing that emerges from a unique philosophy, framework, and method for compositional practice in experimental music that proceeds from proposing models informed by pandisciplinary interests, and then p...
MCMP625 Experimental Music Workshop I The Limits of Perception: This year the experimental music workshop class will deal with works that explore fundamental questions about musical perception. Repertoire we will work on or listen to will include John CageÈs 0È00» Alvin LucierÈs Vespers,...
MCMP626 Experimental Music Workshop II Course open to Music School students only. The Limits of Perception: This year the experimental music workshop class will deal with works that explore fundamental questions about musical perception. Repertoire we will work on or listen to will includ...
MCMP630 Writing for Strings Course open to Music School students only. Techniques of writing for strings in both individual and ensemble contexts. Course will include composition and recording projects.
MCMP631 Writing for Woodwinds Writing for Woodwinds is a workshop in composing music for wind instruments. Instrumental techniques from the traditional to the extended are demonstrated and discussed. In addition to listening assignments and study of scores of music, which range f...
MCMP632 Writing for Harp The course will incorporate a thorough investigation of the physical and notational aspects of harp techniques, with opportunities to apply what the student has learned in several composition projects. Throughout the course, students will compose sho...
MCMP633 Writing for Percussion Learning to write for the vast family of percussion. Course will include some hands-on experience in basic percussion techniques. Students will write for solo and ensembles of percussion, including some world music traditions.
MCMP634 Writing for Brass Course open to Music School students only. Techniques of writing for brass instruments in solo or mixed ensemble settings. This course will include composition and performance projects. Historical references will be explored alongside conventional an...
MCMP636 Writing for Voice This course is geared to students who are interested in writing solo or ensemble vocal music and who would like to learn more about how the voice functions and how best to write for it. Topics covered may include the functioning of the voice as an in...
MCMP639 Writing for Everything Else This course will examine the risks, rewards, realities, pleasures, pitfalls, and hazards of composing for instruments indigenous to cultures other than one's own. Technical and notation aspects related to writing for instruments played by performers...
MCMP642 Composition for Film & Television Course available by permission of instructor only. This course offers the opportunity to develop skills and techniques to compose music for film and video. Participants are expected to score a number of short clips from original films. Class discussi...
MCMP643 Experiments in Film Sound This course will explore the development of sound manipulation techniques for film--including Eisenstein's vertical montages, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's musique concrete strategies, David Lynch's industrial drones, and Wendy Carlos' synthesized s...
MCMP665 Composition with Max/MSP A course designed for qualified music students to gain facility in using graphical programming environments. For over twenty years such environments have been used by composers, artists, musicians, and scientists to create truly unique customized pro...
MCMP667 Global Studios and Audiotopias This semester, the focus for this class will be on creating post-geographic and left-field electronic dance music, culminating in the facilitation of a dance music space where we can share work created in the class at CalArts Expo. Students in this c...
MCMP668 Sonic Collage In Sonic Collage, we will reimagine and recontextualize soundscapes by revisiting the art of the archive. Sonic Collage asks us to compose through the compost, to RE*member the dismembered and forgotten by sighting our sources. We will explore unorth...
MCMP669 The Studio As Instrument How has the merging of composing, recording, and production afforded by developments in studio technology--from the multitrack analog studios of the 1960's to the DAW-based home studios of today--opened up new ways of creating music and new musical f...
MCMP690 Graduation Portfolio Review In the semester preceding graduation, students in certain programs must submit a portfolio of work for review. This portfolio will contain work produced at CalArts, a substantial portion of which should have been presented in performance or other app...
MCMP698M Video Game Scoring This course will focus on the unique challenges of music scoring for game environments. Parallels and distinctions with regard to concert music, film, TV, cartoons and other linear media music will be explored as students analyze and create music fo...
MCMP698O Music-Photo-Fiction This course takes music, photography and writing together as a unified creative process. In fact this is the combination in which recorded music typically appears on recorded media or online (eg. bandcamp) - but what are the ways that these media can...
MCMP698T Architectural Instrument Building Students will design and build their own musical playground instruments, which they will then compose for and perform on. Discussions will include: instrument-building as pre-compositional process; instrumental architecture; and play theory, toys, an...
MCMP699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MCMP700 Doctoral Seminar Course open to Music School students only. Functioning as a forum for the work-in-progress of DMA students, this weekly seminar will allow students regularly to present and discuss their work and associated materials, and to receive feedback from pro...
MCMP790 Doctoral Project Course open to Music School students only. The Doctoral Project, beginning with intensive independent research and experimentation, and culminating in the creation of several distinct, yet interconnected components, prepares candidates for a noticeab...
MCMP791 DMA First-Year Review Before the end of the first academic year in residence, each DMA student must engage in a comprehensive artistic, academic and pedagogical review with his/her Doctoral Examining Committee (DEC). The DEC will consider the following topics, and may req...
MCMP792 DMA Qualifying Examinations DMA students must pass Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations before advancing to degree candidacy. The Qualifying Examinations are administered by the student's Doctoral Examining Committee.
MCMP794 DMA Final Review Before the awarding of the degree each DMA student must pass a Final Review, conducted by his/her Doctoral Examining Committee. This review assesses the student's artistic, intellectual, academic, professional, and pedagogical standing in relation...
MCMP799 Independent Project Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MCOM320 Creative Coding with C++ Explore the fundamentals of C++ programming using OpenFrameworks, focusing on interactive and sensor-driven applications. Develop skills in creative coding, media interaction, and integration with tools like TouchDesigner and Max/MSP. This course lay...
MCOM335 Interactive Algorithmic Sound This course focuses on interactive, procedural, generative, and algorithmic methods of sound creation. We will learn how to create systems of sound and explore the various ways of interacting and influencing them. Additionally, we will be looking at...
MCOM421 Creative Coding for AI Art This course provides a foundational introduction to the Python programming language through hands-on and creative applications. In this course, we will explore programming in Python with a focus on machine learning applications for generative art mak...
MCOM440 Audio Programming With C++ Ever wondered what goes into your favorite music software? Learn how to build your own and open doors for both your personal creativity and career. In this course we'll explore the JUCE audio plugin framework, and the design software Figma to see how...
MCOM621 Creative Coding for AI Art This course provides a foundational introduction to the Python programming language through hands-on and creative applications. In this course, we will explore programming in Python with a focus on machine learning applications for generative art mak...
MCOM635 Interactive Algorithmic Sound This course focuses on interactive, procedural, generative, and algorithmic methods of sound creation. We will learn how to create systems of sound and explore the various ways of interacting and influencing them. Additionally, we will be looking at...
MCOM640 Audio Programming With C++ Ever wondered what goes into your favorite music software? Learn how to build your own and open doors for both your personal creativity and career. In this course we'll explore the JUCE audio plugin framework, and the design software Figma to see how...
MCSE309 Words for Music This course will investigate the nature of writing words for music and setting pre-existing words to musicj. Students will develop an understanding of how musical time affects the perception of words and how words interact with the perception of musi...
MCSE461 Grant Writing for Artists Grant Writing for Artists will provide students with a basic introduction to grant writing, hands-on experience preparing a grant application in a workshop setting, and critical discussion around the history and cultural practices related to funding...
MCSE609 Words for Music This course will investigate the nature of writing words for music and setting pre-existing words to musicj. Students will develop an understanding of how musical time affects the perception of words and how words interact with the perception of musi...
MCSE661 Grant Writing for Artists Grant Writing for Artists will provide students with a basic introduction to grant writing, hands-on experience preparing a grant application in a workshop setting, and critical discussion around the history and cultural practices related to funding...
MFOR100 Musician's Toolkit Toolkit is designed as a preparation for a life in professional music, as well as an orientation to the college experience. It's especially helpful for first year undergraduates, but it is also open to upper division undergraduates and graduate stude...
MFOR101 Undergraduate Composers' Forum Course open to Composition Program students only. Presentation and critique of student compositions and projects, both finished and in-process. Selected topics of relevance to composers will be addressed as time permits, such as notation standards, p...
MFOR102 Performance Forum Course open to Music School students only. Undergraduate Performance Forum will provide an experiential approach to music-making through a series of open coachings by faculty and guests of student chamber music groups, and other performances by guest...
MFOR103 Voicearts Forum Course open to Music School students only. A weekly forum for singers, this course focuses on developing performance-related skills through observation, practice and discussion. Sessions will be devoted to guest artist performances, master classes, e...
MFOR104 Experimental Pop Forum Course open to Music School students only. Designed as a gathering where Experimental Pop Program students share and discuss their artistic work on a weekly basis, this forum will also include informal group critiques, opportunities to collaborate on...
MFOR106 Creative Technology Forum Weekly gatherings and presentations on current directions in the field of music technology. Occasional workshops by visiting master computer music artists whenever possible. Critique, presentation, and performance of student projects and compositions...
MFOR107 Jazz Forum Course open to Music School students only. Weekly presentations on current directions in jazz, emphasizing workshops by visiting master jazz artists whenever possible and including discussion, rehearsal, and performance of their music. Occasional joi...
MFOR110 First-Year Seminar in Music Through music, presentations, and activities, this class provides an orientation to the diversity, experimental ethos, and vibrant creative community at CalArts' School of Music. It will also address resources available to music students and strategi...
MFOR111 Guitar Forum Guitar Workshop is intended to be a common meeting ground for all guitar majors and other interested guitarists. The objective is to foster a non-competetive sense of community which encourages mutual inspiration and cross fertilization of ideas, pr...
MFOR200 Music Artists-In-Residence Week Invited artists visit CalArts' campus to give presentations and workshops, perform, collaborate, and engage with the student body and the School of Music's facilities.
MFOR305 Performer-Composer Forum Course open to Music School students only. The Performer-Composers Forum features master classes given by the instructor and special guests. Topics may include how new music gets created, music history, performance, composers, (alive and dead), getti...
MFOR500 Musician's Toolkit Toolkit is designed as a preparation for a life in professional music, as well as an orientation to the college experience. It's especially helpful for first year undergraduates, but it is also open to upper division undergraduates and graduate stude...
MFOR501 Graduate Composers' Forum Course open to Music School students only. Presentation and critique of student compositions and projects, both finished and in process.
MFOR502 Performance Forum Course open to Music School students only. Graduate Performance Forum will provide an experiential approach to music-making through a series of open coachings by faculty and guests of student chamber music groups, and other performances by guests, st...
MFOR503 Voicearts Forum Course open to Music School students only. A weekly forum for singers, this course focuses on developing performance-related skills through observation, practice and discussion. Sessions will be devoted to guest artist performances, master classes, e...
MFOR504 Experimental Pop Forum Course open to Music School students only. Designed as a gathering where Experimental Pop Program students share and discuss their artistic work on a weekly basis, this forum will also include informal group critiques, opportunities to collaborate on...
MFOR505 Performer-Composer Forum Course open to Music School students only. The Performer-Composers Forum features master classes given by the instructor and special guests. Topics may include how new music gets created, music history, performance, composers, (alive and dead), getti...
MFOR506 Creative Technology Forum Course open to Music School students only. Weekly gatherings and presentations on current directions in the field of music technology. Occasional workshops by visiting master computer music artists whenever possible. Critique, presentation, and per...
MFOR507 Jazz Forum Course open to Music School students only. Weekly presentations on current directions in jazz, emphasizing workshops by visiting master jazz artists whenever possible and including discussion, rehearsal, and performance of their music. Occasional jo...
MFOR508 ESP Forum Course open to Experimental Sound Practices students only. This class centers on the presentation and critique of works by students in the Experimental Sound Practices specialization. Each student, during the academic year, is given a one-hour period...
MFOR511 Guitar Forum Guitar Workshop is intended to be a common meeting ground for all guitar majors and other interested guitarists. The objective is to foster a non-competetive sense of community which encourages mutual inspiration and cross fertilization of ideas, pr...
MFOR600 Music Artists-In-Residence Week Invited artists visit CalArts' campus to give presentations and workshops, perform, collaborate, and engage with the student body and the School of Music's facilities.
MHST205 Western Music History I Lectures, reading, and listening covering the history and literature of Western musical styles from antiquity through the Baroque period.
MHST206 Western Music History II Lectures, reading, and listening covering the history and literature of Western musical styles from the Classical through Modern periods.
MHST230 Audio-Visual Theory & Practice This course explores the synesthetic potential of music and the moving image as it manifests itself throughout audio-visual practice: music video, film scoring, audio-visual performance and installation. We'll begin with Michel Chion's seminal text...
MHST300 Music Cultures In the Roundabout of Troubadours, Revolutions, and Indigeneity: Music and Social Movements in Latin America. Centered on social movements, this course takes music culture as a starting point to explore political ideology and collective mobilization i...
MHST300B Music Cultures: Middle East Music Cultures: Middle East. A survey of the musics of the Middle East will include vocal and instrumental traditions of the Middle East; selected minority musics; and religious, folk, and popular music traditions (ancient and contemporary). Histori...
MHST300C Music Cultures: Indonesia Music Cultures: Indonesia Music of Indonesia. A survey of the highly diverse musical forms currently being practiced in Indonesia's 14,000 populated islands. Reaching far beyond gamelan, this course will also cover more recently developed styles suc...
MHST300D Music Cultures: Southeast Asia Music Cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia A survey of traditional and modern musical forms being practiced in Mainland SE Asia. This course will cover a wide variety of styles found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar. In addition to d...
MHST300F Music of Korea: From Gugak to K-Pop In this course, students will explore Korean traditional and contemporary music cultures and scenes. Topics will vary from traditional gugak to recent music genres, including K-pop, indie music, experimental music scenes, trot, and film music. Studen...
MHST300G Black Temporalities and Black Time Black Temporalities and Black Time: To fully engage with Black music we must understand Black time. We do this work together. In 'Black Temporalities & Black Time' we will explore non-linear storytelling and the elasticity of (un)time through the fra...
MHST300H Latin Am Music: Traditions and Digital This course will examine a variety of musical styles from Latin America, and at the same time analyze the political and historical context in which the music developed. The focus will be on the music of the Caribbean and Central America and South Ame...
MHST304 Music of Native North America Course not available to BFA1 students. This is a survey course introducing the music cultures of North America; focusing on an interdisciplinary approach to view the history, social institutions, culture, literature, arts, and relationships of North...
MHST312 Ethnology of African Music Culture Ethnology of African Music-The history of Ghanaian music, dance and culture. Talking and reading about the origin of Ghanaian music, dance and song as well as their culture and how those affect their everyday life. As Ghanaian are known for their e...
MHST325 Extended Duration in Music This course investigates the relationship between live music performance of extended duration and sound-oriented installation art. Taking Erik Satie's "Vexations" (1893) and "Musique d'Ameublement" (1920) as points of departure, we will analyze 1950s...
MHST330 Studies in Experimental Pop Since the 1960s, pop music has been a zone in which experimental, avant-garde impulses have coexisted with commercial and hedonistic imperatives. In this course, we will look at artists who have imported ideas and techniques from the music academy or...
MHST331 Studies in Avant-Rock & Noise This second module of the two-semester Studies in Experimental Pop course might be better titled Studies in Experimental Rock. The focus shifts away from the mainstream of the pop charts and radio, towards the alternative and underground; there is le...
MHST342 Women in Western Music History This would be a class on women in the history of Western art music from Ancient Music through the present day, combining musicology, sociology, music theory, ethnomusicology, political science, world history, hermeneutics, feminist theory, philosophy...
MHST344 Non-Traditional Film Music This course is an introductory survey to film music history and analysis. We will primarily focus on international and experimental cinema, but will likely draw on certain Hollywood or independent American filmmakers who don't quite fit the mold and...
MHST345 Topics in Vocal Literature Topics in Vocal Literature: The[R]Evolution of Solo Vocal Literature through the lens of the song cycle This course will focus on the evolution of vocal music-through the lens of the song cycle and its offspring-over the past few centuries up to the...
MHST346 Opera AND ___: Exploring Intersections 20th and 21st Century Opera's intersections with the musical and extra-musical. 20th and 21st century opera is "Opera AND ________." Opera has a variety of possible musical and non-musical intersections which we will explore this semester. Each week...
MHST350 Stylists & Innovators 1961-NOW This course focuses on selected individuals and musical, political, and economic movements that have helped shaped a genre in jazz or improvised music and that have mostly been overlooked in current historical reporting. (While not a definitive overv...
MHST371 Jazz, Hip-Hop, & Urban Experimentalism This discussion based seminar will present a survey of historical and contemporary musical idioms in which com-posers, producers, and sound designers associated with the fileds of hip hop, jazz and contemporary R&B have consciously and actively deve...
MHST399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students will complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MHST405 Focus Rock: Extreme Metal Death, Black, Doom and Experimental Metal will be the focus of this class. We will do in-depth analysis of selected pieces (harmony, melody, rhythm, form, sound, lyrics) and research the influence of contemporary classical and experimental music on m...
MHST406 Focus Rock: Art Music & Rock Focus Rock: Art Music & Rock - An unwritten history of cross-pollination Music is: organized sound - timbre and rhythm. This quote by Edgar Varese not only applies to (most) so-called new music (20th and 21st century classical contemporary music), b...
MHST407 Focus Rock: Noise Make a joyful noise: the development and importance of noise elements in popular and experimental music of the 20th and 21st century. Noise has always been a part of music, if desired or not. But over time noise elements stopped being just an add-on...
MHST408 Focus Rock: Post-Punk Post-Punk is another one of these music historical terms that were, of course, applied backwards. It is not really sure what it means, especially because it starts around the same time as punk (1977). Does it include or exclude simultaneous styles...
MHST409 Focus Rock: Electronica Focus Rock: Electronica - Body Electric - Electronic Pop and Dance Music This class looks at the development of electronic popular music from its early days to its conquest of the international dance floors, creating the international rave community...
MHST410 The Elastic Voice "Voice is the original instrument." So says Joan La Barbara, the doyenne of extended vocal technique. This course explores the extraordinary panoply of purposes to which the human voice has been deployed. While the focus is on popular music genres...
MHST412 What Is a Song? An international survey of songwriting from ancient times (classical Greece, the Tang and Song dynasties, etc.), but with an emphasis on the repertoire of the last seventy years. The course examines in detail a wide range of songs: musical compositio...
MHST422 Experimental Music Post-Cage Experimental Music of the post-Cage Generation This class will deal with the explosion of experimental music in the mid-20th century to the 1990s. Experimental music will be explored as more a method or set of approaches to creating music than as a g...
MHST423 Experimental Music Post-Cage II This class will deal with the explosion of experimental music in the mid-20th century to the 1990s. Experimental music will be explored as more a method or set of approaches to creating music than as a genre. We will, over the course of two semesters...
MHST425 Survey of Sound Art Sound Art draws on many fields, among them: experimental music, experimental theater, installation, sculpture, architecture, and poetry, but what all sound art works have as their primary focus is the experience of sound and listening. Following an i...
MHST440 Thinking Critically About Pop (& UnPop) This class will explore a wide range of critical writing about popular music as well as various forms of underground or alternative music. We start with jazz criticism in the mid-20th Century, then proceed through various eras of rock and pop critici...
MHST451 Contemporary Composers Selected readings from Busoni and beyond. Critical analysis of current trends in music and the arts.
MHST452 Music of Luigi Nono The course will yield an overview of the music and the cultural contributions of the great Italian composer Luigi Nono. Our survey of his oeuvre and its evolution from his early works in the 1950's (with the amazing purity of his dodecaphonic counter...
MHST453 Music of James Tenney James Tenney was a pioneer in multiple areas of music, all of which remain domains of vigorous creative activity to the present day. These include plunderphonia, computer music, process form, spectral music and extended just-intonation. His theoretic...
MHST457 Music & Surrealism Surrealist forms of music could still arise, seeking the gold of sound as Breton sought the gold of time (Francois-Bernard Mache). Why did the surrealist movement of the early twentieth century principally embrace art and literature, leaving music on...
MHST458 Music of Edgard Varese Besides Charles Ives, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky, the French-American composer Edgard Varese(1883-1965) was certainly the most radical and influential founding father of 20th century Western music. He established a method for a conceptual...
MHST459 Contemplative Practice & Music The study of the contemplative arts, as they relate to the creation of musical experiences and musical compositions, will be investigated by actively privileging the concept of compassion and its manifestations, and by the routine practice of mindful...
MHST464 Music of Gyorgy Ligeti In the early 1960s Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006) opened up new ways for post-serial sound composition by introducing the concept of micro-polyphony. In his later works since the mid 1970s, he successfully combined ideals of both minimalism and complexity...
MHST465 Music of Helmut Lachenmann With his revolutionary concept of a 'concrete instrumental music', the leading and most influential contemporary German composer Helmut Lachenmann (born 1935) has hugely expanded the available repertoire of extended playing techniques on traditional...
MHST466 Music of Igor Stravinsky Throughout the first half of the past century, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) impacted the contemporary music scene like a startling super-brilliant meteor. The course will combine biography, music theory, analysis, score study, guided listening and aes...
MHST467 Music of Arnold Schoenberg During the first part of the past century, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) revolutionized the contemporary music scene more profoundly than anyone else. With his independent, courageous and radical set of mind and with his extraordinary ability to unde...
MHST469 Music of Feldman & Zimmermann Pursuing the heritage of his mentor Edgard Varese with an infinite minimalist focus on the quality of sound, just how it floats, and with a unique sense of musical orchestration, Morton Feldman(1926-1987) introduced the quiet longing of Franz Schuber...
MHST472 John Cage: Music and Thought This is class is designed as a critical inquiry into the aesthetic, theoretical and political implications of John Cage's music. In addition to sustained encounters with several of Cage's significant pieces it will look at the implications of those w...
MHST473 Cage, Sun Ra, Musique Concrete, Noise As a parallel to the emergence of the American Experimental Tradition, and its "uprising" in the music of Cage and following, we will study the revolutionary works of Sun Ra (growing from and away from jazz) and the founding of Musique Concrete in Fr...
MHST474 Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen is a composer who, especially in the 1950s and 60s, seemed to have re-defined the understanding of what music is about with each of his compositions. His theoretical writings and lectures are as legendary as his music. In the tr...
MHST498H Ecomusicalities Ecomusicalities This course is an introduction to ecologically oriented music, sound art, and the study of ecomusicology in the context of the contemporary environmental crisis. Ecology is conceived broadly as relational understandings of human and...
MHST498J The Semiotics of Queerness in Music This course explores the intersection of popular and dance music with queerness, examining how the meanings of queer identities are conveyed through music and music videos. Over the past 40 years, popular and dance music have been shaped by and have...
MHST498K Disco:Emancipatory Dancefloors 1970-1990 The emergence of contemporary DJ-led dance music in the 1970's provoked a transformational way of experiencing music and the body. For many people who existed on the margins of society, these dance floors represented an open, deterritorialized, liber...
MHST500 Music Cultures In the Roundabout of Troubadours, Revolutions, and Indigeneity: Music and Social Movements in Latin America. Centered on social movements, this course takes music culture as a starting point to explore political ideology and collective mobilization i...
MHST500B Music Cultures: Middle East Music Cultures: Middle East. A survey of the musics of the Middle East will include vocal and instrumental traditions of the Middle East; selected minority musics; and religious, folk, and popular music traditions (ancient and contemporary). Histori...
MHST500C Music Cultures: Indonesia Music Cultures: Indonesia Music of Indonesia. A survey of the highly diverse musical forms currently being practiced in Indonesia's 14,000 populated islands. Reaching far beyond gamelan, this course will also cover more recently developed styles such...
MHST500D Music Cultures: Southeast Asia Music Cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia A survey of traditional and modern musical forms being practiced in Mainland SE Asia. This course will cover a wide variety of styles found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar. In addition to d...
MHST500F Music of Korea: From Gugak to K-Pop In this course, students will explore Korean traditional and contemporary music cultures and scenes. Topics will vary from traditional gugak to recent music genres, including K-pop, indie music, experimental music scenes, trot, and film music. Studen...
MHST500G Black Temporalities and Black Time Black Temporalities and Black Time: To fully engage with Black music we must understand Black time. We do this work together. In 'Black Temporalities & Black Time' we will explore non-linear storytelling and the elasticity of (un)time through the fra...
MHST500H Latin Am Music: Traditions and Digital This course will examine a variety of musical styles from Latin America, and at the same time analyze the political and historical context in which the music developed. The focus will be on the music of the Caribbean and Central America and South Ame...
MHST504 Music of Native North America This is a survey course introducing the music cultures of North America; focusing on an interdisciplinary approach to view the history, social institutions, culture, literature, arts, and relationships of North American Indigenous peoples and their...
MHST512 Ethnology of African Music Culture Ethnology of African Music-The history of Ghanaian music, dance and culture. Talking and reading about the origin of Ghanaian music, dance and song as well as their culture and how those affect their everyday life. As Ghanaian are known for their e...
MHST514 The Music of Flamenco A study of the musical aspects (cante-singing and toque-guitar playing) in Flamenco through listening, reading and watching documentary films. We will look at the structure of many Flamenco forms (ie. Seguiriyas, Solea, Bulerias, Tangos, etc.), disc...
MHST516 Blues Before 1960 A study of the development of the Blues through listening, watching documentary films and reading interviews with artists. We will concentrate on music, lyrics and each artist's individual style and consider the social and historical circumstances s...
MHST517 Bach and Beyond: Rethinking Bach This course is designed to develop a deep and meaningful understanding and appreciation of JS Bach, the man, the myth and the music. There will be guided listening in and out of class, as well as reading of materials from Bach's time along with la...
MHST525 Survey of Sound Art Sound Art draws on many fields, among them: experimental music, experimental theater, installation, sculpture, architecture, and poetry, but what all sound art works have as their primary focus is the experience of sound and listening. Following an i...
MHST530 Studies in Experimental Pop Since the 1960s, pop music has been a zone in which experimental, avant-garde impulses have coexisted with commercial and hedonistic imperatives. In this course, we will look at artists who have imported ideas and techniques from the music academy or...
MHST531 Studies in Avant-Rock & Noise This second module of the two-semester Studies in Experimental Pop course might be better titled Studies in Experimental Rock. The focus shifts away from the mainstream of the pop charts and radio, towards the alternative and underground; there is le...
MHST540 Jazz History A survey of the history of jazz and African-American musical traditions, emphasizing critical listening and aural analysis.
MHST542 Women in Western Music History This would be a class on women in the history of Western art music from Ancient Music through the present day, combining musicology, sociology, music theory, ethnomusicology, political science, world history, hermeneutics, feminist theory, philosophy...
MHST545 Topics in Vocal Literature Topics in Vocal Literature: The[R]Evolution of Solo Vocal Literature through the lens of the song cycle This course will focus onthe evolution of vocal music-through the lens of the song cycle and its offspring-over the past few centuries up to the...
MHST546 Opera AND ___: Exploring Intersections 20th and 21st Century Opera's intersections with the musical and extra-musical. 20th and 21st century opera is "Opera AND ________." Opera has a variety of possible musical and non-musical intersections which we will explore this semester. Each week...
MHST550 Stylists & Innovators 1961-Now This course focuses on selected individuals and musical, political, and economic movements that have helped shaped a genre in jazz or improvised music and that have mostly been overlooked in current historical reporting. (While not a definitive overv...
MHST571 Jazz, Hip-Hop, & Urban Experimentalism This discussion based seminar will present a survey of historical and contemporary musical idioms in which com-posers, producers, and sound designers associated with the fileds of hip hop, jazz and contemporary R&B have consciously and actively deve...
MHST601 Improvisation: Uses & Lineage Improvisation: Uses and Cross-Cultural Lineage This class will explore the nature of improvisation in all its forms-Indian music, flamenco, baroque, organ music, rock, jazz, contemporary, and "free" music. The class integrates material from a wide v...
MHST605 Focus Rock: Extreme Metal Death, Black, Doom and Experimental Metal will be the focus of this class. We will do in-depth analysis of selected pieces (harmony, melody, rhythm, form, sound, lyrics) and research the influence of contemporary classical and experimental music on m...
MHST606 Focus Rock: Art Music & Rock Focus Rock: Art Music & Rock - An unwritten history of cross-pollination Music is: organized sound - timbre and rhythm. This quote by Edgar Varese not only applies to (most) so-called new music (20th and 21st century classical contemporary music), b...
MHST607 Focus Rock: Noise Make a joyful noise: the development and importance of noise elements in popular and experimental music of the 20th and 21st century. Noise has always been a part of music, if desired or not. But over time noise elements stopped being just an add-on...
MHST608 Focus Rock: Post-Punk Post-Punk is another one of these music historical terms that were, of course, applied backwards. It is not really sure what it means, especially because it starts around the same time as punk (1977). Does it include or exclude simultaneous styles...
MHST609 Focus Rock: Electronica Focus Rock: Electronica - Body Electric - Electronic Pop and Dance Music This class looks at the development of electronic popular music from its early days to its conquest of the international dance floors, creating the international rave community...
MHST610 The Elastic Voice "Voice is the original instrument." So says Joan La Barbara, the doyenne of extended vocal technique. This course explores the extraordinary panoply of purposes to which the human voice has been deployed. While the focus is on popular music genres...
MHST612 What Is a Song? An international survey of songwriting from ancient times (classical Greece, the Tang and Song dynasties, etc.), but with an emphasis on the repertoire of the last seventy years. The course examines in detail a wide range of songs: musical compositio...
MHST622 Experimental Music Post-Cage Experimental Music of the post-Cage Generation This class will deal with the explosion of experimental music in the mid-20th century to the 1990s. Experimental music will be explored as more a method or set of approaches to creating music than as a...
MHST623 Experimental Music Post-Cage II This class will deal with the explosion of experimental music in the mid-20th century to the 1990s. Experimental music will be explored as more a method or set of approaches to creating music than as a genre. We will, over the course of two semesters...
MHST625 Extended Duration in Music This course investigates the relationship between live music performance of extended duration and sound-oriented installation art. Taking Erik Satie's "Vexations" (1893) and "Musique d'Ameublement" (1920) as points of departure, we will analyze 1950s...
MHST630 Audio-Visual Theory & Practice This course explores the synesthetic potential of music and the moving image as it manifests itself throughout audio-visual practice: music video, film scoring, audio-visual performance and installation. We'll begin with Michel Chion's seminal text...
MHST640 Thinking Critically About Pop (& UnPop) This class will explore a wide range of critical writing about popular music as well as various forms of underground or alternative music. We start with jazz criticism in the mid-20th Century, then proceed through various eras of rock and pop critici...
MHST643 To Exist in Sound: Ambient & 4th World It's been half a century since Brian Eno embarked on ambient music as a conceptual project, conceiving the idea for Discreet Music while lying incapacitated (recovering from a car accident), listening to a barely audible recording of harp music merge...
MHST644 Non-Traditional Film Music This course is an introductory survey to film music history and analysis. We will primarily focus on international and experimental cinema, but will likely draw on certain Hollywood or independent American filmmakers who don't quite fit the mold and...
MHST651 Contemporary Composers Selected readings from Busoni and beyond. Critical analysis of current trends in music and the arts.
MHST652 Music of Luigi Nono The course will yield an overview of the music and the cultural contributions of the great Italian composer Luigi Nono. Our survey of his oeuvre and its evolution from his early works in the 1950's (with the amazing purity of his dodecaphonic counter...
MHST653 Music of James Tenney James Tenney was a pioneer in multiple areas of music, all of which remain domains of vigorous creative activity to the present day. These include plunderphonia, computer music, process form, spectral music and extended just-intonation. His theoretic...
MHST657 Music & Surrealism Focused Topics Course: 'Surrealist forms of music could still arise, seeking the gold of sound as Breton sought the gold of time (Francois-Bernard Mache).' Why did the surrealist movement of the early twentieth century principally embrace art and lit...
MHST658 Music of Edgard Varese Besides Charles Ives, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky, the French-American composer Edgard Varese(1883-1965) was certainly the most radical and influential founding father of 20th century Western music. He established a method for a conceptual...
MHST659 Contemplative Practice & Music Focused Topics Course: The study of the contemplative arts, as they relate to the creation of musical experiences and musical compositions, will be investigated by actively privileging the concept of compassion and its manifestations, and by the rout...
MHST664 Music of Gyorgy Ligeti In the early 1960s Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006) opened up new ways for post-serial sound composition by introducing the concept of micro-polyphony. In his later works since the mid 1970s, he successfully combined ideals of both minimalism and complexity...
MHST665 Music of Helmut Lachenmann With his revolutionary concept of a 'concrete instrumental music', the leading and most influential contemporary German composer Helmut Lachenmann (born 1935) has hugely expanded the available repertoire of extended playing techniques on traditional...
MHST666 Music of Igor Stravinsky Throughout the first half of the past century, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) impacted the contemporary music scene like a startling super-brilliant meteor. The course will combine biography, music theory, analysis, score study, guided listening and aes...
MHST667 Music of Arnold Schoenberg During the first part of the past century, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) revolutionized the contemporary music scene more profoundly than anyone else. With his independent, courageous and radical set of mind and with his extraordinary ability to unde...
MHST669 Music of Feldman & Zimmermann Pursuing the heritage of his mentor Edgard Varese with an infinite minimalist focus on the quality of sound, just how it floats, and with a unique sense of musical orchestration, Morton Feldman (1926-1987) introduced the quiet longing of Franz Schube...
MHST672 John Cage: Music and Thought This is class is designed as a critical inquiry into the aesthetic, theoretical and political implications of John Cage's music. In addition to sustained encounters with several of Cage's significant pieces it will look at the implications of those w...
MHST673 Cage, Sun Ra, Musique Concrete, Noise As a parallel to the emergence of the American Experimental Tradition, and its "uprising" in the music of Cage and following, we will study the revolutionary works of Sun Ra (growing from and away from jazz) and the founding of Musique Concrete in Fr...
MHST674 Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen is a composer who, especially in the 1950s and 60s, seemed to have re-defined the understanding of what music is about with each of his compositions. His theoretical writings and lectures are as legendary as his music. In the tr...
MHST698H Ecomusicalities Ecomusicalities This course is an introduction to ecologically oriented music, sound art, and the study of ecomusicology in the context of the contemporary environmental crisis. Ecology is conceived broadly as relational understandings of human and...
MHST698J The Semiotics of Queerness in Music This course explores the intersection of popular and dance music with queerness, examining how the meanings of queer identities are conveyed through music and music videos. Over the past 40 years, popular and dance music have been shaped by and have...
MHST698K Disco:Emancipatory Dancefloors 1970-1990 The emergence of contemporary DJ-led dance music in the 1970's provoked a transformational way of experiencing music and the body. For many people who existed on the margins of society, these dance floors represented an open, deterritorialized, liber...
MHST699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students will complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MHST703 Performer-Composer: History & Aesthetics Course open to Music School students only. This course offers a broad historical, technical and aesthetic survey of the opportunities and challenges presented to the musician whose work integrates performance and composition. These are illuminated th...
MITM201C Heavy Shit 5000 Punk, metal, grunge, doom sludge, hardcore, grindcore, powerviolence, and all their glorious sub and sub-sub genres. I'll tell you about the specific genres I know about and love. I invite everyone to bring a playlist of songs to share. We're going t...
MITM303 Alexander Technique for Perfomance This course is designed to give you the tools to get what you want from your performance and life. We will cover accurate information about human design and coordination, flow state/ optimal performance, sustainability and performance readiness. We w...
MITM324B Creative Producing Practicum Creative Producing Practicum: School of Music Showcase at REDCAT is open to students who have been selected as performers and production team members for the School of Music Showcase at REDCAT. Student production team members will work alongside thei...
MITM324C Channeling: Delia Derbyshire The first in a new Winter Session series of hands-on music production courses, Channeling, where, each year, we will dive deeply into the work of a sonic practitioner, listen to their music and explore in the studio: how did they get those sounds? 20...
MITM324D Hip-Hop As A Verb We need brave new words to birth a brand-new world. Hip-hop is turning 50 this year and it is clear that it is beyond music and is a unifying cultural vehicle. Hip-Hop is also an embodied practice. In Hip-Hop as a Verb, we will dive into the doing of...
MITM324E Frame Drum Workshops Frame drum workshop This course will meet for three, one and a half hour workshops, each focused on a different holding position and thus evocative techniques, specifically freehand, lap, and tar positions. School instruments can be provided for cla...
MITM324F Global Tambourine Workshops This course will be a series of individually focused small group lessons/workshops on specific tambourines, their techniques, rhythms and repertoire. Topics include two classes each on Arabic riq, Brazilian pandeiro, and South Indian kanjira. School...
MITM324G Sleep Ensemble This is an ensemble exploring the notions of live performance sleep therapy music. Open to the institute, the course will move between lecture, practice, and performance and invites all sound making mediums to participate. The course will culminate i...
MITM324H a deeper look, rest & relax, yoga nidra This is a deeper dive into Yoga for artists. We will explore yoga nidra, deep rest and relaxation, and some simple poses for stress reduction and performance preparation.
MITM324J Mature Sonic Listening Students will participate on a mature outlook on how to listen to music. Together we will touch on the history of the music of Jazz, Hip Hop, and other genres and discuss the fundamental language of the genres and how it connects to modern day music.
MITM324K Elijah McClain and Music Elijah McClain was a violinist murdered by Aurora police on the night of Aug 24, 2019. His name was repeated on the streets along with those of others recently killed by police -George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, and others - during the Blac...
MITM324L Orchestration for concert stage and film This course offers an introduction to orchestration for concert stage and film music. In the first week, lectures on orchestration basics will be held. In the second week, we will review the orchestration assignments submitted by students. Attendees...
MITM324M Koto Sounds Into Your Art and Music This course is a lecture and workshop and will explore the ways to integrate koto sounds into your art/music making. We will be exploring How the koto works: possibilities and limitations/n Like any instrument, koto has its own physical reality tha...
MITM324N The Full Bodied Breath Modern life and society have retrained the perfect breath we were born to take. Each breath we take dictates the confidence, connection and effectiveness of the sound we emanate no matter if we sing or speak, in performance or in life. Connecting to...
MITM324P Gustav Mahler: The Last Monumental Symph Inspiring composers as diverse as Shostakovich, Berg, and Schoenberg, but rooted in the traditions of Beethoven, Brahms, and Weber, Gustav Mahler had his feet planted solidly across two centuries of music. We will explore how and why.
MITM324R Intro to North Indian Classical Music This is an introductory course for students interested in learning Indian Classical vocal and instrumental Music. Students will learn the basics of Raag and Taal and be introduced to Swar Gram and Alankar so they may begin their individual practice.
MITM324S Perfecting the Playlist The playlist has become a steady fixture in our lives, presented by professional DJs in clubs and on the radio around the world. In this short course we will explore what it means to "perfect the playlist" - how to approach pacing, harmonic mixing, a...
MITM324T Building Interactive Audiovisual System Through this course, we will cover basic visual programming structures through polyphony, Matrix, and strengthening understandings of multichannel sound synthesis. The first week will break down the fundamentals of jitter and the second week will cov...
MITM324U Writing for Clarinets Class 1: B-flat & A Clarinet Intro 1 Class 2: B flat & A Clarinet Intro 2 Class 3: Recording Session-Clarinet Solo piece Every student has to compose a clarinet solo piece for B-flat or A clarinet of around 1 minute and submit it to the instructor...
MITM324V How To: Win a Job! Orchestral Repertoir An intensive exploration of orchestral excerpts from standard repertoire found on excerpt lists for symphony orchestra auditions. This course will cover audition preparation and rehearsal/performance etiquette. Students will spend the first week stud...
MITM324W The Music of Henry Threadgill By dividing Threadgill's music into four distinct periods, we will deconstruct its many points of influence; areas such as military marches, calypso, ragtime, and European expressionist art music. This course will aim to demonstrate how while these s...
MITM324X All-Inclusive Music: a Multi-Pedagogical All-Inclusive Music: A Multi-Pedagogical Journey of Composition & Improvisation This class is aimed at examining non-traditional methods of music composition & approaches to improvisation that allow for individuals of any training or pedagogical bac...
MITM324Y Development, Rehearsal and Performance The participants will form a chamber ensemble (5-10 musicians) with open instrumentation. Every member will play in the ensemble and contribute with one piece of their own for us to develop, rehearse and perform. This can be a fixed, notated score, a...
MITM324Z Subversion as Practice : DIY Design This course is open to all students interested in incorporating Sound as an element of their practice or project. Students are encouraged to have personal or collaborative projects in mind prior to attending. This is NOT a coding class. Computers a...
MITM325L Sleep Ensemble This is an ensemble exploring the notions of live performance sleep therapy music. Open to the institute, the course will move between lecture, practice, and performance and invites all sound making mediums to participate. The course will culminate i...
MITM331 Knit Stuff! Knitting is scientifically proven to improve focus, connect intuitive and abstract thinking, promote math skills, and reduce stress and manage anxiety. You also get to play with soft fuzzy yarn and make nice things. Join Music School faculty Erika DK...
MITM380 Gamelan Pieces for Dance Accompaniment In Bali or Java the Gamelan Orchestra, specially the most modern gamelan, is known for having a colorful orchestration and for its musical vitality, complex musical structures, and rhythmic complexity. The modern gamelan orchestra in Bali is known as...
MITM396 Winter Session Teaching Assignment Credit bearing course for students who have been approved to teach a course during Winter Session in the School of Music. Credit is earned through course preparation and teaching.
MITM398K Guitar Anatomy This course is aimed at guitarists (acoustic, electric, classical) and bassists (electric) regardless of their major/specialization at CalArts. We will take a concise look at how different types of guitars are made, the function of their various part...
MITM408 Compositional Form This course will present a historical survey of several compositional strategies, used by composers to effectively structure their music and the manner in which it unfolds. Music by Bach, Brahms, Scriabin, Finnissy, and others will be discussed.
MITM419 Music of Jackie McLean In a musical career spanning nearly sixty years, the alto saxophonist and composer Jackie McLean (1931-2006) developed a model of collaborative and socially engaged pedagogy that was to prove enormously fruitful both for his own career and that of th...
MITM426 Taking Your Music on the Road Taking Your Music on the Road - Concert Booking and Tour Planning for the Self-Promoting Musician?? This class will focus on the details of planning and promoting a regional tour for any kind of musical ensemble. It will include information about bo...
MITM467 Collecting Music Building a Physical Music Collection: As in any endeavor there are advantages and disadvantages to building a physical music collection. We will be discussing the strengths and challenges of the three main physical forms of music for sale people hav...
MITM495 Writing Large Ensemble Music Writing Large Ensemble Music for Improvisors Meetings which include lecture, discussion, listening and viewing of composers and large ensembles which use improvising as a focal point. An occasional guest may be invited to clarify events and happening...
MITM501C Heavy Shit 5000 Punk, metal, grindcore, powerviolence, and all their glorious sub and sub-sub genres. Ulrich Krieger and I will tell you about the specific genres we know about and love. I invite everyone to bring a playlist of songs to share. We're going to sit aro...
MITM503 Alexander Technique for Performance This course is designed to give you the tools to get what you want from your performance and life. We will cover accurate information about human design and coordination, flow state/ optimal performance, sustainability and performance readiness. We w...
MITM524B Creative Producing Practicum Creative Producing Practicum: School of Music Showcase at REDCAT is open to students who have been selected as performers and production team members for the School of Music Showcase at REDCAT. Student production team members will work alongside thei...
MITM524C Channeling: Delia Derbyshire The first in a new Winter Session series of hands-on music production courses, Channeling, where, each year, we will dive deeply into the work of a sonic practitioner, listen to their music and explore in the studio: how did they get those sounds? 20...
MITM524D Hip-Hop As A Verb We need brave new words to birth a brand-new world. Hip-hop is turning 50 this year and it is clear that it is beyond music and is a unifying cultural vehicle. Hip-Hop is also an embodied practice. In Hip-Hop as a Verb, we will dive into the doing of...
MITM524E Frame Drum Workshops Frame drum workshop This course will meet for three, one and a half hour workshops, each focused on a different holding position and thus evocative techniques, specifically freehand, lap, and tar positions. School instruments can be provided for clas...
MITM524F Global Tambourine Workshops This course will be a series of individually focused small group lessons/workshops on specific tambourines, their techniques, rhythms and repertoire. Topics include two classes each on Arabic riq, Brazilian pandeiro, and South Indian kanjira. School...
MITM524G Sleep Ensemble This is an ensemble exploring the notions of live performance sleep therapy music. Open to the institute, the course will move between lecture, practice, and performance and invites all sound making mediums to participate. The course will culminate i...
MITM524J Mature Sonic Listening Students will participate on a mature outlook on how to listen to music. Together we will touch on the history of the music of Jazz, Hip Hop, and other genres and discuss the fundamental language of the genres and how it connects to modern day music.
MITM524K Elijah McClain and Music Elijah McClain was a violinist murdered by Aurora police on the night of Aug 24, 2019. His name was repeated on the streets along with those of others recently killed by police -George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, and others - during the Blac...
MITM524L Orchestration for concert stage and film This course offers an introduction to orchestration for concert stage and film music. In the first week, lectures on orchestration basics will be held. In the second week, we will review the orchestration assignments submitted by students. Attendees...
MITM524M Koto Sounds Into Your Art and Music This course is a lecture and workshop and will explore the ways to integrate koto sounds into your art/music making. We will be exploring How the koto works: possibilities and limitations Like any instrument, koto has its own physical reality that al...
MITM524N The Full Bodied Breath Modern life and society have retrained the perfect breath we were born to take. Each breath we take dictates the confidence, connection and effectiveness of the sound we emanate no matter if we sing or speak, in performance or in life. Connecting to...
MITM524P Gustav Mahler: The Last Monumental Symph Inspiring composers as diverse as Shostakovich, Berg, and Schoenberg, but rooted in the traditions of Beethoven, Brahms, and Weber, Gustav Mahler had his feet planted solidly across two centuries of music. We will explore how and why.
MITM524R Intro to North Indian Classical Music This is an introductory course for students interested in learning Indian Classical vocal and instrumental Music. Students will learn the basics of Raag and Taal and be introduced to Swar Gram and Alankar so they may begin their individual practice.
MITM524S Perfecting the Playlist The playlist has become a steady fixture in our lives, presented by professional DJs in clubs and on the radio around the world. In this short course we will explore what it means to "perfect the playlist" - how to approach pacing, harmonic mixing, a...
MITM524T Building Interactive Audiovisual System Through this course, we will cover basic visual programming structures through polyphony, Matrix, and strengthening understandings of multichannel sound synthesis. The first week will break down the fundamentals of jitter and the second week will cov...
MITM524U Writing for Clarinets Class 1: B-flat & A Clarinet Intro 1 Class 2: B flat & A Clarinet Intro 2 Class 3: Recording Session-Clarinet Solo piece Every student has to compose a clarinet solo piece for B-flat or A clarinet of around 1 minute and submit it to the instructor...
MITM524V How To: Win a Job! Orchestral Repertoir An intensive exploration of orchestral excerpts from standard repertoire found on excerpt lists for symphony orchestra auditions. This course will cover audition preparation and rehearsal/performance etiquette. Students will spend the first week stud...
MITM524W The Music of Henry Threadgill By dividing Threadgill's music into four distinct periods, we will deconstruct its many points of influence; areas such as military marches, calypso, ragtime, and European expressionist art music. This course will aim to demonstrate how while these s...
MITM524X All-Inclusive Music: a Multi-Pedagogical All-Inclusive Music: A Multi-Pedagogical Journey of Composition & Improvisation This class is aimed at examining non-traditional methods of music composition & approaches to improvisation that allow for individuals of any training or pedagogical bac...
MITM524Y Development, Rehearsal and Performance The participants will form a chamber ensemble (5-10 musicians) with open instrumentation. Every member will play in the ensemble and contribute with one piece of their own for us to develop, rehearse and perform. This can be a fixed, notated score, a...
MITM524Z Subversion as Practice : DIY Design This course is open to all students interested in incorporating Sound as an element of their practice or project. Students are encouraged to have personal or collaborative projects in mind prior to attending. This is NOT a coding class. Computers a...
MITM525L Sleep Ensemble This is an ensemble exploring the notions of live performance sleep therapy music. Open to the institute, the course will move between lecture, practice, and performance and invites all sound making mediums to participate. The course will culminate i...
MITM531 Knit Stuff! Knitting is scientifically proven to improve focus, connect intuitive and abstract thinking, promote math skills, and reduce stress and manage anxiety. You also get to play with soft fuzzy yarn and make nice things. Join Music School faculty Erika DK...
MITM580 Gamelan Pieces for Dance Accompaniment In Bali or Java the Gamelan Orchestra, specially the most modern gamelan, is known for having a colorful orchestration and for its musical vitality, complex musical structures, and rhythmic complexity. The modern gamelan orchestra in Bali is known as...
MITM596 Winter Session Teaching Assignment Credit bearing course for students who have been approved to teach a course during Winter Session in the School of Music. Credit is earned through course preparation and teaching.
MITM598K Guitar Anatomy This course is aimed at guitarists (acoustic, electric, classical) and bassists (electric) regardless of their major/specialization at CalArts. We will take a concise look at how different types of guitars are made, the function of their various part...
MITM608 Compositional Form This course will present a historical survey of several compositional strategies, used by composers to effectively structure their music and the manner in which it unfolds. Music by Bach, Brahms, Scriabin, Finnissy, and others will be discussed.
MITM626 Taking Your Music on the Road Taking Your Music on the Road - Concert Booking and Tour Planning for the Self-Promoting Musician?? This class will focus on the details of planning and promoting a regional tour for any kind of musical ensemble. It will include information about bo...
MITM667 Collecting Music Building a Physical Music Collection: As in any endeavor there are advantages and disadvantages to building a physical music collection. We will be discussing the strengths and challenges of the three main physical forms of music for sale people hav...
MITM695 Writing Large Ensemble Music Writing Large Ensemble Music for Improvisors Meetings which include lecture, discussion, listening and viewing of composers and large ensembles which use improvising as a focal point. An occasional guest may be invited to clarify events and happening...
MITM796 Winter Session Teaching Assignment Credit bearing course for students who have been approved to teach a course during Winter Session in the School of Music. Credit is earned through course preparation and teaching.
MLNG299 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MLNG699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MLSN001 BFA Half Hour Lesson Half hour BFA lesson (1 credit) meet 30 minutes weekly or 60 minutes bi-weekly. Lesson subjects range in styles or practices (instrumental or vocal performance, composition, production, etc). The subject of a lesson is determined in collaboration wi...
MLSN101 BFA Hour Lesson Hour lessons (3 credits for BFA) meet 60 minutes weekly. Lesson subjects range in styles or practices (instrumental or vocal performance, composition, production, etc). The subject of a lesson is determined in collaboration with the lesson instructo...
MLSN501 MFA Half Hour Lesson Half hour MFA lesson (1 credit) meet 30 minutes weekly or 60 minutes bi-weekly. Lesson subjects range in styles or practices (instrumental or vocal performance, composition, production, etc). The subject of a lesson is determined in collaboration wi...
MLSN601 MFA Hour Lesson Hour lessons (4 credits for MFA) meet 60 minutes weekly. Lesson subjects range in styles or practices (instrumental or vocal performance, composition, production, etc). The subject of a lesson is determined in collaboration with the lesson instructo...
MLSN701 DMA Lesson DMA lesson (variable credit from 0.5 to 4) Lesson subjects range in styles or practices (instrumental or vocal performance, composition, production, etc). The subject of a lesson is determined in collaboration with the lesson instructor. Instruction...
MPCD350 Career Designs for Musicians Open to School of Music students only. This course will provide students with practical skills and insights into building their careers after graduation. Topics to be covered include: planning short- and long-term professional goals; locating and con...
MPCD351 Creative Producing for Music This course will provide an overview of creative production for musicians ranging from small DIY events to larger, more formal concerts, fundraisers, festivals, and more. Through lectures, discussion, hands-on assignments, and visiting artist present...
MPCD352 Creative Producing Practicum Creative Producing Practicum will provide instruction and hands-on experience related to the ideation, implementation, production, and marketing of real world events taking place through CalArts School of Music and REDCAT. Students will participate i...
MPCD399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MPCD420 Teaching the Voice The class is a practicum in learning to teach singing. The hands-on approach will require class participants to teach novice voice students rudimentary singing techniques privately and group settings. Work will center on learning to hear and diagnose...
MPCD460 Creative Entrepreneurship This course teaches students how to build their own startup business from vision to global brand. The course will go through case-studies of successful and unsuccessful businesses. Students will be put into groups to create a business and learn to wo...
MPCD461 Music Creation to Commerce A comprehensive journey and immersive guide from the genesis of a song to its successful release into the world. Learn how to balance your artistic authenticity with real life demands, and learn the skill sets required to successfully work in, naviga...
MPCD603 Teaching Artistry Teaching Artistry is a lecture class that will focus on best practices of teaching. Through a combination of demo lessons, video clips, field observations, and discussion, participants will explore various pedagogical approaches. Each of these approa...
MPCD604 College Pedagogy This is a lecture class that will focus on best practices of teaching. Through a combination of demo lessons, video clips, field observations, independent research, and discussion, participants will explore various pedagogical approaches. Each of the...
MPCD620 Teaching the Voice The class is a practicum in learning to teach singing. The hands-on approach will require class participants to teach novice voice students rudimentary singing techniques privately and group settings. Work will center on learning to hear and diagnose...
MPCD650 Career Designs for Musicians Open to School of Music students only. This course will provide students with practical skills and insights into building their careers after graduation. Topics to be covered include: planning short- and long-term professional goals; locating and con...
MPCD651 Creative Producing for Music This course will provide an overview of creative production for musicians ranging from small DIY events to larger, more formal concerts, fundraisers, festivals, and more. Through lectures, discussion, hands-on assignments, and visiting artist present...
MPCD652 Creative Producing Practicum Creative Producing Practicum will provide instruction and hands-on experience related to the ideation, implementation, production, and marketing of real world events taking place through CalArts School of Music and REDCAT. Students will participate i...
MPCD660 Creative Entrepreneurship This course teaches students how to build their own startup business from vision to global brand. The course will go through case-studies of successful and unsuccessful businesses. Students will be put into groups to create a business and learn to wo...
MPCD661 Music Creation to Commerce A comprehensive journey and immersive guide from the genesis of a song to its successful release into the world. Learn how to balance your artistic authenticity with real life demands, and learn the skill sets required to successfully work in, naviga...
MPCD670 DIY Do-it-yourself - and the related concept of release-it-yourself - has been the ideological and practical underpinning of radical music for at least a half-century. Often identified with the punk rock movement, the DIY imperative actually predates pu...
MPCD704 Professional Development Course open to Music School students only. This course will explore a broad range of tools and ideas for creating a life in the arts, including preparation for positions in education, artistic entrepreneurship, and work in non-profit and for-profit e...
MPCD740 DMA Teaching Practicum Course open to Music School students only. Through this course, students will receive credit for teaching responsibilities and will enjoy faculty supervision as they develop pedagogical effectiveness and expertise in specific areas. They will furth...
MPRF101 Jazz Improvisation Course by permission of instructor only. Development of fundamental techniques required for group improvisation with an emphasis on gaining facility with jazz harmonic language.
MPRF102 Jazz Improvisation (1-On-1) Course by Permission of Instructor only. Development of fundamental techniques required for group improvisation with an emphasis on gaining facility with jazz harmonic language. Meeting times outside of the regularly scheduled class meetings may be a...
MPRF103 Class Piano Course available by Permission of Instructor only. Non-major piano instruction given in small group lessons. Access to a musical keyboard spanning at least four octaves and having full-sized keys is required."
MPRF105 Yoga for Musicians An integrated approach to various branches of yoga, including Hatha Yoga asanas, Pranayama, and Dhyana. Physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation/ visualization techniques will be explored. Students will learn to increase efficiency, rel...
MPRF106 Introductory Foundations in Guitar Fundamentals of plectrum and fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended for students interested in learning the basics in electric, steel string acoustic and nylon string guitar performance. This class serves as a foundation for the techniques, terminolo...
MPRF110 Vocal Coaching Course open to Music School students only. Centered on in-class coaching, discussion and critique of repertoire and performance, this course will emphasize the development of skills necessary for singing-artists. Students will learn foundational skil...
MPRF115 VoiceArts Foundation This practicum course provides an introduction to a wide-range of topics, skills and contexts with which all voice-based artists need to be familiar, and lays a foundation for more advanced work. The course will explore issues critical to vocal artis...
MPRF119 Piano Workshop Course open to Piano Program students only. Piano Workshop will be required every semester for piano majors and the collaborative arts specialization at both the BFA and MFA levels. MAP pianists and performer composers are encouraged but not required...
MPRF122 Flute Studio Class Flute Studio Class is a weekly meeting of the flute majors, BFA and MFA. Those studying flute as a secondary instrument are also invited to attend. We will discuss a variety of topics, including resume and website preparation, pedagogy, repertoire, p...
MPRF123 Harp Studio Class Course open to Harp Program students only. Participants perform and study solo, chamber and orchestral repertoire, engaging in co-critique.
MPRF124 Oboe Studio Class Course open to Oboe Program students only. In addition to our normal studies of fundamentals and reedmaking, the intention is to focus also on the major solos that oboists play in orchestral auditions. Also, we will form a Double Reed Quartet with ba...
MPRF125 Cello Studio Class Course open to Cello Program students only. This course offers in depth work in skill building, problem solving in music preparation, ensemble playing, and contemporary cello literature. Students may also use the studio to perform for one another and...
MPRF126 Experimental Voice Open to all levels of artists making work with, for, or through the voice. This course explores the voice in many different contexts through improvisation, experimental voice pieces, vocal exercises, and the development of voice-related pieces on a w...
MPRF128 String Workshop Course open to String students only. Performance of ensemble works written for string instruments. Survey and reading of major chamber ensemble repertoire. Students also perform solo repertoire for the class. Contemporary, folk and traditional techni...
MPRF129 Percussion Workshop Course open to Percussion Program students only. Percussion Workshop is where students present works that have been prepared for recitals and the place where Percussion guest artists give their presentations. Sometimes one of the CalArts instructors...
MPRF130 Clarinet Studio Class Course open to Clarinet Program students only. Clarinet Studio Class offers in-depth work in sound production,intonation, technical facility, styles of articulation and contemporary techniques through study of exercises, etudes, a broad spectrum of s...
MPRF131 Bassoon Studio Class Course open to Bassoon Program students only. This course offers in depth work in the skills of reed making, sound production, general and contemporary bassoon techniques. Students may also use the class to perform for one another and receive feedba...
MPRF132 Brass Workshop Brass Workshop provides a comprehensive look at topics related to professional performing standards and experimentation on brass instruments.
MPRF133 Woodwind Workshop Course open to Music School students only. Performance of ensemble works written for woodwind instruments. Audition preparation and woodwind fundamentals are also studied.
MPRF203 Harmonic Improvisation Emphasis on increasing facility with intricate harmonic techniques.
MPRF205 At Practicum and Performance The goal of this course will be to explore the Alexander Technique and how it applies to musicians. The course will focus on two main topics: learning about the Technique and discovering how musicians can use the Technique to reduce practice and perf...
MPRF211 Bodies and Voice Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. The course is intended as a laboratory to explore the body in relationship to the voice and the voice in relation to the emotional memory of the body. The laboratory will co...
MPRF216 Singing the Standards Singing the Standards is a style survey, repertoire, and performance course introducing the vocal technique and delivery of jazz singing. The course will focus on listening and style analysis of recordings, videos, and assigned student participation...
MPRF217 Learning to Scream Course not available to Voice Arts Program students. Voice training for band vocalists, singer/songwriters and other non-classical singing performers. Focus will be on learning rudimentary singing skills and exercises that support healthy and effici...
MPRF218 Institute Voice Instruction and practice in the fundamentals of singing. Course includes basic technical exercises for building and strengthening the voice - breathing, range extension, agility etc. Students will perform in the class either live, online or with pre-...
MPRF221 African Song Study of traditional West African songs - language and their meanings, and singing techniques. Special attention will be placed on tone production, melody, harmony and embellishment.
MPRF241 Fretboard Geography for Guitar Knowing the notes over the entire guitar fretboard and understanding their relationships within scales, intervals and chords is essential for expanding your playing, composing, improvising and arranging chops in any genre. We'll explore the fingerboa...
MPRF242 Know Your Guitar - Inner Workings We will take a concise look at how different types of guitars are made, the function of their various parts, how they interact and how they are affected by use, age, weather changes, rough handling, etc. We will learn how parts like woods, electronic...
MPRF250 Mature Listening Techniques Mature Listening Techniques will focus on listening in depth to recordings while studying the history of different genres of music. Students will have an understanding of how to use these techniques in a professional setting and in everyday life.
MPRF260 Melodic Research This course is a multileveled primer in melodic improvisation. Modes, scales and melodic concepts like Maqam, Dastgah, Raga will be introduced and compared. New theories like Harmolodics and Chromolodics will also be explored. At the next level, each...
MPRF290 Mid-Residence Recital Successful completion of this course requires that the student successfully complete a Mid-Residence Recital as assessed by faculty. Students may be required to organize and participate in a Jury Exam at least two weeks in advance of the recital.
MPRF307 Conducting 1 Areas to be studied include: The development of a clear, readable beat in all patterns and in varying dynamic ranges, articulation of styles and textures, and techniques appropriate for both choral and instrumental conducting. Among difficulties stud...
MPRF310 Advanced Vocal Coaching Course open to Music School students only. Moving on from foundational work, in this course students will further develop intellectual and musical skills necessary for singing-artists. Students will expand their vocal repertoire in all genres, develo...
MPRF322 Tabla Course open to Music School students only. Group instruction in the techniques, theory and practice of North Indian Tabla.
MPRF324 Perspectives on Hand Drumming Techniques of performance on hand drums of varied cultural origins.
MPRF328 Latin Percussion Course open to Music School students only. Class instruction in general Latin percussion music.
MPRF330 TRIG: The Electronic Percussionist This course is a series of hands-on workshops exploring the possibilities for percussionists performing with electronic controllers via computer music software, processors, sampling and loop based performance. This course explores the potential and r...
MPRF340 Contemporary Wind Performance A workshop in special techniques as they have evolved in contemporary music. Topics may include various extended techniques, production of pitched and non-pitched sound, multi-phonics, microtonal systems and special tunings, circular breathing, impro...
MPRF399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MPRF402 Opera Theater An intensive project-based class focused on rehearsing, producing and performing select opera/music-theater works in innovative interpretations. Works are often mounted in collaboration with other Schools within the Institute. The rigorous process cu...
MPRF406 Musicians' Injury Prevention This course is designed to help musicians prevent and rehabilitate musical instrument-based overuse injuries. It will also address injuries from other sources that might affect our ability to play our instruments. We will look at postural imbalances,...
MPRF408 Conducting 2 Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. A course for students who have completed theory and skills requirements and who have a foundation in the elements of conducting. Refinement of techniques with particular emp...
MPRF416 Anatomy for Musicians The focus of this course is to study the muscular & skeletal systems of the human anatomy. Once the basics are learned, we'll apply this knowledge to how it relates to performing on musical instruments, posture and injury prevention. Optional suggest...
MPRF420 Tabla Accompaniment Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. This course will teach students how to accompany vocal and instrumental music. Students will learn how to play with different thekas (rhythm cycles).
MPRF451 Singing the Books Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: This workshop will focus on facilitating processes of constructing realizations of various 'songs' included in the Song Books, along with an overview of Cage's aesthetics. Students will engage in substantial discip...
MPRF452 Contemporary Vocal Techniques Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: This course focuses on facilitating learning processes and specific techniques necessary for preparing and performing standard twentieth-century and contemporary experimental vocal works, as well as exposes student...
MPRF453 What Kind of Text Is That? Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: Beginning with an historical and contextual study of vocal works that utilize unconventional or atypical texts, students will research and perform representative works while exploring, creating and building works a...
MPRF456 Readings in Voice Arts: Readings in Voice Arts:Odyssey of the Voice Readings in VoiceArts is dedicated to group study of a wide array of voice-related writings, with specific readings chosen each semester from important writings on the study of the voice, evolution and dev...
MPRF490 Graduation Recital Enrollment in this course is required during the semester in which students perform their Graduation Recital, if one is required by program. Successful completion of the course requires that the student successfully complete the recital, as assesse...
MPRF498A Spc Topics: Jazz Improv for the Vocalist Topics in Performance Studies: Jazz Improvisation for the Vocalist A course designed for beginner and intermediate vocalists who want to develop skill in jazz improvisation. This course will emphasize the fundamentals of improvisation. Specific atte...
MPRF498B Spc Topics: Mic Use for Vocalists Topics in Performance Studies: Mic Use for Vocalists A course for vocalists that focuses on microphone technique and effective use of sound-reinforcement equipment. Topics include an overview of the PA system, types of microphones, distance and plac...
MPRF498D Spc Topics: Indian Improv Concepts Topics in Performance Studies: Indian Improvisation Concepts Improvisation Based on Ragas and Talas The class provides a breakdown and general overview of the Raga and Tala Systems of North Indian classical music. Through the fliter of Raga and Tala...
MPRF498G Performance Practice: John Cage In this class we will examine the profoundly influential and experimental works of John Cage through the performance and discussion of pieces chosen by the class's participants. The often idiosyncratic elements of Cagean performance practice will be...
MPRF498H Music in the Oral Tradition A practice-based examination of the fretboard theory behind music of the 20th and 21st centuries including, but not limited to, the origins of the blues, bluegrass, folk, pop, rock, alternative, soul and funk as they relate to the electric and acoust...
MPRF498K To Exist in Sound Improvised Vocality Improvised music is alive. It connects you to the now, a sensory moment created together-space, players, audience-joined in solidarity. This course is dedicated to investigating the possibilities of free vocal improvisation as experienced through/in...
MPRF498L Tuning Outside the Box The aim of this class is to demystify alternate guitar tunings by combining hands-on experience with theoretical analysis and a thorough understanding of the instrument's history. 'Scordatura' (literally meaning 'mistuning') first appeared in German...
MPRF498M Touring Musician 101 Woody Aplanalp has decades of experience touring with acts such as Lauryn Hill, Thomas Mapfumo, Aloe Blacc and Quetzal. Thomas Leeb has played thousands of solo concerts all over the world, the only continent he has not toured is Antarctica. Together...
MPRF498N Class Guitar Fundamentals of plectrum and fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended for students interested in learning the basics in electric, steel string and nylon string guitar performance. This class serves as a foundation for the techniques, terminology and mu...
MPRF501 Jazz Improvisation Course by permission of instructor only. Development of fundamental techniques required for group improvisation with an emphasis on gaining facility with jazz harmonic language.
MPRF502 Opera Theater An intensive project-based class focused on rehearsing, producing and performing select opera/music-theater works in innovative interpretations. Works are often mounted in collaboration with other Schools within the Institute. The rigorous process cu...
MPRF503 Class Piano Course available by Permission of Instructor only. Non-major piano instruction given in small group lessons. Access to a musical keyboard spanning at least four octaves and having full-sized keys is required."
MPRF505 At Practicum and Performance The goal of this course will be to explore the Alexander Technique and how it applies to musicians. The course will focus on two main topics: learning about the Technique and discovering how musicians can use the Technique to reduce practice and perf...
MPRF506 Introductory Foundations in Guitar Fundamentals of plectrum and fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended for students interested in learning the basics in electric, steel string acoustic and nylon string guitar performance. This class serves as a foundation for the techniques, terminolo...
MPRF510 Graduate Vocal Coaching Course open to Music School students only. Advanced, individual musical coaching sessions offered, when available, to students preparing recitals or other major performances, or whose repertoire demands regular coaching sessions. Sessions will cover...
MPRF512 Jazz Improvisation (1-On-1) Course by Permission of Instructor only. Development of fundamental techniques required for group improvisation with an emphasis on gaining facility with jazz harmonic language. Meeting times outside of the regularly scheduled class meetings may be a...
MPRF516 Singing the Standards Singing the Standards is a style survey, repertoire, and performance course introducing the vocal technique and delivery of jazz singing. The course will focus on listening and style analysis of recordings, videos, and assigned student participation...
MPRF519 Piano Workshop Course open to Piano Program students only. Piano Workshop will be required every semester for piano majors and the collaborative arts specialization at both the BFA and MFA levels. MAP pianists and performer composers are encouraged but not required...
MPRF521 Trumpet Studio Course open to Brass Program students only. Performance of ensemble works written for multiple trumpets.
MPRF522 Flute Studio Class Flute Studio Class is a weekly meeting of the flute majors, BFA and MFA. Those studying flute as a secondary instrument are also invited to attend. We will discuss a variety of topics, including resume and website preparation, pedagogy, repertoire, p...
MPRF523 Harp Studio Class Course open to Harp Program students only. Participants perform and study solo, chamber and orchestral repertoire, engaging in co-critique.
MPRF524 Oboe Studio Class Course open to Oboe Program students only. In addition to our normal studies of fundamentals and reedmaking, the intention is to focus also on the major solos that oboists play in orchestral auditions. Also, we will form a Double Reed Quartet with ba...
MPRF525 Cello Studio Class Course open to Cello Program students only. This course offers in depth work in skill building, problem solving in music preparation, ensemble playing, and contemporary cello literature. Students may also use the studio to perform for one another and...
MPRF526 Experimental Voice Open to all levels of artists making work with, for, or through the voice. This course explores the voice in many different contexts through improvisation, experimental voice pieces, vocal exercises, and the development of voice-related pieces on a w...
MPRF528 String Workshop Course open to String students only. Performance of ensemble works written for string instruments. Survey and reading of major chamber ensemble repertoire. Students also perform solo repertoire for the class. Contemporary, folk and traditional techni...
MPRF529 Percussion Workshop Course open to Percussion Program students only. Percussion Workshop is where students present works that have been prepared for recitals and the place where Percussion guest artists give their presentations. Sometimes one of the CalArts instructors...
MPRF530 Clarinet Studio Class Course open to Clarinet Program students only. Clarinet Studio Class offers in-depth work in sound production,intonation, technical facility, styles of articulation and contemporary techniques through study of exercises, etudes, a broad spectrum of s...
MPRF531 Bassoon Studio Class Course open to Bassoon Program students only. This course offers in depth work in the skills of reed making, sound production, general and contemporary bassoon techniques. Students may also use the class to perform for one another and receive feedbac...
MPRF532 Brass Workshop Course open to Brass Program students only. Brass Workshop provides a comprehensive look at topics related to professional performing standards on brass instruments.
MPRF541 Fretboard Geography for Guitar Knowing the notes over the entire guitar fretboard and understanding their relationships within scales, intervals and chords is essential for expanding your playing, composing, improvising and arranging chops in any genre. We'll explore the fingerboa...
MPRF542 Know Your Guitar - Inner Workings We will take a concise look at how different types of guitars are made, the function of their various parts, how they interact and how they are affected by use, age, weather changes, rough handling, etc. We will learn how parts like woods, electronic...
MPRF550 Mature Listening Techniques Mature Listening Techniques will focus on listening in depth to recordings while studying the history of different genres of music. Students will have an understanding of how to use these techniques in a professional setting and in everyday life.
MPRF560 Melodic Research This course is a multileveled primer in melodic improvisation through a series of structural prompts. Modes, scales and melodic concepts like Maqam, Dastgah, Raga will be introduced and compared. New theories like Harmolodics and Chromolodics will al...
MPRF570 Hip-Hop Theory and Praxis Hip-Hop music and culture is fundamentally Black work. Hip Hop is Black work created in response to a set of conditions. In the words of Lupe Fiasco the question is always "Did you improve on the design? Did you do something new?" That's the question...
MPRF590 Mid-Residence Recital Successful completion of this course requires that the student successfully complete a Mid-Residence Recital as assessed by faculty. Students may be required to organize and participate in a Jury Exam at least two weeks in advance of the recital.
MPRF603 Harmonic Improvisation Open to Jazz Program students only. Advanced harmonic development with jazz language.
MPRF604 Speial Studies in Collaborative Perform Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. This course serves to develop and hone special skills required of pianists working with both singers and instrumentalists in a variety of repertoire. It will include individ...
MPRF605 Yoga for Musicians An integrated approach to various branches of yoga, including Hatha Yoga asanas, Pranayama, and Dhyana. Physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation/ visualization techniques will be explored. Students will learn to increase efficiency, rel...
MPRF606 Musicians' Injury Prevention This course is designed to help musicians prevent and rehabilitate musical instrument-based overuse injuries. It will also address injuries from other sources that might affect our ability to play our instruments. We will look at postural imbalances,...
MPRF607 Conducting 1 Areas to be studied include: The development of a clear, readable beat in all patterns and in varying dynamic ranges, articulation of styles and textures, and techniques appropriate for both choral and instrumental conducting. Among difficulties stud...
MPRF608 Conducting 2 Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. A course for students who have completed theory and skills requirements and who have a foundation in the elements of conducting. Refinement of techniques with particular emp...
MPRF610 Physiology of the Voice A comprehensive study of the anatomy and function of the singing mechanism. Emphasis will be placed on functional pedagogy and learning how to integrate the understanding of vocal systems with the practical application of teaching in both individual...
MPRF611 Bodies and Voice The course is intended as a laboratory to explore the body in relationship to the voice and the voice in relation to the emotional memory of the body. The laboratory will consist of the physical exploration of voice mechanics within the body and its...
MPRF616 Anatomy for Musicians The focus of this course is to study the muscular & skeletal systems of the human anatomy. Once the basics are learned, we'll apply this knowledge to how it relates to performing on musical instruments, posture and injury prevention. Optional suggest...
MPRF617 Learning to Scream Course not available to Voice Arts Program students. Voice training for band vocalists. singer/songwriters and other non-classical singing performers. Focus will be on learning rudimentary singing skills and exercises that support healthy and effici...
MPRF618 Institute Voice Instruction and practice in the fundamentals of singing. Course includes basic technical exercises for building and strengthening the voice - breathing, range extension, agility etc. Students will perform in the class either live, online or with pre-...
MPRF620 Tabla Accompaniment Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. This course will teach students how to accompany vocal and instrumental music. Students will learn how to play with different thekas (rhythm cycles).
MPRF622 Tabla Course open to Music School students only. Group instruction in the techniques, theory and practice of North Indian Tabla.
MPRF624 Perspectives on Hand Drumming Techniques of performance on hand drums of varied cultural origins.
MPRF628 Latin Percussion Course open to Music School students only. Class instruction in general Latin percussion music.
MPRF630 TRIG: The Electronic Percussionist This course is a series of hands-on workshops exploring the possibilities for percussionists performing with electronic controllers via computer music software, processors, sampling and loop based performance. This course explores the potential and r...
MPRF633 Woodwind Workshop Course open to Music School students only. Advanced performance of ensemble works written for woodwind instruments. Audition preparation and woodwind fundamentals are also studied.
MPRF640 Contemporary Wind Performance A workshop in special techniques as they have evolved in contemporary music. Topics may include various extended techniques, production of pitched and non-pitched sound, multi-phonics, microtonal systems and special tunings, circular breathing, impro...
MPRF651 Singing the Books Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: This workshop will focus on facilitating processes of constructing realizations of various 'songs' included in the Song Books, along with an overview of Cage's aesthetics. Students will engage in substantial discip...
MPRF652 Contemporary Vocal Techniques Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: This course focuses on facilitating learning processes and specific techniques necessary for preparing and performing standard twentieth-century and contemporary experimental vocal works, as well as exposes student...
MPRF653 What Kind of Text Is That? Focused Topic in Vocal Performance: Beginning with an historical and contextual study of vocal works that utilize unconventional or atypical texts, students will research and perform representative works while exploring, creating and building works a...
MPRF655B Focused Topics in Voice: Dada's Divas DADA'S DIVAS is a two-semester course (one historical, one performative) dedicated to the (re)discovery of the Dada movement's female pioneers, most of whom have been overshadowed historically by their male counterparts. These women, operating indepe...
MPRF656 Readings in Voice Arts: Readings in Voice Arts:Odyssey of the Voice Readings in VoiceArts is dedicated to group study of a wide array of voice-related writings, with specific readings chosen each semester from important writings on the study of the voice, evolution and dev...
MPRF690 Graduation Jury & Recital Enrollment in this course is required during the semester in which students perform their Graduation Recital, if one is required by program. Successful completion of the course requires that the student successfully complete the recital, as assesse...
MPRF698A Spc Topics: Jazz Improv for the Vocalist Topics in Performance Studies: Jazz Improvisation for the Vocalist A course designed for beginner and intermediate vocalists who want to develop skill in jazz improvisation. This course will emphasize the fundamentals of improvisation. Specific atte...
MPRF698B Spc Topics: Mic Use for Vocalists Topics in Performance Studies: Mic Use for Vocalists A course for vocalists that focuses on microphone technique and effective use of sound-reinforcement equipment. Topics include an overview of the PA system, types of microphones, distance and plac...
MPRF698D Spc Topics: Indian Improv Concepts Topics in Performance Studies: Indian Improvisation Concepts Improvisation Based on Ragas and Talas The class provides a breakdown and general overview of the Raga and Tala Systems of North Indian classical music. Through the fliter of Raga and Tala...
MPRF698G Performance Practice: John Cage In this class we will examine the profoundly influential and experimental works of John Cage through the performance and discussion of pieces chosen by the class's participants. The often idiosyncratic elements of Cagean performance practice will be...
MPRF698H Music in the Oral Tradition A practice-based examination of the fretboard theory behind music of the 20th and 21st centuries including, but not limited to, the origins of the blues, bluegrass, folk, pop, rock, alternative, soul and funk as they relate to the electric and acoust...
MPRF698K To Exist in Sound Improvised Vocality Improvised music is alive. It connects you to the now, a sensory moment created together-space, players, audience-joined in solidarity. This course is dedicated to investigating the possibilities of free vocal improvisation as experienced through/in...
MPRF698L Tuning Outside the Box The aim of this class is to demystify alternate guitar tunings by combining hands-on experience with theoretical analysis and a thorough understanding of the instrument's history. 'Scordatura' (literally meaning 'mistuning') first appeared in German...
MPRF698M Touring Musician 101 Woody Aplanalp has decades of experience touring with acts such as Lauryn Hill, Thomas Mapfumo, Aloe Blacc and Quetzal. Thomas Leeb has played thousands of solo concerts all over the world, the only continent he has not toured is Antarctica. Together...
MPRF698N Class Guitar Fundamentals of plectrum and fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended for students interested in learning the basics in electric, steel string and nylon string guitar performance. This class serves as a foundation for the techniques, terminology and mu...
MPRF699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MPRF790 Performance Project Course open to Music School students only. This guided independent study project will facilitate the student's creative work and will be geared towards the preparation and presentation of a unique event in which the student displays the integration o...
MPRF799 Independent Proj: Performance Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MSCM150 Fundamentals of Computer Music This course is an introduction to the world of electronic sound (and computer music) using the Max/MSP software and aims to provide a conceptual understanding of sound synthesis. We'll be covering basic digital audio concepts such as the oscillator,...
MSCM155 Physical Modeling Synthesis This course builds off of the foundations presented in Intro to Computer Music. Advanced synthesis (and analysis) techniques, including Modal synthesis and Fourier Analysis, Waveguide Physical Model synthesis of Strings and Winds, and Formant models...
MSCM309 Perception & Cognition of Sound & Music The Perception and Cognition of Sound and Music - Course open to School of Music students only, with completion of the prerequisite. This course develops a scientific framework for understanding how we experience the sonic world. The science of heari...
MSCM310 Acoustics for Musicians An introduction into the basics of acoustics, the natural and scientific foundation of the musical arts:waveforms, the overtone series, combination tones, tuning systems, doppler effects,dynamics, room acoustics, instrumental sounds, amplification, m...
MSCM410 Physiology of the Voice This course will examine the anatomy and function of the vocal mechanism. Emphasis will be placed on understanding systems needed for the production of the singing voice. Topics covered will include, breathing, phonation, registration, vowel formatio...
MSCM650 Fundamentals of Computer Music This course is an introduction to the world of electronic sound (and computer music) using the Max/MSP software and aims to provide a conceptual understanding of sound synthesis. We'll be covering basic digital audio concepts such as the oscillator,...
MSCM655 Physical Modeling Synthesis This course builds off of the foundations presented in Intro to Computer Music. Advanced synthesis (and analysis) techniques, including Modal synthesis and Fourier Analysis, Waveguide Physical Model synthesis of Strings and Winds, and Formant models...
MTEC100 Intro to Concert Production Course not available to Music Technology Program students. An introduction to concert production including both scheduled class meetings and practical production assignments at times to be arranged.
MTEC101 Concert Production I Concert production concepts and practice including both scheduled class meetings and practical production assignments at times to be arranged.
MTEC104 The Art of Recording The Art of Recording will provide both a practical and theoretical introduction to working with sound as musical material in a recording studio. Students will learn how to listen critically and creatively and to use their ears when generating, mani...
MTEC198 Music Technology Tutorial This course is open to Music Technology students in their BFA4 year to schedule individual tutorials with members of the Music Technology faculty. Tutorial topics and meeting times will be determined in collaboration with the faculty member. Permiss...
MTEC212 Recording the Voice In this course students with little or no recording experience will become familiar with creative ways their voice can be recorded in the comfort of their own home. Together, the class will build their own home studio to the level of their choice. Th...
MTEC214 Sound Design for Moving Image Sound design for moving images is a class to explore the different sound components needed to create sound design for different types of projects, mostly focused on moving images, such as animation, tv, film and audiovisual art installations, any env...
MTEC215 Sound for Mixed Reality This course will be looking at different methods for working with sound in mixed reality applications. Topics covered include C# programming for working with Audio inside Unity, spatialized audio in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality applications,...
MTEC270 History of Electronic Dance Music In this course we will examine the history of various styles of electronic dance music from the '70s to present time. We will learn where these genres came from, and how they led to the development of modern day dance music styles. We'll also explore...
MTEC308 Advanced Production Techniques Open to BFA3 and BFA4 students only. This course provides students with advanced techniques for Audio Production in the studio. We will discuss microphone recording techniques to track drums, bass, guitar, winds, brass, vocals, and world percussion....
MTEC309 Mastering, an in Depth Look In this course students will learn how to master music for digital platforms. We will learn what mastering is, the history of various mastering techniques and which modern tools work best for our individual needs. Through exploring all the options m...
MTEC330 Interface Design I This course provides an introduction on how to build a custom interface for musical expression. We will discuss basic electronics and teach how to build a breadboard with a microcontroller and sensors from scratch. This class is intended for the novi...
MTEC365 Digital Recording Studio Course open to BFA3 or BFA4 Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. A course designed for qualified students to gain facility in using the School of Music Digital Recording Studio. Students will learn current techniques and prin...
MTEC367 LiveMulti-TrackRecordingSession This course utilizes the ROD, ROD booth, and ROD reverb chamber as a live multi track recording space. The course is centered around recording and mixing in the studio. Students will produce each project as a team from preproduction planning, to runn...
MTEC399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MTEC415 Visual Programming This course extends previous music related programming experience into the visual domain. Various facets of live visual performance will be explored, including generative visual art, preparing and working with rendered video content, and real-time au...
MTEC418 Algorithmic Art & Design Learn interactive system design in TouchDesigner, exploring algorithmic art, generative visuals, and dynamic simulations. Develop skills in audio reactivity, image processing, data visualization, and the basics of projection mapping to craft immersiv...
MTEC420 Grids, Beats, & Groups Grids/Beats/Groups will explore techniques for live electronic performance. Emphasizing spontaneity and human/machine collaboration, we will learn to break out of routine and engage audiences. We will explore classic systems, such as Roland's "XOX" s...
MTEC440 Machine Orchestra This ensemble explores a musical paradigm where each musician has a Laptop controlling sound and media in an interactive manner. The aesthetic of each computer having its own sound source (multi-channel speaker arrays) will lead way to a new paradig...
MTEC450 Mechatronic Art and Music This course will explore the use of robotic systems in artistic environments. It will teach students how to use the machine to make objects move. Each student will learn how to make custom electronics with a variety of actuators. Solenoids, motors an...
MTEC490 Music Technology BFA Project Course open to BFA3 or BFA4 Music Technology Program students only. This is a project-based course in which students work with their mentor to create a final project in which all knowledge learned during the degree is culminated, helping build the st...
MTEC498B User Exp Design: Ideation & Prototyping User Experience Design: Ideation and Prototyping In this course, Creative Technology students will learn how to apply User Experience Design (UX) methods to generate ideas for innovative products and experiences that are delivered with an eye toward...
MTEC498C Advanced Electronic Music Production This course explores advanced electronic musical production techniques covering sound design, mixing and mastering. Various electronic based musical genres and production techniques from different decades will be explored, taking into account the tec...
MTEC498E AI. Culture. Creativity. This course explores the intentional design of socio-technical systems through the use of AI as a design material. Students will prototype AI projects through ethical and sociocultural lenses. In exploring systems-thinking and artificial decision-m...
MTEC498H AI Sonic Explorations This course is a survey and a series of hands-on workshops exploring the critical, speculative, and also practical ways of applying Artificial Intelligence to working with sound and musical composition. In particular, we will be focusing on using Ma...
MTEC500 Intro to Concert Production Course not available to Music Technology Program students. An introduction to concert production including both scheduled class meetings and practical production assignments at times to be arranged.
MTEC501 Concert Production I Concert production concepts and practice including both scheduled class meetings and practical production assignments at times to be arranged.
MTEC504 The Art of Recording The Art of Recording will provide both a practical and theoretical introduction to working with sound as musical material in a recording studio. Students will learn how to listen critically and creatively and to use their ears when generating, mani...
MTEC508 Advanced Production Techniques This course provides students with advanced techniques for Audio Production in the studio. We will discuss microphone recording techniques to track drums, bass, guitar, winds, brass, vocals, and world percussion. We will also discuss Mixing technique...
MTEC509 Mastering, an in Depth Look In this course students will learn how to master music for digital platforms. We will learn what mastering is, the history of various mastering techniques and which modern tools work best for our individual needs. Through exploring all the options mo...
MTEC512 Recording the Voice In this course students with little or no recording experience will become familiar with creative ways their voice can be recorded in the comfort of their own home. Together, the class will build their own home studio to the level of their choice. Th...
MTEC514 Sound Design for Moving Image Sound design for moving images is a class to explore the different sound components needed to create sound design for different types of projects, mostly focused on moving images, such as animation, tv, film and audiovisual art installations, any env...
MTEC515 Sound for Mixed Reality This course will be looking at different methods for working with sound in mixed reality applications. Topics covered include C# programming for working with Audio inside Unity, spatialized audio in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality applications,...
MTEC520 Grids, Beats, & Groups Grids/Beats/Groups will explore techniques for live electronic performance. Emphasizing spontaneity and human/machine collaboration, we will learn to break out of routine and engage audiences. We will explore classic systems, such as Roland's "XOX" s...
MTEC540 Machine Orchestra This ensemble explores a musical paradigm where each musician has a Laptop controlling sound and media in an interactive manner. The aesthetic of each computer having its own sound source (multi-channel speaker arrays) will lead way to a new paradig...
MTEC550 Mechatronic Art and Music This course will explore the use of robotic systems in artistic environments. It will teach students how to use the machine to make objects move. Each student will learn how to make custom electronics with a variety of actuators. Solenoids, motors an...
MTEC570 History of Electronic Dance Music In this course we will examine the history of various styles of electronic dance music from the '70s to present time. We will learn where these genres came from, and how they led to the development of modern day dance music styles. We'll also explore...
MTEC598 Music Technology Tutorial This course is open to Music Technology students in their MFA2 year to schedule individual tutorials with members of the Music Technology faculty. Tutorial topics and meeting times will be determined in collaboration with the faculty member. Permiss...
MTEC600 Topics in Music Technology Open to Music Technology Program students only. A venue for formal issues within expertise of music technology faculty. Topics may include, advanced interface design, robotic design, machine learning, music information retrieval, music and image, Ope...
MTEC613 Introduction to Programming I Unlock your creative potential with coding! In this introductory course, learn fundamental coding concepts using p5js, a visual programming language. You'll create interactive visual art pieces, exploring color theory, animation, basic programming pr...
MTEC614 Coding Music Fundamentals This course extends previous graphics related programming experience into the audio domain. ChucK, a strongly-timed computer music language will be the focal language of the class, with opportunities to communicate to physical computing platforms lik...
MTEC615 Digital Fabrication This course teaches students modern skills in digital design. Students will learn how to express their ideas using CAD software in 2D and 3D forms. Mathematical measurements and scaling will be addressed throughout the assignments. Students will also...
MTEC616 Visual Programming This course extends previous music related programming experience into the visual domain. Various facets of live visual performance will be explored, including generative visual art, preparing and working with rendered video content, and real-time au...
MTEC617 Media & Web Development This course provides an introduction to the process of modern web development. Each student will learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and how to combine them into a functioning portfolio website. Students will learn how to work with rich med...
MTEC618 Algorithmic Art and Design Learn interactive system design in TouchDesigner, exploring algorithmic art, generative visuals, and dynamic simulations. Develop skills in audio reactivity, image processing, data visualization, and the basics of projection mapping to craft immersiv...
MTEC620 Creative Coding with C++ Explore the fundamentals of C++ programming using OpenFrameworks, focusing on interactive and sensor-driven applications. Develop skills in creative coding, media interaction, and integration with tools like TouchDesigner and Max/MSP. This course lay...
MTEC630 Interface Design I This course provides an introduction on how to bui
MTEC655 Adv Sound Synthesis: Physical Modeling This course builds off of the foundations presented in Intro to Computer Music. Advanced synthesis (and analysis) techniques, including Modal synthesis and Fourier Analysis, Waveguide Physical Model synthesis of Strings and Winds, and Formant models...
MTEC665 Digital Recording Studio Course open to Music School students only, by Permission of Instructor only. A course designed for qualified students to gain facility in using the School of Music Digital Recording Studio. Students will learn current techniques and principles of sou...
MTEC667 Live Multi-Track Recording Session This course utilizes the ROD, ROD booth, and ROD reverb chamber as a live multi track recording space. The course is centered around capturing and mixing live performances in the studio. Students will produce each project as a team from preproduction...
MTEC668 Intro to Sound Production This course provides a basic understanding of working with a digital audio workstation. Students will learn proper gain staging, where and how distortion enters recordings, how to set levels and panning, effective sub group mixing, and an introductio...
MTEC690 Music Technology MFA Project Open to Music Technology Program students only. Course open to Music Technology Program students only. The MFA in Music Technology Final Project serves as the culmination of the degree program, synthesizing several distinct components into an integra...
MTEC691 Thesis Successful completion of this course requires that the student successfully complete a thesis requirement as assessed by faculty.
MTEC698B User Exp Design: Ideation & Prototyping User Experience Design: Ideation and Prototyping In this course, Creative Technology students will learn how to apply User Experience Design (UX) methods to generate ideas for innovative products and experiences that are delivered with an eye toward...
MTEC698C Advanced Electronic Music Production This course explores advanced electronic musical production techniques covering sound design, mixing and mastering. Various electronic based musical genres and production techniques from different decades will be explored, taking into account the tec...
MTEC698E AI. Culture. Creativity. This course explores the intentional design of socio-technical systems through the use of AI as a design material. Students will prototype AI projects through ethical and sociocultural lenses. In exploring systems-thinking and artificial decision-m...
MTEC698H AI Sonic Explorations This course is a survey and a series of hands-on workshops exploring the critical, speculative, and also practical ways of applying Artificial Intelligence to working with sound and musical composition. In particular, we will be focusing on using Ma...
MTEC699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of the semester.
MTEC767 Live Multi-Track Recording Session This course utilizes the ROD, ROD booth, and ROD reverb chamber as a live multi track recording space. The course is centered around capturing and mixing live performances in the studio. Students will produce each project as a team from preproduction...
MTHY001 Fundamental Musicianship Course open to Music School students only. Course open to Music School students only. A course devoted to musical literacy and the competence necessary to pursue the Musicianship Skills and Music Theory course sequences in the Core Curriculum. Train...
MTHY002 Theory Performance Lab In this introductory course, linear/scalar forms are studied in a wide range of musical styles, possibly including Hindustani, Persian, African, Blues, Rock & Roll, Medieval, other Western, etc., along with hybrid forms. Ear training exercises are in...
MTHY099 Music Theory/Skills Hold For incoming undergraduate students, this placeholder course reserves 8 credit units for required music theory and/or musicianship skills coursework determined by placement examination during Orientation Week.
MTHY101 Musicianship Skills A A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY102 Musicianship Skills B A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY108 Transcription Skills A course in furthering critical musicianship skills through exercises in analysis and transcription. Music covering a variety of styles, including jazz, is used to form the basis of ear training exercises.
MTHY111 Tonal Theory & Applications A An introduction to the structure of tonal music, exploring melodic construction, systems of consonance and dissonance, cadences, harmonic function, sequences, modulations and simple forms. Musical examples are drawn from Western classical, jazz and p...
MTHY112 Tonal Theory & Applications B A further exploration of tonal structure, including harmonic prolongation, chromatic harmony, tritone substitutions, third relations and modulations to distantly related keys. Musical examples are drawn from the Western classical, jazz and popular tr...
MTHY120 Beginning Svar Graam (vocal) Exercises in singing scales.
MTHY121 Beginning Svar Graam (instrumental) Instruction will be provided in basic techniques of note combination and rhythmic articulation that form the basis for improvisational skills in North Indian music. These skills will be practiced and extended using improvisational exercises drawn fro...
MTHY203 Musicianship Skills C A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY204 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, microtonal...
MTHY210 Non-Tonal Theories An introduction to modern Western musical structures such as extended harmonic relations, pitch-class set theory, serialism, indeterminacy, process, and extended tuning systems.
MTHY214 Counterpoint The contrapuntal aspect present to some degree in almost all styles of music will be explored through listening, reading, analysis, and composition. Of primary concern will be the evolution of European counterpoint from is origins through 16th centur...
MTHY215 Song Writing & Analysis This class is designed to help students sharpen critical skills that will help them analyze and perform songs from a mix of styles ranging from those found in the medieval era to those of the present day. These skills will then be linked to students'...
MTHY216 Different Tonalities This course will examine different approaches to finding a sense of tonality after the dissipation of common practice tonal function. Surveying examples from Western Art music, Classical Jazz, and Pop from about 1900 to the present day, the approache...
MTHY217 Form The structural and expressive functions of musical form are explored through listening, analysis, and composition. General considerations of formal design accompany a survey of selected formal structures in classical, avant-garde, and popular musics.
MTHY220 Rhythm: a Global Perspective This class is designed to teach rhythm from a broader, global perspective by examining rhythmic concepts, devices, structures and approaches found in music cultures from around the world. In studying varying facets and approaches (as well as convergi...
MTHY222 North Indian Theory Course open to Music School students only. A study of the raga and tala systems of North India, formal structures and the practical application of these in performance and improvisation.
MTHY224 Java/Bali: Music-Dance-Theory The history, theory and performance traditions of Javanese and Balinese gamelan music and the associated dance forms.
MTHY226 Ghanaian Rhythm Theory This class will cover various musical concepts from the Ewe and Dagomba people of Ghana, West Africa. The class will focus primarily on rhythmic concepts from these language groups. The concept will be illustrated through traditional repertoire, and...
MTHY228 Journey to the Persian Music An introduction to Traditional Persian Music from the 1900 to present. The discourse will focus on the historical development of writings on Persian Music as a Radif and critical discipline. We will analyze established theoretical and philosophical i...
MTHY240 Jazz Keyboard Theory Fundamentals of jazz harmony, primarily covering chord symbols, voicings, and voice leading. Meeting times outside of the regularly scheduled class meetings may be available by arrangement with the instructor. ***If students cannot make the 2-4 time...
MTHY274 Fretboard Theory Course available by Permission of Instructor only. Introduction to the practical application of traditional music theory to composition and arranging for guitar.
MTHY277 Baroque Accompaniment Baroque accompaniment studies for basso continuo realization from figured bass and stylistic considerations for instrumentalists (keyboard, cello, gamba, bass, bassoon).
MTHY306 The Experimenting Ear How can we parse and make sense of the varied sonic phenomena that comprise our world? Can we build a vocabulary that helps us recognize and recall its components, like frequency, duration, and form, as accurately as we do those described as music? H...
MTHY307 Advanced Sight-Reading for Singers This course will focus on analyzing basic elements of a musical structure and then applying that analysis in practice through singing. This will be done through rhythmic and melodic exercises, listening and dictation. The repertoire will consist of s...
MTHY315 A Search for Meaningful Interpretation Meaningful Interpretation is conceived as a semester-long examination of the effect of musical narrative on the listener, and the critical role that the performer's skills play in eliciting that understanding between composition and audience. It is e...
MTHY322 Advanced Svar Graam (vocal) Exercises in singing scales. practices from the Baroque to Contemporary periods. Individual projects will include research into contemporaneous literature on interpretive practices. Classes will include performances of selected works with discussions...
MTHY323 Advanced Svar Graam (instrumental) Instruction will be provided in basic techniques of note combination and rhythmic articulation that form the basis for improvisational skills in North Indian music. These skills will be practiced and extended using improvisational exercises drawn fro...
MTHY341 Film Music History & Analysis This class presents an overview of the history of film music from scores composed for silent films through contemporary films. A wide variety of stylistic scoring approaches, effectiveness of music, and connection of music to the emotion of the scene...
MTHY399 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member,
MTHY403 Intonation Workshop I Let's make use of the results of acoustical research concerning the various phenomena constituting the timbre of tuned compound sounds (as first described in 1863 by the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz in his historic book 'On the Sensations of Tone...
MTHY404 Intonation Workshop II Course open to Music School students only. This course is a continuation of Intonation Workshop A, which is a prerequisite for attending Workshop B. This second course will be dedicated to individual and group projects (of both instrumentalists and c...
MTHY406 Rhythm Cognition Seminar This course will serve as an introduction to various concepts of musical time and rhythm, as viewed from the perspective of music theory and music psychology. Computer science research on the nature of rhythm perception will also be discussed. Partic...
MTHY411 Electroacoustic Music Analysis Course open to Music students only. Analysis of electroacoustic music and discussion of associated compositional techniques.
MTHY425 Tala Systems Course open to Music School students only. This class will cover the concepts of Tala - organizing time into units, both duple and triple meters. The North Indian tala system will be explored, ranging from 3 beats to 128 beats. Students will learn th...
MTHY450 Chamber Thought Focused Topics Course: In-depth analysis of selected chamber compositions with an emphasis on 20th century works.
MTHY451 Orchestral Thought Focused Topics Course: In-depth analysis of selected orchestral compositions with an emphasis on 20th century works.
MTHY498 Topics in Music Theory Special Topics courses offer in-depth treatments of topics in their subject area, and are offered on a one-time or trial basis.
MTHY500 Fundamental Musicianship Course open to Music School students only. A course devoted to musical literacy and the competence necessary to pursue the Musicianship Skills and Music Theory course sequences in the Core Curriculum. Training is provided in basic areas, including re...
MTHY501 Graduate Theory Review Course open to Music School students only. This class is a review of basic to intermediate concepts and skills in music reading, music theory and music analysis (covering material from a typical undergraduate theory sequence). It is meant for incomin...
MTHY503 Graduate Post-Tonal Review This module-length class is a review of basic to intermediate concepts and skills in the theory and analysis of Western music after 1900. It is meant for incoming graduate students who do not pass the post-tonal section of the theory diagnostic test...
MTHY506 The Experimenting Ear How can we parse and make sense of the varied sonic phenomena that comprise our world? Can we build a vocabulary that helps us recognize and recall its components, like frequency, duration, and form, as accurately as we do those described as music? H...
MTHY507 Advanced Sight-Reading for Singers This course will focus on analyzing basic elements of a musical structure and then applying that analysis in practice through singing. This will be done through rhythmic and melodic exercises, listening and dictation. The repertoire will consist of s...
MTHY508 Transcription Skills Course by permission of instructor only. A course in furthering critical musicianship skills through exercises in analysis and transcription. Music covering a variety of styles, including jazz, is used to form the basis of ear training exercises.
MTHY510 Acoustics for Musicians Course open to Music School students only. An introduction into the basics of acoustics, the natural and scientific foundation of the musical arts:waveforms, the overtone series, combination tones, tuning systems, doppler effects,dynamics, room acous...
MTHY511 Non-Tonal Theories An introduction to modern Western musical structures such as extended harmonic relations, pitch-class set theory, serialism, indeterminacy, process, and extended tuning systems.
MTHY512 Tonal Theory & Applications A An introduction to the structure of tonal music, exploring melodic construction, systems of consonance and dissonance, cadences, harmonic function, sequences, modulations and simple forms. Musical examples are drawn from Western classical, jazz and p...
MTHY513 Tonal Theory & Applications B A further exploration of tonal structure, including harmonic prolongation, chromatic harmony, tritone substitutions, third relations and modulations to distantly related keys. Musical examples are drawn from the Western classical, jazz and popular tr...
MTHY514 Counterpoint The contrapuntal aspect present to some degree in almost all styles of music will be explored through listening, reading, analysis, and composition. Of primary concern will be the evolution of European counterpoint from is origins through 16th centur...
MTHY515 Song Writing & Analysis This class is designed to help students sharpen critical skills that will help them analyze and perform songs from a mix of styles ranging from those found in the medieval era to those of the present day. These skills will then be linked to students'...
MTHY516 Different Tonalities This course will examine different approaches to finding a sense of tonality after the dissipation of common practice tonal function. Surveying examples from Western Art music, Classical Jazz, and Pop from about 1900 to the present day, the approache...
MTHY517 Form The structural and expressive functions of musical form are explored through listening, analysis, and composition. General considerations of formal design accompany a survey of selected formal structures in classical, avant-garde, and popular musics.
MTHY520 Beginning Svar Graam (vocal) Exercises in singing scales.
MTHY521 Beginning Svar Graam (instr) Instruction will be provided in basic techniques of note combination and rhythmic articulation that form the basis for improvisational skills in North Indian music. These skills will be practiced and extended using improvisational exercises drawn fro...
MTHY522 Advanced Svar Graam (vocal) Exercises in singing scales.
MTHY523 Adv Svar Graam (instrumental) Instruction will be provided in basic techniques of note combination and rhythmic articulation that form the basis for improvisational skills in North Indian music. These skills will be practiced and extended using improvisational exercises drawn fro...
MTHY540 Jazz Keyboard Theory Course open to Music School students only. Fundamentals of jazz harmony, primarily covering chord symbols, voicings, and voice leading. Meeting times outside of the regularly scheduled class meetings may be available by arrangement with the instructo...
MTHY541 Musicianship Skills A A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY542 Musicianship Skills B A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY543 Musicianship Skills C A sequence of four courses in ear training and basic musicianship skills related to the comprehension of tone and tonal relationships in music including intervallic, harmonic and melodic comprehension and fundamental rhythmic skills. Exercises includ...
MTHY544 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, microtonal...
MTHY574 Fretboard Theory Course available by Permission of Instructor only. Introduction to the practical application of traditional music theory to composition and arranging for guitar.
MTHY577 Baroque Accompaniment Baroque accompaniment studies for basso continuo realization from figured bass and stylistic considerations for instrumentalists (keyboard, cello, gamba, bass, bassoon).
MTHY603 Intonation Workshop I Course open to Music School students only. Let's make use of the results of acoustical research concerning the various phenomena constituting the timbre of tuned compound sounds (as first described in 1863 by the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz in hi...
MTHY604 Intonation Workshop II Course open to Music School students only. This course is a continuation of Intonation Workshop A, which is a prerequisite for attending Workshop B. This second course will be dedicated to individual and group projects (of both instrumentalists and c...
MTHY606 Rhythm Cognition Seminar This course will serve as an introduction to various concepts of musical time and rhythm, as viewed from the perspective of music theory and music psychology. Computer science research on the nature of rhythm perception will also be discussed. Partic...
MTHY611 Electroacoustic Music Analysis Course open to Music students only. Analysis of electroacoustic music and discussion of associated compositional techniques.
MTHY612 Critical Reading A course designed to improve listening, understanding and appreciation of electroacoustic music. Through an integrated curriculum of listening, analyzing, reading, and vocalizing, course participants will gain greater facility in their ability to pe...
MTHY615 A Search for Meaningful Interpretation Meaningful Interpretation is conceived as a semester-long examination of the effect of musical narrative on the listener, and the critical role that the performer's skills play in eliciting that understanding between composition and audience. It is e...
MTHY620 Rhythm: a Global Perspective This class is designed to teach rhythm from a broader, global perspective by examining rhythmic concepts, devices, structures and approaches found in music cultures from around the world. In studying varying facets and approaches (as well as convergi...
MTHY622 North Indian Theory Course open to Music School students only. A study of the raga and tala systems of North India, formal structures and the practical application of these in performance and improvisation.
MTHY624 Java/Bali: Music-Dance-Theory The history, theory and performance traditions of Javanese and Balinese gamelan music and the associated dance forms.
MTHY625 Tala Systems Course open to Music School students only. This class will cover the concepts of Tala - organ
MTHY626 Ghanaian Rhythm Theory This class will cover various musical concepts from the Ewe and Dagomba people of Ghana, West Africa. The class will focus primarily on rhythmic concepts from these language groups. The concept will be illustrated through traditional repertoire, and...
MTHY628 Journey to the Persian Music An introduction to Traditional Persian Music from the 1900 to present. The discourse will focus on the historical development of writings on Persian Music as a Radif and critical discipline. We will analyze established theoretical and philosophical i...
MTHY641 Film Music History & Analysis This class presents an overview of the history of film music from scores composed for silent films through contemporary films. A wide variety of stylistic scoring approaches, effectiveness of music, and connection of music to the emotion of the scene...
MTHY650 Chamber Thought Focused Topics Course: In-depth analysis of selected chamber compositions with an emphasis on 20th century works.
MTHY651 Orchestral Thought Focused Topics Course: In-depth analysis of selected orchestral compositions with an emphasis on 20th century works.
MTHY698 Topics in Music Theory Special Topics courses offer in-depth treatments of topics in their subject area, and are offered on a one-time or trial basis.
MTHY699 Independent Study Under the direction of a specific faculty member, students complete projects defined in a contractual agreement made at the beginning of each semester.
MTHY750 Topic-Driven Research Course open to Music School students only. Topic-Driven Research is an independent-study project that will provide the basis for the material tested during the written and oral examinations, while simultaneously laying the foundation for the Doctoral...