2009 Non-Majors Classes

The following courses are open to non-music majors.

Introduction to Music

GENL MUS 170-0 Sec. 26

Instructor: Bruce Duffie

• 6 weeks
• 6/22 - 7/31
• MTWThF 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
• Evanston Campus

The course is designed to provide an overview of our musical culture, with an emphasis on concert music from about 1600 to the present. It will deal with the materials of music and the history of the "Classical Music Tradition." Instruments and voice types will be examined, and there will be in-class presentations by performers. The course will include lectures illustrated with recorded examples, listening assignments in the Music Library, and demonstrations of specific instruments in the class. There will also be reading of articles and interviews, as well as topics and ideas within the scope of this area. Going to live concerts will also be strongly encouraged. No prerequisites

Selected Topics: Top 10 Lists of 20th Century Classical Music Performers

GENL MUS 175-0 Sec. 36

Instructor: Richard Boldrey

• 6 weeks
• 6/22 - 7/31
• MTh 6:30 - 9 p.m.
• Evanston Campus

A unique opportunity to listen to (and in some cases watch) performances of classical music by the greatest performers of the 20th century.  Not only learn about these superb musicians, but experience some of these most memorable performances.  Hear ten of the greatest pianists (including perhaps the greatest musician ever, Vladimir Horowitz).  Hear ten extraordinary string players (including the incomparable Jascha Heifetz).  Hear singers (including Enrico Caruso), chamber ensembles (including the Budapest Quartet), vocal ensembles (including the Vienna Boys’ Choir), orchestras (including the Berlin Philharmonic) and conductors (including Arturo Toscanini), even composers (including Leonard Bernstein, a great pianist and conductor as well).  Become acquainted with the top players of other instruments as well, including organ, harp, French horn, clarinet, harpsichord, even sitar and theremin.  This is your chance for a guided tour of some of the most incredible musical performances of the past hundred years.

Selected Topics: “The Maestro Myth”

GENL MUS 175-0 sec. 23

Instructor: David Cubek

• 3 weeks
• 6/22 - 7/10
• MTWThF 12 noon - 2 p.m.
• Evanston Campus

Borrowing the title from Norman Lebrecht’s renowned book, this course will investigate the historical circumstances that shaped the aesthetic viewpoints of celebrated orchestral conductors from Felix Mendelssohn and Richard Wagner until Riccardo Muti and Gustavo Dudamel.  Based on audiovisual materials and writings by and about representative artists, students will explore and reflect upon the conditions that gave rise to some of the most celebrated, powerful, yet controversial figures in Western art since the second half of the 19th century.  The course will offer a unique opportunity for non-musician students to deepen their knowledge of orchestral music through the careful examination and comparison of a variety of interpretations of symphonic masterworks, while deconstructing the cultural and political factors that have influenced the art of music making in our era.

Selected Topics:  Song Writing Seminar

GEN MUS 175-0 Sec. 26

Instructor: Benjamin Johnson

• 6 weeks
• 6/22-7/31
• TTh 1 - 3 p.m.; F 1 - 2 p.m.
• Evanston Campus

This class is geared towards students who are interested in writing songs in any genre (Rock, Pop, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Folk, R&B, Soul, etc.) as well as delving into the details of lyrics, harmony, instrumentation, and form of the music that influences them.  Although no traditional musical training necessary, as a class we will attempt to address all aspects of the music in as much detail as possible while using common terms.  The aural analysis and discussion will focus on the poetic and musical devices which make a song successful, regardless of genre.  In addition to in-class discussion and listening, students will write two original songs for performance and/or recording.  Each student has the opportunity to ghost-write for a classmate or performer of his/her choice, or perform his/her own work.

Selected Topics:  The Music of Radiohead

GENL MUSIC 175-0  Sec. 46

Instructor: Shawn Jaeger

• 6 weeks
• 6/22-7/31
• MW 1 - 3 p.m.; F 2 - 3 p.m.
• Evanston Campus

The British rock band Radiohead is one of the most popular and respected bands active today.  This course will survey Radiohead's work, focusing on their seven full-length albums: In Rainbows (2007), Hail to the Thief (2003), Amnesiac (2001), Kid A (2000), OK Computer (1997), The Bends (1995), and Pablo Honey (1993).  In addition, the course will examine guitarist Jonny Greenwood's concert music, including his acclaimed orchestral soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-winning major motion picture There Will Be Blood (2007).  Finally, the course will explore the influence of Radiohead on musicians outside of the pop/rock domain, as well as broader economic and aesthetic issues raised by the distribution of In Rainbows online.

Producing in the Virtual Studio

MUS TECH 321-0 sec. 23

Instructor: Christopher Mercer

• 3 weeks
• 6/22 - 7/10
• MTWThF 10 a.m. - 12 noon
• Evanston Campus - Kresge 1-370

This class will explore session and post-production techniques in the computer-based project studio.  Software covered will include Sound Forge, Bias Peak, Cubase, Adobe Audition, and various DSP applications.  The class will also cover accompanying hardware components.  Topics include fundamentals of digital audio, running a hard disk multi-track session, digital audio editing, mixing, effects processing, mastering, and surround sound.  Students will produce audio projects of their own choosing with the goal of creating tracks at project studio standards.

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