CMP 517 Composition and Tonality in the 20th and 21st Centuries
This course will explore a wide range of early-twentieth-century composition techniques within the framework of “tonality” in modern times. The standpoints of modernism, history, and culture form the backdrop for an investigation of aspects concerning composition, music theory, and musical style. You will experiment with a selection of these techniques in your own compositions throughout the semester, which will culminate in a final project. Homework exercises will supplement your explorations, and a deeper analytical understanding will be gleaned from readings drawn from relevant scholarship. Our survey of the early twentieth century will begin with a consideration of pitch content in the music of Amy Beach, Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, and Alban Berg. We will then progress to studies of rhythmic innovations in Charles Ives and Scott Joplin. Our consideration of texture and form will encompass compositions by Ruth Crawford Seeger and Duke Ellington. At the end of this course we will focus on the music of Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók and combined elements from preceding sections. Over the course of the semester, you will develop skills in critical listening, music analysis, and composition.