Music Jump To: Jump To: Program Offerings A.B. Minor Offering type A.B. The Department of Music aims to give students a broad foundation for making, performing, studying and writing about music. As part of the major, students pursue work in two loosely defined areas: Culture and Criticism (C&C) and Materials and Making (M&M). M&M encompasses topics usually explored in hands-on, exploratory ways, such as composition, improvisation, theory, analysis and electronic music. The C&C area focuses on the scholarly study of music, from historical and formalist analysis to cognitive science and ethnography. Whether our majors ultimately choose to make music, to research and write about it, or do both, they are encouraged to develop independent work that moves across traditional disciplinary or methodological boundaries. In more prosaic terms, we want our majors to discover a passion for what they are doing, while also learning how that passion aligns with developing abilities. Goals for Student Learning Irrespective of methodology or approach, music majors may consider the following set of general goals. As music majors, students: Develop technical proficiency. This proficiency can take many forms, but we expect students to develop skills and techniques necessary to carry out a project. Examples range from capacity in orchestration and counterpoint, to knowledge of other languages and facility with computer languages; other examples are familiarity with empirical research processes and archival and ethnographic methods. Note well: “skills” should never be trivialized as “too applied.” Studying counterpoint or audio engineering is, at least in part, about developing and enriching a music practice — one that has concrete intellectual challenges and requires solid knowledge bases. Learn how to apply skills or techniques appropriate to the project at hand. Over the course of junior and senior years, students will hone skills as needed to complete independent work, while simultaneously shaping projects according to existing skill sets. Learn how to position independent work within the history of music. For example, a recent senior thesis on experimental music included an essay on the history of the practice, situating experimentalism within the contexts of improvisation and Black radicalism. Conceive how independent work is situated within a domain of specialists. Cultivate the ability to imagine critical responses to work. Students need to be able to dialogue with critics in an informed manner. Learn to manage the inevitable frustrations and road blocks that arise, while carrying out independent work. Engage closely with the methods learned in coursework and familiarize themselves with relevant music and/or literature. Advanced Placement The Department of Music does not grant advanced placement exam credit. Prerequisites Students interested in the music major are required to gain exposure to coursework in both the Culture and Criticism and Materials and Making areas before entering the department. The prerequisites are satisfied through the completion of MUS 105, one M&M course, and one C&C course. Under special circumstances, students may be able to place out of MUS 105 by demonstrating equivalent knowledge in an exam given by the music faculty or scoring a 5 on the AP Music exam. Students who place out of MUS 105 will be required to take an additional elective to meet the minimum requirement of 11 courses in the major. Program of Study Class of 2024. Majors are strongly encouraged to complete the requirements below, and are required to take the credit-bearing junior seminar. Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies or the academic programs administrator for details of the previous requirements. Class of 2025 and beyond. Students majoring in music take a total of 11 courses in the major: Three prerequisite courses (MUS 105, one M&M course, one C&C course); Two additional courses in Culture and Criticism; Two courses in Materials and Making (one of the three total M&M courses, including the M&M prerequisite, must include a significant musicianship/ear-training component; current eligible courses are MUS 106, MUS 245, MUS 261, MUS 316, and MUS 319, or an alternative approved by the DUS); Three additional electives, two of which should be at the 300 level or higher; and A credit-bearing junior seminar (MUS 300). Music majors in the Program in Music Performance certificate may use one performance course (such as MPP 213, 214, 216, 219, 251, 252, MUS 340) as a departmental. Majors design their program of study in close consultation with the director of undergraduate studies and are strongly encouraged to meet with the DUS in their first year to plan potential paths through the curriculum, as some upper-level courses have their own prerequisites. In general, we encourage students to lead with their strengths but also to take risks and step out of their comfort zones, principles that should guide their course choices. Independent Work Junior Seminar – MUS 300 A fall-term junior seminar introduces students to some of the methodological, technical, creative and disciplinary issues involved in the study and making of music. Assignments may relate to, or inform, their independent work, but will be graded separately from the JIW. Students who are abroad during the fall of junior year can complete the junior seminar during the fall term of senior year. Junior Independent Work Junior independent work begins in the fall, usually in the context of the junior seminar, and continues into the spring with a faculty adviser. The nature of this work can vary greatly, but for reference, it might consist of a research paper of approximately 30–40 pages, or an original composition of roughly 6–10 minutes (which would typically include a short paper detailing motivations and context for the composition). These are only guidelines, and the eventual scale of the work will depend on its nature. The specific goals for the project are worked out with a faculty adviser (identified during the fall semester), resulting in a proposal consisting of a summary of the project aims and context, an outline and references to related work (bibliography for research papers, associated repertoire for compositions and other material as appropriate to the project); this proposal should be submitted to the adviser and DUS before the end of fall semester, though the grade for the proposal will be held and included in the final grade for the year-long project. Senior Independent Work The senior independent work consists of a year-long project devised by the student and approved by a faculty adviser. Again, for reference, it might consist of a research paper of approximately 60–80 pages, or an original composition of roughly 12–20 minutes (including a short accompanying paper), but the specific topics can vary widely, as described above; as with the JIW, these are only guidelines, and the eventual scale of the work will depend on its nature. Ideally, a faculty adviser will be identified in the spring of junior year to help the student develop an appropriate scope for the project. The JIW and SIW topics need not be related, but often are. The thesis grade is the average of the grades given by the faculty adviser and a second faculty reader. Senior Departmental Examination On a date arranged by the department, senior majors must take a final departmental examination in the form of a scheduled senior thesis presentation. The senior thesis presentation includes an overview of the thesis focusing on motivation, methodology and result. The total duration of the presentation should not exceed 30–45 minutes. The presentation is immediately followed by 10–15 minutes of questions from the thesis adviser and others in attendance. Study Abroad Music majors are encouraged to explore the many study abroad opportunities offered at Princeton. Among these is the unique collaboration Princeton maintains with the Royal College of Music in London (link is external), in which students have the opportunity to participate in a five-year double-degree program (A.B. and M.M.). Students spend the fall semester of their junior year in London. Interested current and prospective music majors should email the director of the Program in Music Performance for further details. Additional Information Ensembles and Instrumental and Vocal Lessons Majors are encouraged to take an active part in performing music. All majors have the opportunity to take vocal or instrumental lessons from world-class professionals on the performance faculty. For students majoring in music or pursuing a certificate (Class of 2024) or minor in Music Performance (Class of 2025 and beyond), the full cost of these lessons is paid for by the University (during junior and senior years). Note that MPP 298-299, Independent Instruction in Voice or Instrument, can only be taken once. Students can also gain exposure to performance by participating in one of the departmental ensembles. For further information on lessons, ensembles and performance opportunities, please contact the department’s program manager. Other Academic Preparation Students planning graduate study in musicology or theory should achieve reading and speaking proficiency in at least one language, depending upon their areas of interest. Students with interests in composition may want preparation in engineering and computer science. Majors should discuss this with the DUS. Offering type Minor The minor in the Department of Music invites students to explore a diverse range of fields of study, from composition and electronic music, to musicology, theory, sound studies, music cognition, jazz studies and more. Students pursue work in two loosely defined areas: Culture and Criticism (C&C) and Materials and Making (M&M). M&M encompasses topics usually explored in hands-on, exploratory ways, such as composition, improvisation, theory, analysis and electronic music. The C&C area focuses on the scholarly study of music, from historical and formalist analysis to cognitive science and ethnography. While independent work is not required, there are options for students interested in pursuing private lessons (in composition and electronic music), studies in music cognition (through the Music Cognition Lab), research projects with faculty, or the Music Mentorship program that pairs music undergraduates with graduate students. Goals for Student Learning Through an open-ended set of course requirements, the minor will introduce students to the wide range of possible fields of study within music and give them the flexibility to forge paths inspired by their own imaginations. It is our goal that the resulting teaching and research afforded by this open-ended minor will continue to expand our core identity beyond the borders of western cultural traditions and provide a vibrant pathway to/through EDI work. Further, we anticipate that this minor will foster more of the interdisciplinary opportunities that are so fundamental and unique to the Princeton experience; by inviting students to bring what they are studying in their majors to bear on our music practices and, in turn, offering new lenses through which they can metabolize their studies in other areas, the potential of music to suggest new modes of thinking, making and learning can be more fully realized. While independent work is not required, there are ample opportunities for students in the music minor to further their classroom work via private lessons in composition and electronic music, studies in music cognition (through the Music Cognition Lab) or research projects with faculty. Prerequisites There are no prerequisites for entering the program, though MUS 105 is recommended. Admission to the Program Students in the Class of 2025 and beyond who wish to pursue the minor in music may declare their intention in the spring semester of their sophomore year, fall semester of their junior year, or spring semester of their junior year. Program of Study Students pursuing the minor in music must complete the following course requirements: MUS 105* One (1) Materials and Making (M&M) course One (1) Culture and Criticism (C&C) course Two (2) additional MUS courses. By petition to the DUS, one of these electives can be outside MUS, though must reflect a coherent plan of study (for instance, a particular psychology course in support of a plan of study focusing on music cognition) *Students placing out of MUS 105 (at the discretion of the instructor) are required to replace it with another MUS elective. A maximum of two courses can be shared in fulfilling requirements for the MUS minor and the student’s major. See the Department of Music website for example pathways through the MUS minor and for lists of C&C and M&M courses. [external links] Additional Information The minor in Music (MUS) is open to students in the Class of 2025 and beyond. Students in the Class of 2024 and enrolled in the MPP certificate program and focusing on composition, electronic music and jazz studies will be eligible to earn their certificate upon completion of the now-archived set of requirements applicable to those programs. Students should consult the archived Undergraduate Announcement for details. Faculty Chair Daniel L. Trueman Director of Undergraduate Studies Gavin Steingo Director of Graduate Studies Elizabeth H. Margulis Juri Seo Professor Donnacha M. Dennehy Wendy Heller Steven Mackey Elizabeth H. Margulis Simon A. Morrison Gavin Steingo Daniel L. Trueman Dmitri Tymoczko Barbara A. White Associate Professor Juri Seo Rob C. Wegman Assistant Professor Tyondai A. Braxton Nathalie Joachim Jamie L. Reuland Anna Yu Wang Professor of the Practice Gabriel Crouch Michael J. Pratt Senior Lecturer Rudresh K. Mahanthappa Ruth A. Ochs Jeffrey O. Snyder Olivier P. Tarpaga Lecturer Darcy James Argue Christopher Arneson Liam N. Boisset Brian E. Brown Geoffrey L. Burleson Ronald M. Cappon Eric B. Cha-Beach Ted Chubb Yousun Chung Kevin G. Deas Vincent B. Ector Martha Elliott Rochelle K. Ellis Alan Feinberg John J. Ferrari Nicole Glover Jack D. Hill Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek Margaret A. Kampmeier Francine Kay David S. Kellett Christopher A. Komer Brian Kuszyk Sunghae A. Lim Andrew C. Lovett Matthew Melore David Miller Thomas Morrison Miles Okazaki Laura Oltman Alberto Parrini Matthew Parrish Sarah C. Pelletier Eric D. Plutz Joshua Quillen Barbara J. Rearick Trineice Robinson-Martin Stacey G. Shames Campbell P. Shiflett Sarah Shin Adam Sliwinski Jo-Ann Sternberg Brennan Sweet Arnie Tanimoto Jessica L. Thompson Jason Treuting Elio Villafranca-West Robert J. Wagner Kendall K. Williams Nancy J. Wilson Wendy A. Young Visiting Assistant Professor Tomoko Fujita Visiting Lecturer Christopher T. Hailey For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website. Courses MPP 213 - Projects in Instrumental Performance Fall/Spring LA Instrumental chamber music of the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, both canonic and non-canonic. Preparation for performance of ensembles. Each ensemble's repertoire will be determined in consultation with the instructors during the first week of classes. Staff MPP 214 - Projects in Vocal Performance LA Guides students in extended projects in performance. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. Staff MPP 215 - Projects in Jazz Performance Not offered this year LA A performance course that focuses on the development of style, concept, and repertoire in the jazz idiom. Students are coached by faculty in extended projects in performance. Staff MPP 216 - Techniques of Conducting Spring LA The course will focus on building a structure of physical technique that will communicate good rhythm, musical shaping and character, and also verbal and non-verbal communication. Proper rehearsal strategies will be addressed in the later weeks of the course, and the final exam will be a public performance of a short work with full orchestra. M. Pratt, G. Crouch MUS 103 - Introduction to Western Music Not offered this year LA MUS 103 is an introduction to Western music, involving works from around 1200 to the present. The course explains the basic elements of Western music -- rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, form -- and historically significant styles and genres of composition. The course includes lectures on the symphony, ballet, and opera. Staff MUS 104 - When Music Is Made LA An introduction to the fundamental materials of a variety of musics, including Western concert music, jazz, and popular music. Course activities center around interrelated theoretical, compositional, and analytical projects that serve to explore issues of music theory, style, and creativity. Two lectures, two preceptorials. D. Dennehy MUS 105 - Music Theory through Performance and Composition Fall LA An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. D. Dennehy, J. Seo, N. Joachim MUS 106 - Music Theory through Performance and Composition Spring LA An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. Prerequisite: ability to read music. D. Dennehy, J. Seo MUS 205 - Species Counterpoint Fall LA An introduction to the principles of voice leading and linear construction through a series of systematic compositional exercises. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 106 or equivalent. S. Mackey, D. Trueman, J. Seo MUS 206 - Tonal Syntax Spring LA An introduction to the syntactic structure of the music of the 18th and 19th centuries through exercises in analysis and composition. Two lectures, two classes. Prerequisite: 205 or equivalent. S. Mackey, D. Trueman, J. Seo MUS 210 - Beginning Workshop in Musical Composition Fall/Spring LA A continuous cycle of creation, discussion, and response based on the creative musical activity of the students. Varieties of kind and style--notated composition, multimedia music, multitracking, and improvisation--are encouraged. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes. S. Mackey, J. Seo, B. White MUS 220 - The Opera (also MTD 220) LA An introduction to opera. Lectures deal with works by major composers, conventions of libretto poetry, singers and voice types, musical forms and dramatic pacing, and opera staging. Classes are devoted to close study of two works and the plays on which they were based. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, or some musical background, or instructor's permission. Open to freshmen. W. Heller MUS 221 - History of Western Choral Music Fall LA A survey of vocal literature (excluding opera) from the fifteenth century to the present day. Lectures focus on representative works that illustrate historical developments in musical style, vocal texture, and text-music relationships; attention is also given to choral music's role as an institution of social engagement, an expression of collective identity, and the societal ability to rejoice, celebrate, critique, and mourn on an impersonal level. J. Reuland MUS 225 - Instrumental Music: The Symphony from Haydn to Stravinsky LA A study of the development of the symphony from its origins in the mid-18th century through the first half of the 20th. Representative works will be chosen for detailed study in the class meetings. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor's permission. W. Heller MUS 230 - Music in the Middle Ages (also MED 230) LA Major developments of Western music up to about 1400, including some of the following: the origin and growth of chant, its liturgical context and musical properties; medieval secular song; early polyphony and Parisian organum; the French ars nova and Machaut; the Italian trecento; English medieval music. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor's permission. R. Wegman MUS 232 - Music in the Renaissance LA Introduction to the history and current scholarship of European music in the period 1400-1600. The principal thread is compositional history; in addition, the course includes extensive coverage of these topics: aesthetics, orality/literacy, improvisation, gender and sexuality. R. Wegman MUS 234 - Music of the Baroque LA An introductory survey of style developments, aesthetic trends affecting music, and principal vocal and instrumental genres (opera, cantata, concerto, sonata, and suite) of the period 1600-1750. Major figures to be considered include Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and J. S. Bach. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: any music course or instructor's permission. W. Heller MUS 236 - Music of the Classical Period Spring LA Introduction to the history of 18th-century music, giving equal attention to pre-Classical and Classical periods, and covering France, England and Italy as well as Germany. The course features Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and numerous other significant figures. The chief narrative thread is the history of musical style and taste. A separate storyline running alongside this is the imaginative retelling of Dr. Charles Burney's musical journeys through Europe in the early 1770s. Extensive playlist and readings of contemporary texts (diaries, letters, travel accounts, music treatises, opera libretti, translated into English). Two lectures, one class. R. Ochs MUS 240 - Musical Modernism 1890-1945 LA An introduction to modern music, beginning with its origins in late Romanticism, up to World War II. Composers considered include Mahler, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, and Berg. Topics range from urban centers for modern music (Paris and Vienna), the relationship of musical modernism to contemporary literature and visual arts, music and politics, to the impact of recording technology and cinema on musical arts. Prerequisite: any music course, some classical music background, or instructor's permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. Morrison MUS 242 - Music After Modernism, 1945 to the Present Spring LA European and American music since World War II. Study of many recent approaches to music and their cultural, social, and philosophical bases. Topics include: postwar European avant-garde, American extensions of serialism, technological developments, influences of popular and folk cultures, American avant-garde. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor's permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial. B. White, D. Dennehy MUS 250 - Musical Cultures of the World LA Course explores aesthetic principles and social context underlying traditional and popular musics of various world regions, drawing on examples from South Africa, Japan, India, and Indonesia, among other places. Issues explored include conception of melody and rhythm in culture; the impact that language, pedagogical methods, patronage systems, gender, and ethnic or class identity have had on musical composition and performance; and the role of migration, globalization, and politics in the development of musical style. G. Steingo MUS 251 - Music and Film LA An examination of the effect of different compositional practices and different sound technologies on the film viewer. The course will focus on three parameters of film music: music that has a visual point of origin on the screen (diegetic music), music that does not have a visual point of origin on the screen (nondiegetic music, also called background scoring), and music that floats between these two realms. Prerequisite: 103, or 105, or permission of instructor. One three-hour seminar. S. Morrison MUS 258 - Music of Africa (also AFS 258) LA Introduction to the vocal and instrumental music of Africa south of the Sahara. Topics include the place of music in society, the influence of language on musical composition, principles of rhythmic organization, urban popular music, "art" music as a response to colonialism, and the impact of African music on the earliest forms of African American music. Two 90-minute lectures. Staff MUS 260 - Music Traditions in North America (also AMS 309) LA This course will delve into the many historical themes, social issues, and musical aspects that arise from surveying and comparing the diverse musical traditions of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Staff MUS 262 - Jazz History: Many Sounds, Many Voices (also AAS 262) Spring LA An introduction survey examining the historical development of jazz from its African origins through the present. The course will place emphasis on the acquisition of listening skills and explore related musical and social issues. Staff MUS 264 - Urban Blues and the Golden Age of Rock LA Examines post-World War II blues, rock music mostly of the late sixties and early seventies, and the connections between them. Explores wider musical and extramusical connections. Two lectures, one class. R. Wegman, S. Mackey MUS 270 - Medieval and Renaissance Music from Original Notation (also MED 270) LA A "hands-on" course that explores music from before 1600 using the pedagogical methods of the period. Medieval and Renaissance techniques of sight-singing, memorization, improvisation, and harmonization will be learned. Modern computer technology will also be used to investigate the deeper mystical and philosophical content of music from this period. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: ability to read modern music notation comfortably. J. Reuland MUS 301 - Special Topics in Contemporary Practice (also DAN 304/THR 321/VIS 320) LA MUS 308 - Contemporary Music through Composition and Performance LA An introduction to a variety of 20th-century approaches to composition. Emphasis on understanding different techniques, syntaxes, and musical languages through exercises in compositional emulations and in performance projects of student and studied works, using available performance skills of participants. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor's permission. One three-hour seminar, one preceptorial. Staff MUS 309 - Topics in Tonal Analysis LA The course will deal closely with a small number of works from the tonal repertoire and will serve as a critical introduction to several pertinent and influential analytical methodologies, including motivic, formal, semiotic, and voice-leading analysis. The focus will be on the musical and aesthetic values that each method either enhances or attenuates. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor's permission. One three-hour seminar. D. Trueman MUS 310 - Advanced Workshop in Musical Composition Fall LA A composition course for independent, self-directed composers. Most of the class will be spent working on a single piece. Students will present their work-in-progress to the class weekly or biweekly depending on enrollment. We will have a concert of final projects at the end of the semester, with all student pieces to be performed by So Percussion, the music department's world-renowned ensemble-in-residence. D. Tymoczko MUS 311 - Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition I Not offered this year LA An exploration of the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic principles of the bebop paradigm. The course includes analysis of representative works by various jazz masters and will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff MUS 312 - Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition II Not offered this year LA An examination of the theoretical principles found in modal jazz through analysis of representative works by such composers as Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Herbie Hancock. The course will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff MUS 314 - Computer and Electronic Music through Programming, Performance, and Composition (also COS 314) QCR An introduction to the fundamentals of computer and electronic music in the context of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk). The music and sound programming language ChucK, developed here at Princeton, will be used in conjunction with Max/MSP, another digital audio language, to study procedural programming, digital signal processing and synthesis, networking, and human-computer interfacing. D. Trueman, J. Snyder MUS 316 - Computer and Electronic Music Composition LA Compositional projects involving computers and synthesizers. Some work may involve interactions between live and electronic sounds. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 314 or permission of instructor. D. Trueman, J. Snyder, T. Braxton MUS 328 - Special Topics in Performance Practice (also MTD 330/THR 330) Not offered this year LA MUS 333 - Bach and Handel LA The contrasting careers and oeuvres of the two greatest representatives of the late baroque in music will be considered both individually and comparatively. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor's permission. W. Heller MUS 339 - Russian Music (also SLA 311) LA A detailed survey of Russian national and international composers. Topics of discussion and analysis will include magic opera, realism, orientalism, the relationship between composers and poets of the Russian Symbolist era, the World of Art movement and the Ballets Russes, Soviet film music, Soviet arts doctrine, and musical aesthetics (especially as they pertain to authorship and identity). Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. S. Morrison MUS 430 - Topics in History, Analysis, and Interpretation Fall LA Topics chosen from, but not limited to: a group of works by a single composer (Leonin's organa, Monteverdi's madrigals, Brahms's symphonies); a certain genre (19th-century choral works, Hindustani Khayal, contemporary rock, late 16th-century madrigal); a specific theoretical or historical problem (atonal theory, composers' sketches and musical analysis, the origins of opera). One three-hour seminar. Staff MUS 431 - Topics in History, Analysis, and Interpretation Spring LA Topics chosen from, but not limited to: a group of works by a single composer (Leonin's organa, Monteverdi madrigals, Brahms's symphonies); a certain genre (19th-century choral works, Hindustani Khayal, contemporary rock, late 16th-century madrigal); a specific theoretical or historical problem (atonal theory, composers' sketches and musical analysis, the origins of opera). One three-hour seminar. Staff
