MUSC 40504 - American Roots To Modern Popular Music

Through a series of case studies, this course analyzes vernacular, oral, and popular Western Musical Traditions from the Civil War until today and wrestles with significance and definitions of these terms. Readings and recordings are discussed in a seminar-style learning environment; students will study the history of the recording industry, musical and recording technologies, and the evolution of listening practices and apply this knowledge in critical essays and presentations reflecting on contemporary recordings. Rather than present a strictly chronological approach to the evolution of musical style, genre, form, and function, this course will invite students to discern and scrutinize the different themes and cultural domains and through which music plays a role in our lives and empower students to embrace music as part of broader human experience.

Preparation for Course
P: MUSC 10500 with a grade of C- or better.

Cr. 3.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Define and critique terminology pertinent to analyzing American roots and modern popular music.
2. Develop strong written and oral communicative skills and deploy these skills in essays and presentations.
3. Employ knowledge of the history of American musical traditions in analyses of historical and contemporary popular musical trends.
4. Identify major moments in the history of the technology of recorded sound and delineate how this knowledge has shaped musical traditions from the nineteenth century until today.
5. Distinguish between modes of musicking and listening to evaluate shifts in musical practice(s) in the music studied in this course.
6. Create profound analyses of contemporary recordings armed with knowledge of the history of American roots and modern popular musical traditions.