MUSC 2040 Syllabus

Subject Code

MUSC

Course Number

2040

Course Title

History of Popular Music

Prerequisites

Degree program admission language competency or successful completion of required English and reading learning support courses with grades of C* or higher

Corequisites

Terms Offered

Credit Hours

Course Description

This course covers the roots and some of the branches of popular music, drawing upon a wide variety of influences and ethnicities. Course content will be drawn from streams of American music such as jazz; country, blues, and rock; popular sacred music; folk and ethnic music; and American musical theater.

Course Outcomes

Stylistic Features of a Variety of Popular Music Styles

To recall basic music terminology.
To analyze works and genres using terminology.
To utilize active listening skills to explore musical works.
To identify specific works both aurally and by diagram and/or written description.
To write listening journals to demonstrate recognition of musical works as well as to evaluate and compare works and genres.

Historical and Cultural Contexts of a Variety of Popular Music Styles

To examine the unfolding and development of genres such as Anglo-American ballads, African American spirituals, blues, rock, and jazz.
To identify basic charts of musical form that identify formal elements in different sections of works.
To create basic charts of musical form that identify formal elements in different section of works.
To contrast the different modes of transmission of music and their effects on musical development (oral and written traditions).
To discuss musical works within the broader context of American cultural history, with attention to various social groups and subcultures.

Achievements and Significance of Selected performers and/or Composers

To recall basic biographical outlines of important composers and performers.
To evaluate the cultural significance of particular musicians within their eras.
To appraise the music of today in light of historical developments in culture and music.
To analyze masterworks created by particular composers and performers and explore the reception of these works.
To discuss the role of media in shaping perception of composers, performers, and works (film, television, other multimedia productions).

Multiculturalism as Manifested in Popular Music

To classify multicultural streams of music within American history.
To distinguish the many subcultures within America and their interactions facilitated through music.
To examine the fusion of elements from different cultures within the American landscape.
To attend a concert of popular music.
To evaluate a live concert of popular in the context of multicultural streams of American music (see Learning Outcome #4).
To recall works within listening-based tests, including short-answer, knowledge-based components.

Familiarity with a Variety of Musical Genres through Listening and Analysis of Specific Works and Larger Categories of Music

To utilize active and attentive listening skills.
To articulate the distinctive elements of individual works.
To identify individual works through listening.
To classify musical works into larger genres through identification of stytle traits.
To recall works within listening-based tests, including short-answer, knowledge-bases components.