MUS545: Contexts of Composition: Musical Instruments, Sound, Perception, and Creativity
Dan Trueman
Through a series of hands-on labs, we look at a range of topics relevant to how we make and conceive of music, including pitch perception, instrument design, log/linear relationships, spectral analysis, synthesis, resonance, physical modeling, and
Collaborations with varied ensembles and performers from around the world and here at Princeton, presented in concert on the Princeton Sound Kitchen concert series.
We investigate the continuity between tone, timbre, and harmony by studying music by various composers who are touched by spectralism (broadly defined as an attitude encompassing a variety of styles that derive pitch materials from acoustical phen
MUS510 is for students in the department who wish to gain experience of central importance to their area of study by working outside of the University capacity.
Within the realm of composed music rooted in European traditions, vocal performance tends to be associated with a particular kind of singing often referred to as operatic, classical or bel canto.
The aphorism that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" frames musical writing as an act of absurdity. Yet write about music we do.
Rhythm is music's heartbeat, vital yet largely invisible to academic discourse. In this class, we will think about rhythm theoretically, analytically, and creatively.
A composition workshop class, in the context of the traditional sound studio. Emphasis will be on the student's creative work, composing both "fixed media" works and live electronic/laptop music.
MUS270: Medieval and Renaissance Music from Original Notation
Jamie Reuland
In an age before musical notation, Isidore of Seville could claim that unless sounds are remembered by man they perish, for they cannot be written down.
MUS266: Music and Society in France, c.1750 to the Present
From the singing entertainments of Parisian café-concerts, to the historical revisions of grand opera, to the social critiques of banlieue rappers, music has been central to the cultural and social developments of the French nation.
This course will examine the musical, historical, and cultural aspects of jazz throughout its entire history, looking at the 20th century as the breeding ground for jazz in America and beyond.
Performance course in West African drumming with focus on music from Mandé Empire (Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Senegal.) Taught by master drummer and exponent of Mogo Kele Foli drumming technique.
Music can get your feet tapping, trigger a cascade of memories, mire you in nostalgia, or leave you with an earworm. What happens when tools drawn from cognitive science are applied to understanding these experiences?
The PU Steel Band course will focus on the history and performance practice surrounding the steel drum band and its traditional musics from Trinidad and Tobago.
