World Musical Instruments

Every culture has musical instruments, and we admire musicians who play them well. Yet, musical instruments can tell us a lot more about a society if we have the tools to analyze their sounds, morphologies, functions, classifications, playing techniques, and scales or tuning systems. In this seminar we will develop critical skills for analyzing these elements through a selection of world musical instruments. We will also have the opportunity to construct musical instruments out of recycled materials. Course activities will include intensive reading, writing, discussions, research, oral presentations, and hands-on activities. No prior musical background is required. 3 hrs. sem.