Analyzing World Musical Pieces

Every musical piece tells stories about its place of origin, the artists who create and perform it, the contexts of its performance, the audiences that experience it, and the meanings associated with it. Yet, these stories are often unobvious to listeners without the right tools to analyze and interpret the piece. In this seminar we will develop critical skills for analyzing exemplary musical pieces from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Through readings, writing assignments, lectures, discussions, mini-performances, research activities, and oral presentations, we will learn how to appreciate and represent diverse musical works and their accompanying stories more fully and appropriately, as extensions of their sonic and extra-sonic worlds. Some musical background is recommended.