Selected Topics in Music Cognition (336-0-1)

Topic

Music & Emotion

Instructors

Richard D Ashley
847/491-5720
r-ashley@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: W 10-11 and by appt.
Professor, music theory and cognition program. Research and publications in music cognition focusing on expressive performance, musical communication, and long-term memory for music. President, Society for Music Perception and Cognition. Member, editorial board, Music Perception. Recipient of two Fulbright grants for research in the Netherlands and grants from National Endowment for the Humanities and U.S. Department of Education. Recipient, Bienen School of Music Exemplar in Teaching Award. Also teaches in the cognitive science program.

Meeting Info

RCMA 1-172: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Goals of the course
• Develop more systematic ways of thinking about music cognition.
• Become familiar with important issues, investigative techniques, and literature in music and emotion.
Texts
No materials need be purchased for this class. This course focuses on primary readings, mostly published articles. A wide range of articles will be used, from cognitive psychology, music theory, and other fields. Both primary and secondary sources will be used. The typical load should be about 3 readings per week.

Structure of the course
• Unit I (one week): Basics of music and emotion
• Unit II (three weeks): Emotion: personal and social
• Unit III (three weeks): Emotion: sonic and immediate
• Unit IV (three weeks): Emotion: structure and time

Evaluation Method

Grades will be given on the following basis:
Reading responses and smaller projects .....70%
Final project......20%
Participation....10%
Total...........................................100%