Selected Topics in Music Cognition (336-0-1)
Topic
Musical Form by Eye and Ear
Instructors
Richard 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
This class takes a broad view of how listeners move from hearing "sound" to hearing "music." It focuses on how parameters less frequently considered in music theory, especially timbre, register, and texture, inform our experience of music. As a thought experiment, consider a listener encountering some piece in very unfamiliar style: how would she make use of not only discrete pitch structures but also instrumentation, register, rhythm, and other parameters to guide the way into comprehending the music? We will take a full-spectrum auditory view of a wide range of music: pop songs, electroacoustic compositions, 20th-century music, and will focus on how 'surface' parameters serve to enliven and guide listening toward areas of significance in the musical structure.
Registration Requirements
Upper level standing and musical background including reading normal clefs and at least the equivalent of first-year music theory. Students need not be music majors.
Learning Objectives
Theory and musical applications of auditory scene analysis.
Musical and psychological dimensions of formal structures in music, including "secondary" as well as "primary" parameters.
Empirical methods for studying music listening and comprehension.
Teaching Method
Readings, lecture, and discusson.
Evaluation Method
Evaluation will be based on weekly assignments, class discussion, and a final project to be negotiated with each student. Attendance is expected at all class sessions.
Class Materials (Required)
There are no materials to purchase for this class. The course will use readily available recordings, scores, articles, and book excerpts, all made available on Canvas. In addition, all students will need to acquire and become adept in using the no-cost Sonic Visualiser computer program.