The Department of Performing Arts offers a Minor in Music consisting of coursework in a variety musical topics for students who wish to learn about a new musical style or how music works.
Music offerings include lecture and special topics courses, as well as applied instrumental and vocal instruction in both classroom and private lesson settings.
Current Music courses include:
- MUS-M174 Music for the Listener
- MUS-M333 Survey of Hip Hop Music and Culture
- MUS-M393 History of Jazz
- MUS-P100 Piano
- MUS-T109 Rudiments of Music (Music Theory)
- MUS-Z103 Special Topics in Music: The Soundscape of Pulp Fiction
- MUS-Z201 History of Rock and Roll
Minor in Music
(19-20 credit hours)
Core Courses (8-9 credit hours)
MUS-P100 Piano Elective/Secondary (2cr.) Individual piano lessons at the secondary level.
or
MUS P110 Beginning Piano (2 cr.) Class piano for beginning piano students. For those with little or no previous formal instruction on the piano.
And select 2 from the following:
MUS-M111 Music Literature (4 cr.) Introduction to the major genres, composers, and forms used in western music from the Middle Ages to the present. Development of listening skills and a repertory of representative literature is given special emphasis.
MUS-M174 Music for the Listener (3 cr.)
How to listen to music; art of music and its materials; instruments and musical forms.
MUS-T109 Rudiments of Music 1 (2-4 cr.) For music majors. Entry level class for students interested in how music works. The class deals with the fundamentals of notation, ear training, and music reading. Melody and harmony are explored.
History & Culture (6 credit hours)
MUS-A190 Arts, Aesthetics, and Creativity (3 cr.) Explores artistic disciplines and associated forms, materials, and practices. Develops students' making, looking, and listening skills. Through the creative process students will explore relationships to other individuals and cultures and will review the implications of their learning for their personal, academic, and professional pursuits.
MUS-M333 Hip-Hop Music and Culture (3 cr.) This course explores the musical, artistic, visual, and political genre of hip-hop culture since its initial foundation in the 1970s as a manifestation of the African American cultural aesthetic that has since grown into a worldwide movement. Topics covered include an examination of each component that makes up hip-hop culture: rap, breakdancing, tagging, and the spoken word. Because this unique genre is consistently expanding and evolving, this course enables students to think critically and academically about hip-hop culture by studying its historical, social, and artistic significance as well as examining its overall place in American and global society.
MUS-M430 Introduction to Contemporary Music (3 cr.) Study of important music of the 20th Century, with emphasis on works since 1945.
MUS-M201 The Literature of Music 1 (2-3 cr.) P: MUS-M 111, MUS-T 113, MUS-T 114, MUS-T 115, MUS-T 116, or consent of instructor. Must be taken as the first course in the music history sequence. Survey of music from classical antiquity to 1750. Designed to develop a perspective on the evolution of music in its socio-cultural milieu, a repertoire of representative compositions, and techniques for listening analytically.
MUS-M202 The Literature of Music 2 (2-3 cr.) P: MUS-M 201, or consent of instructor. Must be taken as the second course in the music history sequence. Survey of music from the classical era to the present. Designed to develop a perspective on the evolution of music in its social-cultural milieu, a repertoire of representative compositions, and a technique for listening analytically. need to add to schedule.
MUS-M393 History of Jazz (3 cr.) This course is an exploration of the history of jazz with an examination of its roots, important genres and styles, historic recordings, key figures, and related materials.
MUS-Z201 History of Rock and Roll Music (3 cr.) A survey of the major trends, styles, and genres of rock music from the earliest recordings to the present day, focusing on the work of the artist and groups who have proven to be of the most enduring significance.
MUS-Z315 Music for Film (3cr.) A stylistic and analytic survey of music for moving pictures, concentrating on American and English narrative films.
MUS-Z373 The American Musical (3 cr.) The origins of the American musical, its societal impact, and its development from vaudeville and European operetta to the rock musicals of today. To be cross listed with THTR T312 History of American Musical Theatre.
Creative Practice (2 credit hours)
MUS-L101 Beginning Guitar (2 cr.) This course is intended as an introduction to popular guitar styles and techniques by building rudimentary guitar playing skills: basic open and bar chords, learning how to read tabs and music, and learning basic fingerstyle.
MUS-P100 Piano Elective/Secondary (1-4 cr.) Individual piano lessons at the secondary level.
MUS-V100 Voice Elective/Secondary (1-4 cr.)
Elective (3 credit hours)
Any MUS courses not already applied to the Minor
MUS-M 400 Undergraduate Readings in Musicology (1-6 cr.) Readings tailored to the specific music discipline of the individual student.
For more information, visit the Performing Arts page on the IU Northwest Bulletin.
