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VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY

School of Education and Liberal Arts

Department of Music

Spring 2005

MUSI 282-01  20th Century Theory

Dr. David Shaffer-Gottschalk

Office:  Studio 209   524-5332, dshaffer@vsu.edu

Catalog Description:  MUSI 282 is designed to expose students to the basic concepts and analytical tools necessary for an understanding of twentieth-century art music, including units introducing motives and set theory, non-diatonic scales, triadic extensions, modality and pitch class centers, serialism, and new approaches to rhythm, meter, orchestration, tone color and texture.

Prerequisite:  successful completion of MUSI 182.

Texts:              Anthology for Musical Analysis, 6^th ed., ed. by Charles Burkhart (Belmont, CA:  Schirmer, 2004).

                        Music in Theory and Practice, 5th ed., by Bruce Benward et al. (Dubuque, IA: Brown and Benchmark)

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

KNOWLEDGE

• knowledge of the major compositional methods employed by composers of 20^th-century art music.
• knowledge of various pitch, rhythm, and timbral structures represented in 20^th-century art music.
• knowledge of standard terminology used in the discussion and theoretical analysis of 20^th-century art music.
• knowledge of analytical tools available to the musical scholar to assist in the understanding of 20th-century art music.
• some basic knowledge of 20^th-century music history - names of composers, chronology of styles, etc.  Special emphasis will be devoted to avant-garde movements, especially in America

Evaluation Strategies - assignments, unit tests.

SKILLS

• identification from scores of various compositional techniques.
• beginning explorations into the use of 20^th century concepts as compositional methods.
• basic use of the tools of 20th-century analysis using excerpts from the repertoire.

Evaluation Strategies - assignments, unit tests, projects

ABILITIES

• introductory explorations into the integration of knowledge and skills to draw thoughtful and creative analytical conclusions.
• hands-on experience with some of the avant-garde musical exploration of the 20^th century.
• exploring creative composition using concepts learned in class.

Evaluation Strategies - assignments, projects

Additional Evaluations: Mid-Term Evaluation, Final Examination

Additional Course Requirements/Information: 

For attendance and other classroom policies, see Dr. Shaffer-Gottschalk’s classroom policy sheet.

Any student with a disability covered by the American Disability Act should see Dr.  Shaffer-Gottschalk privately to discuss details of any needed arrangements.

Evaluation Breakdown:           

                        30% Final Examination

                        20% Final Project (3 parts)

                        15% Mid-Term Examination

                        35% Tests, assignments, class participation