Modern singer-songwriters like Missy Elliot and Taylor Swift may seem far removed from the trobairitz and
trouvèresses of the European Middle Ages, while the preponderance of “greatest hits” records appear to have
little in common with the great chansonniers of the fifteenth century. Yet, while many centuries separate the
songs that infiltrate our lives and media today from the songs of antiquity through to the sixteenth century,
the concept of “song” as we understand it began to be formed, reformed, developed, and expanded in early
and pre-modern Europe. This seminar examines song in its diverse contexts through a variety of lenses—
text, music, history, gender, theory, art, materiality, theology, performance, movement. Examining a wide
array of premodern song traditions, this course offers participants interdisciplinary perspectives on song that
draws together through discussion and close musical and poetic readings and analysis.
Through the seminar participants will gain a grasp on the concept of song and its historical position up to the
sixteenth century. While the subject matter of this course is specific, namely early and pre-modern song, the
larger ideas explored in the seminar have a broad relevance to the humanities and to the continued
production of “song” into the twenty-first century. From song as a form of personal expression,
communication, and religious worship, to song as functional, practical, and as a musico-poetic genre, this
seminar introduces students to the concept of locating one type of artistic creation within historical, cultural,
political, and religious frameworks. The seminar will enable participants will take larger theoretical ideas
explored in this seminar and apply them to other song genres, while the research skills we will develop
through assignments and seminar activities will be useful for research in music studies more broadly

This course focuses on methods for thinking and engaging creatively through sound, whether compositionally or through other kinds of sound objects. Topics may include: compositional strategies; recording and producing; film; sound installations; experimental ethnography; sound art; and performance practice. Students will begin to put these methodological ideas into practice by developing semester-long projects. These projects can be individual or collaborative.

This seminar attempts to move beyond mainstream commercial narratives and studies of Black popular music, and instead, direct attention toward the local, independent, and alternative aspects of its production and performance. Through an interdisciplinary lens encompassing music, locality, identity, politics, urban geography, and performance studies, students will explore the profound connections between Black music and the spatialities of Black life. Case studies of specific local music cultures are analyzed, considering their contributions to the broader landscape of Black popular music in the United States. Scholarly approaches and theories mapping Black spaces and places are explored, providing insights into the relationship between race, space, and place within African American musical historiography. Key topics include the influence of locality on musical styles, the significance of neighborhood scenes and cultural hubs, and the role of music in shaping local identities within social, political, and economic contexts. Additionally, this seminar goes beyond physical space to examine the circulation and transformations of local music in regional, national, global, and virtual contexts. Engaging in critical discussions, research projects, and listening exercises, students will develop a nuanced understanding of the complexities and richness of Black popular music within localized contexts. The course features a special emphasis on exploring local Black musical culture in Philadelphia, utilizing archival materials from the Kislak Center archives and featuring guest speakers. While primarily focusing on urban areas and popular music, the seminar is adaptable to other contexts based on students’ interests. Overall, equipped with analytical tools and theoretical frameworks, students will be prepared for further research and critical inquiry into the broader study of local music cultures.

Seminar on selected topics in African American Music. See department website (under course tab) for current term course description: https://music.sas.upenn.edu

In this course, we read widely across Caribbean and Indian Ocean Studies to ask: what can scholars of music and sound gain from moving beyond the narrow confines of the national to investigate oceans as spaces of both boundary-formation and boundary-crossing? We consider the interrelations between music and: various colonialisms (British, French, Portuguese); the formation of creole cultures; world religions (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity); media circulations; ontological difference; discourses of ethnic difference and ethnonationalism; and climate change. Noting controversies surrounding comparative approaches in ethnomusicology, we ask whether a decolonial approach to comparative music studies is possible.

Open to graduate students from all departments. See department website (under course tab) for current term course description: https://music.sas.upenn.edu

Catchy yet controversial. Fun but hard-hitting. Popular music is not just entertaining: it presents societal issues, raises questions, expresses ideas. This course considers how popular music of the 20th century manifested the hopes, contradictions, ingenuity, and challenges of life in the United States, as seen and heard through the experiences of musicians and audiences. We will address three core questions: (1) How is “talent” and “good” music distinguished? (2) What happens when we treat music as “property,” especially with respect to broader ideas of ownership and credit? (3) When, how, and why is music considered dangerous? We delve into these questions by profiling musicians’ lives, analyzing the musical traits of specific repertoire, investigating changes in how music circulates, and situating popular music in U.S. cultural history. This course is not a chronological survey and does not aim to cover all U.S. popular music (or global popular music). Instead, each core question is addressed through case studies. Over the course of the semester students learn listening and analytic skills, how to engage critically with a range of writings about music, how to develop compelling arguments and articulate them verbally in class discussions and in writing assignments.

What does jazz mean? How does one experience (listening, dancing, singing, etc.) jazz? For over a century, jazz has facilitated identity, creative expression, and embodied pleasure. It has served politics ranging from American imperialism to Black freedom. It has instituted varied systems of value (male hegemony) and fueled varied political economies (sex work to neoliberal capitalism). Its changing uses – from popular entertainment to high art – and social worlds have informed and determined how and why the public listens to jazz.

This course explores the significance of jazz, tracing its myriad uses, meanings, and sounds through its history. We begin by establishing a vocabulary for listening to jazz and by considering its origin stories, including its African American roots. Throughout the course, we then develop these skills and ideas to consider how jazz shapes and is shaped by cultural, social, and political life. The course is organized by theme and proceeds roughly chronologically. Topics include writing history, migration, embodiment, musical genre, the freedom movement, and gender and masculinity. The goals of the course are to become literate in some music fundamentals of jazz (e.g. form, instrumentation, and technology); to hone analytical skills that attend to music and social life; and to consider the social and cultural meaning of jazz. Classes consist of lecture, viewing, listening and other modes of engagement, and student-led collaborative work.

This course will center on the biography, works, and cultural context of a specific composer or group of composers. As well as introducing students to the musical works of the composer(s), the course will examine issues such as reception history, the canon, mechanisms of cult formation, authorship and attribution, identity, historical and social contexts, and nationalism and patriotism.This course will explore the nature, evolution, and meanings of Beethoven's music. We will also consider aspects of his biography, particularly as they touch on his compositional output, and also think about the relationships between his music and cultural and political developments of his time. Listening to Beethoven's music, discussing it, and thinking about his life and art will constitute the heart of the course. The course is intended for non-majors, but music majors and performers are more than welcome as well.

We know that we like music and that it moves us, yet it is often difficult to pinpoint exactly why, and harder still to explain what it is we are hearing. This course takes on those issues. It aims to introduce you to a variety of music, and a range of ways of thinking, talking and writing about music. The majority of music dealt with will be drawn from the so-called "Classical" repertory, from the medieval period to the present day, including some of the 'greats' such as Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi, but will also introduce you to music you will most likely never have encountered before. This course will explore the technical workings of music and the vocabularies for analyzing music and articulating a response to it; it also examines music as a cultural phenomenon, considering what music has meant for different people, from different societies across the ages and across geographical boundaries. As well as learning to listen ourselves, we will also engage with a history of listening. No prior musical knowledge is required. (Formerly Music 021). Fulfills College Cross Cultural Foundational Requirement.

We know that we like music and that it moves us, yet it is often difficult to pinpoint exactly why, and harder still to explain what it is we are hearing. This course takes on those issues. It aims to introduce you to a variety of music, and a range of ways of thinking, talking and writing about music. The majority of music dealt with will be drawn from the so-called "Classical" repertory, from the medieval period to the present day, including some of the 'greats' such as Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi, but will also introduce you to music you will most likely never have encountered before. This course will explore the technical workings of music and the vocabularies for analyzing music and articulating a response to it; it also examines music as a cultural phenomenon, considering what music has meant for different people, from different societies across the ages and across geographical boundaries. As well as learning to listen ourselves, we will also engage with a history of listening. No prior musical knowledge is required. (Formerly Music 021). Fulfills College Cross Cultural Foundational Requirement.

This course will cover basic skills and vocabulary for reading, hearing, performing, analyzing, and writing music. Students will gain command of musical rudiments, including notation, reading and writing in treble and bass clefs, intervals, keys, scales, triads and seventh chords, and competence in basic melodic and formal analysis. The course will include an overview of basic diatonic harmony, introduction to harmonic function and tonicization. Musicianship skills will include interval and chord recognition, rhythmic and melodic dictation and familiarity with the keyboard. There will be in-depth study of selected compositions from the "common practice" Western tradition, including classical, jazz, blues and other popular examples. Listening skills--both with scores (including lead sheets, figured bass and standard notation), and without--will be emphasized. There is no prerequisite. Students with some background in music may place out of this course and into Music 170, Theory and Musicianship I. Fulfills College Formal Reasoning and Analysis Foundational Requirement.