- MUTH 3510 Form and Analysis Fall 2014
- MWF MU 288 10-10:50
- Instructor: Dr. David Bard-Schwarz
- Office: MU 104
- E-mail: david.schwarz@unt.edu Office Hours TBA
In this course we are going to write beautiful, personally-motivated criticism of music, focusing on form. That means we're going to start with intuitive, visceral responses to music; from there we're going to go into the form of the music, using analysis to give depth and consistency to our experience with the work; we are also going to consult at least one source for each work, incorporating that person's comments into our own.
You will write five papers during the course; each paper will focus on a particular style, a particular form, a particular esthetic and analytic issue.
Your writing will integrate: a) personal, inutitive response, b) clear and precise analytic evidence, and c) responses from a published scholar. Your writing must be clear at the sentence, paragraph, and essy level.
For each class there are pdf files (where available) online for you to download and study; sound files will be posted on the player along with two video lectures per day. You will watch the videos each day and incorporate their content into the written, analysis assignments. Papers must be emailed to pinkpaperblueink@gmail.com by noon Central Standard Time (U.S.) on the day they are due. I will not accept papers posted more than 15 minutes past the due date and time.
I will comment on your papers and assign grades as notes added to pdf files. Please make sure when you save to pdf that you do not save to pdf/a, pdf/e, or pdf/x protocols. If you are using your own computers that probably won't happen. But if you go to some lab, internet cafe, or other establshment of questionable cybernectic hygiene, you may (without knowing it) save to one of those protocols. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) to read my comments. Download it now! Adobe Acrobat Reader for Machintosh or Adobe Acrobat Reader for PC
Grades will be determined as follows:
Plagiarism will result in an F for the course.
- Paper 1 = 20%
- Paper 2 = 20%
- Paper 3 = 20%
- Paper 4 = 20%
- Paper 5 = 20%
- 08.25.2014
What is Music Analysis? What is Musical Form?
The phrase and the period
- 08.27.2014
- 08.29.2014
One Part Forms
- 09.03.2014
- 09.05.2014
- 09.08.2014
- 09.10.2014
Write Paper #1 on Chopin, Prelude no. 1 in C major: pdf. In your paper discuss the precise nature of Chopin's music, focus on phrase structure and harmony (small and large scale). The paper should be as short as possible and as long as necessary in order to do a complete and precise analysis of form in the work (phrase + harmony). Be absolutely sure that your work conforms to all of the writing guidelines: pdf.
1) Two-Part Forms
- 09.12.2014
- 09.15.2014
- 09.17.2014
- 09.19.2014
- 09.22.2014
- 09.24.2014
Write Paper #2 on Haydn, Symphony no. 94 Minuet: pdf Focus on phrase structure and harmony and how they embody the two-part form of the work.
Three-Part Forms
- 09.26.2014
- 09.29.2014
- 10.01.2014
Hybrid Forms
- 10.03.2014
- 10.06.2014
Schumann, Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen: pdf
Write Paper #3 on Schumann, Im wunderschoenen Monat mai: pdf. Focus on how Schumann sets Heine's text.
- 10.08.2014
The Sonata
- 10.10.2014
Beethoven Symphony no. 5 continued
- 10.13.2014
- 10.15.2014
- 10.17.2014
- 10.20.2014
- 10.22.2014
Schubert Unfinished, continued
- 10.24.2014
- 10.27.2014
- 10.29.2014
- 10.31.2014
Write Paper #4 on Beethoven, Symphony no. 4 in B-flat major: pdf. In your paper focus on one aspect of the slow, chromatic introduction and how Beethoven plays with it during the rest of the sonata movement.
Theme and Variations
- 11.03.2014
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, I and II: pdf
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, III, IV, and V: pdf
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, VI and VII: pdf
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, VIII: pdf
- 11.05.2014
- 11.07.2014
Webern Opus 21 II continued
- 11.10.2014
Webern Symphony Opus 21 II continued
- 11.12.2014
Webern, Opus 21 II continued
- 11.14.2014
Write Paper #5 on Variation VII of Webern's Opus 21 Symphony, Second movement. I'll announce where the initial order numbers of the four permutations upon which this movement is built at the beginning of this week. Your assignment: do a thorough serial description of how these permutations map onto the pitch-structure of the movement and how this variation comments on the theme and / or previous variations.
- 11.17.2014
Rondo
- 11.19.2014
Beethoven Violin Concerto Rondo continued
- 11.21.2014
Other Forms
- 11.24.2014
- 12.01.2014
- 12.03.2014
Steve Reich, Come Out (audio only)
- 12.12.2014
- 12.13.2014