MP 3220 - World Music Composition Resources

Credits: 3

In this junior-level composition techniques course, students gain a foundational understanding of several styles, cultural contexts, and applied techniques that characterize the music of different cultures. Proceeding from the idea that music has no inherent value outside of the cultural context that values it, this course presents a comprehensive view of musical difference in relation to the communities of people who ascribe value to a particular style. Through recording and performance studies, secondary ethnographic research, and applied creative projects, students explore compositional resources that emerge in consideration of the environmental, socio-cultural, and sonic practices that inform music-making outside of established Western idioms. Key topics include: alternative tuning systems, harmonic structures, rhythmic and metrical structures, scales, instrumentation, and performance contexts.

Prerequisites: MP 2230 - Music Composition II

Course Learning Outcomes:

Utilize research and knowledge about world music styles, composition and performance techniques, and cultural contexts to compose original music.
Demonstrate thoughtful and creatively interesting applications of alternative tuning systems, scales, and rhythmic devices.
Compose original music using instrumental sounds not commonly used in Western art, folk, or popular music traditions.