Course Outline &
Schedule
(What we are really doing!)
Introduction: Technology,
Improvisation, and Sound — 9/3
THURS 9/3
***
Listening Test #1 (freebie)
L: Trockeneis, excerpt from 5025 AD, 2004
L: Gyrgy Ligeti, excerpt from Atmosphres, 1961
L: My Bloody Valentine, excerpt of "To Here Knows When" from Loveless, 1991
01: Modernism and Postwar
Serialism — 9/8, 9/10
TUES 9/8
R: Glen Watkins, Soundings, Chapters 24-26
R: Pierre Boulez, Schnberg is Dead, Score #6, 1952.
R: Milton Babbitt, Who Cares if You Listen?, High Fidelity, Feb. 1958.
Discussed serialism, post-WWII Europe, Schoenberg vs Webern, serial matrices, combinatoriality, Boulez and Babbit articles, intellectualism, music as research, theory as discourse (for its own sake), etc.
THURS 9/10
Be prepared to discuss the following:
L: Pierre Boulez: Le Marteau sans Matre (1953-55) (especially 2. "Commentaire I De Bourreaux De Solitudes")
L: Milton Babbitt: Phenomena (1969-70)
L: Igor Stravinsky: Canticum Sacrum (1955) (especially 2. "surge, aquilo")
L: Karlheinz Stockhausen: Gruppen (1955-57)
02: Beyond Pitch: New Sounds
and Textures — 9/15, 9/17
TUES 9/15
R: David Cope, New Directions in Music, Chapters 3, 4
R: Luigi Rusolo, The Art of Noises: Futurist Manifesto, Audio Culture, pp 10-14
R: Edgard Varse, The Liberation of Sound, Audio Culture, pp. 17-21.
Discussed futurism, clustering, sound mass, mechanical sound, micropolyphony, percussion, electronic instrumnets, etc.
L: Henry Cowell: Advertisement (1914)
L: George Anteil/Fernand Lger: Ballet Mchanique (1924)
L: Kurt Schwitters: Ursonate (1922-32)
L: Edgard Varse: Ionisation (1929-31)
THURS 9/17
L: Edgard Varse: Dserts (1950-54)
L: Iannis Xenakis. Pithoprakta. (1955-56)
L: Gyrgy Ligeti: Atmosphres (1961)
L: Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. (1960)
03: Musique Concrte and Elektronische
Musik — 9/22, 9/24
TUES 9/22
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Tues 9/22: Listening Test #2
L: Edgard Varse Dserts, 4th episode, 1950-54
L: Pierre Boulez, excerpt from Structures II, 1961
L: Karlheinz Stockhausen, excerpt from Gruppen, 1955-57
L: Krzysztof Penderecki, excerpt from Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, 1960
R: Richard Taruskin, Oxford History of Western Music, Vol 5, Chapter 63
R: Pierre Schaeffer, Acousmatics in Audio Culture, pp 76-81
R: Karlheinz Stockhausen, Electronic and Instrumental Music, Audio Culture, pp 370-380
Discussed beginnings of electronic music: RTF and Cologne Studios, found sound vs synthetic production, serialization of timbre, etc.
L: Pierre Schaeffer: Etude aux Chemins de Fer, Etude Violette (1948)
L: Karlheinz Stockhausen: Studie II (1951)
THURS 9/24
Discussed centers for electronic music and their output: RTF, Cologne, Milan, Columbia-Princeton, Toronto, U of Illinois, San Francisco Tape Center, etc.
L: Pierre Schaeffer/Pierre Henry: Symphonie pour un homme seul. (1955)
L: Hugh Le Caine: Dripsody (1955)
L: Luciano Berio: Thema (Ommagio a Joyce) (1958)
L: Karlheinz Stockhausen: Gesang der Jnglinge (1957-8)
L: Vladimir Ussachevsky: Wireless Fantasy (1960)
L: Edgar Varse: Pome lectronique (1958)
04: Indeterminism and Deep
Listening — 9/29, 10/01
R: John Cage: Silence, pp. 35-40
R: John Cage: Introduction to Themes and Variations, Audio Culture, pp. 221-225
R: Pauline Oliveros: Some Sound Observations, Software for People, pp. 17-27
L: John Cage: 4:33 (1952)
L: John Cage: Imaginary Landscapes #4 (1952)
L: Morton Feldman: Durations II (1960)
L: Pauline Oliveros: Bye Bye Butterfly (1965)
L: Pauline Oliveros: Sonic Meditations (1974)
TUES 9/29
Discussed Cage, Feldman, indeterminacy, the New York School, etc.
THURS 10/01
Discussed Deep Listening, Pauline Oliveros, etc.
05: Experimentalism and
Sound Art — 10/6, 10/8
R: Michael Nyman: Experimental Music, Chapters 3-6
R: John Cage: Silence, pp. 3-18
R: Morton Feldman: A Compositional Problem, Give My Regards to Eighth Street (pp. 109-111)
R: Alan Licht, Sound Art (scan the book)
L: Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories (1981)
L: Cornelius Cardew: Treatise (1963-67)
L: Gordon Mumma: Hornpipe (1967)
L: Alvin Lucier: I Am Sitting in a Room (1969)
L: David Tudor: Rainforest (1968/73)
TUES 10/06
Discussed experimentalism in the UK, Cardew, AMM, Once, MEV, etc.
THURS 10/08
Discussed Lucier, Sonic Arts Union, Sound Art.
06: Modern/Free Jazz and
Improvisation — 10/13, 10/15
R: Ornette Coleman, Change of the Century Audio Culture, pp. 253-254
R: Derek Bailey, Free Improvisation, Audio Culture, pp. 255-265
R: Frederic Rzewski, Little Bands: A Nihilist Theory of Improvisation, Audio Culture, pp. 266-271
R: George Lewis, Improvised Music After 1950: Afrological and Eurological Perspectives, Audio Culture, pp. 272-284
L: Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz (1960)
L: Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music (1971)
L: Anthony Braxton/George Lewis: Donaueschingen (1976)
L: Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures (1966)
L: Art Ensemble of Chicago: Rarum (various dates)
TUES 10/13
***
Tues 10/13: Listening Test #3
L: John Cage Williams Mix, 4th episode, 1952
L: AMM (Eddie Prvost and John Tilbury) Track 3 from Norwich, 2005
L: Karlheinz Stockhausen, excerpt from Kontakte, 1958-60
L: Otto Luening & Vladimir Ussachevsky Incantation for Tape Recorder, 1953
L: John Cage Litany for the Whale, 1980
Discused Jazz, historical overview, bebop, free jazz, modern jazz, Ornette Coleman, George Lewis, Afrological vs Eurological approaches to music making, etc.
THURS 10/15
Charles Mingus, AACM and Chicago, Chicago Art Ensemble, Anthony Braxton, etc
07: Rock and Roll and the Recording
Studio — 10/20, 10/22
R: Richard Taruskin, Oxford History of Western Music, Vol 5, Chapter 66
L: Beatles, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
L: Beach Boys, God Only Knows, from Pet Sounds (1967)
L: Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here from Wish You Were Here (1974)
L: Bjrk, Vespertine (2001)
L: OOIOO, Gold and Green (2000)
TUES 10/20
Historical overview of rock & roll, the Beatles, studio as instrument, Phil Spector, etc.
THURS 10/22
Brian Wilson/Beach Boys, Smile, Bjrk, etc.
08: Minimalism and Post-Minimalism
— 10/27, 10/29
***
Tues 10/29: Listening Test #4 (take home)
R: Kyle Gann, American Music in the 20th Century, Chapter 8
R: Steve Reich, Music as a Gradual Process, Audio Culture, pp. 304-306
R: Wim Mertens. Basic Concepts of Minimal Music, Audio Culture, pp. 307-312
L: Phillip Glass: Music in Contrary Motion (1969)
L: Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint (1987)
L: Terry Riley: In C (1964)
L: Louis Andriessen: De Staat (1973-1976)
L: Meredith Monk: Dolmen Music
L: Michael Gordon; David Lang; Julia Wolfe: Bang On A Can : Lost Objects
L: Brian Eno: Music for Airports (1978)
TUES 10/20
Four Minimalists: Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Steve Reich, Philip Glass.
THURS 10/22
Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Meredith Monk
09: Hip Hop/Electronica
— 11/03, 11/05, 11/12
R: Ben Neill, Breakthrough Beats: Rhythm and the Aesthetics of
Contemporary Electronic Music, Audio
Culture
R: Philip Sherburne, Digital
Discipline: Minimalism in House and Techno, Audio Culture
V: Doug Pray, Scratch
L: Afrika Bambaataa: Electro funk breakdown
L: Public Enemy: "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"
L: The Roots: What they Do
L: Kraftwerk: Computer World (1981)
L: The Orb: Little Fluffy Clouds
L: Thomas Brinkmann: Klick
L: Autechre: Parhelic Triangle (from Confield (2001)
L: Vladislav Delay: Huone, from Multila (2001)
TUES 10/20
Film: Scratch, by Doug Pray
THURS 10/22
Film: Modulations, by Iara Lee
09: Hip Hop/Electronica
— 11/03, 11/05, 11/12
10: New Complexity &
Spectralism — 11/17, 11/19
R: Denis Smalley, Spectromorphology: Explaining Sound-shapes, Organised Sound 2:2 1997
R: Joshua Fineberg, Classical Music, Why Bother? Chapter 8
R:
R: James Tenney, Meta+Hodos (scan book)
L: Iannis Xenakis, Nomas Alpha (1966)
L: Brian Ferneyhough, Unity Capsule (1975-76)
L: Pierre Boulez, Rpons (1981-84)
L: Giacinto Scelsi: String Quartet #4 (1964)
L: Giacinto Scelsi: Phfat (1974)
L: Grard Grisey: Vortex Temporum (1995)
L: Tristan Murail: Territoires de loubli (1977)
L: Tristan Murail: Lesprit des dunes (1993-94)
11: Phonography and Acoustic
Ecology — 11/24, 11/26
***
Tues 11/24: Listening Test #5
R: Francisco Lopez, Profound Listening and Environmental Sound
Matter, Audio Culture
R: R. Murray Schafer, The Music of the Environment, Audio Culture
R: Hildegard Westerkamp, Linking Soundscape Composition and Acoustic Ecology, Organized Sound 7:1, 2002.
L: Francisco Lopez: La Selva (1998)
L: Hildegard Westerkamp: Gently Penetrating (1997)
L: David Dunn: Angels and Insects (1992)
L: Janet Cardiff: A Large Slow River (2001)
12: Sonic Improvisation and
Noise — 12/1, 12/3
R: TBA
L: Deep Listening Band
L: John Butcher
L: Trockeneis
L: Lou Reed: Metal Machine Music (1975)
L: Merzbow: Animal Magnetism (2003)
L: My Bloody Valentine: Loveless (1992)
L: Mouthus