Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
MUS 380
SENIOR SEMINAR IN MUSIC
Approved by Department: November 4, 2003
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Readings and discussions of music as a component of contemporary society, with particular reference to the
complimentary roles of the composer, performer, consumer and critic.
Two semester hours
COURSE OBJECTIVE
The Pro-seminar in Music affords an opportunity for the student of music to review and summarize the student’s
varied experiences in the study of music so as to increase the student’s intellectual perspective and conceptual
development.
COURSE OUTLINE, CONTENT AND PROCEDURES
The course consists of fifteen two-hour periods. Each period is devoted to an introductory lecture by the instructor,
two or more student critiques and discussion and summary of topics included in the session. The content is derived
from topics of interest and value to the students which they explore through readings, music listening and discussion.
Among the principal topics included are:
1. Contemporary American cultural setting
a. Unlimited availability of music
b. The role of the machine in reproducing music
c. Historical cultural tendencies
2. Music in the American socio-economic system
a. Changing status of art and artists
b. Legislation and live music
c. Federal aid for the arts
3. Problems of transmitting the musical heritage
a. Relative merits of music performance and academic
study of music
b. The status of public performance
c. New centers for music and art
4.
ASSESSMENT
Advantages and disadvantages of the democratic system in
fostering musical development
a. The function of popular forms of music
b. Serious musical compositions
Assessment of each student’s level of accomplishment with reference to the course objectives will be based upon the
following:
1. Define and discuss compositional forms, techniques, styles, and genres of the Ancient World through
the twentieth century as learned in previous course work
2. Identify (from the printed page and from recorded examples) stylistic characteristics and compositional
techniques associated with specific schools of composition, or composers, or both from the Ancient
World through the twentieth century as learned in previous course work
3. Demonstrate and explain the principals of music theory, as learned in previous course work
4. State, describe, explain, and summarize an understanding of the study of music through the
comprehensive examination in music
TEXTBOOKS
Barzun, Jacques. Music in American Life. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1956.
Sessions, Roger. The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener. New York: Atheneum Press, 1962 and
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950.
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
Blacking, John. Music Culture and Experience. University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Chase, Gilbert, ed. The American Composer Speaks. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966.
Copland, Aaron. Music and Imagination. New York: The American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1959.
Ferris, Jean. America's Musical Landscape, 2nd ed. Brown and Benchmark, 1993.
Grabbard, Krin. Jammin’ At The Margins. University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Harrison, Frank, et al. Music in the Life of Man. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963.
Hindemith, Paul. A Composer's World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1953.
Jeans, Sir James. Science and Music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961.
Kaplan, Max. Foundations and Frontiers of Music Education. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1966.
Kolodin, Irving. The Continuity of Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopt, 1969.
Koshgarian, Richard. American Orchestral Music: A Performance Catalog. Scarecrow
Press, 1992.
Lang, Paul Henry, ed. Problems in Modern Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc.1960.
Lawrence, Vera Brodsky. Strong On Music. University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Meyer, Leonard B. Emotion and Meaning in Music. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1956.
Portnoy, Julius. Music in the Life of Man. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1963.
Reimer, Bennett. A Philosophy of Music Education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970.
School, Sharon and Sylvia White. Music and the Culture of Man. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,
1970.
Williams, Ralph Vaughan. The Making of Music. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1965.