Course Descriptions

Music

MUS 101: , MUS 102 Introduction to Music I, II (1)
These courses equip students to listen to, understand, and discuss music from the Western tradition and around the world. Selected works and traditions are considered from a variety of analytical, historical and cultural perspectives. For MUS 101, the repertoire is drawn from the middle ages through the early 19th century. For MUS 102, the repertoire is drawn from the 20th and 21st centuries. An optional unit introducing musical fundamentals (pitch, rhythm, harmony, form, notation, and instrumentation) is available for students without prior experience.ARTSSDay-O'Connell

MUS 112: Music in the Western Tradition (1)
A survey of Western music with particular emphasis on developing listening skills and vocabulary. Works studied include examples of mass, symphony, string quartet, opera, chamber music and song. Students are required to attend musical performances. Listening assignments give students increased musical understanding, which is demonstrated through written reports and acquisition of musical vocabulary. HUMBPolay

MUS 140: The Art of Rock & Roll (1)
A chronological survey of American popular music styles that led to the development of rock 'n' roll, beginning with the blues styles of the late 1800s. Historical, social, cultural, and aesthetic issues are explored.Staff

MUS 145: Music Theory I (1)
Begins a three-course introduction to tonal harmony. MUS 145 will emphasize the foundational concepts and terminology of music theory, in particular those pertaining to note, interval, scale, chord, texture, counterpoint, phrase, and cadence. Work will include analysis and composition, as well as general musicianship training (i.e., sight-singing, transcription, and basic keyboard skills). ARTSJDay-O'Connell

MUS 180: Applied Music: Group Performance (1/2)
Performance for one year in one of the faculty-supervised performing groups. Participation in all rehearsals and public performances is required for credit. Register in the final term in which the requirements for credit are to be completed. Staff

MUS 180A: Knox College Choir (1/2)
LLane

MUS 180B: Knox-Galesburg Symphony (1/2)
BPolay

MUS 180C: Knox College Chamber Singers (1/2)
LLane

MUS 180D: Knox College Jazz Ensemble (1/2)
NMalley

MUS 180E: Knox-Sandburg Community Band (1/2)
LFilzen Etzel

MUS 180F: Knox College String Ensemble (1/2)
CSuda

MUS 180G: Combos (1/2)
NMalley

MUS 180H: Galesburg Community Chorus (1/2)
TPahel

MUS 180I: Small Ensembles (1/2)
Staff

MUS 180J: Umoja Community Gospel Choir (1/2)
JDixon

MUS 180K: Women's Chorale (1/2)
Staff

MUS 180L: Men's Ensemble (1/2)
GLewis

MUS 180M: Chamber Ensemble (1/2)
DGodsil

MUS 181: Applied Music (.0 or 1/2)
Private instruction at an elementary level in piano, organ, most stringed and wind instruments, and voice. No single set of lessons may be taken for more than 1.5 credits at the 100 level.Staff

MUS 181A: Bassoon (.0 or 1/2)
Staff

MUS 181B: Cello (.0 or 1/2)
CSuda

MUS 181C: Clarinet (.0 or 1/2)
JMarasa

MUS 181D: Double Bass (.0 or 1/2)
GFowler

MUS 181E: Flute (.0 or 1/2)
DCooksey

MUS 181F: Classical Guitar (.0 or 1/2)
RPobanz

MUS 181G: Harpsichord (.0 or 1/2)
AClark

MUS 181H: French Horn (.0 or 1/2)
SFilzen

MUS 181I: Oboe (.0 or 1/2)
SFaust

MUS 181J: Organ (.0 or 1/2)
AClark

MUS 181K: Percussion (.0 or 1/2)
BZeglis

MUS 181L: Classical Piano (.0 or 1/2)
AMack

MUS 181M: Saxophone (.0 or 1/2)
KMalley

MUS 181N: Trombone (.0 or 1/2)
JMindeman

MUS 181O: Trumpet (.0 or 1/2)
DHoffman

MUS 181P: Tuba (.0 or 1/2)
DPetrie

MUS 181Q: Viola (.0 or 1/2)
MComiskey

MUS 181R: Violin (.0 or 1/2)
LPolay

MUS 181S: Voice (.0 or 1/2)
LLane

MUS 181SS: Jazz Voice (.0 or 1/2)
SMcCord

MUS 181T: Jazz Guitar (.0 or 1/2)
JMiller

MUS 181U: Jazz Piano (.0 or 1/2)
KHart

MUS 181UU: Jazz Composition (.0 or 1/2)
DHoffman

MUS 181V: Euphonium (.0 or 1/2)
DPetrie

MUS 181W: Jazz Percussion (.0 or 1/2)
KHart

MUS 181X: Jazz Saxophone (.0 or 1/2)
KMalley

MUS 181Z: Jazz Bass (.0 or 1/2)
ACrawford

MUS 181ZZ: Jazz Improvisation (.0 or 1/2)
DHoffman

MUS 182: Voice Class (1/2)
Class instruction in singing. Basic techniques, skills and vocal literature. This course is particularly for those who have musical ability but little or no previous vocal instruction. AMeuth

MUS 201: Music in the Elementary Schools (1)
Students are introduced to practical teaching techniques for use in the elementary/general school classroom. In addition to learning to establish an appropriate learning environment, students will also become familiar with necessary materials currently used by successful elementary/general music teachers. Field and clinical experiences are required. PFox

MUS 210: Jazz History (1)
This course broadens students' knowledge of the spectrum of recorded jazz with a heavy emphasis on listening, primary source readings, speaking, and critical writing. The course examines the basic musical elements that define jazz as a unique musical idiom by examining stylistic periods, major innovators, performers and composers, issues of improvisation, and musical practices. Primary source readings contextualize music through discussions of the complex relationships between jazz, ethnicity, gender economics, politics and social history.HUMNMalley

MUS 220: Opera Workshop (1)
This course focuses on the vocal and dramatic techniques required to perform opera, with some exploration of technical aspects of opera production. Each student is cast in at least one scene from an opera, appropriate for his/her voice, and is responsible for at least one aspect of production. The course culminates in a public performance of scenes from opera. ARTSSMoran

MUS 230: Case Studies in Musics of the World (1)
This course broadens students' knowledge of non-Western musics. Heavy emphasis on listening, speaking, and writing critically. Through case studies from regions around the world, we examine musical sound, production, and consumption, and investigate the role music plays in culture, as it is incorporated into family, community, religion, Diaspora, politics, ritual, and aesthetic experience. HUMNMalley

MUS 245: Music Theory II (1)
A continuation of MUS 145, with an emphasis on music of the Classic Era and on techniques related to diatonic modulation. Work will culminate in an original composition in the style of Mozart or Haydn.JDay-O'Connell

MUS 246: Music Theory III (1)
A continuation of MUS 245, with an emphasis on music of the Romantic Era and on chromatic materials. Work will culminate in an original composition in the style of Chopin or Schubert.JDay-O'Connell

MUS 248: Teaching Assistant (1/2 or 1)
Staff

MUS 251: Music of the United States (1)
The course provides a survey of both cultivated and vernacular music composed in the United States from colonial times to the present, and addresses the influences of western European style on this country's musical heritage--including the impact and assimilation of African American culture and women composers. BPolay

MUS 254: Music of the African Diaspora (1)
This course examines the transmission of music from Africa throughout Europe, South America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. We examine the ways in which African musical systems have traveled, changed, and incorporated new sounds, how the African experience differs around the globe and how displaced communities share core social processes and characteristics. Students examine the concept of blackness as a broad and heterogeneous set of qualities that extend beyond the boundaries of Africanism and African-Americanism. Music studied includes West, North and South Africa, Reggae, Jazz, Blues, Afro-Cuban Santeria, Samba, Candomble, Copeira, Merengue, and World Beat. NMalley

MUS 257: Songwriting Workshop (1)
What makes a great song? This class provides a practical approach to addressing this question while posing the question: "How did some of the greatest 20th century American tunesmiths create songs that continue to endear us today?"BPolay

MUS 260: Topics and Methods in Ethnomusicology (1)
Ethnomusicology can be defined as the study of music outside the Western classical tradition, or as the study of music as cultural practice. Our modes of ethnomusicological inquiry may include structural functionalism, paradigmatic structuralism, Marxist explanations, literary and dramaturgical theories, performance theory, gender and identity issues, and postcolonial and global issues.SDay-O'Connell

MUS 295: Special Topics (1/2 or 1)
Courses offered occasionally to students in special areas of Music not covered in the usual curriculum.Staff

MUS 300: , A-Z Applied Music (.0 or 1/2)
Private instruction at an advanced level in voice, piano, organ and most stringed and wind instruments. For full list of instruments, see MUS 181. (MUS 300LL Rock/Pop Piano is available at the 300-level but not at the 100-level. Piano proficiency is required for MUS 300LL) Public performance is required. ARTSStaff

MUS 300SS: Jazz Voice (.0 or 1/2)
ARTSStaff

MUS 303: Composition (1)
The fundamental issues of music composition and practice. Short instrumental and/or vocal compositions are analyzed and created.BPolay

MUS 306: Orchestration (1)
Principles of scoring for instrumental combinations leading to works for full orchestra. BPolay

MUS 307: Instrumental Teaching Techniques I (1)
This is the first of a sequential, two-term course that is dedicated to the preparation of successful teachers of scholastic instrumental music. Topics to be covered will include recruiting, scheduling, curriculum development, methods and materials, selecting literature, and running effective rehearsals. Emphasis will be placed on developing proper playing techniques and pedagogy for brass and percussion instruments. Some clinical observation experiences will be required.DPetrie

MUS 308: Instrumental Teaching Techniques II (1)
Continuing the format of MUS 307, this course will address the organizational and administrative aspects of teaching instrumental music. Emphasis will be placed on developing proper playing techniques and pedagogy for woodwind and stringed instruments. Some clinical observation experiences will be required. DPetrie

MUS 309: Secondary School Choral Methods (1)
This course will identify objectives, problems, and methods of teaching vocal music in the schools. Students will acquire functional knowledge of fretted and classroom instruments; methods of teaching singing, rhythmic, and listening activities; the changing voice; and beginning and intermediate choral techniques. Directed observation in elementary and secondary schools required. CKellert-Griffiths

MUS 310: Vocal Pedagogy (1/2 or 1)
Includes methods of teaching voice, concentrating on posture, breath management, vowel clarity and placement, legato singing, diction, and developing good choral tone. Students sing for and teach each other. Course will normally be offered for 1 credit, but in exceptional circumstances can be taken for two terms at .5 credit each. SMoran

MUS 311: Fundamentals of Conducting (1)
A study of basic conducting techniques, including conducting patterns, beat styles, attacks and releases as they apply to a variety of musical phrases and shorter pieces of music. DPetrie

MUS 312: Intermediate Instrumental Conducting (Independent Study) (1)
The rudiments of conducting, concentrating on baton techniques, but including preparation of scores, rehearsal principles, and interpretation. BPolay

MUS 313: Intermediate Choral Conducting (1)
Students continue to develop their conducting technique, both with and without the baton. Students study score preparation and rehearsal techniques, with a focus on choral literature.LLane

MUS 322: Seminar in 18th Century Music (1)
This course considers musical culture of 18th century Europe. Our texts will include musical scores and recordings; treatments of music in contemporary criticism, journals, letters, and reviews; and present-day scholarship. Foci vary from year to year. SDay-O'Connell

MUS 324: Seminar in 20th Century Music (1)
This course examines the development of musical styles in the 20th and 21st centuries in relation to a variety of aesthetic, social and compositional concerns. Coursework includes score study, analysis and listening, readings in literary theory and the visual arts, and readings from current musicological scholarship. NMalley

MUS 345: Form and Analysis (1)
This course examines, from both historical and critical points of view, some basic problems and techniques of musical structure as manifest in European art music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. BPolay

MUS 346: Contemporary Tonal Harmony (1)
This course examines harmonic and compositional procedures in tonal works from the 20th century. Included for study are works representing a wide variety of styles including that of Debussy, Delius, Ravel, Satie, Griffes, Scriabin, Bartok, Glass, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, and Ginastera. BPolay

MUS 348: Teaching Assistant (1/2 or 1)
Staff

MUS 361: Music of the Renaissance and Baroque Eras (1)
This course examines the music, composers and compositional styles of European music written between 1450 and 1750. Course work includes reading, listening, score study and discussion.LLane

MUS 363: Music of the 19th Century (1)
This course surveys 19th century composers from Beethoven to Mahler by examining symphonies, concertos, lieder, chamber music, piano music and opera.BPolay

MUS 395: Special Topics (1/2 or 1)
Courses offered occasionally to students in special areas of Music not covered in the usual curriculum.Staff

MUS 399: A-D Senior Capstone in A. Music Theory; B. Musicology; C. Performance; D. Composition (1/2 or 1)
Independent study in one of the above areas with a faculty mentor. The capstone will be designed and agreed upon by the student and instructor according to the student's particular needs and interests. The capstone experience could include projects such as: A one-hour lecture/recital, a one-hour senior recital; a significant composition; or a major research paper.Staff

MUS 400: Advanced Studies (1/2 or 1)
See College Honors Program. Staff