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Spring 2010

Mondays 12.30 – 2.05 pm

Since the beginning of the 20th century, music theoreticians and practitioners alike have sought to broaden the understanding of what “music” means, and explore the world of sounds and noises hitherto relegated to the outside of the musical realm. An increasing attention has also been paid to the changing role of sound in modernity, and the importance of listening (as opposed to, or in addition to seeing) for our orientation in and understanding of the modern Western world. The course deals with these new developments in both theory and practice, and traces them throughout the 20th century, from the early experiments of the Futurists to the contemporary electronic music scene.      

Assignments:
Mid-term paper 3-5 pages (1500-2000 words)
Final paper 3-5 pages (1500-2000 words)

22. 2.
Introduction;  Early electronic instruments

1.3.
The Avant-Garde, and the Liberation of Sound

Luigi Russolo, The Art of Noises: Futurist Manifesto
Edgar Varèse, The Liberation of Sound
Henry Cowell, The Joys of Noise

8. 3.
John Cage and Experimental Music

John Cage, The Future of Music: Credo
Michael Nyman, Towards (a Definition of) Experimental Music

15. 3.
Musique Concrète

Pierre Schaeffer, Acousmatics

22. 3.
Electronic Music

Karlheinz Stockhausen, Electronic and Instrumental Music

29. 3.
Citation, Borrowing, Plunderphonics

John Oswald, Bettered by the Borrower: The Ethics of Musical Debt
Chris Cutler, Plunderphonia

5. 4. Easter Monday

12. 4.
Michael Bull and Les Back, “Introduction: Into Sound.” In The Auditory Culture Reader. Oxford and New York: Berg 2003, pp. 1-18.

19. 4.
Douglas Kahn, “The Sound of Music.” In Noise, Water, Meat: A History of Sound in the Arts. Cambridge, Mass. and London: The MIT Press 1999, pp. 101-122.

26. 4.
Jacques Attali, “Listening.” In Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press 1985, pp. 3-12.
Murray Schafer, “Open Ears.” In The Auditory Culture Reader, pp. 25-39.

3. 5.
Dear students,
I am sorry to inform you that I remain on a sick leave for the whole of this week. I hope to be back next week, please follow this web page and I’ll let you know as soon as I know myself.
Thank you for your understanding,
Tereza

Steven Feld, “A Rainforest Acoustemology.” In The Auditory Culture Reader, pp. 223-239.

10. 5.
Dear students,
I am awfully sorry but it turns out I have to remain on sick leave – doctor’s orders. For your final papers, I suggest you concentrate on one (or a combination) of the articles we haven’t had the chance to discuss in class (Attali, Murray Schafer, Feld, Hosokawa). The mid-term assignment stands: you write about a sound-oriented composition/performance/installation of your choice. If you have any questions or you want to run your paper topic(s) by me, please send me an email. I hope to be able to discuss your papers in person next week, I’ll let you know via this web page again. Good luck with writing and hope to see you soon!
Tereza

Fran Tonkiss, “Aural Postcards: Sound, Memory and the City.” In The Auditory Culture Reader, pp. 303-309.
Shuhei Hosokawa, “The Walkman Effect.” Popular Music 1984/4, pp. 165-180.


Dear students,
I am finally back! If you want to discuss your papers, I’ll be in my office today (Monday, May 17) at the usual time of the class (12.30), and on Thursday at 12.30. Tereza