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An overview of Western music history from Medieval times to the present day, including the development of music notation systems, instruments, performance techniques, basic musical structures and genres, and the growth of the "music industry".
The discipline of musicology explores the role of music in history, society, and culture. At its broadest, it includes all genres of music, and includes varied approaches to history, as well as exploring intersection of music and other topics (such as social and political change, revolution, and colonisation).This course provides an introduction to a series of topics in music history, and an overview of the music of different historical periods. It focuses on western cultures but also ventures into other traditions. It includes a study of the history of music notation, instruments, performance techniques, genre development, and the growth of the "music industry".The course takes the approach of a theme-based overview of socio-cultural topics in music history. It provides the foundation knowledge and skills that are further developed in the second and third-year music history, world music, and popular music studies, and is a foundation and prerequisite course for 200-level MUSA history courses (MUSA231, 232, 233 and 244).Course ContentMusic: Organised Sound? The Labelling ProblemNotating Music: From Petrucci to pdfThe Invention of Polyphony: Early Organum and Notre DameOrganum to Autotune: The Voice and the Word in MusicMusic and Theatre, Music with Images: Euridice to YouTubePaying the Piper: Muses and Markets, Patrons to Pop MusicAuthenticity, the Personal Voice, and Ownership: Robert Johnson, Jordi Savall and Thom YorkeThe Virtuoso: Performance and Display – Paganini, Hendrix, and BeyondAvant-Gardes: From Ars Nova to DarmstadtRecording, from Cylinders to Samples: Mr Edison to Missy ElliottTelling Tales: Making Music Histories
Students who pass this course will* be able to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of important historic milestones and developments in Western music including the history of music notation, musical virtuosity, development of instruments and performance techniques, musical structures, music genres, authenticity and ownership of music, music with story and image, recording of music, digitisation of music and the music industry;* have developed literacy and tertiary study skills;* have acquired fundamental music research techniques including use of music libraries and on-line data bases.
Francis Yapp
James Gardner
All Assessments are due at 9 am on the specified date. You should submit a hard copy to the assignment drop-box in the School of Music foyer.
The following shows how to translate grades to numerical scores:A+ 90–100; A 85–89; A- 80–84; B+ 75–79; B 70–74; B- 65–69; C+ 60–64; C 55–59; C- 50–54; D 40–49; E 0–39In a course at 100- or 200-level examiners may grant restricted credit (R) which will be equivalent to a pass for all purposes except as a prerequisite.
Domestic fee $748.00
International fee $3,388.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities .