HUX 503 COURSE GUIDE:
HUMANITIES 503
DEFINING THE HUMANITIES: MUSIC
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Humanities External Degree Program
Course Guide Created by
Mr. Marshall Bialosky,
Professor of Music
Revised June 1995
This section taught by David Bradfield.
Dear Humanities 503 Student:
Congratulations! You have chosen to enroll in Humanities 503
at a particularly
interesting juncture in the course's history. Many of the materials
we have
been using in the "old" course have gone out of print or have become
difficult
to locate. In addition, since it has been many years since the course
was
devised, the administration of the program is interested in injecting
new life
and ideas into 503, and has requested a new look at the old
materials.
Although it claims to be an introduction to the philosophy of music,
the text is
written in the clearest everyday language, and far from being "lost"
in
philosophical abstractions, there are the most practical suggestions
for
perceiving, listening to, and thinking about music that at least one
teacher
has bumped into in a long time. In the second chapter, for example,
there are
no less than forty-eight (!) suggestions on how one might approach a
single
one-page minuet by Mozart.
From there we move on to a discussion of "time" in music and twelve
different
approaches to that subject. There are a great many "lists" in this
book, but it
does try to cover and synthesize a good deal of material and lists are
at least
one way to do it. Additional chapters follow on the classical and
romantic
tradition from the earliest times up to 1800, and the Romantic
"synthesis."
Another list, this time of romantic characteristics, is included. Then
one
chapter each on perception and values, follows. This is succeeded by
a brave
excursion into the music of India and Japan, most unusual for a book
of this
type. However, in view of our increasing involvement in Eastern
cultures, both
in commercial and artistic ways, I, for one, was very glad to see this
chapter.
The book ends with a long chapter on the very latest modern music,
creating the
final list of the book, sixteen "models" that offer some good clues to
the Nature
of much of today's contemporary music.
I believe this to one of the most important books about the
philosophy and
aesthetics of music to appear in a good while, and that it will make a
challenging but most valuable text for this course. It is filled to the
brim
with thought-provoking ideas about the nature of music, expression,
art, life,
philosophy, perception, and yet is written in an everyday way, even
with humor,
and I hope the students of Humanities 503 will find it as striking as I
did.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions about what you do not
understand.
Marshall Bialosky
Department of Music
COURSE
OBJECTIVES
- The purposes of this course are the following:
- to widen your knowledge of music and its vast literature;
- to ask the important questions about what it is you are hearing
when you
listen to music, how you perceive it, and what it might mean;
- to compare different principles of music writing, and hence
listening, that
prevailed in different periods of human history;
- to compare different civilizations' view of the purpose and intent
of music;
- to make some kind of rapprochement with the composers of
today who present
the musical public with problematical works.
BOOKS REQUIRED
"Thinking About Music," by Lewis Rowell. University of
Massachusetts Press.
Lewis Rowell is a professor at Indiana University and a teacher
of a course
there called "Music and Ideas," in which this text is used. It is almost
unusual
book in that it attempts to summarize under one cover an enormous
variety of
ideas about music coming from both ancient and modern
philosophers, musicians,
composers, aestheticians, and writers of poetry and literature.
ASSIGNMENTS
Each assignment is due in the instructor's mailbox during the week
indicated
below. Count Week I as the first week that classes begin and Week
XVI as the
week grades are turned in. Trimester dates are listed at the upper
left hand
corner of your registration form.
All papers must be typed, with footnotes and bibliographies
where
appropriate. Send in an extra copy, marked "For HUX Files," and
keep a
copy for yourself. Also, keep a copy of the title page of the paper
returned by
the instructor which contains your grade, comments, and date. Send
a
self-addressed, stamped (with adequate postage) envelope for the
return of each
assignment. If you do not fully understand the assignment or need
help,
telephone the instructor during office hours, or mail in your
questions.
ASSIGNMENT I (WRITTEN)
Due: Weeks 1-2
Length: 5 pages or less
Format:
- Read Chapters 1 and 2.
- Listen to Mozart's "Minuet" 1 (found on
your cassette
tape for the course)
- Apply two questions from each of the four sections Rowell lists
on
pages 9 through 19:
- questions on the thing itself,
- questions about the value of the piece,
- question about you, the listener (or observer), and
- questions about the context of the piece.
Your answers need not be long. The purpose of this is to expose you
to
questions from different points of view and loosen up your musical
mind and ear.
Don't worry if you cannot read a note of music. The score is just a
guide or map
to the music, but the piece is simple enough to understand by ear
alone.
ASSIGNMENT II (WRITTEN)
Due: Weeks 3-4
Length: 5 pages or less
Format:
- Read Chapter 3.
- Listen to Mozart's "String Quintet in D Major" 2
(found on your cassette tape for the course); a minuet from one of
the quintets
has been chosen to compare with the piano minuet. A copy of the
score is
included in your course materials.
- Apply what you have learned to a longer and more
complicated minuet,
using the questions from each of the four lists you now find the most
relevant to
the music and your experience of it. In addition, you might apply to
the new
minuet some of the twelve questions about "time," found in the third
chapter.
ASSIGNMENT III
Due: Week 5
Format:
- Read Chapter 4.
- (This may be submitted for extra credit; it is not mandatory.)
Make an
outline of the main points associated with the classic approach in the
arts
(the Apollonian) and the romantic approach (the Dionysian). Does
any of this
apply to the Mozart minuets?
ASSIGNMENT IV
Due: Week 6
Format:
- Read Chapter 5.
- (This may be submitted for extra credit; it is not mandatory.)
Make
an outline of the main points of the chapter. Try to form a list of the
various
myths associated with music and its mythical powers.
ASSIGNMENT V
Due: Week 7
Format:
- Read Chapter 6 (a highly condensed summary of a great
many ideas about
music from ancient times up to the year 1800).
- Read page 114 (and also pages 175-179, 182-188, for some
additional
help).
- Listen to the first movement of Beethoven's "Eighth
Symphony" (several
times, preferably).
ASSIGNMENT VI (WRITTEN)
Due: Week 8
Length: 2 to 3 pages; more welcomed, if so inspired
Format:
- Read Chapter 7 (the romantic synthesis). Beethoven is
thought, by many
commentators, to be both the end of the Classic period and the
beginning of the
Romantic period as well, although not all music historians agree on
this point.
- Comment on the first movement of Beethoven's "Eighth
Symphony", trying
to find both classic and romantic elements in it as defined in your
book. If
you can justify it in the music, you may deny that it has elements of
both, and
that it is representative of one spirit or the other exclusively. The
list of
romantic qualities on pages 117-119 should be particularly helpful
in reaching
your decisions about the romantic and classic elements in this
music.
ASSIGNMENT VII (WRITTEN)
Due: Week 9
Length: no more than 5 pages
Format:
- Read Chapters 8 and 9; these are two of the richest (and most
difficult)
chapters in the book.
- It is recommended that you try to apply some of the romantic
values of
the preceding chapter, allied to whatever you can get out of the
chapters eight
or nine, to a more clearly defined "romantic" work, such as one of the
longer
piano works of Robert Schumann. Particularly recommended would
be any one of
the following: "Symphonic Etudes," "Davidsbundlertanze,"
"Kreisleriana,"
"Carnaval," or "Fantasy in C," perhaps even the "Scenes from
Childhood." Try to
apply the concepts from pages 117 to 119 again, but now adding
some of the ideas
of chapters 8 and 9 about perceptions and values. This will also give
you some
experience in another major area of music history, the Romantic
Period.
ASSIGNMENT VIII
Due: Week 10
Format:
- Read the chapter on music of India and Japan.
- (This may be submitted for extra credit; it is not mandatory.)
For
your own benefit, draw up a list of qualities found in this music that
contrast
most clearly with western music as you have experienced it.
ASSIGNMENT IX
Due: Week 11 until the end of the semester
Format:
- Read and try to assimilate the particularly rich final chapter
of the
book, which attempts to wrestle with the many enigmas of the
modern period in
an unusually thoughtful manner.
- As your final assignment, you may choose one of two
projects:
- Continue your development as listener and try to
discuss any
one of the works cited on pages 237-241, music by the "newer
composers," or one
work by the "old" new masters cited in the first five lines of page
246 in the
first paragraph. (You'll have to get the records yourself for this
assignment.)
- If, however, you would prefer instead to gather your notes
and outlines
together, you may write a book review of the entire work, "Thinking
About Music."
A guideline on book reviews, written by the History Department of
CSU Dominguez
Hills, is included in your packet of materials for the
course.
So, to summarize your assignments, you are:
- writing about the little minuet in the textbook,
applying
selected ideas of the author taken from pages 9-19; Two ideas from
each of the
four section are recommended, but you can do more if you wish;
- comparing the "Minuet" in the book with a longer and more
complete Minuet,
the one from Mozart's D Major String Quintet; this last one is not
truncated and
has a trio section in it;
- listening to the first movement of Beethoven's "Eighth
Symphony" and writing
a paper on it, trying to determine if there are both Classic and
Romantic
elements to the music;
- writing a small paper on one of Schumann's large piano works,
seeking to
isolate purely Romantic ideas in it, especially as compared to Mozart
and
Beethoven.
- discussing, as best you can, one of the "new" pieces of music
covered in
your textbook on pages 237-241, or a piece by the established
modern masters
listed on page 246 in the first paragraph. Any of their larger works
will do.
As an alternative to that you may choose to do a book review of
"Thinking About
Music."
ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
No doubt some, or all of you, will want to consult other books about
music along
the way. "Thinking About Music" may presume some prior
knowledge or experience
that the class may not have. Therefore, we are listing some other
sources,
histories of music and the like, that may be of some assistance to
you. This
bibliography is arranged to show you where to go to start your own
bibliography
for any specific topic.
General Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
These are useful for a preview of a topic and as a starting point in
developing
a bibliography.
Baker, Theodore. "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of
Musicians."
Edited by Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: G. Schirmer, 1958. Persons
associated
with music, although not musicians, are also included with
composers, performers,
etc.
Apel, Willi. "Harvard Dictionary of Music." 2nd ed.
Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1969. A resource for terminology, but also includes
some
master articles on more general topics, e.g., "History of Music."
Grove, Sir George, (ed.). "Grove's Dictionary of Music and
Musicians." A
multi-volume work with articles on personalities and general topics.
A more
recent, completely new editions of this, edited by Stanley Sadie, has
come out
in the last few years.
General Music Histories and Major Music History
Series
The following is an excellent source for bibliography on subjects
connected with
music history:
Grout, Donald. "A History of Western Music."
Rev. ed. New York: W. W.
Norton, 1973. This contains an excellent annotated bibliography
arranged by
chapter and thus by historical period in chronological
order.
There are three major series of multi-volume music history books.
Each of these
contain more detailed information than the general histories because
more space
and time is devoted to each historical era. In many instances these
books may
contain sufficient information to satisfy your needs and if you care to
look
further, they also contain bibliographies.
- "The New Oxford History of Music." London, New York:
Oxford University Press,
1954. Each volume is a composite work written by several scholars
and edited
by a specialist in the field.
- W.W. Norton, a New York publisher, has a well established series
of individual
volumes, one per major style period with a separate, single author.
They are
"Music in the Middle Ages" and "Music in the Renaissance,"
both by Gustav
Reese (dull but great detail and bibliography); "Music in the
Baroque Era,"
by Manfred Bukofzer; "Music in the Romantic Era," by Alfred
Einstein;
"Music in the Twentieth Century," by William W. Austin; and,
"The Music
of Black Americans," by Eileen Southern. They also publish a
number of
other high quality music theory and history texts.
- The Prentice-Hall "History of Music Series," edited by H. Wiley
Hitchcock.
Once more a volume per major style period in Western
European music, but
also three on less traditional subjects. They are "Folk and Traditional
Music
of the Western Continents," by Bruno Nettl; "Music Culture of the
Pacific, the
Near East, and Asia," by William P. Malm; and "Music in the United
States," by
H. Wiley Hitchcock. Each volume has the listing of the entire series
on the back
cover. Each volume also has a brief annotated bibliography at the
end of each
chapter.
Introductory Music Books
These introductory music books are often the best source of brief
analyses of
well-known musical works, e.g., a Beethoven Symphony, a Mozart
Concerto, etc.
The quickest way to find out if a particular work is included in a
book is to
check the index of the musical Illustrations, if one is included.
Otherwise,
refer to the index or table of contents. These books are far too
numerous to
list, but once you find one in the library, the others will be similarly
catalogued and close at hand. Simply look under Music: analysis,
appreciation
in the subject index catalogue.
Music Journals
Most popular articles will probably be too technical to be useful to
you, but
they are still the best way to get very detailed information on small
specific
topics. Most journal references will be abbreviated in bibliographical
references. The ones you're most likely to use are:
JAMS - "Journal of the American Musicological
Society"; One of the best
and most scholarly journals of musicology.
MQ - "Musical Quarterly"; This periodical is basically scholarly,
but
somewhat more accessible than JAMS. It is also a good source of
bibliography.
ML - "Music and Letters"; A scholarly publication which might
occasionally
be quite useful to you.
Suggestions for Writing a "Critical"
Book
Review - by Frank Stricker
- 3 to 5 pages, double-spaced, typed, no folders
. Full title,
author, publisher,
publication place and date should be given on separate sheet or at
the top of
p. 1.
- You should summarize what the book is about, and in
particular the
writer's arguments, main theses, points of views, etc
. (See Auld's
paper on
reviewing a particular book.) This summary can be taken care of in
a few
paragraphs or at most a page. If you spend most of your review
summarizing the
book, you have done the assignment incorrectly. The bulk of the
review must be a
discussion and evaluation of the author's points.
- Learn what argument or tendency your writer is in favor of
and which one/ones
he/she is arguing against
. Most authors are aware of a
community of
interpretations into which their work fits and they indicate in their
work with
whom they agree and disagree. Being attentive to this will help you
get a line
on your author's point of view and it will help you evaluate your
author's
contribution.
- Indicate whether the author has a discernible bias, political,
academic, or
other
. This bias may or may not influence the way he/she
handles the evidence.
Even apparently "objective" workshave some bias or point of view.
Even an
apparently impartial middle-of-the-roadism can be a bias if it
functions as an
apology for whatever happened, for things as they are.
- Internal contradictions
. Some authors contradict
themselves. An argument in
Chapter 5 contradicts one in Chapter 1. In fact, it is a safe bet that
every
author does this at some point. To get at these kinds of things you
have to
take careful notes on the book unless you have a perfect memory.
Also, it is
not valuable to emphasize trivial contradictions or errors unless
there are so
many they destroy the whole book or the author's credibility.
- Is the author's evidence from apparently reliable sources?
This judgment
involves knowledge and background and you may not always have
enough, but use
what knowledge and common sense you have. Thus, Hitler's "Mein
Kampf" is not a
good source for an objective history of the Jews; the memoir of a
Jewish peddler
in eastern Europe would probably be a good source. Or, to take
another example:
for opposite reasons, the publications of neither the Soviet nor the
U.S.
Government can be used uncritically to determine levels of Soviet
defense
spending.
- Do the judgments and interpretations flow from the
evidence?
Can you draw
conclusions from the evidence that are different from your author's
and should
the author have discussed those alternatives? Do the final
conclusions of the
book flow from the evidence? Do they make sense in light of all the
information
in the book? Can you, for example, imagine alternative conclusions
that fit the
information just as well?
- Does the author make sense - good old common sense?
Do
you get the feeling that
the author is playing fast and loose with the evidence? with his
arguments? with
your feelings?
- Throughout your review you are looking not only for
information, but
explanations, interpretations, causes, relationships, etc.
- Should the writer have done something else to have answered
his or her central
questions?
This is tricky. Generally avoid concluding that the
author should
have written a different book. But you can suggest that the author
cannot answer
the questions posed in the way he approaches it. You can also
suggest that the
author's questions and answers are not significant, that they are
trivial and
relatively unimportant. (A book on the history of Lincoln's beard
would be an
extreme example.) You can suggest that the author ignores the most
important
questions and issues his or her topic raises.
- Include your opinions.
Has the book changed them in
some way? If it hasn't,
perhaps you've come across that rare work which confirms
everything you believe.
If so, you should go back and take another look to be sure you aren't
being too
favorable because you agree with the author.
- I have emphasized the negative aspects of the review.
Be
aware that criticism
is both negative and positive. If an author does something especially
well or
enlightens you in some way, note that. Criticism is evaluation, both
negative
and positive.
- A critical review is not a research paper
, but it is not
against the law for
reviewers to do a little research to check an author's information or
discover
what other authors have said on the same problem.
- It is against the law to plagiarize another's work
, i.e.
to
take material from another work without acknowledging the source.
If you use
other material, whether or not you quote it directly or put it in your
own words,
indicate the source in foot/endnotes or in parentheses.
Use these suggestions flexibly. There is no shortcut to learning how
to write
good reviews. It takes much practice and experience. Above all, try
to enjoy
and learn from the book you are reading.
Footnotes:
1
This version is truncated because there is no trio section to go along
with it.
A trio is not three other musicians, but simply another section used
to contrast
with the minuet, after which the minuet is returned to for a second
time, only
now without the repeats. "Repeat" signs in music are indicated by
those darkened
barlines with the two dots in front of them. See measures 16 and 44.
That
simply means, "play this section over again exactly as it was before."
Composers
in the 20th century rarely use this device, as they seem to prefer
giving the
listener something new all the time, although even so modern a
composer as Anton
Webern, one of Schoenberg's leading pupils, and a composer of
enormous
significance in the years immediately following World War II, used
them in
several (but not all) of his pieces. Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven
used the
repeat sign all the time.
2
Most serious students of Mozart's chamber music seem to feel he
reached his
greatest heights in his string quintets.
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Copyright © 1995 ABT-California State University, Dominguez
Hills.
- Course Guide Design, Layout by Anissa
Barton-Thompso
- Last Update: Jan 20, 1997 by David Bradfield.
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