PFA211 Survey of Western Music

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Designed for non-Music/Performing Arts majors, this course provides a wide variety of musical styles and stylistic periods. The emphasis is on perceptive listening along with expository readings. The basic concepts of music such as melody, harmony, rhythm, counterpoint, and form are studied through investigation of the historical and contemporary masterpieces of the Western classical tradition and of various “popular” traditions. The different styles and types of music are considered not only in light of the cultural values they embody, but also in relation to present-day cultural and musical values.