2101
For our first analysis symposium, we will focus on a classic piece by Anton Webern: his 5 Movements for String Quartet. We will be looking specifically at movements 2 and 3.
Note for Spring 2021: This piece is not serial, so you do not need to incorporate this technique in your analysis.
Download the score from the readings folder.
Continue reading Week 5 (Feb 22): Analysis Symposium #1 (S21)This week you will learn about 12-tone serial techniques and the variety of ways this can be implemented. You’ll learn how to identify row forms, do a row count, make a matrix, and interpret serial pieces. You will also do a guided analysis of a piece by Ruth Crawford Seeger, “Prayers of Steel” from Three Songs.
Continue reading Week 4 (Feb 15): Serialism (S21)This week, you will learn about set theory and segmentation. You’ll analyze music using set theory, apply set theory terminology, and critique the usefulness of set theory.
Note: set theory ≠ serialism! We are learning serialism next week. Make sure you aren’t confusing these things!
Continue reading Week 3 (Feb 8): Set Theory (S21)This week, you’ll read about the most prominent theory of narrative in the field of music theory and analyze a piece with narrative theory.
Continue reading Week 2 (Feb 1): Narrative (S21)Postmodernism had a huge impact on academia in the humanities, of which music theory is a part. This week involves some philosophy as you learn about Roland Barthes’s essay “The Death of the Author.”
Continue reading Week 1 (Jan 25): Intertextuality (S21)