Class Schedules

Focuses on listening to music and making sense of what we hear. Explores diverse musical styles and cultures with an emphasis on concert music of the western world, placing the music within cultural-historical frameworks.

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Fine arts

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In this course we explore theoretical concepts of diatonic music, including counterpoint, harmonic progression, and voice leading, always seeking answers to questions about how diatonic music works. Students will develop the ability to discuss and write about music in a sophisticated way. We will accomplish these tasks through written exercises, analysis, composition, and ear training. Specific topics covered include pitch, meter, intervals, scales, keys, triads, seventh chords, diatonic modes, figured bass, lead-sheet (chord) symbols, Roman numeral identification, part writing, cadences, basic harmonic function, sequence, phrases and periods, melody harmonization, non-chord tones, and basic principles of orchestration. Aural activities include sight singing, identification of pitch patterns, identification of scales, rhythmic dictation, rhythm reading, melodic dictation, harmonic dictation, identification of sonorities, identification of cadences, and contextual listening. Three lectures and one lab per week.

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Fine arts

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This course examines issues of race and ethnicity in the history and performance of music across world cultures. Students develop an awareness of how racial and ethnic processes are ingrained in the production and consumption of musical sound. Assignments include critical listening, reading, class discussion, and writing projects. Previous knowledge of musical instrument or notation is not assumed.

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Internationalism

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Fine arts

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Analysis of musical forms and musical development techniques with emphasis on music of the common practice period; advanced harmonic ear training. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 114 or permission of the instructor.

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Fine arts

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From E. M. Forster's Lucy Honeychurch, who "entered into a more solid world when she opened the piano," to James Baldwin's Sonny, who "moved in an atmosphere which wasn't like theirs at all," fictional musicians encounter trouble when negotiating the conflicting realms of art and society. Experts in one kind of expression, they fail in others. What draws these characters to music? What does it offer them? What is its value to us? In the musical novel and short story, we encounter music as an agent of violence, of consolation, of transcendence and redemption as well as damnation. We witness empathy through music, but we also learn that shared feeling can be both beautiful and dangerous, that music unites and divides. This course combines the close reading of literary texts (as well as works of literary theory and musicology) with the examination of the musical contexts that inform and inspire them. We will explore, for example, the relationship between Kazuo Ishiguro's novel The Unconsoled and Richard Wagner's music drama Parsifal. We will talk about syncopation in "jazz" by Charles Mingus and Toni Morrison. We will watch Marguerite Duras and Katherine Mansfield turn innocuous music lessons into spaces of wretchedness. We will try to understand what David Mitchell's young composer Robert Frobisher means when he says, "One writes music because winter is eternal and because, if one didn't, the wolves and blizzards would be at one's throat all the sooner."

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Writing WA

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Fine arts

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This course surveys traditional, folk, and pop genres from major musical traditions in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. We approach music as both aesthetic and social processes, and explore the relationship between music making and other domains of human experience. Students will develop basic skills in critical listening, analysis, and writing about music. Course readings and audiovisual examples are designed primarily for non-music majors or minors. Previous knowledge of musical instrument or notation is not required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

In this course we explore theoretical concepts of diatonic music, including counterpoint, harmonic progression, and voice leading, always seeking answers to questions about how diatonic music works. Students will develop the ability to discuss and write about music in a sophisticated way. We will accomplish these tasks through written exercises, analysis, composition, and ear training. Specific topics covered include pitch, meter, intervals, scales, keys, triads, seventh chords, diatonic modes, figured bass, lead-sheet (chord) symbols, Roman numeral identification, part writing, cadences, basic harmonic function, sequence, phrases and periods, melody harmonization, non-chord tones, and basic principles of orchestration. Aural activities include sight singing, identification of pitch patterns, identification of scales, rhythmic dictation, rhythm reading, melodic dictation, harmonic dictation, identification of sonorities, identification of cadences, and contextual listening. Three lectures and one lab per week.

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Fine arts

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This course traces the development of Western art music from its beginnings in the monophonic chant of early Christianity, through the development of polyphonic genres in the Renaissance (mass, motet, madrigal), to the emergence of opera in Italy around 1600 and the stylistic revolution that we now call the Baroque (including musical life in the extravagant court of Louis XIV in France and Johann Sebastian Bach's masterful synthesis of Baroque styles), to the sophisticated, multi-movement sonata structures of late 18th century Viennese classicism. Its central concerns are: (1) to understand the place of music in social and cultural life, (2) to gain an appreciation of the musical style and rhetoric that characterizes each of the periods we study, and (3) to develop students' abilities in communicating, in writing and the spoken word, what they have learned about this music and the culture in which it was produced. Course activities will take several forms, including lectures, musical analyses, and performances. Lectures will introduce key terms and concepts and will address broader concerns of cultural life (including composer biographies). In-class analysis and performance will lead to a more detailed understanding of key works. Examinations will test students' retention of course listening and lecture/discussion/reading material. Essays will give students the opportunity to delve deeper into critical and musical analysis, and to sharpen their prose, specifically with respect to writing about music. The course assumes no historical knowledge of the periods in question. However, basic skills in the analysis of music are necessary. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 113 or permission of instructor.

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Writing WA

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Fine arts

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Instruction in composition starting with exercises in motific and harmonic manipulation of materials, and leading to directed composition for available performers. Meetings will be as a group and as individuals. Composers will have at least two works performed on scheduled evening concerts. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 213 or permission of the instructor.

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Fine arts

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The Macalester Wind Ensemble performs music in a wide variety of styles, from as early as the 17th century to the classics of band literature, to music composed within the last few years. It is open without audition to wind and percussion students with at least high-school level performance skills.

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Study of traditional African music through performance modes of drumming, singing, flutes, marimba, gyil, and dancing. Instrumental and vocal pieces will be selected from a variety of musical styles such as unaccompanied vocal chants, songs, music from life cycle events, royal music and music for social and other festive occasions. The repertoire includes music from Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

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The Concert Choir is the advanced, select vocal ensemble of Macalester College, directed by Michael McGaghie. Members are held to an exceptional standard of musicianship and commitment. The choir draws its repertoire from music of the last six centuries and tours annually through the United States or abroad. The ensemble commissions and premieres at least one new work every year. Membership is open to all Macalester students by audition. Three 90-minute rehearsals per week.

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The Chorale is the large choral ensemble of Macalester College, directed by Michael McGaghie. The choir's repertoire includes a cappella and accompanied music from various Western and non-Western vocal traditions. The Chorale and Concert Choir combine annually to perform a major work with orchestra. Membership is open to all Macalester students by audition. Two 90-minute rehearsals per week.

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The Macalester Asian Music Ensemble performs traditional and modern music from East and Central Asia. Core instruments include a variety of plucked lutes and zithers, bowed fiddles, bamboo/reed flutes, hammered dulcimer, and percussion from Chinese music and traditions across the Silk Road.

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Jazz and Popular Music Combos are open to all who wish to concentrate on repertoire, improvisation and original music. Students will focus on developing their composition and performance skills while exploring many different styles of contemporary music. The combos present two concerts each year.

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Bagpipe and highland drum lessons are available free of charge to all students. Beginners and musicians of any experience level are encouraged to participate in lessons and/or ensemble.  We perform traditional and modern music at concert and competitions.

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The Chamber Music program offers an opportunity for students to explore and perform repertoire for small ensembles. All instrumentalists and vocalists are eligible to participate and entrance is by audition or by arrangement with Mr. Mandarano. Students who are accepted into Chamber Music are placed in various ensembles and over the course of the semester immerse themselves in learning a challenging and varied repertoire. Rehearsal times are arranged based on schedule availability and individual practice is required. Ensembles receive periodic coaching from department faculty or professional studio instructors and there is least one performance required per semester. Examples of chamber ensemble include: string quartet, piano trio, woodwind quintet, brass sextet, piano trio, flute and clarinet choirs.

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The Macalester Symphony Orchestra prepares and performs a wide range of repertoire for symphony orchestra from the time of Bach to the present day, including the music of living composers. Playing in the orchestra blends individual and group achievement to build toward several challenging, rewarding performances each semester. Social interaction among the members of the orchestra is facilitated by various events, including orchestra dinners and a brief tour. In the spring semester, there is a concerto competition concert, featuring student soloists. Auditions for orchestra are held at the start of the fall semester. Space permitting, a limited number of students may be able to join at the start of the spring semester.

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Historical performance has changed the aesthetic and musical experiences of audiences all over the world. The new ways to interpret music before 1750 has changed the way the audiences listen to this kind of music. Macalester Early Music Ensemble approaches instrumental and vocal music from Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque period. No audition needed.

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This course surveys traditional, folk, and pop genres from major musical traditions in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. We approach music as both aesthetic and social processes, and explore the relationship between music making and other domains of human experience. Students will develop basic skills in critical listening, analysis, and writing about music. Course readings and audiovisual examples are designed primarily for non-music majors or minors. Previous knowledge of musical instrument or notation is not required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

In this special “mod” edition of Musical Fictions, we are going to take a few deep dives into complementary literary and musical works. We’ll read Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel The Unconsoled (1995) alongside a study of Richard Wagner’s music drama Parsifal (1882). Both are quest narratives involving some sort of Holy Grail; together, these epics teach us about the relation between art and religion. We’ll read Toni Morrison’s novel Jazz (1992) as an experiment in reproducing the musical structures of jazz in literary form, and with the help of jazz scholars, we’ll practice hearing those structures in John Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme (1964). And we’ll read Jennifer Egan’s novel A Visit from the Goon Squad (2011) in tandem with creating, annotating, and analyzing a playlist of the music--real and imagined punk, pop, and rock--featured in the book. We’ll even try our hands at producing some creative writing of our own, inspired by recorded tracks that we love. In addition to these three long novels and their musical counterparts, we’ll read short fiction by James Baldwin, Zadie Smith, Garth Greenwell, Langston Huhgues, Willa Cather, and others. Here, we’ll discover more about the place and function of the musician in the world, and about the ways in which difference (of race, class, gender, and sexuality) shapes attitudes towards music.

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Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

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Survey of contemporary music and modern compositional techniques with emphasis on analytical skills. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 213 or permission of the instructor.

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Fine arts

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musicians, as well as issues that affect their musical lives. We will also interrogate constructions of gender, masculinity, and femininity as they relate to music. An ongoing goal will be to develop reading comprehension and critical thinking skills through a series of short summary/response papers and discussion in class. Finally, as this course emphasizes writing and research skills, several class periods will be devoted to research techniques and the writing process, and accordingly you will be required to write and revise a substantial paper.

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Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

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Fine arts

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In this course we explore theoretical concepts of chromatic music, including harmony, voice leading, and form, always seeking answers to questions about how chromatic music works. Students will develop the ability to discuss and write about music in a sophisticated way. We will accomplish these tasks through written exercises, analysis, composition, and ear training. Specific topics covered include review of diatonic harmony and voice leading, secondary dominants, modulation to closely related keys, small forms (binary, ternary), mode mixture, chromatic mediants, modulation by common tone, Neapolitan sixth chords, augmented sixth chords, descending tetrachord bass line, enharmonic modulation, extended tertian chords, altered chords, and an introduction to sonata form. Aural activities include sight singing, identification of pitch patterns, melodic dictation, harmonic dictation, identification of sonorities, identification of intervals, harmonic substitution, modulating harmonic dictation, three-chord progressions, and contextual listening. Three lectures and one lab per week. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 113 or permission of the instructor.

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Language and music are two uniquely human enterprises with a number of parallels: both rely on sound and convention, display hierarchical organization and culturally-specific practices, and can convey both communicative and social meaning. This course examines the intersection of language and music from a linguistic perspective. We will engage with questions such as: How can syntax, phonology, and morphology change between spoken and sung language? How do speakers of tone languages understand lyrics in sung melodies? Is hip hop different in different languages? What does it mean to study melody and rhythm in speech? Can music help people learn languages? How do drum- and whistle-languages work? How does music contribute to language revitalization? No musical ability is required.

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Social science

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Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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Internationalism

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Fine arts

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This course provides a survey of Western art music from the early works of Ludwig van Beethoven, composed in the mid-1790s, to the symphonic works of the generation of modernist composers born around 1860 (Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, Giacomo Puccini, Richard Strauss). One principal aim of the course is to expose students to a large quantity of multi-national Western music in a variety of genres and styles, thus leading students to a deeper understanding of the development of musical style in the nineteenth century. In addition to the musical works themselves, and no less importantly, the course stresses the contexts surrounding the musical texts. Lectures address the political, cultural, and intellectual history that directed the path of musical style in this period. Students are therefore expected to become familiar not only with specific works and the stylistic footprints of many composers, but also with the significant cultural-historical events and trends that informed composition during this period--the pan-European revolutions of 1848, the aesthetic ideology of autonomous music, the public music culture of the European bourgeoisie, the relationship between musical reception and various strains of European nationalism, and so on. Classroom activities include lectures, directed listening of pieces on the listening list (and sometimes, for comparison, other works), some formal and stylistic analysis, and discussion. Prerequisite(s): MUSI 113 or permission of instructor.

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Writing WA

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Fine arts

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