Course Descriptions

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. Group guitar lessons are designed for students with no guitar experience. Includes emphasis on solo and ensemble playing as well as technique and theory.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6. This survey of rock and pop music for all students provides a comprehensive history of pop music in the United States from its origins leading up to Elvis Presley to the Beatles to the current sounds of today. Emphasis is placed on the music itself through analysis and critique and covers all styles of rock and pop music such as pop, R&B, country western, soul, Motown, folk, folk rock, heavy metal, rap and hip hop and beyond.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 6 and 7. This survey course for the general college student introduces the elements, structural designs, culture and historical styles of hip-hop music. Students explore how the music is made and learn about the origins of hip-hop culture.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6. This course introduces the principal topics of music technology: acoustics, computers, MIDI, digital audio, and tools for music production and scoring. Hands-on experience will be used extensively to enhance understanding. This course will serve as a springboard to further study and exploration of hardware and software tools for music creation.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. This course provides basic approaches to the study of music in the Western notated tradition from the 17th century to the present day. It clarifies the fundamental musical elements of melody, harmony, rhythm and form, with emphasis in the tonic-dominant harmony. The course involves analysis and composition and must be taken concurrently with MUSC 1123.

Meets MnTC Goal Areas 2 and 6. This course provides basic approaches to the study of music in the Western notated tradition as the organization and interaction of musical elements: melody, harmony, rhythm, form and color, with emphasis in the tonic-dominant harmony. Involves analysis and composition. It must be taken concurrently with MUSC1124.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. This course is designed to improve skills in two areas: 1) to recognize and notate tonal melodies and rhythmic patterns, and 2) to reproduce at sight what is notated. It must be taken concurrently with MUSC 1121.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. This course is designed to improve skills in two areas: 1) to recognize and notate tonal melodies and rhythmic patterns, and 2) to reproduce "at sight" what is notated. It must be taken with MUSC 1122.

The Civic Orchestra is a community orchestra that performs one concert each semester. The group meets one evening per week on a regularly scheduled basis. May be repeated for credit.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. The voice ensemble is an auditioned choir (from the M State Concert Choir) meeting two hours per week on a regularly scheduled basis. This group will study and prepare music from various musical periods and geographic regions and performs a minimum of one concert each semester. This group also participates in campus life venues as they arise, MCC Fine Arts Festival and occasional area tours. May be repeated for credit.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. The M State choir is a non-auditioned group that meets four times per week on a regularly scheduled basis. The group will study and prepare music from various musical periods and geographic regions and performs a minimum of one concert each semester. The group will also participate in campus life venues as they arise, the MCC Fine Arts Festival and occasional area tours.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. The M State Chamber Chorale is an auditioned community chorus that performs one concert of choral/orchestral music each semester. The group meets one evening per week on a regularly scheduled basis. May be repeated for credit.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6. Through jazz music itself, students will learn about the styles within jazz and the prominent performers from the birth of the blues and ragtime through jazz-rock fusion to the new age, smooth, acid and hip-hop jazz styles of today. Jazz music is uniquely American in origin, and the effects that society and jazz music have had on each other will be explored.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6F. Students interested in individual voice lessons should contact the music department so that instruction can be arranged. There is an additional fee. May be repeated for credit.

Meets MnTC Goal Area 6. Students study and prepare music in various contemporary styles. The group(s) will perform each semester. There will be special emphasis on aspects of music business and performance, including audio demo production, promotion, management and recording contracts, in addition to songwriting, improvisation and performing.