Graduate Music Core

Philosophy

The Graduate Music Core is not a part of the individual specialty or professional training (vocal, keyboard, music education, etc.) but the necessary knowledge for good musicianship regardless of specialty. It addresses the general knowledge of graduate students in music, and stresses education rather than training. The Graduate Faculty is responsible for devising and teaching the Core. A major component of the Final Comprehensive Examination is based on courses in the Core. The Diagnostic Entrance Examinations are prepared with the Core in mind as well. The Core directly furthers the mission of both the College and the University in the following ways:

By providing opportunities for faculty and student research in the School of Music. It serves the University and the people of Iowa by promoting scholarship.
By being the primary locus for scholarly inquiry for graduate students in music. It provides an essential contribution to the cultural, artistic, and humanistic focus that is the mission of the College. The Music History period courses that are offered in the program, all of which are open to any qualified undergraduates as well as graduate students, offer the study of music in an historical context with the strong interdisciplinary approach advocated by the College.

‌Goals and Objectives ‌Graduate Music Core Introduction

Goals and Objectives

To engage students with the major repertories of Western music in their historical context through a broadly conceived curriculum that stresses the mastery of analytic skills, critical thinking, secondary literature, research techniques and methods for both primary and secondary sources, bibliographic and writing skills, and familiarity with library holdings and their uses. The historical method utilized in the period classes emphasizes the study of repertories within limited time periods so that history, the arts, and general intellectual development are intimately related to music of the time. Recent approaches in musicology are also explored.

The objectives of the Core Curriculum are demonstrated in the written Comprehensive Examination and the final documents (Recital Abstract, Conducting Document, Research Paper, or Thesis), where a full integration of knowledge and method is expected.

The Core prepares students for further graduate work at the doctoral level in any area of music scholarship, acquaints students with strategies for publication and professional achievement, and encourages skill in music criticism.

This curriculum also exerts a positive influence on the quality of undergraduate education by offering role models in performers who readily utilize scholarship in education and professional activity. The quality of performance is decidedly enhanced by the historical knowledge and critical thinking encouraged at this level. Faculty and students have benefited dramatically from the greater presence of historical perspective and context for the works they study and perform.

Introduction

The twelve-hour Music Core includes three components: Theory coursework: Analytical Techniques I and II; Research and Writing in Music; and one Music History period course (courses offered every semester, in rotation). Each element has a distinct and necessary function, but all relate to the general goal of providing the broad education of a well-rounded musician. To view current course descriptions, please visit: http://catalog.uni.edu/

MUS HIST 6220 Research and Writing in Music (3 credit hours)

Designed to familiarize students with specialized resources for research in music and to apply evaluative criteria to those resources. Emphasis on the development of writing skills, incorporating sources, and presenting ideas in a well-reasoned and professional manner.

MUS THEO 61xx Analytical techniques (6 credit hours)

The Analytical Techniques sequence is a hybrid of traditional form and analysis with the history of musical style (R. Crocker, A History of Musical Style, New York 1966). It offers a varied approach to formalistic analysis of Western music (traditional, Schenkerian, La Rue, etc.) in a chronological sequence. Formalism is not viewed as an end in itself but as a necessary skill in the initial study of any composition. These classes reinforce the undergraduate base of knowledge in both theory and history, but demand a more sophisticated use of critical skills in making stylistic differentiations. This use of analytic methods should apply directly to performing, writing, and thinking about music. It is an approach more integrated than is found at the undergraduate level, and it complements the interdisciplinary focus of the Music History Period Class by providing the necessary analytic tools for perceiving the connections between music and other areas of intellectual and artistic expression, one of the key goals of the Core.

MUS THEO 6100 Analytical Techniques I (3 credit hours)

Application of appropriate analytical techniques for music from the beginning of polyphony to the mature works of Beethoven. Emphasis will be on era and composer style delineation. Prerequisite:MUS THEO 5800 or an evaluation of Satisfactory on the Departmental Graduate Theory Diagnostic Examination.

MUS THEO 6110 Analytical Techniques II (3 credit hours)

Application of appropriate analytical techniques for music from the late works of Beethoven through the 20th century. Prerequisite: MUS THEO 5800 or an evaluation of Satisfactory on the Departmental Graduate Theory Diagnostic Examination.

MUS HIST 51xx Music History Period Course

The period course requirement in the Core is an essential component of graduate study. This is the only course that offers a true interdisciplinary approach (part of the Collage's mission), placing music in the larger context of general intellectual history, relating it to developments in art, architecture, literature, theater, politics, and the social sphere. This is why these courses focus on only one period (as opposed to a "survey" course that treats several periods). The period course exposes our graduate students to the methods and materials of the music historian. This means having direct contact with a musicologist in a course that focuses on past and recent research, bibliography, primary sources, and skill in music criticism. The period class has been designated as a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: MUS HIST 5800 or an evaluation of Satisfactory on the Departmental Graduate Music History Diagnostic Examination.

Student must select one of the following:

MUS HIST 5100 Music History - Middle Ages and Renaissance (3 hours)

A study of the major musical repertories of Western Civilization from Medieval Plainchant through the High Renaissance vocal and instrumental music, with special emphasis on the historical and cultural context.

MUS HIST 5110 Music History - Baroque (3 hours)

A study of the major musical repertories of Western Civilization from the first Italian operas to the works of Bach and Handel, with special emphasis on the historical and cultural context.

MUS HIST 5120 Music History - Classic (3 hours)

A study of the major musical repertories of Western Civilization from Pergolesi to Beethoven, with special emphasis on the historical and cultural context

MUS HIST 5140 Music History - Romantic (3 hours)

A study of the major musical repertories of Western Civilization from late Beethoven through Mahler, with special emphasis on the historical and cultural context.

MUS HIST 5150 Music History - 20th Century (3 hours)

A study of the major musical repertories of Western Civilization in the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the historical and cultural context.

All courses in the Graduate Music Core must be completed with a grade of B- or better to fulfill program requirements. See academic catalog for additional information regarding grading for all UNI graduate course requirements.