MUSIC 103 - INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC
Music 103 is our most basic course in music; no prior experience or training in music is
expected.
Copies of this syllabus and other course handouts are availabe on the Internet
at http://www.music.princeton.edu:80/~jeffery
INSTRUCTOR: Peter Jeffery, Firestone C-17-D-1, 8-4237, jeffery@princeton.edu
SENIOR PRECEPTOR: Jessica Sternfeld, C-18-D, sternfld@princeton.edu
LECTURES: Wednesday and Friday, 12:30-1:20, McCosh 10
PRECEPTS: Monday or Tuesday in Palmer, time to be assigned
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The student who completes the course successfully should be able to do the following:
(1) Develop the listening skills of concentration, memory, and recognition, and
know how to continue improving them through life.
(2) Recognize aurally and identify the main genres and forms of Western classical
music.
(3) Recognize aurally and identify the styles, textures, instruments and other musical
characteristics associated with the major periods of Western music history.
(4) Identify the essential traits of each period of Western music history, and explain
how each period differed from the others.
(5) Define common musical terms and use them correctly, in ways that demonstrate
understanding of the concepts they denote.
(6) Identify some of the major composers of Western music and recall selections
from their works.
(7) Find out information about local concert life and attend recitals profitably.
GRADES
The final grade will be computed according to the following formula:
1st Exam (Feb. 28) 20%
2nd Exam (Apr. 10) 20%
Comprehensive Final Exam 30%
Precept attendance and participation 25%
Concert attendance 5%
MAKE-UP EXAMS
Please don't.
ASSIGNMENTS
Most reading and listening assignments will be from the textbook and accompanying CDs:
Joseph Kerman, Listen, 3rd brief edition (1996). However a few listening and reading
assignments and some optional practice recordings will be on reserve at the Music Listening
Library in 220 Palmer Hall. Recommended video and CD-ROM assignments will be on
reserve at the Language Laboratory in 100 Jones Hall. For further details on practice
listening and on the concert attendance requirement, see the last page of this syllabus.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES, TESTS, AND ASSIGNMENTS
Wednesday 2/7
READ Kerman pp. 1-7; note the terms in boldface, they will come up again, and be
required.
LISTEN to Smetana, The Bartered Bride, Overture (CD 1, 1-6)
Friday 2/9
READ Kerman pp. 8-11; be able to define the following terms: frequency, pitch, timbre,
dynamics, crescendo, decrescendo, forte, piano, tone color, partials, overtones
25-27, terms: melody, tune, phrase, sequence, climax, cadence, motive, theme
54-58, terms: early music, plainchant, Hildegard of Bingen
LISTEN to Gregorian chant "In paradisum" (1-7), Hildegard, "Columba aspexit" (1-8)
Precept 1 (Monday 2/12 or Tuesday 2/13)
READ Kerman 11-16, terms: duration, rhythm, beat, accent, meter, simple meter,
compound meter, measure, bar, bar line, rhythm, syncopation, tempo, metronome
59-61 troubadours, trouvères, Minnesingers, Bernart de Ventadorn, estampie
81-82, lute, pavane, galliard
LISTEN to Bernart, "La dousa votz" (1-9); Anonymous, Galliard "Daphne" (1-17);
Anonymous, "Kemp's jig" (1-18)
Wednesday 2/14
READ Kerman 26-30, terms: texture, monophony, polyphony, counterpoint, imitative
polyphony, nonimitative polyphony, homophony, chords, harmonize, harmony,
consonance, dissonance, resolve
Kerman 72-80, terms: Mass, Joquin Desprez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, point of imitation,
declamation, word painting, motet, madrigal, Thomas Weelkes
LISTEN to Josquin, Pange lingua Mass: Kyrie (1-13) and Gloria (1-14); Palestrina, Pope
Marcellus Mass: Gloria (1-15); Weelkes, "As Vesta was" 1-16
Friday 2/16
READ Kerman 17-20, terms: interval, octave, tone color, timbre, scale, diatonic scale,
chromatic scale, half step, whole step, flat, sharp
Kerman 86-95, terms: basso continuo, ground bass, opera, recitative, aria, Claudio Monteverdi,
Henry Purcell, chorus
LISTEN to Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Act III, final scene (1-22-23)
Precept 2 (Monday 2/19 or Tuesday 2/20)
READ Kerman 95-97, terms: suite, virtuosity, fugue, Arcangelo Corelli, trio sonata, sonata
da chiesa, sonata da camera, movements
LISTEN to Corelli, Sonata in F, Op. 3, no. 1 (1-24 to 1-27)
Wednesday 2/21
READ Kerman 36-46, terms: string instruments, violin, viola, cello, double bass, woodwind
instruments, flute, reeds, double reeds, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, brass
instruments, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, percussion instruments, timpani, kettledrums,
orchestra, conductor, piano, harpsichord
Kerman 116-26, terms: Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, concerto grosso, movement,
ritornello, cadenza, forte, piano, chamber music
LISTEN to Vivaldi, Concerto in G (1-28 to 1-30); Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, 1st
movement (2-1 to 2-5). You are also strongly encouraged to explore the Microsoft Musical
Instruments CD-ROM in the Language Lab.
Friday 2/23
READ Kerman 99-114, terms: Baroque, absolutism, harmonic rhythm, string orchestra,
festive Baroque orchestra, continuo, figured bass, affects; church, court, and theatre (opera
house) as centers for music.
Kerman 135-42, terms: opera, opera seria, recitative, secco recitative, accompanied recitative, aria,
da capo form, George Frideric Handel
LISTEN to Handel, recitative and aria "Tirannia" from Rodelinda (2-8)
Precept 3 (Monday 2/26 or Tuesday 2/27)
READ Kerman 126-30, terms: fugue, fugue subject, countersubject, subject entry,
exposition, episode, stretto
LISTEN to Fugue in C Sharp Minor (1-31)
Wednesday 2/28
FIRST EXAM: You will hear some items from the listening assignments and some
unfamiliar music. Using correct terminology, identify as many aspects as possible of the
melody, texture, rhythm, meter, form, dynamics, and any other features you think
interesting or noteworthy. Be prepared to define some of the required terms from the
readings.
Friday 3/1
READ Kerman 31-35, terms: tonality, tonal, tonic, modality, major mode, minor mode,
keys, modulation
Kerman 47-51, terms: form, genre, style
Kerman 130-134, terms: dance suite, binary form, trio, overture, sequence, inversion, French
overture
LISTEN to Air (2-6) and Gavotte (2-7) from J. S. Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D
Precept 4 (Monday 3/4 or Tuesday 3/5)
READ Kerman 150-62, terms: Enlightenment, "the natural," the classical style, the
classical orchestra, cadence
Kerman 175-9, terms: minuet, trio
LISTEN to Haydn, Minuet in D (3-1); Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G Major, third
movement (2-31 to 2-34)
Wednesday 3/6
READ Kerman 163-6, 170-174, terms: symphony, sonata form, exposition, development,
recapitulation, first theme, bridge, second theme, cadence theme, retransition, coda, Franz
Joseph Haydn
LISTEN to Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G Major, first movement (2-21 to 2-26)
Friday 3/8
READ Kerman 174-175, term: slow movement, ternary form
LISTEN to Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G Major, second movement (2-27 to 2-30)
Precept 5 (Monday 3/11 or Tuesday 3/12)
READ Kerman 179-81, term: rondo, finale
LISTEN to Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G, 4th movement (2-35 to 2-38)
Wednesday 3/13
READ Kerman 167-70, terms: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Köchel numbers
LISTEN to Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, 1st movement (2-15 to 2-20)
If you want further practice or study of the musical forms of the classic period, you are
encouraged to spend time with the Multimedia Mozart CD-ROM of the "Dissonant"
Quartet, in the Language Lab.
Friday 3/15
READ Kerman 182-7, terms: solo concerto, double-exposition form, orchestra exposition,
solo exposition, cadenza, sonata
LISTEN to Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, first movement.
Though the Kerman CD set does not include this movement, recordings are available on
reserve in the Music Listening Library in Woolworth, and for sale in the Record Dept. at
the U-Store. But you are encouraged to watch the two video versions on the University of
Delaware Videodisc Music Series, disc 1, side 2, in the Language Lab. One of these depicts
a live performance on period instruments (beginning at frame 00914, with an alternate
cadenza at frame 21905; demonstrations of the individual instruments begin at frame
46341). The other is a scrolling score with color-coded analytical information (beginning at
frame 25418; for an overview, see frame 46338).
3/16-24
Spring recess week
Monday 3/25
Deadline for reporting midterm grades
Precept 6 (Monday 3/25 or Tuesday 3/26)
READ Kerman 188-95, terms: theme and variations, string quartet
LISTEN to Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, third movement (3-5 to 3-11)
Wednesday 3/27
READ Kerman 205-15, terms: Ludwig van Beethoven, "Immortal Beloved," scherzo,
motive, fragmentation, "heroic" style, "third-period style"
LISTEN to Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, 1st movement (3-19 to 3-27)
Friday 3/29
LISTEN to Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, 2nd movement (3-28 to 3-29)
Precept 7 (Monday 4/1 or Tuesday 4/2)
LISTEN to Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, 3rd movement (3-30 to 3-31)
Wednesday 4/3
LISTEN to Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, 4th movement (3-32 to 3-33)
Friday 4/5
READ Kerman 216-23, terms: Romanticism, concert public, Lied, Lieder
230-39, terms: Franz Schubert, through-composed, strophic, song cycle, Robert Schumann,
Clara Wieck Schumann
LISTEN to Schubert, "Der Jüngling" (3-34), and "Erlkönig" (3-35); R. Schumann, "Im
wunderschönen" (3-36), and "Die alten" (3-37); C. Schumann, "Der Mond" (3-38)
You are also encouraged to watch the video version of "Erlkönig" in the University of
Delaware Videodisc Music Series, disc 3 side 1, in the Language Lab. It includes a
performance of Schubert's setting (frame 13055), with alternate interpretations of some
passages (frame 20572) and a scrolling score with color-coded analysis (frame 26309) and
your choice of German (audio channel 1) or English text (audio channel 2). It also includes
two other musical settings of the same text, by minor contemporaries of Schubert: Johann
Friedrich Reichardt (ca. 1794), who was closely associated with Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe, the author of the text (frame 01265) and Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1818),
whose setting offers some interesting parallels and contrasts with Schubert's (frame 06656).
Precept 8 (Monday 4/8 or Tuesday 4/9)
READ Kerman 223-7, terms: rubato, chromaticism, miniature
Kerman 240-5, terms: character piece, Frédéric Chopin, etude, nocturne, Franz Liszt
LISTEN to R. Schumann, "Eusebius" (3-39) and "Florestan" (3-40); Chopin, Etude in C
Minor (1-32) and Nocturne in F-sharp (3-41)
Wednesday 4/10
SECOND EXAM: You will hear some items from the listening assignments and some
unfamiliar music. Identify the form (recitative, da capo aria, binary form, minuet and trio,
sonata form, concerto sonata form, theme and variations, rondo, ternary form, scherzo,
strophic Lied, through-composed Lied, character piece). Using correct terminology,
identify as many noteworthy characteristics as you can of the melody, texture, mode,
harmony, rhythm, meter, dynamics, style, instruments used. Be prepared to write
definitions of some of the required terms from the readings.
Friday 4/12
READ Kerman 225-9, terms: tone color, the romantic orchestra, program music, cyclic
form, thematic transformation
Kerman 245-51, terms: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn, program music, concert
overture, Hector Berlioz, program symphony, idée fixe, Dies irae
LISTEN to Berlioz, Fantastic Symphony, movement 5 (4-1 to 4-7).
You are also encouraged to watch the video of the fifth movement in the University of
Delaware Videodisc Music Series, disc 2 side 1, which includes a video performance (frame
00654), a scrolling color-coded analysis (frame 19300), Berlioz's program for the symphony
(frame 37900), selected statements of the idée fixe from all movements (frame 37929) and a
performance of the Gregorian chant Dies irae (frame 43211).
Precept 9 (Monday 4/15 or Tuesday 4/16)
READ Kerman 259-67, terms: Richard Wagner, music drama, Gesamtkunstwerk,
Leitmotiv
LISTEN to Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, prelude and "Philter" scene (4-12 to 4-19)
Wednesday 4/17
READ Kerman 268-75, terms: symphonic poem, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, nationalism,
Bed ich Smetana
You are also encouraged to explore the demonstrations of modern orchestral instruments
in the University of Delaware Videodisc Music Series, disc 2 side 2 (frame 18946).
LISTEN to Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet (4-20 to 4-31)
Friday 4/19
READ Kerman 275-80, term: Johannes Brahms
LISTEN to Brahms, Violin Concerto, third movement (4-32 to 4-37)
Precept 10 (Monday 4/22 or Tuesday 4/23)
READ Kerman 280-5, term: Gustav Mahler
LISTEN to Mahler, Symphony No. 1, third movement (4-38 to 4-45)
Wednesday 4/24
READ 287-302, terms: modernist, avant-garde, serialism, impressionism, expressionism,
pentatonic scale, whole-tone scale, octatonic scale, quarter-tone scale, atonality,
twelve-tone system, twelve tone row or series, "emancipation of the dissonance"
Kerman 312-16, terms: Arnold Schoenberg, Sprechstimme, Second Vienna School
LISTEN to Schoenberg, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, beginning (2-39), movements
from Pierrot Lunaire (2-40 to 2-44)
Friday 4/26
READ Kerman 303-11, 320-24, terms: Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives
LISTEN to Debussy, Clouds (6-1 to 6-6); Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Part 1 (5-2 to 5-8);
Ives, The Unanswered Question (5-16 to 5-17)
You are also encouraged to try out the Multimedia Stravinsky CD-ROM of The Rite of
Spring, in the Language Lab.
Precept 11 (Monday 4/29 or Tuesday 4/30)
READ Kerman 328-34, terms: Béla Bartók, ethnomusicologist
LISTEN to Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, (5-21 to 5-40)
Wednesday 5/1
READ Kerman 338-46, 352-55, terms: musique concrète, synthesizer, computer music,
electronic music, chance music, Anton Webern, György Ligeti, Luciano Berio, Sofia
Gubaidulina
LISTEN to Webern, Five Pieces for Orchestra, movement 4 (6-11); Ligeti, Lux aeterna (6-12
to 6-15); Berio Sinfonia, 2nd movement (6-16); and Gubaidulina, Pro et contra, movement 3
(6-21 to 6-26)
Friday 5/3
READ Kerman 346-52, 355-7, terms: electronic music, chance music, Edgard Varèse, John
Cage, George Crumb, Tania Léon, minimalism, Steve Reich
LISTEN to Varèse, Poème électronique (4-46); Cage 4'33" (performed in class); Crumb, Black
Angels (5-41 to 5-45); Léon, Kabiosile (6-17 to 6-20); and Reich, Tehillim (6-27 to 6-31)
5/6-14
Reading period
Final exam date in May to be announced.
OPTIONAL PRACTICE LISTENING
If you wish to do further practice beyond the assignments, you have at least three
sources of material.
(1) Pieces discussed in the Kerman book and available on the accompanying recordings, but
not assigned in this course, can be studied on one's own.
(2) We hope to have recordings
on reserve in the Music Listening Library, with further examples of the main forms
(recitative, da capo aria, binary form, minuet and trio, sonata form, concerto sonata form,
theme and variations, rondo, ternary form, scherzo, strophic Lied, through-composed Lied,
character piece). In any case all students have the right to listen to any of the many
recordings that are available there.
(3) You are encouraged to listen to classical music
radio. The following local stations play classical music regularly for at least part of the day:
FM 89.1 WWFM
FM 90.9 WHYY
FM 93.9 WNYC
FM 95.7 WFLN
FM 96.3 WQXR
FM 103.5 WPRB
FM 104.3 WNCN
AM 1310 WSSJ
CONCERT ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT
Attend a concert or recital of Western classical music (jazz, pop or pops, folk and
non-Western music do not count for purposes of this requirement). Give a copy of the
program and your ticket stub (if there is one) to your preceptor for credit and to verify that
the event was indeed classical music. Though the concert you attend may be located
anywhere, you can find out about local events by reading the advertisements and
announcements in the Daily Princetonian, or the "Music" and "Calendar of the Week"
sections in Town Topics, or by calling one of the following telephone numbers:
Music at McCarter (683-8000, press 5)
New Jersey Symphony (1-800-ALLEGRO)
Princeton University Concerts (258-5000)
Westminster Choir College Concert Office (921-2663 ext. 308)
Prepare beforehand by reading: Charles R. Hoffer, "Guide to Live Performances for
The Understanding of Music, Fifth Edition" (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1981), on reserve in
the Music Listening Library in Woolworth. If you would like more information about
composers or genres that were featured at your concert, consult the following sources in the
Reference Room in Firestone:
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (ML 105.B17 DR)
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (ML 100.G8 DR)
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (ML 100.A64 DR)