Focuses on the development and consolidation of choreographic and performance skills.
Prerequisite: Any 30 points at Stage I in Dance Studies
To develop an understanding of our moving bodies through movement awareness, dance improvisation, choreography and creative and analytic writing. Students will undertake both theoretical and practical classes focusing on a range of practices that dancers and movement practitioners use to facilitate kinaesthetic awareness, experimentation, communication and choreography. Students will explore somatic theory and practice, improvisation scores, choreography and dance analysis.
Note: This course has very limited enrolment availability. It is recommended that students apply early and have a second choice course option.
A practical and theoretical overview of the fundamental written and aural skills required for music literacy. This course prepares students for MUS 104 and further university-level study and practice in music.
This course aims to provide students with foundational knowledge and skills in the areas of music theory, and practice in aural perception and active listening. This will enable the student to begin developing the musicianship and notation skills necessary for all musical disciplines. Topics include:
- melody (key signatures, scales and intervals)
- rhythm (time signature, metre and note grouping)
- harmony (triads and 7th chords, simple harmonisation)
- aural perception and musicianship
Practical and theoretical introduction to performing cultures of the Pacific with emphasis on Polynesian cultures. Basic music and dance skills are taught in practical instruction. Consideration of commonalities and differences among Pacific cultures. Academic discussion of styles, instruments, performer categories and the place of the performing arts in Pacific cultures.
This course is an introduction to embodied cultural practices in the Pacific, with a specific focus on parts of Melanesia and Polynesia. This course will explore some of the ways in which Pacific dance and music have transformed over time under the influence of colonisation, Christianity, commodification, and migration.
An introduction to New Zealand’s home-grown popular music, from the 1950s to the present day. A broad range of musical styles will be considered and situated within various social contexts. The issue of cultural identity in music – at national and local levels – will also be explored.
This course explores the social interplay between popular music and American society, emphasizing how musical trends reflect and influence broader social shifts. From the rise of jazz and rock to the cultural impact of hip-hop and electronic music, students will examine how music shapes and is shaped by issues of class, race, gender, and identity. Topics include the commodification of music, the evolution of music marketing, and the political and cultural movements intertwined with musical expression. Practically, students will study music’s production, consumption, and societal role through listening sessions, song discussions, and by completing our own mini-research project.
In satisfaction of GEOs 2 & 5, the course will also address how data has been processed, analyzed, and distributed in the past and present. We will examine contemporary transformations in music brought about by artificial intelligence and big data. Students will learn how these technologies are reshaping how music is created, distributed, and experienced, and consider their implications for the future of both music and society.
Introduction to guitar techniques, accompanying, and arranging for guitar; coverage of note reading and tablature. May be repeated for credit without limitation.
Exploration of major aspects of society, history, and culture in India through music. There is abundance of incredibly rich musical culture in this region. Introduction to as much diversity as possible, spanning villages to cities and global contexts; high- and low-brow musics; those spanning problematic categories of folk, classical, and popular; and those from powerful as well as oppressed and marginalized peoples. Music as lens to look more deeply into social and cultural world and to explore layers of history ranging form Persianate empires, British Empire, nationhood, and contemporary globalization. Highlights lines of power in particular, notably, those of caste, class, gender, colonialism, and nationalism. Minoritized and disenfranchised people and their music are as prominent as dominant styles and provide contextualization and critique. Satisfies Writing II requirement. Letter grading.
Learning and employment of craft of songwriting. Examination, analysis, and implementation of song structure, lyric and melody writing, arranging, orchestrating, and recording techniques. Evolution of songwriting in modern society since advent of phonograph player/radio; how songs and society affect and reflect one another; how this has informed songs and songwriters. Letter grading.
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to current music industry. Overview of career paths, monetization strategies, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurial thinking. Designed to serve as gateway for music industry degree programs. Students familiarize themselves with basic functions of industry that are covered in greater detail in upper-division coursework. Letter grading.
