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Writing Through Popular Music
This course will introduce students to important concepts in effective academic writing by thinking about and thinking "through" popular music. Our complex relationships to popular music provide a rich theoretical landscape of social, cultural, and political issues. How do we use music to construct, maintain, or challenge private and public identities? How have race, gender, class, sexuality, and nationalism been activated through popular music? What is the role of music in our everyday lives? How do commercial interests influence the music that we listen to? These questions, among others, will generate a series of assignments designed to encourage students to develop clear and persuasive writing styles. As a writing intensive course, we will focus on fundamentals of writing style, grammatical accuracy, thesis development, and research methodologies crucial to successful written communication. We will use weekly reading assignments drawn from the field of popular music studies to frame and debate important issues emanating from global popular music cultures and to provide models of successful written scholarship. Peer review and a strong focus on editing and revising will be central to the course. Students will be encouraged to utilize the resources of the Writing Center.
Students admitted in consultation with the Dean of Students' Office and/or their academic adviser. Preference given to first-year students. Limited to 12 students. Spring semester. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredAfrican Popular Music
(Offered as BLST 204 [A] and MUSI 105.) This course focuses on twentieth-century African popular music; it examines musical genres from different parts of the continent, investigating their relationships to the historical, political and social dynamics of their respective national and regional origins. Regional examples like highlife, soukous, chimurenga, and afro-beate will be studied to assess the significance of popular music as a creative response to social and political developments in colonial and postcolonial Africa. The course also discusses the growth of hip-hop music in selected countries by exploring how indigenous cultural tropes have provided the basis for its local appropriation. Themes explored in this course include: the use of music in the construction of identity; popular music, politics and resistance; the interaction of local and global elements; and the political significance of musical nostalgia.
Fall semester. Five College Professor Omojola.
2023-24: Not offeredMaster Musicians of Africa I: West Africa
(Offered as BLST 214 [A] and MUSI 106.) This course concentrates on the lives and music of selected West African musicians. Departing from ethnographic approaches that mask the identity of individual musicians and treat African societies as collectives, this course emphasizes the contributions of individual West African musicians whose stature as master musicians is undisputed within their respective communities. It examines the contributions of individual musicians to the ever continuous process of negotiating the boundaries of African musical practice. Individuals covered this semester include Babatunde Olatunji (Nigerian drummer), Youssou N’Dour (Senegalese singer), Kandia Kouyate (Malian jelimuso) and Ephraim Amu (Ghanaian composer). The variety of artistic expressions of selected musicians also provides a basis for examining the interrelatedness of different African musical idioms, and the receptivity of African music to non-African styles.
Omitted 2012-13. Five College Professor Omojola.
2023-24: Not offeredExploring Music
Through analysis, performance, and composition, we will build a solid working understanding of basic principles of melody and harmony common in Western musical traditions. Assignments will include writing short melodies and accompaniments as well as more detailed compositional and improvisational projects. We will use our instruments and voices to bring musical examples to life in the classroom. Two class meetings and one lab session per week. Students who have not previously taken a course in music theory at Amherst College are encouraged to take a self-administered placement exam available on reserve in the Music Library and on the Music Department Website (www.amherst.edu/~music/TheoryPlacement.pdf ). Students are also encouraged to discuss placement in music theory with a member of the Music Department.
Requisite: MUSI 111, or equivalent ability gained by playing an instrument or singing. Limited to 20 students. Fall semester: Professor Robinson: Spring semester: Visiting Lecturer Yakub.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Theory and Improvisation I
A course designed to explore jazz harmonic and improvisational practice from both the theoretical and applied standpoint. Students will study common harmonic practice of the jazz idiom, modes and scales, rhythmic practices, and consider their stylistic interpretation. An end-of-semester performance of material(s) studied during the semester will be required of the class. A jazz-based ear-training section will be scheduled outside of the regular class times. Two class meetings per week.
Students who have not previously taken a course in music theory at Amherst College are encouraged to take a self-administered placement exam available on reserve in the Music Library and on the Music Department Website (www.amherst.edu/~music/TheoryPlacement.pdf). Students are also encouraged to discuss placement in music theory with a member of the Music Department.
Requisite: MUSI 111 or 112 or equivalent, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 16 students. Fall semester. Lecturer Diehl.
2023-24: Not offeredWriting About Music
This course will introduce students to important concepts in effective academic writing through the study of selected works of music taken primarily from the masterpieces of Western music in the period 800-1995 (from Gregorian chant through the minimalism of the late twentieth century). Our discussion of the works we listen to will be informed by writings about music penned by both scholars and the composers themselves. As a writing intensive course, we will focus on fundamentals of writing style, grammatical accuracy, thesis development, and research methodologies crucial to successful written communication. Peer review and a strong focus on editing and revising will be central to the course. Students will be encouraged to utilize the resources of the Writing Center. Students admitted in consultation with the Dean of Students' Office and/or their academic advisor. Preference given to first-year students. No prior musical experience required.
Limited to 12 students. Omitted 2012-2013. Professor Schneider.
2023-24: Not offeredSacred Sound
Sacred Sound examines the relationship between music and religion in broad comparative perspective. In the context of major world religions, new religious movements, and traditional spiritual practices, we will address fundamental issues concerning sacred sound: How does music enable and enhance the ritual process? How is sound sacred and what are its affects? What happens as sacred sound circulates globally among diverse communities of listeners and in secular spaces? Listening, reading, and discussion will include Sufi music from Pakistan, Haitian Vodou, the songs of Ugandan Jews, Orthodox Christian hymns from Estonia, Islamic popular music from Malaysia, Chinese Buddhist chant, spirit possession music from Bali, and the music of Korean Shamans. We will also benefit from visiting performers and the sacred sounds of religious communities in and around Amherst. Two class meetings per week.
Limited to 25 students. Fall semester. Professor Engelhardt.
2023-24: Not offeredGlobal Sound
(Offered as MUSI 124 and FAMS 310.) This course explores the global scale of much music-making and musical consumption today. Migration, diaspora, war, tourism, postsocialist and postcolonial change, commerce, and digital technology have all profoundly reshaped the way musics are created, circulated, and consumed. These forces have also illuminated important ethical, legal, and aesthetic issues concerning intellectual property rights and the nature of musical authorship, the appropriation of "traditional" musics by elites in the global North, and local musical responses to transnational music industries, for instance. Through a series of case studies that will include performances and workshops by visiting musicians, Global Sound will examine how musics animate processes of globalization and how globalization affects musics by establishing new social, cultural, and economic formations. Two class meetings per week.
Limited to 25 students. Spring semester. Professor Engelhardt.
2023-24: Not offeredDungeons and Dragons
The fantastic, the criminal, and the mysterious are opera's coin of the realm. In a course designed as an introduction to opera and musical theater, we will explore how myth, history, and tales reflecting cultural conflict join with music and stagecraft to create musical drama. Listening, video viewing, and trips to live productions will be central to the semester's work. Two class meetings per week.
Omitted 2012-13. Professor Kallick.
2023-24: Not offeredMusic and Culture I
(Offered as MUSI 221 and EUST 221.) One of three courses in which music is studied in relation to issues of history, theory, culture, and performance, with the focus of the course changing from year to year. This course is an introduction to European music in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. We will begin by singing Gregorian chant and will go on to cover such topics as the music of the Troubadours, the polyphonic style associated with Notre Dame, the development of musical notation, Renaissance sacred polyphony, madrigals, court dances, and the birth of opera. Throughout the course we will seek to bring the music we study alive by singing and/or playing. We will also host several professional performers of “early music” who will help us understand how this music is likely to have sounded at the time of its creation.
Requisite: MUSI 112 or consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Valentine Professor Móricz.
2023-24: Not offeredMusic and Culture II
(Offered as MUSI 222 and EUST 222.) One of three courses in which the development of Western music is studied in its cultural-historical context. As practical, in-class performance and attendance at public concerts in Amherst and elsewhere will be crucial to our work. Composers to be studied include Beethoven, Rossini, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz, Wagner, Verdi, Musorgsky, and Brahms. Regular listening assignments will broaden the repertoire we encounter and include a wide sampling of Classical and Romantic music. Periodic writing assignments will provide opportunities to connect detailed musical analysis with historical-cultural interpretation. A variety of readings will include music-historical-aesthetic documents as well as selected critical and analytical studies. Class presentations will contribute to a seminar-style class environment. This course may be elected individually or in conjunction with other Music and Culture courses (MUSI 221 and 223). Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: MUSI 111, 112, or consent of the instructor. Fall semester. Professor Schneider.
2023-24: Not offeredMusic and Culture III
(Offered as MUSI 223 and EUST 223.) The third of three courses in the Music and Culture series, this course focuses on the experimental and revolutionary musical repertoire of the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Some of the featured repertoire in 2011-12 includes 1) string quartets by Béla Bartók (1881-1945) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975); 2) songs by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Charles Ives (1874-1954), and Bob Dylan (1941-); 3) ballet, film, and music theatre music by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), Aaron Copland (1900-1990), Bernard Hermann (1911-1975), Leonard Bernstein (1920-1989), John Adams (1947-), Stephen Sondheim (1930-), Michael Giacchino (1967-). Assignments will include close listening, background readings, short essays, midterms, and a culminating presentation. This course may be elected individually or in conjunction with other Music and Culture courses (MUSI 221 and 222). Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: Reading knowledge of music and background in music fundamentals or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Kallick.
Other years: Offered in Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2023Jazz Film: Improvisation, Narrativity, and Representation
(Offered as MUSI 225 and FAMS 375.) Jazz occupies a special role in the development of American film. From The Jazz Singer (1927), the first American film that included synchronized sound, to the sprawling Jazz: A Documentary by Ken Burns (2001), filmic representations of jazz speak to fundamental ways that Americans negotiate difference and imagine national identity. This course examines the relationship between jazz and American culture through three modalities: improvisation, narrativity, and representation. How might jazz improvisation influence the construction of film? Is there an "improvised film"? Moreover, jazz musicians often speak about "telling stories" through their music. How might this influence narrative structure in film and inform the ways that stories about jazz musicians are constructed in film? And how might these stories about jazz musicians reflect larger debates about race, gender, sexuality and nationality? Assignments will include guided viewing of several important jazz films, required reading, and a series of essays.
Limited to 20 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz History to 1945: Emergence, Early Development, and Innovation
(Offered as MUSI 224 and BLST 234 [US].) One of two courses that trace the development of jazz from its emergence in early 20th-century New Orleans to its profound impact on American culture. Jazz History to 1945 examines its early roots in late 19th-century American popular culture and its role as American popular music in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Using themes that connect the evolution of jazz practices to social and racial politics in American popular culture, we will look closely at the work of well-known historical figures (Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and several others) as well as the vibrant communities that nurtured and prompted their innovative musical practices. Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: MUSI 111 or consent of the instructor. Limited to 25 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredPioneer Valley Soundscapes
(Offered as MUSI 238 and FAMS 312.) This course is about exploring, participating in, and documenting the musical communities and acoustic terrain of the Pioneer Valley. The first part of the course will focus on local histories and music scenes, ethnographic methods and technologies, and different techniques of representation. The second part of the course will involve intensive, sustained engagement with musicians and sounds in the Pioneer Valley. Course participants will give weekly updates about their fieldwork projects and are expected to become well-versed in the musics they are studying. There will be a significant amount of work and travel outside of class meetings. The course will culminate in contributions to a web-based documentary archive of Pioneer Valley soundscapes. We will also benefit from visits and interaction with local musicians. Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: MUSI 111, 112, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 12 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredTonal Harmony and Counterpoint
Basic principles of harmonic and contrapuntal technique. Emphasis will be on the acquisition of writing skills. This course is the first of the required music theory sequence for majors. Three hours of lecture and two ear-training sections per week.
Students who have not previously taken a course in music theory at Amherst College are encouraged to take a self-administered placement exam available on reserve in the Music Library and on the Music Department Website (www.amherst.edu/~music/TheoryPlacement.pdf ). Students are also encouraged to discuss placement in music theory with a member of the Music Department.
Requisite: MUSI 112 or consent of the instructor. Fall semester: Professor Schneider. Spring semester: Professor Sawyer.
2023-24: Not offeredForm in Tonal Music
A continuation of MUSI 241 and the second of the required music theory sequence for majors. In this course we will study different manifestations of formal principles, along with the relationship of form to harmony and tonality. We will start with pre-tonal music (Lassus) focus on the understanding of musical form in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Topics to be covered will include minuet, variation, sonata form, the romantic character piece and eighteenth-century counterpoint. There will be analyses and writing exercises, as well as model compositions and analytic papers. Two class meetings and two ear-training sections per week.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Valentine Professor Meltzer.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Theory and Improvisation II
A continuation of MUSI 113, this course is designed to acquaint students with the theory and application of advanced techniques used in jazz improvisation. Work on a solo transcription will be a main focus throughout the semester. An end-of-semester performance of material(s) studied during the semester will be required of the class. A jazz-based ear-training section will be scheduled outside of the regular class times. Two class meetings per semester.
Requisite: MUSI 113 and/or performance experience in the jazz idiom strongly suggested. Musical literacy sufficient to follow a score. Limited to 16 students. Omitted 2012-13. Lecturer Diehl.
Other years: Offered in Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2022Advanced Topics in Jazz
In this class we will explore jazz through transcription, composition, arranging and improvisation. Materials for transcription will range from the classic renditions of jazz standards by Gershwin and Kern to highly complex works by such greats as Wayne Shorter and Charles Mingus. Advanced approaches to improvisation will include the exploration of new source materials including the Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns by Nicolas Slonimsky as used by John Coltrane. Using members of the class as a laboratory band we will seek to develop our own unique compositional voices that draw on jazz traditions.
Requisite: MUSI 113, 246 and/or performance experience in the jazz idiom strongly suggested. Musical literacy sufficient to follow a score. Admission with consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Lecturer Diehl.
2023-24: Not offeredElectroacoustic Composition
This course provides instruction in the use of electronic equipment for composition of music. Topics to be considered include approaches to sound synthesis, signal editing and processing, hard disk recording techniques, sequencing audio and MIDI material, and the use of software for interaction between electronics and live performers. The course will also survey the aesthetics and repertory of electroacoustic music. Assignments in the use of equipment and software as well as required listening will prepare students for a final composition project to be performed in a class concert.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or consent of the instructor. Limited to 10 students. Omitted 2012-13.
2023-24: Not offeredElectroacoustic Performance and Improvisation
This course introduces students to current trends in improvisation-oriented electroacoustic performance. Using laptop computers in dynamic performance situations, we will develop techniques to generate sound and modify and enhance the sound of acoustic instruments. Hardware topics will include audio interfaces, cabling, mixing boards, MIDI controllers, microphone techniques, and networking. A wide variety of specialized software will be explored, including Max/MSP, Ableton Live, Reason, and others. Assignments will focus on preparing students to perform and improvise using new "instruments" built through customized hardware and software configurations. Directed listening and reading will introduce students to the development of electroacoustic music since the 1960s. The course culminates with a class performance.
Requisite: MUSI 112 or 113, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 10 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offered
Song Writing
The writing of songs based upon a study of the works of past masters in a variety of styles, including rock, blues, American folksong, “shape note” music and more. A composition course with much individual attention. Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: Students should have some background in music performance, chords, or writing. Limited to 12 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredComposition I
This course will explore compositional techniques that grow out of the various traditions of Western art music. Innovations of twentieth-century composers in generating new approaches to melody and scale, rhythm and meter, harmony, instrumentation, and musical structure will be examined. The course will include improvisation as a source of ideas for written compositions and as a primary compositional mode. Instrumental or vocal competence and good music reading ability are desirable. Assignments will include compositions of various lengths and related analytical projects. Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: MUSI 111 or 112, and consent of the instructor. Limited to 10 students. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Meltzer.
Other years: Offered in Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023The John Cage Nexus: Music, Image, Text
(Offered as ARHA 372 and MUSI 304) This seminar explores the practice and influence of John Cage. Although primarily regarded as a composer of music, Cage was also a writer, publishing essays and poetry, and a printmaker of both etchings and monotypes. He moved among creative media, yet understanding Cage’s practice in this regard has been a difficult—even an anxious—endeavor. Published debates on hearing, reading, and seeing that fuel this media anxiety will underscore discussions throughout the semester as we consider Cage alongside creative influences such as Erik Satie, Marcel Duchamp, and James Joyce, and collaborators such as Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, and David Tudor. Furthermore, we will delve into the practice of contemporary artists whose work exhibits an indebtedness to Cage. This course may include a field trip to The John Cage Trust at Bard College. One class meeting per week. (NB: this course may be counted towards the music major, but it does not fulfill the seminar requirement for the major.)
Requisite: one course in art history, studio art, creative writing, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 15 students. Not open to first-year students. Omitted 2012-13. Visiting Professor Saletnik.
2023-24: Not offeredPerformance and Analysis I
Members of the class will be assigned to chamber ensembles, representing a range of repertoire from the past and present. Ensembles will include both student and artist musicians, who will prepare works for performance in class sessions and private coachings. Intensive class analysis will serve as the basis of musical expression and interpretation. This course is open to singers and instrumentalists. MUSI 309 may be elected either as a full credit or half credit and may be repeated.
Admission with consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Kallick.
2023-24: Not offeredPerformance and Analysis II
Members of the class will be assigned to chamber ensembles, representing a range of repertoire from the past and present. Ensembles will include both student and artist musicians, who will prepare works for performance in class sessions and private coachings. Intensive class analysis will serve as the basis of musical expression and interpretation. This course is open to singers and instrumentalists. MUSI 310 may be elected either as a full credit or half credit and may be repeated.
Admission with consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Professor Schneider.
2023-24: Not offeredPerformance in Place: Site Specific
(Offered as THDA 352, FAMS 342 and MUSI 352.) The focus of this studio course will be to create performances, events, happenings and installations in multiple locations both on and off campus. This course is especially designed for students in dance, theater, film/video, art, music and creative writing who want to explore the challenges and potentials in creating performances outside of traditional "frames" or venues (e.g., the theater, the gallery, the lecture hall, etc.). At the center of our inquiry will be questions of space, place and community. In the first few weeks of the semester we will tour different sites and research multiple historical and contemporary examples of site-specific performances and artists across media. We will then select different sites--based on student interest and location access--and spend the rest of the semester creating events/performances on site. Students will work in collaborative teams to create these performances for these places. Interaction with communities at these sites will also be explored, connecting the artistic work to community engagement and raising awareness of the issues and ethics involved in site-specific performance. These projects will be performed in process and at the end of the semester in a three-day festival. Different guest artists in dance, theater, art, sound and political activism will join the class and work with designated groups.
Class meeting Fridays 1-4; outside rehearsal/lab sessions TBA
Requisite: Previous experience in improvisation and/or composition in dance, theater, performance, film/video, music/sound, installation, creative writing, and/or design is required. Spring semester. Professor Woodson with Guest Artists.
2023-24: Not offered
Composition Seminar I
Composition according to the needs and experience of the individual student. One class meeting per week and private conferences. This course may be repeated.
Requisite: MUSI 269 or the equivalent, and consent of the instructor. Fall semester. Professor Sawyer.
Other years: Offered in Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2022, Fall 2023Composition Seminar II
A continuation of MUSI 371. One class meeting per week and private conferences. This course may be repeated.
Requisite: MUSI 371 or the equivalent and consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Professor Sawyer.
Other years: Offered in Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2023Special Topics
Independent Reading Course. A half course.
Fall and spring semesters.
Other years: Offered in Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023Mozart and the Classical Style
(Offered as MUSI 420 and EUST 420.) As one of the most popular composers of all time, Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) has come to be taken as the paradigm for the creative genius who produces beautiful art with seemingly no effort--a child of nature, to use a popular eighteenth-century trope, unencumbered by the struggles of adulthood. In this seminar we will examine the cultural-historical context that produced Mozart, his music, and, even before his untimely death, the "Mozart myth." The main texts for the class will be scores of Mozart's mature compositions--symphonies, chamber music, concertos, and most important, operas--as well as selected works by his contemporaries and predecessors. We will interpret these works with the help of primary documents relating to Mozart's life, and with the help of analytic methods developed by scholars such as Wye J. Allanbrook, William Caplan, Daniel Heartz, Robert Levin, and Leonard Ratner. Our studies will be integrated into attending performances of Mozart's work in New York or Boston. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Schneider.
2023-24: Not offeredMusic and Revolution: The Symphonies of Mahler and Shostakovich
(Offered as MUSI 422 and EUST 422.) Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) are arguably the two greatest symphonic composers after Beethoven. In this course we will compare and contrast their highly charged music and explore the eras in which they worked--for Mahler, imperial Vienna on the eve of World War I, and for Shostakovich, revolutionary Russia under the tyrannical reign of Joseph Stalin. The class will attend Mahler and Shostakovich performances in New York and Boston, particularly as the musical world marks Mahler's 150th birthday in 2010 and the 100th anniversary of his death in 2011. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Kallick.
2023-24: Not offeredSeminar in Popular Music: Popular Music and Cultural Identity
Music often serves as one of the primary ways that we create and maintain identities. Our social groups--peers, colleagues, acquaintances--are often determined by shared affinities for specific musical styles, artists, and the world views they come to represent. Yet music is also frequently used to catalyze various forms of social and political activism, challenge our relationship to society and structures of power, and initiate change. This seminar explores the nature of popular music and its relationship to culture, politics, and identity. The first part of the course surveys the discourse of popular music studies and the various trends in cultural studies that have prompted new ways of examining the relationship between popular music and social and cultural identities. We will use this theoretical landscape to analyze an array of popular music cultures in and beyond the United States. The second part of the course focuses on developing multifaceted research projects that put these theories to use. Students will be encouraged to combine ethnographic research (interviews, location-based research) with historical and critical analysis to generate a unique, personal project exploring the relationship between music and identity. Two class meetings per week. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 111 or consent of the instructor. Limited to 15 students. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredSeminar in the Anthropology of Music: Listening, Hearing, Audition
What happens when you think about music from the perspective of listening, hearing, and audition? How does the way people listen vary over time and across distances? What knowledge of musical experience, musical values, and the social and cultural significance of music-making does this approach generate? This seminar engages these questions by examining listening and audition as culturally specific practices, as forms of performance in their own right, as forms of consumption and exchange, and as relationships to technologies. Drawing on a wide variety of musics, media, and scholarly work, we will think comparatively about the difference between listening and hearing, sound and hierarchies of the senses, representations of listening in various media, the relationship of sound and audition in various religious traditions, and the relationship of listening to musical analysis, structure, and meaning. The seminar will culminate with ethnographic, historical, creative, or performance projects. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Professor Engelhardt.
2023-24: Not offeredImprovised Music: Spectrum, Theory, and Practice
Functioning as a combined seminar and performance workshop, this course explores the theory and practice of musical improvisation. Rather than focus on one specific musical style, we will define “improvised music” in an inclusive way that draws equally from American and European experimental musics, various approaches to post-1965 jazz improvisation, and several musical traditions from around the world that prominently use improvisation. Students will be encouraged to develop new performance practices drawn from and in dialogue with these diverse musical traditions. Reading, listening, and video assignments will help familiarize students with the burgeoning field of improvised music studies and will serve to guide class discussions. Students with any musical/stylistic background are encouraged to enroll. Two class meetings per week. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: Basic instrumental or vocal proficiency and consent of the instructor. Senior seminar. Limited to 10 students. Spring semester. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offeredServing the Tsars and the Party
(Offered as MUSI 442 and EUST 313.) Russian music has long been a staple of the repertory of "classical music" in the concert halls of the world, but the relationship of the seductive sounds of this music to the complex culture that produced it is rarely understood outside of Russia. This course examines connections between Russian culture and Russian music through in-depth analysis of individual works of music and reading of related canonic texts. Starting with the emergence of Russian nationalism and the nationally motivated myths of Pushkin and Glinka in the 1830s, we will critically assess the achievements of the Russian national school in music in the nineteenth century; explore the Western face of Russian art through the showcases of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet in Paris in the first decades of the twentieth century; follow the cataclysmic changes in cultural politics after the October Revolution and their effect on music; and take a close look at musical politics during the years of Stalinist terror. Composers to be discussed include Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 242 or consent of the instructor. Fall semester. Valentine Professor Móricz.
2023-24: Not offeredRepertoire and Analysis
A continuation of MUSI 242. In this course we will study music by a wide variety of nineteenth-century composers, including Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Musorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Works will be considered from a number of different analytical perspectives including methods current in the nineteenth century and those developed more recently. Comparing analytical methods of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will enable students to gain a critical perspective on each and to learn about the limits of analysis and interpretation in general. Work will consist of short weekly assignments, papers, and class presentations. Two class meetings and two ear-training sections per week. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 241 and 242, or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Valentine Professor Móricz.
2023-24: Not offeredTwentieth-Century Analysis
In this seminar we explore stylistic characteristics of compositions that demonstrate the most important tendencies in twentieth-century music. Instead of applying one analytical method, we try out various approaches to twentieth-century music, taking into consideration the composers’ different educational and cultural backgrounds. The repertory of focus will consist of compositions written in the first half of the twentieth century in Europe, Russia and America (including words by Debussy, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Bartok, Copland), but will also sample music by late twentieth-century composers. Two class meetings and two ear-training sections per week. Fulfills either the departmental seminar requirement or the comprehensive exam requirement for the major.
Requisite: MUSI 241 or 242, or consent of the instructor. Omitted 2012-13. Valentine Professor Móricz.
2023-24: Not offeredPatterns, Principles and Processes in Sound
How do people organize sound into music? How do they organize themselves to make music? What do musicians hear in and think about the music they are making? How can one describe and compare patterns, principles, and processes in different musics? This course addresses these questions through the close study of rhythm, groove, and meter, harmonic practices, mode and tuning, pedagogy, composition, and improvisation, and musical form in a variety of musical traditions from around the world. Our explorations will cover popular, classical, and improvised musics from the Balkans, the Indian subcontinent, North and South America, West and East Africa, the Caribbean, and East and Central Asia, as well as globalized forms of hip hop and electronic dance music, for instance. The goal of this course is to develop translatable ways of thinking analytically about and listening closely to musical patterns, principles, and processes. This course includes lecture-demonstrations by visiting artists, weekly listening and analytical work, and hands-on engagement with music. Two class meetings per week.
Requisite: MUSI 111, 112, or consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Professor Engelhardt.
2023-24: Not offeredSenior Departmental Honors
Advanced work for Honors candidates in music history and criticism, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, or performance. A thesis, a major composition project or a full-length recital will be required. No student shall elect more than one semester as a double course. A full course.
Spring semester.
Other years: Offered in Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023Introduction to Music
FALL SEMESTER DESCRIPTION:
This course is intended for students with little or no background in music who would like to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of how music works. Students will be introduced to different kinds of musical notation, melodic systems, harmonies, meters, and rhythmic techniques with the goal of attaining basic competence in the performance and creation of music. The music we analyze and perform will be drawn from the Western tonal tradition as well as a variety of other musical traditions. Assignments will include notational exercises, short papers, and the preparation of music for classroom performance. This course serves as a prerequisite for many other Music Department offerings. Three class meetings and one lab section per week.
Students with some musical experience contemplating MUSI 111 are encouraged to take a self-administered placement exam available on reserve in the Music Library and on the Music Department Website (www.amherst.edu/~music/TheoryPlacement.pdf). Students are also encouraged to discuss placement in music theory with a member of the Music Department.
Limited to 30 students. Fall semester. Professor Engelhardt.
SPRING SEMESTER DESCRIPTION:
This course is intended for students with little or no background in music who would like to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of how music works. Students will be introduced into the technical details of music such as musical notation, intervals, basic harmony, meter and rhythm. Familiarity with basic music theory will enable students to read and perform at sight as well as to compose melodies with chordal accompaniment. Music analyzed and performed during the course will be drawn primarily from the Western tonal tradition. Assignments will include notational exercises, short papers and preparation of music for classroom performance. This course serves as a requisite for many of the music department offerings. Three class meetings and one lab section per week.
Students with some musical experience contemplating MUSI 111 are encouraged to take a self-administered placement exam available on reserve in the Music Library and on the Music Department Website (www.amherst.edu/~music/TheoryPlacement.pdf). Students are also encouraged to discuss placement in music theory with a member of the Music Department.
Limited to 30 students. Spring semester. Professor Robinson.
Other years: Offered in Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023Words and Music for Theatrical Performance
(Offered as THDA 280 and MUSI 260.) Conducted as a collaborative workshop among student writers and composers, this course explores the close relationship between words and music. While working together on new music/text pieces for the stage, we will seek to arrive at various definitions of "music theater." In addition to ongoing creative assignments, we will examine existing works in various genres, including songs, musical theater, opera and other experimental forms. Featured writers and composers will include Brecht and Weill, Auden/Kallman and Stravinsky, Sondheim and Bernstein, and Goodman and Adams, among others. Although students with varied experience in musical composition and/or creative writing will be admitted, all students should expect both to write text, to compose music and to work together doing so. Regular class meetings will be supplemented by individual tutorials. The course will culminate in a public performance of final projects created in collaboration with other students.
Admission with consent of the instructors. Limited to 16 students. Spring semester. Professor Bashford and Visiting Professor Meltzer.
2023-24: Not offered
Choral Ensemble (Women's Chorus, Glee Club, Concert Choir)
This course entails the study of music from the perspective of ensemble or combo participation. Repertoire will include those compositions programmed by the director of a particular group in each semester. Work for the course will include thorough preparation of one’s individual part, intensive listening preparation, and short analytical and historical projects. This course will culminate with a public performance. This course may be repeated. Students who wish to elect performance ensemble credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first enrollment of performance ensemble.
This course may be elected only with the written consent of the ensemble director and the Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance ensemble at Amherst College:
a. All performance ensemble courses will be elected as a half course.
b. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
c. A student electing a performance ensemble course may carry four and one-half courses each semester, or four and one-half courses the first semester and three and one-half courses the second semester.
d. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance ensemble in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Ensemble
This course entails the study of music from the perspective of ensemble or combo participation. Repertoire will include those compositions programmed by the director of a particular group in each semester. Work for the course will include thorough preparation of one’s individual part, intensive listening preparation, and short analytical and historical projects. This course will culminate with a public performance. This course may be repeated. Students who wish to elect performance ensemble credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first enrollment of performance ensemble.
This course may be elected only with the written consent of the ensemble director and the Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance ensemble at Amherst College:
a. All performance ensemble courses will be elected as a half course.
b. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
c. A student electing a performance ensemble course may carry four and one-half courses each semester, or four and one-half courses the first semester and three and one-half courses the second semester.
d. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance ensemble in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Combo Ensemble
This course entails the study of music from the perspective of ensemble or combo participation. Repertoire will include those compositions programmed by the director of a particular group in each semester. Work for the course will include thorough preparation of one’s individual part, intensive listening preparation, and short analytical and historical projects. This course will culminate with a public performance. This course may be repeated. Students who wish to elect performance ensemble credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first enrollment of performance ensemble.
This course may be elected only with the written consent of the ensemble director and the Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance ensemble at Amherst College:
a. All performance ensemble courses will be elected as a half course.
b. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
c. A student electing a performance ensemble course may carry four and one-half courses each semester, or four and one-half courses the first semester and three and one-half courses the second semester.
d. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance ensemble in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredOrchestra Performance
This course entails the study of music from the perspective of ensemble or combo participation. Repertoire will include those compositions programmed by the director of a particular group in each semester. Work for the course will include thorough preparation of one’s individual part, intensive listening preparation, and short analytical and historical projects. This course will culminate with a public performance. This course may be repeated. Students who wish to elect performance ensemble credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first enrollment of performance ensemble.
This course may be elected only with the written consent of the ensemble director and the Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance ensemble at Amherst College:
a. All performance ensemble courses will be elected as a half course.
b. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
c. A student electing a performance ensemble course may carry four and one-half courses each semester, or four and one-half courses the first semester and three and one-half courses the second semester.
d. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance ensemble in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredChamber Music Performance
This course entails the study of music from the perspective of ensemble or combo participation. Repertoire will include those compositions programmed by the director of a particular group in each semester. Work for the course will include thorough preparation of one’s individual part, intensive listening preparation, and short analytical and historical projects. This course will culminate with a public performance. This course may be repeated. Students who wish to elect performance ensemble credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first enrollment of performance ensemble.
This course may be elected only with the written consent of the ensemble director and the Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance ensemble at Amherst College:
a. All performance ensemble courses will be elected as a half course.
b. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
c. A student electing a performance ensemble course may carry four and one-half courses each semester, or four and one-half courses the first semester and three and one-half courses the second semester.
d. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance ensemble in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredPiano Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions. A form located on the bulletin board outside Music Room 212 must be filled out in order to receive an instructor for piano.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredVoice Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions. A form located on the bulletin board outside Music Room 212 must be filled out in order to receive an instructor for voice.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredViolin Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions. A form located on the bulletin board outside Music Room 212 must be filled out in order to receive an instructor for violin.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredViola Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions. A form located on the bulletin board outside Music Room 212 must be filled out in order to receive an instructor for viola.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredTrumpet Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredPercussion Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredSaxophone Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredFrench Horn Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredClarinet Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredCello Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredClassical Guitar Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredString Bass Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredFlute Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredChoral Conducting Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredOrchestra Conducting Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredFiddle Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredBanjo Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Piano Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Voice Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Guitar Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz Bass Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredBassoon Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredOrgan Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredTuba Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredTrombone Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredHarp Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredOboe Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredLute Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredMallets Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredVeena Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredTabla Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredMridangam Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredBalafon Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredRecorder Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredMandolin Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredShakuhachi Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-credit Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredHarpsichord Performance Instruction
A fee is charged to cover the expense for this special type of instruction. For 2012-13 the fee for this course will be $675, for which the student is fully committed following the end of the add/drop period. Those students who are receiving need-based scholarship assistance from Amherst College will be given additional scholarship grants in the full amount of these fees. Students who wish to elect performance for credit must meet the following criteria:
1. An instrumental or vocal proficiency of at least intermediate level as determined by the Department.
2. Enrollment in one full-time Music Department course concurrently with the first semester’s enrollment in performance instruction.
This course may be elected only with the consent of the Music Department Coordinator. This course may be repeated. The following arrangements pertain to the study of performance at Amherst College:
a. All performance courses will be elected as a half course. Only senior Music Majors preparing a recital may take performance as a full course.
b. Fifty minutes of private instruction (12 lessons per semester) will be given and regular practice is expected.
c. Two half courses in performance may be counted as the equivalent of one full course for fulfilling degree requirements. These two half courses must be in the same instrument (or in voice); though not strictly required, the Department urges that the two semesters be consecutive.
d. A student electing a performance course may carry four and a half courses each semester, or four and a half courses the first semester and three and a half courses the second semester.
e. Only with special permission of the Department may students elect more than one performance course in a semester. This request must be in writing to the Department Chair with detailed explanation on why this request is being made. This also requires a special request form obtained from the Registrar with signatures needed from your advisor, your Dean, the Chair of the Music Department, and the Music Department Coordinator.
Students should consult with the Music Department Coordinator to arrange for teachers and auditions.
Instruction in performance is also available through the Five Colleges with all of the above conditions pertaining; a student wishing to study under this arrangement must enroll through Five College Interchange.
Half credit. Fall and spring semesters.
2023-24: Not offeredJazz History After 1945: Experimentalism, Pluralism, and Traditionalism
(Offered as MUSI 227 and BLST 244 [US].) One of two courses that trace the development of jazz from its emergence in early 20th-century New Orleans to its profound impact on American culture. Jazz History after 1945 explores the emergence of bebop in the 1940s, the shift of jazz's relationship with American popular culture after World War II, and the dramatic pluralization of jazz practice after the 1950s. We will also look at the emergence of fusion and the jazz avant-garde of the 1960s and 1970s, and theorize the reformulation of "tradition" during the 1980s. Central to our examination will be the phenomenon of "neoclassicism" common in jazz discourse today, measuring that against the radical diversity of jazz practice around the world. Many figures central to the development of the varied post-bebop directions in jazz will be discussed: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Ornette Coleman, the New York Downtown scene, and many others. Two class meetings per week.
Fall semester. Professor Robinson.
2023-24: Not offered