The focus of this course is to gain basic listening skills by deepening your understanding of the essential elements of music. We will be primarily involved with the classical music repertoire, but will also regularly spend time with a wide variety of music, including, jazz, the blues, Latin American music, and popular music. The course requires careful, purposeful listening, and the strengthening of these abilities is our goal. The primary elements we discuss are rhythm, texture, timbre, and form. This is not a lecture course. We engage in a variety of activities each day, all involving class discussions based upon listening done in class and at home, and your regular participation is essential. Much of what we do is interpretive, and a variety of opinions are shared and appreciated. We also seek to gain an overview of the continuum of Western music history through the study of the major composers and styles of the
Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque era, Classical era, 19th-century, and 20th-century. Along with this, we will establish this repertory’s relevance to the music of today and to our musical education and development.