Syllabus

MUS 5030 Post-Tonal Analysis
OU School of Music
Spring 2024

Professor and General Course Information

Professor:                      Dr. Ciro G. Scotto
Office:  591B
email:  scotto@ohio.edu

Office Hours:                By appointment on TEAMS

Course Info:                  MUS 5030 Class Number 2555 Section 100
Credits: 4
Meeting Time: MWF 10:45-11:40
Location: RM 476

Prerequisites:                Graduate Standing

Required Course Materials

Text (not required):    Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory by Joseph N. Straus
(4^th edition) W. W Norton: ISBN 978-0-393-93883-8
(3^rd edition) Pearson Prentice Hall: ISBN 0-13-189890-6.
Library MT40.S96 2005

Additional Resources: the Classical Music Library http://clmu.alexanderstreet.com.proxy.usf.edu/

Notation Program:      We will use the notation programs Sibelius or Finale for all of our work. If you do not own a copy of Sibelius, the music lab computers may all have the programs installed. You can also use an online notation program, such as Noteflight: https://www.noteflight.com/login

Additional Materials: Manuscript paper or music staff paper, pencils, erasers (most important), and pencil sharpeners. If you prefer printing your own music paper, use a good music notation program, such as Sibelius or a web site, such as www.blanksheetmusic.net for free manuscript paper. I will give you extra credit for appropriate assignments completed using a notation program. Obtaining a three ring binder to store and organize the copious class handouts is a very good idea.

Interactive Study Guides:   

E-mail:                           You must have an e-mail account.  This will be our primary means of communication outside the classroom and office hours.  If you have a question about course material or any other course related matter, you can always reach me by e-mail.  I will also use e-mail to send important announcements to the entire class.  If you use an e-mail address that is different than your USF address, send me a message at scotto@ohio.edu with your preferred email address. You should check your email regularly for information pertaining to the class.

Blackboard:                 I will post all class notes and homework assignments on Blackboard. The Blackboard site for the class will contain additional required and supplementary materials. Students are responsible for knowing this material whether it is covered in class or not. I will also be posting grades on Blackboard.

Course Guidelines, Policies, and Grading

Course Objectives and Course Structure:

This is a course designed to both introduce you to twentieth century Western Art Music and teach you the skills and techniques required to analyze this repertoire. Your text for the course provides some of the analytical tools needed to analyze twentieth century music. The lectures will focus on solidifying your understanding of the theoretical tools and applying those tools to specific compositions.  The class is divided into four units:

Unit I—Fundamentals (1/18—2/6): Since the force of functional tonality becomes much less apparent in the compositions in this unit, we will acquire new analytical tools as part of our attempt to understand how these compositions work. We will also examine how Twentieth-Century composers extended the techniques of romantic composers and of tonal music itself.

Unit II—Atonal Compositions (2/8—3/15): We will use the analytical tools acquired in the previous unit and learn some new techniques to helps us analyze compositions in the second atonal unit. These compositions no longer rely on functional tonality as their main organizing principle. As well as analyzing works, we will attempt to use our "reverse engineered" knowledge to create a short composition

Unit III—Twelve-Tone Music (3/17—4/17): In this unit, we will learn about one of the most significant compositional developments in the twentieth century, twelve-tone or serial composition. We will examine the way composers used an ordering imposed on the twelve pitch classes to create structural relationship in their compositions. The concepts and techniques to be studied in this unit are the aggregate, twelve tone rows, order positions, 12 X 12 matrix, row names, basic row operations, row segments, subset structure, repeated notes, simultaneous occurrence of row forms, row linkage (secondary sets), invariance, combinatoriality, twelve-tone areas, and row partitions.

Unit IV-New Musical Spaces, Timbre, and Texture (4/21—4/28): The third unit of our selective exploration of the twentieth century focuses on the works of composers, such as Carter, Crumb, and Schwantner, who continued to develop the techniques of atonal composition.  That is, they continued to work with unordered collections.  These composers also worked with timbre as a musical parameter in the same way that traditional composers worked with pitch.  Many of these compositions contain extended instrumental techniques, such as multiphonics. We will also explore the influence of the developments in technology on compositional structures.

Attendance:                   It is essential that you attend each lecture.

1)         An attendance sign-up sheet will be at the entrance to the class. You must sign this sheet as you enter the class. If you are late, you will not be able to sign the sheet. Therefore, being late is equivalent to being absent.

2)         You must attend lectures to develop a command of the material because each lecture builds on the material presented in previous lectures. Missing a lecture can create a gap in your understanding of the material.

3)         I understand the pressures of balancing academic and performing commitments. If you miss class, you are responsible for all material covered during lectures.

4)         If you must miss class, contact me by email or leave a message in my voice mail before the class meeting (740) 566-6437.           

5)         Furthermore, office hours with me will ONLY cover material from the current week. If you do not understand the lecture material, because you have not been attending lectures, you will have to hire a tutor to help you catch up.

6)         Excused absences must be documented by either a physician or OU Student Services. Illness, religious observance, and family emergencies are all valid excuses for absence if they are documented.

7)         Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious holiday must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting. A poor attendance record (missing four or more lectures) is ground for failure.

 

Lectures:                       The lectures demonstrate how to apply the concepts we learn to music.

1)         You must pay attention during class. Do not talk or text during class. Shut off or silence your cell phones before the start of class.

2)         Students must read the assigned material for a lecture before attending the lecture. Come to class prepared with questions about the material.

3)         Students are responsible for the content of the text whether the lecture addresses the material or not.

4)         You are responsible for all the material presented in the lectures.

5)         Have all handouts and musical examples with you at every lecture. Even though the course moves in a linear progression, material from previous lectures may be relevant to the current lecture.

6)         Please number the measures of any scores given out in class. Pickup measures do not count in the numbering. First and second endings receive the same measure number. Add the letter A to first endings and B to second endings.

7)         Come to class ready to participate. I like active classrooms. Although I enjoy hearing myself talk, I would enjoy interacting with you even more.

8)         If you have any questions that were not covered during the lecture, or if you do not understand the material, make sure you come to an office hour. If you cannot make the office hour, send me an email to arrange a meeting.

Taping Lectures:          I give my permission to tape my lectures and to sell notes or tapes of lectures.

Academic Integrity:     Intellectual honesty is obligatory in this course. This means that you must never pass off the ideas or work of someone else as your own. A student found guilty of such an offense will automatically fail the course. The restrictions against plagiarism apply not only to exams and term papers, but also to daily assignments.

Grading Components:

Assignments               40% Midterm Paper            15% Final Paper                   20% Compositions/Quizzes 15% Attendance                   10%

Grading Scale:         

 

 

Grading Policy:          

Incompletes:                No incomplete course grades will be given unless extraordinary circumstances keep you from finishing the course.

 

Attendance:                 Each unexcused absence will result in a .5 deduction from your final grade. For example, if your final tally of homework, quizzes and exams yields 91 points, three absences will result in a 1.5-point deduction. Your grade will change from an A- to a B+.

Homework:                 

1. Incomplete assignments: if assignments are handed in partially complete, they will be graded as follows:
   Top grade for an assignment 3/4 complete: B
   Top grade for an assignment 1/2 complete: D- (1/2 to 3/4 complete: scaled accordingly.)
2. I will not accept late homework unless you were absent from class with a documented excuse.
3. Hand in all homework as you enter class. After you sign the attendance sheet, place your assignment in the homework pile.
4. Students cannot make-up a homework assignment.
5. No extra credit work substituting for assignments will be given.
6. If you believe an error occurred in the grading of your assignment, contact me by email to arrange a meeting.

Exams and Quizzes:

1. Quizzes and exams test a students understanding and level of skill acquisition.

2)         The quizzes and exams cover material in the assigned readings, lectures, and homework.

3)         I reserve the right to give a surprise quiz, if I feel the course material is not receiving the attention it deserves.

4)         No make-up exams or quizzes will be given.

5)         The dates for midterm exam and quizzes (except surprises quizzes) are listed in the course schedule. The final exam will be announced in class and on Blackboard.

6)         The exams and quizzes may consist of short answers questions, multiple choice questions, analysis, and part writing.

7)         If you believe an error occurred in the grading of you exam or quiz, contact me by email to arrange a meeting.

 

 

Exam Study Guide:

1)         Take notes in class.

2)         Use your notes to study for exams.

3)         When reading your text, highlight important concepts and key words.

4)         Review old assignments, especially assignments where you lost points for errors. Make sure you know how to correct those errors.

5)         Do not do your homework 5 minutes before class. Acquiring musical knowledge is a slow and steady process. A little work every day is worth more than a marathon study session one day before an exam.

6)         Ask questions in class.

7)         Come to an office hour.

Semester Progress:      I will post weekly progress reports on Blackboard. Your weekly progress consists of your attendance deductions (if any) plus your homework and exam grades. In other words, it will show you what your final grade would be if the semester ended in the current week. You will also receive a midterm grade progress report.

Diversity Statement

Ohio University is committed to supporting inclusion of diverse people and populations within and beyond our campus community. It is crucial that we commit to learning from one another in our classroom and provide an environment where if something is occurring that prevents us from being able to succeed, we talk about and address it. Discrimination has a negative impact on one’s learning, and my hope is that we can create a classroom environment in which all are able to learn and succeed.

All reading assignments are preparation for the following lecture. For example, the reading for the 1/19 lecture is assigned on 1/17. You are responsible for all reading assignments. I may give a pop quiz on the reading assignments.

 

Homework: the description of the assignments is very general. However, they will be similar to the assignments listed at the end of each chapter in the text. If you want to extra practice, do the assignments at the end of the chapter.

Course Schedule:

Week	Day	Topic	Reading	Assignment	Due Date
		Unit I-Fundamentals
1	W-1/17	Introduction Context, Expectation, Language, Interpretation. X-files, perception Magic Eye and Dali	None
	F-1/19	Stravinsky and Bach New Functions for Motives New Foundations for Musical Structure: Intervals	None
2	M-1/22	Into the Twilight Liszt-- Bagatelle without Tonality New Functions for Motives New Foundations for Musical Structure: Motive and their Intervals Musical Syntax derived from motivic structure Form—derived from interval distribution rather than harmonic function Concepts: Informally Introduction to: Octave Equivalence, Enharmonic Equivalence, Pitch Class, Sets, Subsets, Inclusion.	None
	W-1/24	Into the Twilight Musical Syntax derived from motivic structure Informally Introduction to: Octave Equivalence, Enharmonic Equivalence, Pitch Class, Sets, Subsets, Inclusion.	None	Analysis I Unstern Composition Assignment I (optional): Write an eight-measure phrase using the three dim7 chords as the source material. Create a quasi-antecedent consequent phrase structure	1/24

 

	F-1/26	Theme from Webern’s Symphonie, Op. 21 and one variation. Theme: New Types of Intervals	Straus, Chap. 1
3	M-1/29	Theme from Webern’s Symphonie, Op. 21 and one variation. Theme: New Types of Intervals
	W-1/31	Concepts—Formal: Octave Equivalence, Pitch Class, Enharmonic Equivalence Integer Notation (mod 12) New Interval Notation Pitch intervals (ordered and unordered), Contour		Handout Assignment on Intervals (Rahn) Exercises on integer notation Translate integer notation to pitch (two versions of same string of numbers) Mod 12 exercises	1/28
	F-2/2	Theme: Introduction to Pitch-class Sets and Set Classes Interval Vector (not matrix method)		Composition II (optional): Compose a four-measure phrase based on intervals as the source material. Analyze your phrase.	1/31
4	M-2/5	Continue Introduction to Sets—trichrods, tetrachords, and identification by interval vector.
		Unit II Atonal Pitch-Class Set Theory
	W-2/7	Voiles by Debussy (Aliens—foreshadowing, connection of non-adjacent points). Concepts: Transposition and inversion—new foundations for relating musical structure	Straus, Chap. 2	Analysis: Trichordal analysis of theme from Piano Variations	2/4
	F-2/9	Voiles by Debussy Symmetrical Collections/Interval Cycles Form—derived from interval distribution rather than harmonic function
5	M-2/12	Concerto for Nine Instruments, Op. 24 by Webern, mm 1-8 Theme: more application of interval concepts: Segmentation
	W-2/14	Informal Introduction to Transposition and Inversion (Based on tonal transposition and inversion)
	F-2/16	Concepts: Formal version of transposition and Inversion Pitch Transposition versus Pitch-class transposition Pitch and pitch class transposition Ordered and unordered sets Pitch and pitch class inversion, ordered and ordered inversion of sets, index number		Handout Assignment on Transposition and Inversion (Based on Webern Assignment)	2/14
6	M-2/19	III, Carter String Quartet no. 1, mm 1-8. Concepts: Z-relation, the trichord and tetrachordal set classes, subsets, Introduction to Normal Form-Comparing pitch-class sets.	Straus, Chap. 3	Webern Handout Analysis Assignment	2/21
	W-2/21	Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste (Fractals) Concepts: Interval Cycles as generators of form Transposition and inversion—new foundations for relating musical structure Analysis of Theme
	F-2/23	Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste (cont.) Concepts: More on segmentation, More on transposition and inversion, Introduction to transpositionally and inversionally symmetrical sets [0167], [0156]. (set classes that have fewer than 24 distinct forms)		Composition III (optional): Compose a theme that is at least 8 measures long that uses intervals and trichords to structure the theme. Theme must contain two examples of transposed or inverted set-classes. Provide an analysis of the theme.	2/25

 

7	M-2/26	Piece no. 1 from Op. 11 by Schoenberg Concepts: Z-relation, the trichord and tetrachordal set classes, subsets, Introduction to Normal Form-Comparing pitch-class sets
	W-2/28	Introduction to Normal Form-Comparing pitch-class sets. Concepts: Set Class Algorithm
	F-3/1	Cont.
8	M-3/4	Mondestrunken from Pierrot Lunaire Analysis of the piece Process in the piece Concepts: Pitch class sets—trichords and tetrachords subsets Segmentation and analysis Common Tones under Tn and TnI.		Analysis II—set classes and set class relations (Sicut Umbra)	3/4
	W-3/4	Nacht from Pierrot Lunaire and Piano Common Tones under Inversion and Transposition
	F-3/8	Altenberg Lieder, no. 2, by Alban Berg Application of concepts
9	M-3/11-3/15	Spring Break
10	M-3/18	Unit III 12-Tone Theory Webern: Symphony, Op. 21, Mov. II Concepts: Naming 12-tone Rows Producing a matrix Basic operation Subset structure Complement relation Using the 12-tone row to control subsets		Midterm Project Assigned	3/27
	W-3/20	Webern: Symphony, Op. 21, Mov. II Analysis of piece Concepts: 12-counting a piece		Create matrix for row Provide interval series for all four forms Find rows by name Subset content of row	3/18
	F-3/22	Dallapicolla: Sicut Umbra, Movement III		Analysis III Sicut Umbra by Dallapiccola, Mov. 1	3/21
11	M-3/25	Schoenberg, Op. 33a. Apply all concepts Theme: Invariance and centrist sets Concepts: Invariant sets as part of a row and their effect on row structure Webern: Symphony, Op. 21, Mov. 2, Var IV		Analysis IV: Find rows in Variation III of Op. 21 Mov. II.	3/25
	W-3/27	Cont.
	F-3/29	Cont.
12	M-4/1	Theme: Invariance continued Dallapiccola, Goethe Songs Concepts: Creating invariance in 12-tone rows that do not contain invariant sets
	W-4/3	Cont.		Invariance assignment	4/7
	F-4/5	Cont.
13	M-4/8	Theme: Introduction to Hexachordal Combinatoriality—A special Type of Invariance Analysis: Babbitt, Three Compositions for Piano, Mov. I. Concepts: Hexachordal Combinatoriality
	W-4/10	Cont.
	F-4/12	Cont.
14	M-4/15	String Quartet no. 4, mm. 1-29, by Schoenberg Analysis Concepts: Hexachordal Combinatoriality
	W-4/17	Cont.		Combinatoriality Analysis Assignment	4/21
	F-4/19	Cont.		Composition V: compose a 12-tone row that is capable of producing hexachordal combinatoriality and two types of invariances.
15	M-4/22	Boulez-Le Marteau sans maitre.		Begin work on final project. Handout Final Paper Assignment
	W-4/24	Cont.
	F-4/26	Cont.
	M-4/29	Last Class During Final Time
FW	F-5/3	Final Project Due		Due 12:00 PM