University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Courses
MUSC
168 courses with the subject MUSC, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
MUSC 100Individual Keyboard Lessons0.5-1
Individual lessons in piano, organ, or harpsichord. Sections by instructor.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
0.5
Credits (max)
1
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 8 total credits.
Beginning group piano for minors and nonmajors, including introduction to reading from score. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours. Sections by instructor.
An introduction to concepts and methods fundamental to the study, practice, and performance of music. The course provides a foundation for undergraduate students interested in the study of music. Students will gain an appreciation for music's significance across repertories and develop the aptitude to think about music in different ways. Intended for music majors and minors.
Notational and theoretical materials of tonal music, with musicianship skills developed. Intended for the nonmajor who wishes to learn basic systems of melody, harmony, rhythm, meter, and form in tonal music and to express musical ideas in five-line staff notation.
This course is an introductory exploration of musical improvisation in non-style specific sound environments. An emphasis will be placed on learning through hands-on performance with one's instrument, voice, and/or computer.
This course is a study in ear-based performance and analysis, and engages with topics from applied music cognition. This course does not rely on conventional Western ''five-line staff'' musical notation.
Enrollment subject to a placement test. An introduction to tonal music theory and analysis for students who intend to pursue a music degree. Course covers basic principles of melody, counterpoint, rhythm, and meter. Honors version available.
This course provides an introduction to music theory--defined as an examination of the underlying patterns deployed by composers, performers, and listeners in creating and comprehending music within a style--for students whose background is primarily aural and/or outside of the notational practices of Western art music or who want to undertake a study of music theory from that perspective.
A chronological survey of the history of Western art music from the Middle Ages to the present. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
A survey of rock music history, culture, and musical styles. The course includes extensive listening and an overview of the music's development and evolution.
A survey and investigation of country music from 1920 to the present. This course addresses the music, history, culture, and meaning, across a broad and inclusive of styles, with, with emphasis on critical listening.
A survey of jazz music from its origins to the present. The course builds skills in critical listening and blends discussion of musical materials and historical and cultural contexts.
The study of music in and as culture. Topics may include the performance cultures of Native America, south Asia, Australia, Africa, east Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
MUSC 147Introduction to the Music of the Américas3
An introduction to contemporary Latin(o) American popular music, focusing on how musicians have negotiated an increasingly global popular culture industry.
An introduction to Black musical cultures with a focus on understanding how music is made within social, geographical, and political contexts. The course includes experiential learning, live concert attendance, and conversations with practicing musicians in various musical traditions.
MUSC 150Introduction to Hip-Hop Music and Culture3
What are the fundamental understandings and conditions that gave rise to the countercultural phenomenon known as hip-hop? This multimodal, aesthetic movement, fueled by the creativity and ingenuity of Black and Brown youth in the 1970s, challenged consumers of music and popular culture to consider (and take seriously) voices from the margins of society. From the South Bronx to the Dirty South, to West Coast and worldwide, as hip-hop music and culture evolves sonically and stylistically, together we will reflect on hip-hop's origins and maturation, its cultural impact and shortcomings, and its future.
MUSC 151Introduction to the American Stage Musical3
A topical survey of musical theater repertoire from its early inception in 18th-century Europe to current 21st-century incarnations. Various stylistic approaches, historical periods, and creative contributions to the genre will be explored. Examination of case studies through diverse perspectives of class, gender and race will situate the repertoire in a broad artistic and social context.
MUSC 152Staging Political History: Hamilton and Broadway3
American stage musicals have engaged with the political history of the United States in substantive and influential ways. This course explores this unique window into history, inviting students to examine primary source materials on which the political foundations of the United States were built. The course then investigates the processes of interpretation, critique, and dissemination of that history as it is transmitted through popular culture. We will consider the role that historians, playwrights, performers, and critics hold in determining how audiences find meaning and make sense of their own political history.
An exploration of the important, often misunderstood role of the DJ in modern musical life, with particular attention to the ways in which DJing challenges traditional notions of music, musicianship, and musical instruments. Guest lectures, demonstrations, and tutorials by visiting DJs form a significant component of the course.
An introductory hands-on study of the composition of electronic instrumental tracks for hip-hop and dance music. Students make beats, learn about the history and culture of the art form, and examine beat making as a case study in entrepreneurship.
A hands-on study of the art of emceeing. Students engage in a rigorous lyricism curriculum, developing the skills to write, recite, and improvise lyrics in live and recorded settings. Students also explore the history of hip-hop culture and analyze the aesthetics of emcees from around the world.
An introduction to issues of performance practice in rock music and related styles and genres including, but not limited to, soul, funk, new wave, and punk. Through intensive coaching and rehearsal students learn performance, transcription, arranging, and improvisation.
An in-depth study of vintage and modern music production techniques for jazz, classical, hip-hop, R&B, rock EDM, folk, and other popular forms of music. A focus on digital and analog recording, Pro Tools, and other DAW software basics, microphone techniques, consoles, signal flow, mixing and mastering techniques.
An introductory course in the development of improvisational skills for the jazz idiom. The primary focus is the introduction of nomenclature, the development of basic jazz vocabulary, and the application of this knowledge using basic jazz tune types.
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the music of South Asia, focusing on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The entire spectrum of musical genres will be covered.
Practical exercises in scoring and arranging for various combinations from single instrumental choirs to full concert orchestra, with trial group performances.
MUSC 208Advanced Individual Lessons in Composition2
Weekly one-on-one music composition lessons course combined with a group studio class. Students will compose music daily in preparation for each lesson and complete at least two major composition projects over the course of the semester. Lesson topics and activities are designed to provide students with practical knowledge and skills pertaining to the craft of composition as well as broad historical and stylistic knowledge of the field beneficial to developing one's artistic voice.
Sections by ensemble: Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Carolina Choir, Chamber Singers, Glee Club (tenor/bass voices), Glee Club (soprano/alto voices), Piano Ensemble I, Piano Ensemble II, Collaborative Piano, Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Band.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
1
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics.
Sections by ensemble: University Chamber Players, String Chamber Ensembles, Woodwind Chamber Ensembles, Brass Chamber Ensembles, Piano Chamber Ensembles, Jazz Combos, Baroque Ensemble/Viol Consort, New Music Ensemble. Honors version available.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
1
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 8 total credits.
This course will serve an initial music rehearsals for the spring production. Students will learn their role's songs, focusing on proper vocal technique and accurate notes and rhythms. By audition and permission of instructor.
Practical methodology for teaching voice to students of all experience levels. Topics covered include anatomy, historical pedagogy, national vocal teaching styles, and current trends in voice science.
MUSC 226Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Strings Techniques3
Primarily for students pursing teacher licensure. An introduction to basic performance skills on representative woodwind, brass, percussion, and string instruments.
MUSC 227Keyboard, Vocal, and Elementary Music Techniques3
Primarily for students pursuing teacher licensure. An introduction to basic performance skills in voice and piano, and approaches to teaching elementary music.
A continuation of MUSC 226 and 227, allowing students the opportunity to develop further performance skills and pedagogical techniques in music education. Offered in sections: instrumental, vocal, strings.
Through the use of various ethnomusicological methodologies, students explore a range of non-Western musical systems in their cultural contexts. Topics of study may include aesthetic theories, cultural meaning, and conflict.
A practical study of selected aspects of computerized music technology, including one or more of music-notation software, MIDI sequencing, digital sound production and storage, and computer composition.
This course is concerned with the performance and interpretation of Indonesian dance. It covers three areas of study: practical learning of traditional Indonesian dance repertoire, theoretical analyses and interpretation, and learning the music accompanying the dance.
An exploration of gender on the musical stage in the past and present, with an emphasis on female-identified creators and characters, onstage and behind the scenes.
MUSC 251Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Music3
The study of music in its historical and cultural contexts in the medieval and early modern eras. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
Building upon the foundations of MUSC 156, this course prepares students in professional beat making techniques within various settings of the music industry. The course implements a module-based instruction model, emphasizing student development in creating multiple extended play projects (EPs) with different utilizations (studio, live performance, screen) concluding with the development of a Final Portfolio review, using the computer-based DAW Ableton 11, MIDI controllers, and synthesizers and samplers accessed in the Music Department's Beat Lab.
MUSC 258Musical Movements: Migration, Exile, and Diaspora3
The musical results of migrations of all types, voluntary or forced, by way of case studies drawn from historical and/or contemporary musics of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
As a continuation of MUSC 161, this course will include more advanced techniques in mixing, mastering, and music production. Listening and ear training with practical exercises will be explored. The work of notable engineers and producers will be looked at with an ear towards their production values and critical listening of the material.
This class is broadly about music teaching, but not exclusively about the formal music teaching that occurs in public and private elementary, middle, and high schools across the U.S. We will embrace an expansive definition of teaching that includes engaging with music as teacher, facilitator, performer, ambassador, and presenter. Because the research and literature in music education and community music is well-developed, we will often borrow strategies and pedagogies that can be applied to nearly any situation to learn and practice how a person can lead others to understand or create music more effectively.
MUSC 270Critical Approaches to Music: Object Lessons3
Critical approaches to the study of music through a variety of research approaches and sources, both visual and oral, examining meaning, expression, and values through close analysis.
MUSC 271Critical Approaches to Music: Critical Moves3
Critical approaches to understanding music as a human activity, including questions of embodiment, dis/ability, difference, and power through a variety of research approaches and sources, both visual and oral.
The relationship between popular song and culture in American society is explored by focusing on an important historical repertoire or interpretive theme.
The culmination of baroque music, emphasizing Bach's cantatas, concertos, organ music, and instrumental music, and Handel's oratorios and operas, all in their cultural contexts. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
The high point in Viennese music of the late 18th century, emphasizing Haydn's symphonies and quartets, and Mozart's operas and piano concertos. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
Beethoven's music will be studied in the context of social structures and concepts about artists during his lifetime. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
A study of the work of diverse composers characteristic of music since ca. 1880 viewed in their broader artistic and other contexts. May not count toward the requirements of the music major. May count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic. Music in the framework of its social, political, economic, and cultural contexts. Honors version available.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic.
An introduction to music as related to drama, especially the development of opera and related genres. Study of selected works from different periods and styles. Honors version available.
Study of the symphony orchestra, its instruments, and its historical development from the mid-18th century to the present, and the music it plays, including selected works in a variety of styles.
Music's roles in war and revolution within various political, social, and cultural contexts. Part of the cluster "War, Revolution and Culture-Transatlantic Perspectives, 1750-1850."
The relationship between music and politics studied through a global range of historical and geographical contexts. The course covers specific musical and political manifestations as well as theoretical approaches to the issue.
The historical and ongoing tradition of protest by African artists with particular focus on the aesthetics, politics, and geography of innovative grassroots movements on the African continent that effect social change through music and film.
The history, culture, musical sound, and practice of bluegrass music, with an intensive focus on critical listening. Covers significant performers, musical styles, and both fan and performance culture and meaning.
Available only to music majors by permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Intensive study on a particular topic under faculty supervision.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 6 total credits.
This course will address a particular issue in music theory as it pertains to a genre, repertoire, composer, questions of harmony, rhythm, form or musical structure in Western, non-Western, jazz, or popular musics. Subject matter will vary with instructor. May be repeated for credit if on a different topic. Permission of instructor required.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic.
MUSC 351Critical Approaches to Music: Guided Research3
An intensive research-based course resulting in an original paper and/or creative work on a topic of the student's own development and presentation of the same. Honors version available.
Course will address a particular genre, composer, compositional issue, or repertoire, including non-Western and popular musics. Subject matter will vary with the instructor. May be repeated for credit if on a different topic. Honors version available.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic.
An in-depth study of recording, editing, mixing, and producing vocals with widespread applications for commercial and media projects. The course will cover vocal production for podcasts, radio, audition tapes, voice overs/ADR, animation/TV/film, and commercial single/EP/album releases. The collective projects throughout the semester will be the start of a professional portfolio for students interested in pursuing a career in audio production. The course will ensure students have knowledge and experience producing their own professional recordings in a workforce where media and self-promotion is prevalent.
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic. Advanced study on a selected topic in jazz. Topics will vary and may address a particular genre, composer, performance practice, compositional issue, or repertoire.
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit if on a different topic.
Lectures on theory and improvisation, small ensemble coaching, and instrument-specific master classes in a classroom/lecture format. Intensive listening component through required attendance at four evening concerts. Final public student concert for a community audience. Can be repeated for credit.
Practical, hands-on training in the art of composing music for film and video games. In addition to analyzing and discussing influential film/game music, the course develops skills such as orchestration, underscoring, musical narrative, and thematic development. Students enrolled in the course are expected to have some prior experience composing and notating music for a variety of instruments and ensembles.
Explore form, structure, and narrative in American popular song during the era of recorded sound. Students will analyze the elements of different songs -- melody, lyrics, harmony, musical arrangement, form, narrative, and structure. Students will write songs using different models and forms; edit and revise their songs; and perform those songs publicly. Familiarity with basic chords and melodies expected.
This is a hands-on, research or creative-based learning opportunity for a student, under the guidance and supervision of a faculty advisor. The research or creative project will result in a tangible outcome, in the form of a research paper, research presentation, public-facing experience, or realization of a creative project.
Permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Internship directly related to the study, practice, or the business of music. Students must complete at least 100 hours and submit a journal and report upon completion of the internship. No more than three credit hours may count toward the requirements of the music major. Excess hours may count as credit hours toward graduation, subject to the overall limit on music hours.
MUSC 51IFirst-Year Seminar: The Interplay of Music and Physics3
How sound is produced in instruments, and how those sounds are used in music making. Wave motion, resonance, sound perception, scales, harmony, and music theory. Collaborative laboratory exercises to investigate the acoustics of string, woodwind, and brass instruments as well as study of the physics of keyboard and percussion instruments. Students will make instruments from found objects and perform compositions on them, and can pursue their areas of special interest in a research paper.
MUSC 63First-Year Seminar: Music on Stage and Screen3
Offers tools and techniques for understanding multimedia, staged musical works like opera, musical theater, and film. The goal of the seminar is to develop students' analytical skills in verbal and nonverbal media and to encourage their visualization of the potential and implications of artistic forms and structures. Honors version available.
MUSC 65First-Year Seminar: Music and Culture: Understanding the World through Music3
This seminar focuses on the variety of performances presented by Carolina Performing Arts at Memorial Hall. Through attendance at performances and through research on the performing artists and the works being performed, students explore questions such as, How does music reflect culture? How does the culture shape the art form?
MUSC 66First-Year Seminar: A Course in Digital Humanities and Multimedia3
Bring your own research ideas and learn how to design digital projects for them, including creating visualizations and audio widgets. Learn how to write grant applications for digital humanities, and explore virtual reality projects. Visit the immersion cave at NC State, talk with researchers at Duke's Wired! Lab, and work with programmers at UNC's own Digital Innovation Lab. This class has a particular focus on digital humanities, acoustics, and sound. Honors version available.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Intended for students from various majors, this course provides a foundation in the history, theory, and practice of developing live, technologically-intensive, multimedia performance works. The course analyzes new media masterworks, addresses techniques of interdisciplinary collaboration, and offers workshops in specific software/technology applications.
This course explores the primary concepts, techniques, and artists/works falling under the category of "sound art," a broad, interdisciplinary field that centers sound and listening in contexts outside of traditional musical performance. Examples of sound art include sound installations, environmental listening ("soundwalks"), performance art, conceptual music, novel music technologies, and more. In addition to learning about the history and aesthetics of sound art, students will participate in the creation and public performance of original sound art work.
Introduction to the field of musicology, including its scope, methodology, and bibliography. Taught in three-week modules, each directed by a different member of the academic faculty. Individual modules will include music history, music theory, ethnomusicology, music aesthetics, and cultural studies.
The faculty assists and advises graduate students in work on particular research projects. Available to musicology graduate students only (M.A.T. students taking special studies must register under MUSC 471).
Subject
MUSC
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics.
MUSC 992 is required for all graduate students enrolled in the MA/PhD program in Musicology. Graduate students should take this course in fall semester of their second year of completing the program's MA requirements. Required assignments will teach skills that are key for successful completion of the PhD.
