Courses Taught
Music Theory and Composition Courses at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music
THE SYNTAX OF MUSIC
This is the first course in the core music theory sequence at the Blair School of Music. It introduces all basic elements of music and notation (including computer notation)through a wide variety of styles, including non-tonal and non-Western repertoire.
HARMONIC IDIOMS OF THE COMMON PRACTICE PERIOD
The second course in the core curriculum introduces principles of harmonic progression in the context of music from the “Common Practice”period of Western Art Music, including figured bass realization, harmonization, analysis, composition, contrapuntal idioms, and modulatory techniques.
MUSICAL EXPANSIONS: THE 20TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT
This is the third core course in music theory, which presents late-Romantic, modernist, and postmodern compositional practices, including freely chromatic and non-functional harmony, ordered and unordered sets, post-tonal formal design, contemporary rhythmic devices, indeterminacy, minimalism, and microtonalism.
ELEMENTS OF ANALYSIS
The last core course in music theory at the Blair School, Elements of Analysis involvesin-depth study of analytical concepts and methodologies applied to harmonic, rhythmic, and structural aspects of diverse musical practices and styles, tonal and non-tonal; and introduces various approaches to interpreting and creating musical meaning through listening and/or score study.
MUSICAL EXPLORATIONS: BARTÓK
This is an upper-division seminar (required for composition majors) that providesin-depth study of the life and music of Béla Bartók; includes detailed investigation of salient theoretical concepts, formal structures, and the composer's integration of various regional folk musics into his own works.
POST-TONAL ANALYSIS
This is an upper-division elective seminar (required for composition majors) that explores and examines various post-tonal analytical techniques through intensive study of selected works of composers from the early 20th century to the present, includingDebussy, Scriabin, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Copland, Dallapiccola, Boulez, Cage, Feldman, Oliveros, Berio, Monk, Lachenmann, and others.
COMPSOSITION LESSONS
Composition majors take private lessons, intermediate to advanced, the primary purpose of which is artistic and creative growth. Our departmental ethos upholds the tenet that composers flourish most when they remain engaged with the process of composing, which is much more important than the product of composing. Regardless of genre, style, or technique, the avenue toward artistic development is found in being teachable, open, curious, and consistently seeking to write better and more interesting music, rather than pursuing an abstract or absolute conception of something as being 'good’ or ‘great.' Throughout their journey at the Blair School, composition majors develop various projects for diverse media, with an endgoal of creating a comprehensive, ongoing, and extensive four-year portfolio.