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Weeks 1–2: Foundations
In the first class, we’ll go through the syllabus and talk about the music we’re interested in. In the second, we will discuss analysis of pop music in general according to Attas (2022) and Burns (2002).
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Weeks 3–4: Transcription
Because there is usually no written score for pop songs, transcription is an essential skill for pop analysis. You will practice transcribing on your own. The analytical readings all rely on transcription to communicate their points. We will discuss how to use transcription effectively. Readings: Biamonte (2010), Temperley (2007), Murphy (2020), and Biamonte (2014).
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Weeks 5–6: Form
Most pop songs are in verse-chorus form. Our readings this week will discuss all kinds of variations on that paradigm. Readings: Barna (2019), Nobile (2022), Shelley (2019), Neal (2007).
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Week 7: Music Videos
Music videos have increased vastly in importance for the promotion of music since 1981, when MTV was created. We’ll learn some analytical frameworks for systematically discussing music videos. Readings: Sterbenz (2017), Lafrance and Burns (2017).
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Weeks 9–10: Voice
Recent years have seen an immense increase in analytical approaches to the voice in popular music. We’ll study the voice from a few different analytical lenses. Readings: Malawey (2020), Duguay (2022), Cheng (2018), Hardman (2022).
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Weeks 11–13: Rap
Rap has become inescapable in pop music culture, as evidenced by (among other things) Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. winning the Pulitzer Prize. Music theorists have developed several specialized tools for discussing this genre, which diverges from other pop music in many ways. Readings: Kajikawa (2015), Tatar (2019), Wallmark (2022), Manabe (2019), Ohriner 2019.
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Weeks 14–15: Final Project
Our focus for the remaining weeks of the semester will be creating your own projects and learning to write a music-academic paper. Essentially, a music theory paper is an argument paper. You are going to argue for your own interpretation of a piece/idea, and you will support your argument through musical facts.