Instructor

Prof. Suddhaseel Sen

Semester

Autumn ‘21

Course Difficulty

The course was not difficult for those who had an idea about music, especially vocals. For those playing instruments, it might be a little difficult because everything is hearing based.

Time Commitment Required

2-3 hours outside class hours per week

Grading Policy and Statistics

AA 10
AB 4
AU 7
BB 10
BC 7
CC 1
CD 3
DD 2
FR 5

Attendance Policy

No policy

Pre-requisites

Vocals training (good listening skills), any instrument (classical instruments will definitely be beneficial)

Evaluation Scheme

4 quizzes: 25 marks each

Topics Covered in the Course

Intervals, Rhythm (meters), Instruments of the Orchestra, Chords, Cadences, Textures in Music

Teaching Style

Sir would primarily talk about the concepts and play several tracks as examples. The class was very interactive and sir encouraged such discussions.

Feedback on Exams

The quizzes were completely audio based where we had to answer questions based on tracks. They were all fill in the blanks. Having a prior vocal training would go a long way (either Western/Classical).

Motivation for taking this course

I enjoy music - both listening and playing various instruments. I wanted to do a theoretical/ more technical course that included analysing various topics so this seemed to be the natural choice. The professor had taken HS305 for me and I was already well versed with his teaching style.

Course Highlights

Audio based learning of various topics in musicology including chords and rhythm (basics) to more technical concepts like textures and timbre.

Course Importance

The course is useful is you want to pursue musicology or want a general perspective on music analysis.

How strongly would I recommend this course?

I would strongly recommend the course to anyone who has studied music before and wants to stay in touch with the subject.

When to take this course?

Autumn ‘21 (first time it was running) - the course can be taken anytime after the first year because it is unrelated to other HS/STEM courses.

Going Forward

HS 642 is the natural successor to the course - it introduces advanced topics including staff notation.

References Used

Schmidt-Jones - Understanding Basic Music Theory
Nett - The Study of Ethnomusicology

Interesting relevant links

The Perfect Ear app

Review By: Bhavini Jeloka