Program Requirement:
The Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.); Major in Music History requires 124 credits. This program focuses on the place of music in different cultural contexts, the social conditions of musicians, the evolution of performing styles, and the different ways music can project meaning and reflect identity, including the parameters of different musical styles and musical syntax. Exposure to a wide variety of repertoire in the Western classical tradition as well as to jazz and popular idioms.
Music History provides excellent preparation not only for graduate study in musicology, but also for a considerable range of professional training programs including journalism, information sciences, arts administration, and teaching.
The Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.); Major in Music History program requires 92 credits (plus 32 credits for the Freshman requirement for out-of-province students).
Program Prerequisites - Freshman Program (32 credits)
32 credits selected as described below, in consultation with the Program Adviser:
22 credits of Prerequisite Courses
4 credits of Large Ensemble
6 credits of Non-Music Electives
Prerequisite Courses
22 credits, all of the courses below:
Note: Students who can demonstrate through auditions, placement tests or equivalencies that they have mastered the material in any of the courses below will be exempt from them and may proceed to more advanced courses.
-
MUHL 186
Western Musical Traditions
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: A survey of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present. Emphasis on key musical concepts and genres in their historical context and aural recognition of style.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUIN 180
BMus Practical Lessons 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Practical Instrument: Practical instruction on an instrument or voice.
Offered by: Performance
- 3 hours
- Prerequisite: Admission to the B.Mus. program by audition.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Frédéric Lambert, Jean-Nicolas Trottier, Sophie Tremblay, Carlos Alberto Jimenez, John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Dominique Labelle, Patrice Richer, Christine D Jensen, Nadia Cote, Erik Anthony Hove, Denys Derome, Marianne Trudel, Min Jung Suh, Bohdanna Novak, Patil Harboyan, Luba Zuk, Paul A Merkelo, Luc Beausejour, Julia Gavrilova, Greg G Amirault, Jocelyn Couture, Pierre Beaudry, Joshua Rager, Jennifer Swartz, Francisco J Lozano, Helene Plouffe, Sienna Dahlen, Olivier B Brault, Albert G Brouwer, Stephane Levesque, Donny Kennedy, Eric Chappell, David Grott, Trevor Dix, Joanna G'froerer, Dimitrios G Doxas, Michel Lambert, Brian Manker, Allan Robert McLean, Martin D Mangrum, David Mark Gossage, Simon Aldrich, Jean Gaudreault, Elizabeth H MacMillan, David C Laing, Ranee Y Lee, Brian Robinson, Greg Clayton, Michael A Gauthier, Joseph Leo Sullivan, Andre J Roy, Peter Freeman, Russell Devuyst, Richard Allen Roberts, Elizabeth Dolin, Jeff Johnston, Alec Walkington, Scott O Feltham, Michael Dumouchel, Kenneth Bibace, Remi Bolduc, William V Mahar, Cindy Shuter, Kevin Dean, Theodore Baskin, Michael McMahon, Marina Mdivani, Andre White, Sara Laimon, Kyoko Hashimoto, James O Box, Alain Desgagne, Martin Karlicek, Andrew J Wan, Stefano Algieri, Yegor Dyachkov, Alexander David Johnson, Matt Haimovitz, Dave Turner, Alexander W Read, Timothy Dobby, Fabrice Marandola, Lex French, Fraser Hollins, Sara Schabas, Aline Kutan, Amy J Hillis, Taylor Donaldson, Ali Yazdanfar, Tracy Smith Bessette, Chris James, Jérôme Ducharme, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Isabelle Demers, Ilya Poletaev, Tong Wang, Axel Strauss, Marcelle Mallette, Jacqueline F Leclair, Anja Burmeister, Tatiana Dardykina, Victor Fournelle-Blain, Anna Peletsis, Mark Austin Howle, Marina Thibeault, Steven C Cowan, Stéphane Lemelin, Suren Barry, Jean-Francois Normand, Jean-Michel Pilc, Richard P Stoelzel, John E Hollenbeck, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Violaine Melancon, Alexis Basque, Christophe Alvarez, Sofia Yatsyuk, Catherine Turner, Nathaniel Watson, Adrian Vedady, Mark Ferguson, Brett Polegato, Mai Miyagaki, Jarred Dunn, Anna K Hendrickson, Dane Ko, Patrick J Kearney, Matthew Trevino, Itamar I Prag, Ira Coleman, Camille Thurman-Green, Darrell Green, Anna C Petersen, Catherine Cosbey, David A Stewart, Geneviève Morasse
-
MUIN 181
BMus Practical Lessons 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Practical Instrument: Practical examination in clarinet techniques.
Offered by: Performance
- Prerequisite: MUIN 180
- Restriction: Open to students entering directly from High Schools outside Quebec.
- Terms
- Instructors
- John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Julia Gavrilova, Jocelyn Couture, Martin D Mangrum, Andre J Roy, Elizabeth Dolin, Carolyn Christie, Marina Mdivani, Kyoko Hashimoto, Andrew J Wan, Tracy Smith Bessette, Stéphane Lemelin, Jean-Michel Pilc
- Frédéric Lambert, Jean-Nicolas Trottier, Sophie Tremblay, Carlos Alberto Jimenez, John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Dominique Labelle, Patrice Richer, Christine D Jensen, Nadia Cote, Erik Anthony Hove, Denys Derome, Marianne Trudel, Min Jung Suh, Bohdanna Novak, Patil Harboyan, Luba Zuk, Paul A Merkelo, Luc Beausejour, Julia Gavrilova, Greg G Amirault, Jocelyn Couture, Pierre Beaudry, Joshua Rager, Jennifer Swartz, Francisco J Lozano, Helene Plouffe, Sienna Dahlen, Olivier B Brault, Albert G Brouwer, Stephane Levesque, Donny Kennedy, Eric Chappell, David Grott, Trevor Dix, Joanna G'froerer, Dimitrios G Doxas, Brian Manker, Allan Robert McLean, Martin D Mangrum, David Mark Gossage, Simon Aldrich, Jean Gaudreault, Elizabeth H MacMillan, David C Laing, Ranee Y Lee, Ronald Di Lauro, Brian Robinson, Greg Clayton, Michael A Gauthier, Joseph Leo Sullivan, Andre J Roy, Peter Freeman, Russell Devuyst, Richard Allen Roberts, Elizabeth Dolin, Jeff Johnston, Alec Walkington, Scott O Feltham, Michael Dumouchel, Kenneth Bibace, Remi Bolduc, William V Mahar, Cindy Shuter, Kevin Dean, Theodore Baskin, Michael McMahon, Marina Mdivani, Andre White, Sara Laimon, Kyoko Hashimoto, James O Box, Alain Desgagne, Martin Karlicek, Andrew J Wan, Stefano Algieri, Yegor Dyachkov, Alexander David Johnson, Matt Haimovitz, Andree Azar, Dave Turner, Alexander W Read, Timothy Dobby, Fabrice Marandola, Fraser Hollins, Sara Schabas, Aline Kutan, Amy J Hillis, Taylor Donaldson, Ali Yazdanfar, Tracy Smith Bessette, Chris James, Jérôme Ducharme, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Isabelle Demers, Ilya Poletaev, Tong Wang, Axel Strauss, Marcelle Mallette, Jacqueline F Leclair, Anja Burmeister, Tatiana Dardykina, Victor Fournelle-Blain, Anna Peletsis, Daniele Bourget, Mark Austin Howle, Marina Thibeault, Steven C Cowan, Stéphane Lemelin, Felicia K Moye, Suren Barry, Jean-Francois Normand, Jean-Michel Pilc, Richard P Stoelzel, John E Hollenbeck, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Violaine Melancon, Alexis Basque, Christophe Alvarez, Sofia Yatsyuk, Catherine Turner, Nathaniel Watson, Adrian Vedady, Mark Ferguson, Brett Polegato, Mai Miyagaki, Jarred Dunn, Anna K Hendrickson, Dane Ko, Patrick J Kearney, Matthew Trevino, Itamar I Prag, Ira Coleman, Camille Thurman-Green, Darrell Green, Anna C Petersen, Catherine Cosbey, David A Stewart
-
MUPD 135
Music as a Profession 1
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Professional Development: Music Professional Development: An introduction to information, resources, and skills related to physical, mental, and professional well-being for the musician and scholar.
Offered by: Music Research
- Open to B.Mus. students or by permission of the instructor.
-
MUSP 140
Musicianship Training 1
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Rhythm and metre basic subdivisions and conducting patterns; intervals, chords, and scale patterns; non-modulating tonal melodies with treble and bass clefs; harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures.
Offered by: Music Research
- 2 hours
- Prerequisite: Matriculation Music or McGill Conservatory Theory Secondary V or its equivalent.
- Corequisites: MUTH 150, MUSP 170
- Terms
- Instructors
- John Guzik, Monica Asly, Fredericka Petit-Homme, Margaret Emily De Castro, Matthew Chan
-
MUSP 141
Musicianship Training 2
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and syncopations; triadic and seventh chord voicings and disjunct pitch collections; chromatically embellished melodies adding alto clef; simple modulating harmonic progressions emphasizing two-part outer voice structures.
Offered by: Music Research
- 2 hours
- Prerequisites: Matriculation Music or McGill Conservatory Theory Secondary V or its equivalent. MUSP 140
- Corequisites: MUTH 151, MUSP 171
-
MUSP 170
Musicianship (Keyboard) 1
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Harmonic, melodic and rhythmic analysis at the keyboard through the study of rudiments, repertoire, chorale/score reading, transposition and harmonization.
Offered by: Music Research
- 1 hour
- Prerequisite: Matriculation Music or McGill Conservatory Theory Secondary V or its equivalent.
- Corequisites: MUTH 150 and MUSP 140.
- Course contents parallel with those of MUTH 150 and MUSP 140.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Julia Gavrilova, Monica Asly, Jolan Kovacs, Ericsson F Hatfield
-
MUSP 171
Musicianship (Keyboard) 2
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Building chordal fluency. Harmonic vocabulary including sequences, chromaticism and modulation. Chorale and score reading with transposing instruments and alto/tenor clefs.
Offered by: Music Research
- 1 hour
- Prerequisite: MUSP 170
- Corequisites: MUTH 111 and MUSP 131; or MUTH 151 and MUSP 141
- Restriction: All students admitted to B.Mus. and L.Mus. programs, including those with keyboard or guitar as their principal instrument, are required to take MUSP 171 Keyboard Lab, unless exempt on the basis of a placement test. Students who are exempt from MUTH 111 through placement tests must still take MUSP 171 (unless exempt) since this course forms the foundation of keyboard-based musicianship tasks at upper levels. (All Majors in Jazz Performance substitute MUJZ 171 for MUSP 171. Students in Jazz Performance who have completed MUJZ 170 and MUJZ 171, and who transfer to a Department of Theory program, will be required to complete MUSP 171.) Students who do not achieve a continuation pass in MUSP 171 must reregister for the course in the semester immediately following. Students who do not achieve a continuation pass after repeating the course will not be allowed to proceed with further Musicianship or Theory studies until a continuation pass is achieved. Tests for MUSP 171 are held in August-September, December-January, and April-May [as well as during the Summer Session when course(s) offered], the exact dates determined by the Department of Music Research.
- Course contents parallel with those of MUTH 151 and MUSP 141.
-
MUTH 150
Theory and Analysis 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Diatonic chords and harmonic progressions, focus on outer-voice framework, cadences, embellishments, building chordal fluency in common-practice tonality, applied chords.
Offered by: Music Research
- Prerequisite: Matriculation Music or McGill Conservatory Theory Secondary V or its equivalent.
- Corequisites: MUSP 140 and MUSP 170
-
MUTH 151
Theory and Analysis 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Sequences and modulation, chromatic vocabulary, analysis of simple theme types (sentence, period, hybrids) and fugal techniques.
Offered by: Music Research
Required Courses (23 credits)
History
-
MUHL 286
Critical Thinking About Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Examination of various periods and styles: e.g., central works from different traditions, the interaction of music and society, performance practice, and music's relation to other arts.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- Instructors
- Lloyd A Whitesell
- Lloyd A Whitesell
Theory
-
MUTH 250
Theory and Analysis 3
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Compositional resources of late 18th and early 19th century music. Analysis of forms common to the period c. 1770 - 1840, including Classical sonata forms in several media.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUTH 251
Theory and Analysis 4
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Expanded harmonic resources of the 19th century (e.g., advanced chromaticism including enharmonic reinterpretation and symmetrical division). Analysis of characteristic small and large forms. Writing and analytical skills with a goal toward perceiving how levels of musical structure interact.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- Instructors
- Jonathan Wild, Olga Ellen Bakulina, Nicole Biamonte
-
MUTH 350
Theory and Analysis 5
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Exploration of 20th and 21st century organizations of pitch, rhythm, timbre etc. Written and analytical skills for the purpose of gaining insight into the compositional techniques and aesthetics of this repertoire.
Offered by: Music Research
Musicianship
-
MUSP 240
Musicianship Training 3
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Rhythm and metre mixed divisions and two-part work; additional chordal voicings and pitch collections; melodies modulating to closely-related keys adding tenor clef; harmonic progression including applied chords; two-part keyboard-style passages.
Offered by: Music Research
- Prerequisites: Matriculation Music or McGill Conservatory Theory Secondary V or its equivalent. MUSP 141
- Corequisite: MUTH 250
- Terms
- Instructors
- John Guzik, Monica Asly, Justin Mariner
-
MUSP 241
Musicianship Training 4
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Changing metres; chord voicings and atonal pitch collections; modulating tonal melodies and score reading of transposing instruments; harmonic progression including chromatic chords; two-part passages.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- Instructors
- Monica Asly, Justin Mariner
Performance
-
MUIN 280
BMus Practical Lessons 3
2.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Practical Instrument: Practical instruction on an instrument or voice.
Offered by: Performance
- Terms
- Instructors
- Rona M Nadler, Frédéric Lambert, Jean-Nicolas Trottier, François Stevenson, Carlos Alberto Jimenez, John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Francois Bourassa, Dominique Labelle, Patrice Richer, Nadia Cote, Erik Anthony Hove, Denys Derome, Mika Putterman, Marianne Trudel, Min Jung Suh, Bohdanna Novak, Patil Harboyan, Luba Zuk, Paul A Merkelo, Luc Beausejour, Julia Gavrilova, Greg G Amirault, Jocelyn Couture, Pierre Beaudry, Joshua Rager, Jennifer Swartz, Francisco J Lozano, Helene Plouffe, Sienna Dahlen, Olivier B Brault, Albert G Brouwer, Stephane Levesque, Donny Kennedy, Eric Chappell, David Grott, Trevor Dix, Joanna G'froerer, Dimitrios G Doxas, Michel Lambert, Brian Manker, Allan Robert McLean, Matthias Maute, Martin D Mangrum, David Mark Gossage, Simon Aldrich, Jean Gaudreault, David C Laing, Ranee Y Lee, Brian Robinson, Greg Clayton, Michael A Gauthier, Joseph Leo Sullivan, Andre J Roy, sylvain Bergeron, Peter Freeman, Russell Devuyst, Richard Allen Roberts, Elizabeth Dolin, Jeff Johnston, Alec Walkington, Scott O Feltham, Michael Dumouchel, Kenneth Bibace, Denis Bluteau, Remi Bolduc, William V Mahar, Cindy Shuter, Kevin Dean, Theodore Baskin, Marina Mdivani, Andre White, Sara Laimon, Kyoko Hashimoto, James O Box, Alain Desgagne, Martin Karlicek, Andrew J Wan, Stefano Algieri, Yegor Dyachkov, Alexander David Johnson, Matt Haimovitz, Andree Azar, Alexander W Read, Timothy Dobby, Fabrice Marandola, Lex French, Lindsay Roberts, Fraser Hollins, Lisanne Tremblay, Sara Schabas, Adam Cicchillitti, Aline Kutan, Amy J Hillis, Taylor Donaldson, Ali Yazdanfar, Tracy Smith Bessette, Chris James, Elizabeth T Skinner, Jérôme Ducharme, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Isabelle Demers, Ilya Poletaev, Tong Wang, Axel Strauss, Marcelle Mallette, Jacqueline F Leclair, Anja Burmeister, Victor Fournelle-Blain, Anna Peletsis, Mark Austin Howle, Marina Thibeault, Steven C Cowan, Stanford Cheung, Stéphane Lemelin, Magdalena P von Eccher, Jui-Sheng Li, Suren Barry, Jean-Francois Normand, Jean-Michel Pilc, Richard P Stoelzel, John E Hollenbeck, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Todd Cope, Violaine Melancon, Timothy M Ledger, Alexis Basque, Bailey M Wantuch, Catherine Turner, Nathaniel Watson, Adrian Vedady, Mark Ferguson, Brett Polegato, Mai Miyagaki, Jarred Dunn, Anna K Hendrickson, Dane Ko, Patrick J Kearney, Matthew Trevino, Itamar I Prag, Ira Coleman, Camille Thurman-Green, Darrell Green, Elizaveta Miller, Anna C Petersen, Catherine Cosbey, David A Stewart
- Patil Harboyan, Julia Gavrilova, Allan Robert McLean, Martin D Mangrum, Jean Gaudreault, Andre J Roy, Elizabeth Dolin, Kenneth Bibace, Theodore Baskin, Carolyn Christie, Marina Mdivani, Sara Laimon, Kyoko Hashimoto, Martin Karlicek, Andrew J Wan, Stéphane Lemelin
-
MUIN 281
BMus Practical Lessons 4
2.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Practical Instrument: Practical instruction on an instrument or voice.
Offered by: Performance
- Terms
- Instructors
- John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Patil Harboyan, Julia Gavrilova, Greg G Amirault, Francisco J Lozano, Albert G Brouwer, David Grott, Brian Manker, Simon Aldrich, Elizabeth H MacMillan, Andre J Roy, Christopher J McCann, Alec Walkington, Marina Mdivani, Sara Laimon, Martin Karlicek, Stefano Algieri, Matt Haimovitz, Fabrice Marandola, Fraser Hollins, Jérôme Ducharme, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Marcelle Mallette, Jacqueline F Leclair, Marina Thibeault, Stéphane Lemelin, Violaine Melancon, Adrian Vedady, Darrell Green, Elizaveta Miller
- Rona M Nadler, Frédéric Lambert, Jean-Nicolas Trottier, François Stevenson, Carlos Alberto Jimenez, John Mac Master, Annamaria Popescu, Francois Bourassa, Dominique Labelle, Patrice Richer, Nadia Cote, Erik Anthony Hove, Denys Derome, Mika Putterman, Marianne Trudel, Min Jung Suh, Bohdanna Novak, Luba Zuk, Paul A Merkelo, Julia Gavrilova, Greg G Amirault, Jocelyn Couture, Pierre Beaudry, Joshua Rager, Jennifer Swartz, Francisco J Lozano, Sienna Dahlen, Olivier B Brault, Albert G Brouwer, Stephane Levesque, Donny Kennedy, Eric Chappell, David Grott, Trevor Dix, Joanna G'froerer, Dimitrios G Doxas, Michel Lambert, Brian Manker, Allan Robert McLean, Matthias Maute, Martin D Mangrum, David Mark Gossage, Simon Aldrich, Jean Gaudreault, David C Laing, Ranee Y Lee, Ronald Di Lauro, Brian Robinson, Greg Clayton, Michael A Gauthier, Joseph Leo Sullivan, Andre J Roy, sylvain Bergeron, Peter Freeman, Russell Devuyst, Richard Allen Roberts, Elizabeth Dolin, Jeff Johnston, Alec Walkington, Scott O Feltham, Michael Dumouchel, Kenneth Bibace, Denis Bluteau, Remi Bolduc, William V Mahar, Cindy Shuter, Abe Kestenberg, Kevin Dean, Theodore Baskin, Marina Mdivani, Andre White, Sara Laimon, Kyoko Hashimoto, James O Box, Alain Desgagne, Martin Karlicek, Andrew J Wan, Stefano Algieri, Yegor Dyachkov, Alexander David Johnson, Matt Haimovitz, Andree Azar, Dave Turner, Alexander W Read, Timothy Dobby, Fabrice Marandola, Lex French, Fraser Hollins, Lisanne Tremblay, Sara Schabas, Adam Cicchillitti, Aline Kutan, Amy J Hillis, Taylor Donaldson, Ali Yazdanfar, Tracy Smith Bessette, Chris James, Katherine Petersen, Jérôme Ducharme, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Isabelle Demers, Ilya Poletaev, Tong Wang, Axel Strauss, Marcelle Mallette, Jacqueline F Leclair, Anja Burmeister, Victor Fournelle-Blain, Anna Peletsis, Daniele Bourget, Mark Austin Howle, Marina Thibeault, Steven C Cowan, Stanford Cheung, Stéphane Lemelin, Felicia K Moye, Magdalena P von Eccher, Jui-Sheng Li, Suren Barry, Jean-Francois Normand, Jean-Michel Pilc, Richard P Stoelzel, John E Hollenbeck, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Todd Cope, Violaine Melancon, Timothy M Ledger, Alexis Basque, Bailey M Wantuch, Catherine Turner, Nathaniel Watson, Adrian Vedady, Mark Ferguson, Brett Polegato, Mai Miyagaki, Jarred Dunn, Anna K Hendrickson, Dane Ko, Patrick J Kearney, Matthew Trevino, Itamar I Prag, Camille Thurman-Green, Elizaveta Miller, Anna C Petersen, Catherine Cosbey, David A Stewart
-
MUIN 283
BMus Concentration Final Exam
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Practical Instrument: Assessment of student's progress in the practical area.
Offered by: Performance
- Exam details are to be found under Examinations and Goals in Practical Subjects in the Music Chapter of the University Calendar.
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
Music Professional Development
-
MUPD 235
Music as a Profession 2
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Professional Development: An overview of the responsibilities and skills required of professions in music and of the varied career paths leading from a music degree.
Offered by: Music Research
- Open to BMus students in U2 and U3, or by permission of the instructor.
- Prerequisite(s): MUPD 135
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken MUPD 136.
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
Complementary Courses (36 credits)
History
27 credits selected from Group I, II, and III, with a minimum of 6 credits from each group.
Group I
-
MUHL 377
Baroque Opera
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: History of opera from its origins in the musical, literary, and philosophical models available to the Florentine Camerata to the end of the baroque. The development of opera will be studied from the perspective of artistic style and in the light of historical, political, social, and economic conditions.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 380
Medieval Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The medieval style - an intensive study of one or more selected topics from the repertoire. Possible subjects include liturgical chant, Notre Dame, the medieval motet, secular developments, and instrumental literature.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 381
Renaissance Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Sacred and secular musical genres of the 15th and 16th Centuries. Various phases of imitative practice, cantus firmus and parody techniques. The emergence of homophonic textures in peripheral areas of the repertoire. Selected problems in the fields of theory, bibliography and aesthetics.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 382
Baroque Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: A detailed examination of several selected areas of Baroque music. Topics will be drawn from different geographical regions (e.g., Italy, France, Germany, etc.) and encompass church, chamber and theatre music, as well as performance practice. Each topic will be related to general musical developments of the period.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 383
Classical Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The period covered will be from approximately 1740-1828, from the schools of the Italian keyboard composers, opera buffa and seria, and composers centred at Mannheim, Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna, through the Viennese Classic period of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to the death of Schubert.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 395
Keyboard Lit before 1750
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The solo repertoire for organ, harpsichord, and clavichord from 1400 to 1750: intabulation, cantus firmus treatment, indigenous keyboard genres, German organ literature, French harpsichord repertoire.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 591D1
Paleography
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The theory and practice of musical transcription for the period 1100 to 1600. Black modal notation, Franconian notation, French and Italian Ars Nova notation, Mannerism, white mensural notation, proportions, and lute and keyboard tablatures will be studied.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 591D2
Paleography
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: See MUHL 591D1 for course description.
Offered by: Music Research
- Prerequisite: MUHL 591D1
- No credit will be given for this course unless both MUHL 591D1 and MUHL 591D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUPP 381
Topics in Performance Practice
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Performance Practice: An overview of the techniques, methods, and problems of historical performance. Topics covered include theoretical matters involving source material, treatises, organology, 17th-century views of rhetoric and emotion, 18th-century composition methods, rhythmic interpretation, embellishment and ornamentation, tuning and temperament, and basso continuo.
Offered by: Performance
- 3 hours
- Restriction: Open to Early Music students and those interested in modern performance
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUTH 426
Topics in Early Music Analysis
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music Theory and Analysis: Music from before 1700 is analyzed using recently developed techniques as well as materials gathered from treatises contemporaneous with the music. The implications of analysis for performance are considered.
Offered by: Music Research
Group II
-
MUHL 366
The Era of the Fortepiano
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Survey of the repertoire for keyboard 1750-1850: the instruments, Empfindsamkeit, gallant style, London, Paris, Vienna, the Czech school, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, sonatas, variations, character pieces, "high" and "low" salon music, virtuosos and the virtuoso repertoire, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, early Liszt.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 384
Romantic Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The Romantic style as traced by an analysis of works by the major composers of Lied, symphony, symphonic poem, chamber music, and opera.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 385
Early Twentieth-Century Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Development of European, Russian, and American music from the 1890s until the early 1940s, tracing its roots in late 19th-century Romanticism and following its evolution in central Europe, France, and the United States. The music of major innovators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ives, and Varèse will be discussed.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 387
Opera from Mozart to Puccini
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Mozart's operas and the seria, buffa, and Singspiel traditions. Ottocento opera, grand opera, and cross-fertilization between France and Italy. German Romantic opera. Wagner. Eastern European opera. Verismo and fin-de-siècle opera in Vienna and Paris. Sociology of opera. Emphasis on critical understanding of music's role in articulating drama.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 388
Opera After 1900
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Major early twentieth-century works by Debussy, Strauss, Schreker, Bartók, Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Opera in Europe between the Wars including operas of Berg, Milhaud, Krenek, Hindemith and Weill. Politics, sociology, and literature in relationship to musical style. Approaches since 1945 in selected works by Britten, Henze, Zimmermann, Ligeti, Somers and Glass.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 389
Orchestral Literature
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Study of the literature for orchestra alone, composed since the early 18th Century. The material will be divided as follows: 1) orchestral music to the time of Beethoven; 2) orchestral music from 1800 to 1860; 3) orchestral music from 1860 to 1900; 4) orchestral music of the 20th Century.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 390
The German Lied
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Survey of the German Lied from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, focusing on songs and song cycles by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Topics include text, musical form and text-music relationships, melodic style and harmonic organization, accompaniment, and performance practice.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 391
Canadian Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Survey of music in Canada from the 16th Century to the present. Current musical organizations and institutions, and contemporary Canadian music will be stressed. Time permitting, brief reference will be made to the folk music of indigenous and immigrant groups.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 392
Music since 1945
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Appearance and evolution of such post-war phenomena as total serialism, "chance" music of various kinds, and electronic music as seen in major figures such as Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage and others in Europe and the United States. Important developments during the 1960s. Rise of "minimalism" and "neo-Romanticism" during the 1970s and 80s.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 396
Era of the Modern Piano
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Survey of keyboard repertoire from 1850 to the present: instruments, the crisis at mid-century, character pieces, Brahms, late Liszt, national schools, commercialization - the concert hall, music for the bourgeois - salon music, Scriabin, the Second Viennese School, Impressionism, Neo-Classicism, Neo-Romanticism, serialism, the sonata in the 20th-century, North American composers.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
Group III
-
MUHL 314
Women in Music:A Cr-Cult Persp
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: A cross-cultural exploration of women's musical achievements in various historical periods. Develops understanding of both music and the social, political, and cultural forces shaping it. Music includes: sacred, love songs, opera, contemporary instrumental composition, and improvised genres with study organized around topics like authorship, genius/virtuosity, voice, body, power and technology.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 330
Music and Film
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The modern genre of music for films, and its changing styles (symphonic, jazz, pop compilation) from the silent era to today. Includes study of major film composers in North America and other traditions; analysis of the role of music in cinematic narrative, expression and symbolism.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 362
Popular Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: History, criticism, and analysis of twentieth-century repertoires of popular musics. Detailed examination of special topics. These include genre and style in 1970s rock and soul, history of the Broadway musical, approaches to the transcription of pop music, and/or constructions of race and gender in music video.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 370
History of Recorded Music
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The history of recorded music from cultural, social, and technical perspectives, including: the roles of producers, engineers, artists in recordings in a wide variety of genres and historical contexts; the effect of sound recording on listening and audiences; and how the various participants interact with technology to produce recorded music.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 375
Intro to Ethnomusicology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Central themes and methods in contemporary ethnomusicology. Music and its meanings in several contrasting cultural regions and groups. Topics include: colonialism, politics, globalization, and the impact of technology. Techniques of transcription, ethnography, and fieldwork.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUHL 376
Music Colonialism: Global Hist
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: The use of critical theories about “Empire” to situate music practices in imperial histories, and the examination of interactional dynamics between colonizers, colonized peoples, and other agents. The emphasis is on highlighting the plural and diverse voices of those who engage with this art form, as well as on decolonial initiatives.
Offered by: Music Research
- Prerequisite: MUHL 286 or permission of the instructor.
-
MUHL 393
History of Jazz
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: A study of the history and development of jazz through listening, reading, video viewing, lectures and discussion. The central goals will be to learn how to hear jazz critically and to understand the values, meanings, and sensibilities of jazz as a social practice.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 529
Proseminar in Musicology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: Study of selected methodologies in musicology through critical examination of significant texts. Topics may include approaches to historiography, biography, editing and source studies, as well as aesthetics, literary criticism, semiology, feminist musicology, and ideology critique. Works by Adler, Adorno, Dahlhaus, Kerman, McClary, Meyer, Nattiez, and Subotnik, among others, will be addressed.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUHL 592
Popular Music Studies
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Music History and Literature: An overview of scholarly methods used in the study of popular music. Topics will include a broad range of issues related to music analysis, including technical-stylistic
approaches as well as ideas about analytical pertinence, aesthetics, and semiotics. Introduction to approaches associated with the sociology of music, sound studies,
media studies, gender and critical race studies. These topics will be explored through a range of readings, and the analysis of selected recordings.
Offered by: Music Research
Theory
3 credits from courses with a prefix of MUTH at the 200 or 300 level.
Musicianship
2 credits from:
-
MUSP 324
Musicianship for Strings
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on intonation accuracy, rhythm, articulation, voice-leading and sound texture for strings.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 330
Musicianship for Woodwinds
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on intonation accuracy, rhythm, articulation, voice-leading and sound texture for woodwinds.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 335
Musicianship for Brass
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on intonation accuracy, rhythm, articulation, voice-leading and sound texture for brass.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 346
Post-Tonal Musicianship
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Extended tonal and post-tonal harmonic and contrapuntal structures, rhythmic practices of the 20th and 21st century, score reading.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- Instructors
- Justin Mariner
- Justin Mariner
-
MUSP 350
Musicianship for Pianists
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on sight-reading, practical score analysis and focused learning methods.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 353
Musicianship for Voice
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on intonation accuracy, rhythm, voice-leading and sound texture.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 354
Intro to Improv and Ornamen
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Principles of improvisation and ornamentation for music before 1800, including harmonic progressions and voice-leading and contrapuntal patterns for instrumentalists and singers, along with examples of ornamented vocal and instrumental works from 17th and 18th century sources.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUSP 355
Musicianship for Percussion
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Fundamental musicianship issues in the context of performance with an emphasis on polyrhythm.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUSP 361
Topics in Musicianship
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Advanced ear training challenges in rhythm, pitch, harmony, form, or timbre.
Offered by: Music Research
- Topics will change from semester to semester.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUSP 363
Topics in Global Musicianship
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Musicianship skills from one or more global musical practice(s), with specific challenges and approaches corresponding to the selected topic.
Offered by: Music Research
-
MUSP 381
Singing Renaissance Notation
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Musicianship: Choral sightsinging of mensural notation, with a focus on white notation c. 1420-1600. Development of basic fluency in the notation, interpretation of values in triple meter, addition of accidentals given the contrapuntal context as perceived aurally, Renaissance solmisation.
Offered by: Music Research
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
Performance
Basic Ensemble
4 credits from:
-
MUEN 563
Jazz Vocal Workshop
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Vocal workshop for jazz musicians.
Offered by: Performance
-
MUEN 572
Cappella Antica
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: An ensemble of 8 to 12 voices specializing in early music. N.B. This ensemble may substitute as a Basic Ensemble in programs that specify Choral Ensemble, with Departmental approval.
Offered by: Performance
- 4 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
-
MUEN 573
Baroque Orchestra
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Open to singers and instrumentalists, this ensemble specializes in chamber music primarily of the Baroque era.
Offered by: Performance
- 4 hours
- Prerequisites: Audition
- Terms
- Instructors
- Dorian Bandy
- Dorian Bandy
-
MUEN 587
Cappella McGill
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: An ensemble of 16 voices performing challenging repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. Since the expectation is a level of performance equivalent to a professional chamber ensemble, singers wishing to join this group should have had considerable ensemble experience, and advanced vocal and sight-reading skills.
Offered by: Performance
- 4 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
- Note: May be taken instead of Choral Ensemble.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
MUEN 590
McGill Wind Orchestra
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Large ensemble for wind instruments.
Offered by: Performance
- 4-6 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition
- Terms
- Instructors
- Danielle D Gaudry
- Danielle D Gaudry
-
MUEN 592
Chamber Jazz Ensemble
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: This ensemble will deal with the extensive repertoire of music which exists for small jazz orchestra (9-13 instruments).
Offered by: Performance
- Restriction: Open to Jazz Performance students only.
-
MUEN 593
Choral Ensembles
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Students enrolling in Choral Ensembles will be assigned to one of the above groups.
Offered by: Performance
- 4 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
- Section 001 Chamber Singers: a group of approximately 24 mixed voices which explores the a cappella repertoire of all periods as well as works with chamber accompaniment.
- Section 002 Concert Choir: an ensemble of approximately 60 voices (S.A.T.B.) which performs the repertoire from all periods appropriate to a group of this size.
- Section 003 University Chorus: a mixed chorus of approximately 100 which performs a variety of choral material including both traditional and popular selections.
- Section 004 Women's Chorale: an ensemble of approximately 40 women stressing the fundamentals of singing and ensemble participation.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Matthew Boutda, Jeffrey Chan, Kody Pisney
- Jean-Sébastien Vallée
-
MUEN 594
Contemporary Music Ensemble
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Ensemble for contemporary music - instruments and voice.
Offered by: Performance
- 4 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Mélanie Léonard
- Mélanie Léonard
-
MUEN 595
Jazz Ensembles
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Ensemble for jazz - instruments and voice.
Offered by: Performance
- 3-4 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Carlos Alberto Jimenez, Marianne Trudel, William V Mahar, Philippe Côté
-
MUEN 597
McGill Symphony Orchestra
2 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Ensemble: Ensemble for orchestral instruments.
Offered by: Performance
- 6 - 7 hours
- Prerequisite: Audition.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Rudolf-Alexius Hauser
- Rudolf-Alexius Hauser
Elective Courses (33 credits)
9 credits of non-Music courses.
24 credits of courses to be chosen freely (excluding those with MUAR prefix)
