| Course Title: Pop Song / Jazz Tune |
| Start Date: 09/09/2026 End Date: 12/22/2026 |
| Term: Fall Semester 2026 |
| Description: Pop and jazz involve different types of musical texts. From open mic nights to top-40 hits, pop performances are enactments of carefully crafted song structures. In contrast, jazz musicians treat tunes more flexibly-as frameworks to guide improvisation. In separate units for the pop song and the jazz tune, this course examines how harmony, melody, rhythm, lyrics, and form unite to inspire great performances in both traditions. Each unit will include nuts-and-bolts assignments to build analytical and compositional skills, which will be applied in a composition project at the end of each unit. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Benjamin Geyer | bgeyer@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 09/09/2026 - 12/22/2026 | Lecture | Monday and Wednesday | 09:00AM - 10:15AM | PRAT - Pratt Memorial Music Bldg | WRBK | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| Prereq: MUSIC-100 or MUSIC-131 or passing Music Theory Placement Test. | Take previously | Required |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 0 | Available: 18 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| To be determined. |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is NOT the complete book list for this class. |