This course is a general introduction to American popular music. Our goal is help you understand the roots and styles of popular music, and also to show how music has developed in relation to society, technology, and media. We will present topics in a more or less chronological order, beginning with the 19th century and continuing through to the present (or close to it). Experience in music is not a pre-requisite, but you will be expected to develop your ear and your vocabulary for describing music. Your goal should be to develop a basic understanding of musical structure, to relate different types of music to one another, and (most importantly) to relate music to a broader socio-historical context.

You are expected to attend class daily and take careful notes on lectures, films, and presentations by visitors. Class presentations will cover some material that is not on the listening or in the reading, so class notes are your most important resource. Reading assignments are also important, and the weekly load is light (around 50 pages) because listening will also take time.

Listening assignments are a component of this course that many students will be encountering for the first time, so do not underestimate the time necessary, and definitely do not leave it until the last minute! You should plan to listen to each example several times, which means budgeting at least three hours each week for listening. Ideally you should listen to songs before we discuss them in class and again afterwards.

Graded work for the course includes two midterms, a final exam, and a musical experience essay, with weight given to those assignments as follows:

Musical experience essay      10%
EMP visit      5%
Midterm 1      25%
Midterm 2      25%
Final Exam      35%

Guidelines for the musical experience essay and EMP visit are below. Dates for the exams are listed in the schedule. The final will be cumulative.

Reading:
(See Schedule for weekly reading and listening assignments)

American Popular Music, by Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman, available at University Book Store

Listening:
Many of the examples played in class will be from the CDs that come with the Starr and Waterman textbook. Other listening examples for Music 162 are on-line. You can access the listening examples and the written notes by selecting “Course Reserves” on the search page of the UW libraries website: http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/search~/. Unless you have a high speed internet connection at home, you will have to do this on a computer that is connected to the campus network, such as the ones in Odegaard.

Due Friday April 8th

Guidelines:
This should be a ONE-PAGE essay (no more!) exploring an important musical experience as it relates to your life. Select a particular musical experience (either an event, or a more protracted experience like piano lessons, or regular family gatherings), describe it, and reflect upon how it relates to your social upbringing and the development of your musicality and musical interests. Examples of musical experiences you might choose include musical training you have received (at home, at school, at church, etc.); listening to music with friends; dancing; favorite radio stations; a live concert that you attended; family music-making, etc.

The following questions may help you to relate these musical experiences to your social situation:
>What types of music were heard where I grew up?
>What music do I like to listen to, and why?
>Where do I listen to music, and in what medium? (live, recorded, radio, video, etc.)
>What were the attitudes in my family, neighborhood, school, and community toward various types of music -- popular music, religious music, dance music, music of other cultural groups?
>Did music play a part in the way I and other people in my community identified themselves as belonging to different groups (according to age, style, politics, class, race, nation, religion, etc)?

PROFESSOR (rm.28E, Music)     
     
Shannon Dudley            Wed. 1:00-2:00
dudley@u.washington.edu


TAs       (rm.28A, Music)

Clar Connell            Tues. 1:30-3:30
clar@u.washington.edu

Francisco Orozco          Mon. 10:30-12:30
frorozco@u.washington.edu

Amanda Soto            Thurs.10:30-12:30
sotoa@u.washington.edu