Time is the medium in which music transpires. Form and rhythm are
sonic articulations of time on the large and small level; and now computers
enable us to study time with great objective precision, even on the microscopic
level. However, time remains largely a mystery. We don't have a specific sense
organ that perceives it (as we do for light and sound), we can't feel it or
grasp it, and we perceive it differently in different contexts. Scientists and
philosophers have written extensively on the elusive nature of time. Musicians
and other time-based artists (e.g., filmmakers) have established many ways of
contemplating, managing, and composing the passage of time. This course will
study what time is, some of the many ways it is perceived, measured, and
discussed, and how musicians "shape" time with sound. The course will
be conducted as a graduate seminar, with assigned readings, student-led
discussion, and individual research/writing/presentations on selected
subtopics. Ability to read a musical score is highly recommended.
This page was last modified March 23, 2006.