
An acoustic and an electric guitar. In this course, students analyzed the instrumentation form of various assigned popular songs. (Acoustic guitar courtesy of Megan Allen on Flickr; electric guitar courtesy of Ethan Prater on Flickr. Licenses: CC BY.)
Instructor(s)
Teresa Neff
MIT Course Number
21M.295
As Taught In
Fall 2014
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course surveys the development of popular music in the United States and in a cross-cultural milieu relative to the history and sociology of the last two hundred years. It examines the ethnic mixture that characterizes modern music, how it reflects many rich traditions and styles, and provides a background for understanding the musical vocabulary of current popular music styles.