The medieval Prague Astronomical Clock has dials for astronomical details and calendar months, and an hourly show of the biblical Apostles and other figures. (Photo courtesy of Jorge-11 on Flickr.)
Instructor(s)
Dr. Martin Marks
Prof. Marcus A Thompson
Prof. Charles Shadle
MIT Course Number
21M.542
As Taught In
January IAP 2010
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
- Selected video lectures
- Special feature - video
- Music - audio
- Assignments: presentations with examples
- Assignments: written with examples
Course Description
This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of three broad topics concerning music in relation to time.
- Music as Architecture: the creation of musical shapes in time;
- Music as Memory: how musical understanding depends upon memory and reminiscence, with attention to analysis of musical structures; and
- Time as the Substance of Music: how different disciplines such as philosophy and neuroscience view the temporal dimension of musical processes and/or performances.
Classroom discussion of these topics is complemented by three weekend concerts with pre-concert forums, jointly presented by the Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) and MIT Music & Theater Arts.