(Offered as PSYC 213 and NEUR 213) This course will examine how brain function regulates a broad range of mental processes and behaviors. We will discuss how neurons work and how the brain obtains information about the environment (sensory systems), regulates an organism’s response to the environment (motor systems), controls basic functions necessary for survival such as eating, drinking, sex, and sleep, and mediates higher cognitive function such as memory and language.

(Offered as PSYC 213 and NEUR 213) This course will examine how brain function regulates a broad range of mental processes and behaviors. We will discuss how neurons work and how the brain obtains information about the environment (sensory systems), regulates an organism’s response to the environment (motor systems), controls basic functions necessary for survival such as eating, drinking, sex, and sleep, and mediates higher cognitive function such as memory and language.

Advanced work for Honors candidates in music history and criticism, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, or performance. A thesis, a major composition project or a full-length recital will be required. No student shall elect more than one semester as a double course. A double course.

Spring semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: n/a

Advanced work for Honors candidates in music history and criticism, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, or performance. A thesis, a major composition project or a full-length recital will be required. No student shall elect more than one semester as a double course. A full course.

Spring semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: n/a

How can we recognize a composer's voice in different pieces of music? How do composers develop a personal style? In this seminar we will study what constitute composers' personal style. Our primary text will be compositions by strong personalities from twentieth-century music, among them Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Olivier Messiaen, whose style had a disproportionately large influence on composers coming after them.

How is hip hop made, and why does it sound the way it does? In this course, we will examine the history of hip hop production by creating hip hop, analyzing how technological inventions and changing aesthetic practices have contributed to the sound and style of hip hop’s beats.

A continuation of MUSI 387. One class meeting per week and weekly private conferences. This course may be repeated. Spring 2023 will focus on song covers and arrangements.

Requisite: MUSI 269 or the equivalent and consent of the instructor. Spring semester. Professor Pukinskis.

How to handle overenrollment: null

How can a piece of instrumental music with no words tell a story? How can a song with words convey a sense of perfect abstract design? Musical form is an interaction of melody, harmony, rhythm, and other musical parameters that can be used to structure a temporal experience into a narrative experience. We will consider several genres across musical eras and traditions, including Baroque counterpoint, classical sonata forms, and American popular song forms, seeing how the shaping of common practice harmony gives voice to many shades of individuality within each tradition.

As musicians, we sometimes forget how powerful harmony is. We casually drop the term in conversation. We think of it as common knowledge. Well, in a way, it is. Emerging in the 17th century in Western Europe and eventually spreading to many places around the world, this musical system has come to play a tremendous role in our perception of musical structure and our emotional experience as listeners.We find harmony in concert halls, coliseums, and coffeehouses, jazz clubs, movie theaters, and mosh pits.

The Amherst College Concert Choir is the premier performing and touring ensemble at Amherst College. Singers will learn to refine aural and vocal skills while singing challenging music from all genres and styles in this chamber setting. Participation in the Glee Club is a co-requisite for Concert Choir. Meets twice a week for 90 minutes and once a week for 30 minutes. Lecturer Arianne Abela. Fall and Spring Semester.

How to handle overenrollment: null