What Is Music?

(4 Credits)

This course analyzes what we understand as "music." Drawing on music of different styles from all over the world, seminar members will explore what constitutes musical meaning, how it is produced, and how music expresses feelings. Taking advantage of the multicultural nature of NYU Abu Dhabi, students will explore the cultural and universal mechanisms at play when we listen to and understand music. A lab portion of the class guides students through basic musical elements such as notation systems, scales, and simple compositional techniques.