MUSC 114 Introduction to the Orchestra

This class introduces students to the world of the orchestra beginning with its historical development and followed by an in-depth exploration of its instruments. Each class will focus on a different instrument its history and its fundamental properties (range characteristics timbre etc.). Performance faculty and proficient student instrumentalists will provide routine in-class demonstrations of the instruments we study. In-class listening will supplement weekly listening assignments covering orchestral music from the Baroque to the present. The course will emphasize the relationships between instruments (e.g. what does an oboe and trumpet sound like when playing the same line simultaneously) and how these relationships inform a composer’s decision-making process when writing for an orchestra. No music theory background is required only an ability to read music notation at a basic level (treble clef bass clef scales etc.). This course will serve as a prerequisite to MUSC 258 (Introduction to Film Scoring) starting Fall 2016.