David Shively, percussionist in the artist-in-residence ensemble Either/Or, performs Alvin Lucier's Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra (a piece for amplified solo triangle) in the MIT Chapel. (Photo courtesy of L. Barry Hetherington. Used with permission.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Keeril Makan
MIT Course Number
21M.065
As Taught In
Spring 2014
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
- Projects and examples
- Assignments: activity with examples
- Assignments: written (no examples)
- Instructor insights
Course Description
Through a progressive series of composition projects, students investigate the sonic organization of musical works and performances, focusing on fundamental questions of unity and variety. Aesthetic issues are considered in the pragmatic context of the instructions that composers provide to achieve a desired musical result, whether these instructions are notated in prose, as graphic images, or in symbolic notation. No formal training is required. Weekly listening, reading, and composition assignments draw on a broad range of musical styles and intellectual traditions, from various cultures and historical periods.
Other Versions
Other OCW Versions
OCW has published multiple versions of this subject. 
Archived versions: 