57-283 Music History I

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This course offers a highly active cultural study of "early music" from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods within "Western" and global paradigms. It will emphasize representative genres, forms, and creators to trace the evolution of musical style, clarify main period characteristics, set musical developments in broader cultural contexts, and how this knowledge applies to practical decisions made by today's musicians. The course also introduces students to essential methods of research and presentation about music history involving written, visual, and oral communication. The resulting model embraces a highly athletic approach to the material, rather than the passive absorption of content.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2026

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