Song Cycle
MCO4805.01
Course Description
Summary
What makes a group of songs a “cycle”? Is it a theme, lyric, or simple proximity? Isn’t a song cycle just a concept album? In this course we’ll play through and recompose the literature about song cycles, from Schubert to Joanna Newsom’s Ys to many others. We’ll start by radically recomposing a classical song cycle by Schumann, then write our own song cycle as a class. The course will end with each student writing a small trio of related songs.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyze, discuss, and consider song groupings from the song cycle to the concept album
Create original songs solo and in collaboration with the rest of the class.
Learn techniques for singing, playing, and recording one’s own songs.
Prerequisites
Permission of the instructor. Previous songwriting experience. Please submit two songs to the instructor by May 1.
Please contact the faculty member : nbrooke@bennington.edu