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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

The Field Recorder and the Plein Air Musician — MCO4398.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 2
A field recorder is a novel invention that suggests a relationship towards travel, motion and the capturing of fleeting events or ideas outside of the traditional studio and in the “field”. What do we call this plein air musician, who might they be? If the Impressionist painter chased the light outdoors, what does the plein air musician chase? This class explores how we can
Music

The Five Obstructions — MCO4125.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 2
A song feedback collective, focused on how musical restrictions can spur us to growth. Over the course of the term, students will write 5 songs (or revise a single song in radical ways) based on the critique and decisions of the group. We’ll discuss how to form supportive but insightful critique while challenging each other to go new places. What does it take to create a song
Music

The Improvising and Composing Vocalist — MVO2302.02) (new course code as of 11/1/2021

Spring 2022
Instructor: Michael Wimberly
Credits: 1
Voice is an instrument with an incredible range of expression, and there is much to explore in the realm of vocal improvisation and composition. Through a series of exercises developed for the vocal improviser, with an emphasis on strengthening the foundation of theory and ear training, students will be encouraged to think holistically about the possibilities of voice. Students
Music

The Key to Songs — MTH4419.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 4
An intermediate review of theory based on a broad range of pop, classical, and jazz songs from the last centuries and from across the world. We'll start with a primer on scales, intervals, and basic chordal moves such as the rhythm changes, then progress to chromaticism, modulation, and extended triadic harmonies. Students will compose songs in a variety of styles, but also be
Music

The Key To Songs — MTH4419.01

Spring 2016
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 4
A seminar on advanced harmony, based on in-class analyses of a broad range of classical, pop, and jazz songs. Students will learn about chromaticism, pivot chords, modulation, and extended triadic harmonies, while composing songs in a variety of styles. Students must have a good knowledge of notation and harmony, be willing to tackle in-depth harmonic analyses and aural
Music

The Key to Songs — MTH4419.01

Spring 2018
Instructor: Nick Brooke
Credits: 4
A seminar on advanced harmony, based on in-class analyses of a broad range of classical, pop, and jazz songs. Students will learn about chromaticism, pivot chords, modulation, and extended triadic harmonies, while composing songs in a variety of styles. Students must have a good knowledge of notation and harmony, be willing to tackle in-depth harmonic analyses and aural
Music

The Key to Songs — MTH4419.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 4
A seminar on advanced harmony, based on in-class analyses of a broad range of classical, pop, and jazz songs. Students will learn about chromaticism, pivot chords, modulation, and extended triadic harmonies, while composing songs in a variety of styles. Songwriters studied will include Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Strauss, Weill, The Beatles, Radiohead, Gershwin, Monk, and other
Music

The Modal Concept — MUS2150.01

Fall 2016
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 2
In this class, we’ll listen to the classical musical systems of the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, while looking at the basic scales of dastgah, maqam, raga, and pathet. We’ll unpack the concept of mode in cross-cultural perspective, looking at how a simple series of notes can have myriad meanings. Through examining performances, improvisations, venues, historical
Music

The Music of Beethoven — MHI2241.01

Fall 2016
Instructor: Allen Shawn
Credits: 4
This course will be a group exploration of the extraordinary music of Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827). Approaching his music chronologically, we will attempt to become acquainted with some of his major works, including his String Quartets, Piano Sonatas, Symphonies, his opera Fidelio, the Missa Solemnis, and others less well known, while also becoming familiar with his life
Music

The Music of J.S. Bach — MHI2177.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Allen Shawn
Credits: 4
A group exploration of some of the high points in the glorious music of Johann Sebastian Bach, including the Mass in B minor, the Saint Matthew Passion, the Magnificat, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Musical Offering, and the unaccompanied Suites for Cello. We will also consider Bach's continuing influence on the music of the twentieth and twenty
Music

The Music of J.S.Bach — MHI2177.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Allen Shawn
Credits: 4
This course is intended for those who want to learn about Bach's music, whether or not they read music or have studied music before. Those who can study the musical and theoretical aspects of Bach's beautiful work will be encouraged to do so, and those who can approach it from historical, philosophical, scientific, or poetic point of view will be encouraged to do that.
Music

The Musical "Other": Exoticism, Appropriation, and Multiculturalism — MHI4131.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Credits: 4
This seminar examines how the cultural “Other” has been represented in Western music. We will study a large repertory of orchestral, operatic, chamber, and solo works from the early Baroque period through the twenty-first century, investigating the uses and abuses of non-Western musical sources by composers and centering how politics and ideology inform the creation of these
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Musical “Other”: Exoticism, Appropriation, and Multiculturalism — MHI4131.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Kerry Ryer-Parke
Credits: 4
How has the cultural "Other” been represented in Western music? How can composers and performers create with a clear conscience and use source material ethically? We will examine a large repertory of works from the early Baroque period through the Twenty-first century, investigating the uses and abuses of non-Western musical sources. Beyond the classics, we'll talk about mid
Music

The Perfect Chorale — MTH4149.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 2
In this class we’ll set hymn tunes for four voices, SATB ‐ one of the classic methods of studying harmony. We’ll look at the virtuosic chorales of Bach--arranging, reharmonizing, and revoicing each one--while singing everything we write. Emphasis will be on choosing idiomatic chords and creating elegant and singable counterpoint. Towards the end, we’ll look at more contemporary
Music

The Personal and Political — PSY2213.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Özge Savas
Credits: 4
What is political? How do we acquire political knowledge? How is political understanding shaped across generations? What is the relationship between power, gender, race, and politics? Why do people participate in social movements? What is a “peaceful protest”? In this course we will examine the interplay between people, power, and politics. We will consider participation in
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Politics of Soul: Music, Emotion, Embodiment — MHI4305.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Joseph Alpar and Brian Michael Murphy
Credits: 2
How do various musical traditions seek to carry listeners toward a realm of emotional feeling and even to mystical experience?  From soul in American rhythm and blues, to tarab in Arab music, hüzün in Turkish music, saudade in Brazilian music, and duende in Spanish Flamenco, there are numerous concepts that describe
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Recording Studio as a Magical Escape Pod — MSR4367.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
In this course, students will learn how to take a simple song and develop it, over the course of the semester, into a maximalist, through-composed “freewave” masterpiece. Students will learn all of the basics of studio recording and become comfortable using the space to explore their wildest aural creativity. A focus will be given to learning how to use EQ, compressors,
Music

The Return of All Things — MUS2031.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 2
In The Return of All Things, we are activated to investigate the Bennington College Archive as source material for the creation of sound works. These new works can take on a multitude of forms including collaborative cross-media projects, improvisations, variously notated compositions, radio plays, or installations. We will look at other ways in which the archeological dig of
Music

The Sacred Bridge: Muslim and Jewish Soundscapes of the Middle East — MHI2245.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Credits: 2
In an increasingly geo-politicized world, Muslim and Jewish identities are often seen in opposition to one another. Yet this is actually a new perspective, one that neglects the long, intertwined histories of these religious groups. Large Jewish populations lived in the lands of Islam without interruption from the early 7th century through the 20th century and some continue to
Music

The Sacred Bridge: Muslim and Jewish Soundscapes of the Middle East — MHI2245.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Credits: 4
In an increasingly geo-politicized world, Muslim and Jewish identities are often seen in opposition to one another. Yet this is actually a new perspective, one that neglects the long, intertwined histories of these religious groups. Large Jewish populations lived in the lands of Islam without interruption from the early 7th century through the 20th century and some continue to
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Songwriter's Guitar — MIN4362.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 2
Self-taught guitar playing often begins with the recognition of simple patterns, evolving into complexity. These patterns, while helping us gain familiarity, can eventually become a constrictive box, requiring new material to refresh the old. How do we make a song more effective through focusing on guitar, how can we make a song find its destination? This course develops each
Music

The Songwriters Guitar — MIN4362.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: Omeed Goodarzi
Days & Time: FR 4:10pm-6:00pm
Credits: 2

Self-taught guitar playing often begins with the recognition of simple patterns, evolving into complexity. These patterns, while helping us gain familiarity, can eventually become a constrictive box, requiring new material to refresh the old.  How do we make a song more effective through focusing on guitar, how can we make a song find its

Instrumental Study

The Songwriter’s Guitar — MIN4362.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 2
Self-taught guitar playing often begins with the recognition of simple patterns, evolving into complexity. These patterns, while helping us gain familiarity, can eventually become a constrictive box, requiring new material to refresh the old.  How do we make a song more effective through focusing on guitar, how can we make a song find its destination? This course develops
Music

The Tudor Box — MCO2123.01

Spring 2017
Instructor: Nicholas Brooke
Credits: 1
This course will examine the DIY world of homebuilt acoustic electronics, by looking at experimental instruments that can fit inside a soap dish. We will work through Nic Collins classic book on hardware hacking, while having outside workshops on building alternative guitar pedals, circuit bending, and proto-synthesizer circuits. We will also look at the history of experiments
Music Visual Arts

The Tuning in The Trees — MUS4279.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: Omeed Goodarzi
Days & Time: FR 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 2

The Tuning in the Trees is an advanced seminar in microtonality that treats tuning systems as both technical structures and living landscapes. Students will explore how musical intervals emerge from natural patterns—such as tree bifurcations, harmonic ratios, and number sequences—while engaging deeply with Just intonation, Meantone,

Music Composition Music Theory Philosophy