Interdisciplinary Approaches to Musical Time

Classroom Sessions

This page presents resources associated with the classroom sessions: related listening, readings, scores, Web sites and videos.

Class 10: Time and structure in a film score for D. W. Griffith's Ramona (1910)

Class 12: Student project presentation: "Notation and Time in Music"

SES #	INSTRUCTORS	TOPICS	RESOURCES
C1	Martin Marks	Overview, getting acquainted, the syllabus, concerts, student projects	Excerpts from Eliot, T. S. Four Quartets.
C2	Marcus Thompson	Class discussion
E1		Forum 1: Time as Shape Michael Cuthbert, Robert Jaffe, Libby Larson and Sara Brown Concert 1 Imbrie, Larsen, Crumb and Ravel	See Forums and Concerts page
C3	Michael Cuthbert (Professor of Music)	Repeating time: minimalism and the structure of Reich’s Four Organs	Reich, Steve. “Music as a Gradual Process” (1968). In Writings on Music, 1965-2000. Edited by Hillier. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780195111712.
C4	Paul Schechter (Professor of Astrophysics)	A physicist’s understanding of the concept of spacetime	Greene, Brian. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. New York, NY: Vintage, 2005. ISBN: 9780375727207. [Preview in Google Books]
C5	Michael Ouellette (Lecturer in Theater Arts)	On Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen	Frayn, Michael. Copenhagen. New York, NY: Anchor, 2000. ISBN: 9780385720793.
C6	Donald Sadoway (Professor of Materials Science and Engineering)	‘Everything I needed to know I learned in 3.091’ - using art, literature, music, and film to teach chemistry	This talk was similar to one given at the MIT Alumni Association’s 2010 Technology Day; see this MIT World video starting at ~15:00, after the discussion about energy and batteries.
E2		Forum 2: Time as Memory Bruce Brubaker, Peter Child and Deborah Stein Concert 2 Beethoven, Child and Dvořák	See Forums and Concerts page
C7	George Ruckert (Senior Lecturer in Music)	Measuring time: meters, cycles, and patterns in Hindustani music
C8	Christopher Ariza (Visiting Professor of Music)	Events per unit of time: density as a compositional parameter in the music and synthesis techniques of Iannis Xenakis (PDF - 1.1MB) (Courtesy of Christopher Ariza. Used with permission.)	Recordings played in class ———. “ST/48” (1962). On Xenakis: Orchestral Works, Vol. 5. Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Tamayo. Tympani, 2008. Roads, Curtis. “Now.” Point Line Cloud. Asphodel Ltd., 2004. (Courtesy of Curtis Roads. Used with permission.) Internet Archive (MP3 - 14MB) iTunesU (MP3 - 14MB) Recommended readings Xenakis, Iannis. “Free Stochastic Music From the Computer.” In Cybernetics, Art and, Ideas. Edited by J. Reichardt. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1971, pp. 124-142. ISBN: 9780821204313.
C9	Stephen Tapscott (Professor of Literature)	Deeper into Muybridge: a poet’s view	Two poems from Muybridge (PDF) Wikipedia: Eadweard Muybridge
E3		Forum 3: Time as the Subject and Substance Ellen Harris, Lewis Lockwood, Paul Matisse and Stephen Tapscott Concert 3 Mozart, Loeffler, Still and Foss	See Forums and Concerts page
C10	Charles Shadle (Senior Lecturer in Music)	Time and structure in a film score for D. W. Griffith’s Ramona (1910)	Watch the Class 10 video This film with Shadle’s score is released on Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934. DVD. National Film Preservation Foundation/Image Entertainment, 2007. Booklet notes from this DVD release, by Martin Marks. “Ramona (1910) – About the Music.” (PDF) (Courtesy of the National Film Preservation Foundation. Used with permission.)
C11	Mark Harvey (Lecturer in Music)	In the moment: jazz time and improvisation	Recordings played in class Time as defined, steady, organizing principle: Duke Ellington. “Satin Doll.” 70th Birthday Concert. Blue Note, 1995. Time as more free, elastic: Miles Davis Quartet. “My Funny Valentine.” The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four & More. Columbia, 1992 reissue. Time as a medium in which composition / improvisation happens: Harvey, Mark. “Rapt at Rappaport’s.” Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Paintings for Jazz Orchestra. Leo Records, 1993. Time in several senses,used simultaneously, steady + multi-meter + conducted improvisation: “The Seeker.” Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at Regattabar, Cambridge MA, March 21, 2001. (Courtesy of Mark Harvey. Used with permission.) Internet Archive (MP3 - 16MB) iTunesU (MP3 - 16MB) Alternate recording: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. The Seeker. Leo Records, 2000. Recommended Readings Kahn, Ashley. Kind of Blue: The Making of Miles Davis Masterpiece. New York, NY: DaCapo Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780306810671. Harvey, Mark. “Jazz Time and Our Time.” In This is How We Flow: Rhythm in Black Cultures. Edited by Angela M.S. Nelson. Columbia, SC: Univeristy of South Carolina Press, 1999, pp. 15-31. ISBN: 9781570031908.
C12		Student projects & performances	Watch the Class 12 video See Assignments page
C13		Student projects & performances Wrap-Up	See Assignments page