Minor in Music Literature

The Music Literature offered by the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies approximates the Music Literature Minor of a Bachelor of Music program of any reputable Conservatory or College of Music.  Graduates of this Minor should have a critical grasp of Western and Philippine music history, a rudimentary grasp of music theory, and should have developed a cultivated taste in listening to live concerts and recordings of serious music.  They should be fairly adept at music research and should be able to write program notes of standard concert repertoire, and eventually try their hand at music criticism.

Philippine society is in need of writers of both classical and popular music, writers who will shape the taste of the present and the future generations of music lovers.   Journalists can misuse the term “music impresario” or “music critic” without the proper education in music literature and without the necessary experience in the critical listening of the various genres of the field.  Both professions require cultivated taste, at the very least.

The Music Literature Minor is designed to develop this cultivated taste for the musical arts systematically.  After the student’s orientation on the written language of music and on the traditions of playing music through 500 years of western music history, a course on Basic Music Research and Criticism will develop a proper writing style for program notes that would eventually, through enough experience, lead to sound and healthy music criticism. A required course in Philippine Music and Culture would give the student a local perspective of performance practice and research that is rooted in both native and western influences.

The Music Literature Electives give the student a free hand on further studies on a particular genre of music, e.g. Asian music or musical forms of the West (symphonic music, liturgical music, opera, Latin American music, etc.).

Graduates of this Minor in Music Literature can work as music writers and researchers of cultural foundations like the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation (MCOF).   They can also teach music appreciation on the primary and secondary levels.  Ideally, they should be equipped to write about music in print media:  reviews on concerts and recordings and articles about music in general, its aesthetics, its role in an individual’s mental development and emotional growth.

The student fulfills the requirements of the Minor in Music Literature upon passing, with a grade of C, the following five courses (totaling 15 units)  listed below:

IDS 121.13
DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC IN WESTERN SOCIETY
Offered in the First Semester only 
A general survey of music in Western history from ancient classical cultures to the early modern period. Developments will be examined within the historical context, taking into account the multiple influences of social, cultural, political and other relevant forces.

IDS 121.14
RUDIMENTS OF MUSIC
Offered in the First Semester only
This course orients the music literature track / minor on the written language of music: Notation, Scales, Intervals, Transposition, Chords, Cadences, Non-harmonic tones, Melodic Organization, Basic Tonal
Harmony in four voices, and Aural Skills: Rhythmic, Melodic and Functional Dictation, Interval Identification and Sight Singing.

IDS 121.15i
BASIC MUSIC RESEARCH AND CRITICISM
Offered in the Second Semester only
This first course in musicology is an introduction to reliable and recently revised sources of music research for writing program notes. It aims to develop good taste in listening to live and recorded music, an essential ingredient in music criticism.

IDS 180.16
PHILIPPINE MUSIC AND CULTURE
Offered in the Second Semester only
The course is a general survey of Philippine music from the native, tribal, and ethnic beginnings to Muslim, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and American influences. Developments will be examined within the historical context, taking into account the multiple influences of social, cultural, political and other relevant forces. Philippine Culture of the 21st century will also be explored through the OPM and entertainment industry.