I. General Information

1. Course Title:
American Popular Music

2. Course Prefix & Number:
MUSC 1403

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

From its beginnings in the blues, to modern rock and popular music, this course will study characteristics of the music and the artists who create it. From class lectures, demonstrations and listening examples, students will demonstrate the ability to identify and describe musical examples. Each student will demonstrate knowledge of the diverse cultural backgrounds represented by the musical examples.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

St Cloud State, MUSM 126 History of Rock and Roll Music, 3 credits
Minnesota State University Moorhead, MUS 217 Pop/Rock Music for non-majors, 3 credits

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):
 

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts
• Goal 7 – Human Diversity

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Identify rock music styles by era.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Correlate and compare social and musical trends of the second half of the twentieth century to those of today.
Work as a team member to achieve shared goals	Function effectively within groups to assemble research data and present the results.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Discuss the place racial divisions played in specific rock music eras.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Identify Rock and Pop styles and eras, possibly artists from listening examples.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the social and racial influences on Rock and Pop Music from its inception to today.  MnTC Goal 6
• Respond critically to works of Rock and Pop orally and in written form. MnTC Goal 6
• Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities. MnTC Goal 6
• Engage in the creative process or interpretive performance. Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical and social context.
• Understand the development of and changing meanings of group identities in the development of Rock and Pop history and culture. MnTC Goal 7
• Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, and musical) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion. MnTC Goal 7
• Demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and working effectively in a society with great population diversity. MnTC Goal 7
• Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Roots of rock Music Musical styles from ragtime to swing
• People, place and times
2. Urban Blues and Rhythm and Blues Styles
• People, places and times
3. Gospel and Country Roots of Rock Spirituals, Gospel, Doo-Wop, Country music
• Early Rock and Roll Musicians in Country backgrounds
• Musicians in Rhythm and Blues backgrounds
4. Teen-style Rock and Roll Teen-Idol pop, Brill building pop Phil Spector, the Surf Sound
5. Soul and Motown
• Memphis Soul
• Atlantic Records
6. The British Invasion (The Stones vs The Beatles)
• The Beatles
• The Stones
7. The British Invasion: America Reacts
• The Mersey Sound, The Mods, British Blues Bands
8. American Reaction Folk-Rock
• Singer/Songwriters Folk music, Bob Dylan, Folk-Rock Singer/Songwriters
9. Psychedelic Rock
• The San Francisco Sound
• Psychedelic Rock beyond San Francisco
10. Country and Southern Rock
• Country Rock
• Southern rock
11. Jazz-Rock Styles
• Jazz rock Fusion
• Jazz
12. Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Influences
• Hard Rock, British Heavy Metal, American Heavy Metal
• Speed metal and Thrash, Death Metal, Glam Bands
13. Progressive and Glitter Rock
• Rock Bands with Orchestras, Classical forms, Avant-Garde trends
• Ska and Reggae Ska, Reggae Influences on Rock
14. Punk Rock and New Age Early influences and development of Punk
• New York, British, West Coast Punk
• American and British New Wave Funk and Disco funk
• Disco Hip-Hop and Rap Hip-Hop
• Culture and East coast Rap, West Coast and Latino Rap
15. MTV
• Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen
• Expanded Programming Other Rock Styles of the eighties
• Alt Rock from Britian, Gothic rock
• American Post-Punk, Industrial rock Rock in the Nineties and Early 2000’s Grunge, Pop Punk, Emo, Jam Bands
• Alt Country, Progressive, rap Rock, Nu Metal

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions