Harmonic Function and Progressions Through Rodgers and Hammerstein Musicals 1940-1960
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Neal Woodruff
Professor Josh Ring
Project Type
Departmental Honors project
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University
Abstract
Music in higher education has been evolving in the United States for over 155 years. While this seems like a lengthy time, most of the classical music theory curriculum has remained the same. Students are still studying many of the prodigious composers, such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. While these are wonderful European composers, American music programs need to be incorporating more American composers and their music into the American curriculum. Not only is it important to study American musicians and their music, but using American popular music can decrease the learning curve because students are more familiar with music from their own era. Countless numbers of students have grown up listening to Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music and have seen many of the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Most local or school theatre programs have broadly used the Rodgers and Hammerstein productions with their students. The effectiveness of the college theory curriculum may not necessarily depend upon the order in which historical styles or periods are studied or upon a melodic or harmonic approach, but upon a concentration on the structure of the music itself. It is supportive to students when the curriculum incorporates music that is native to them. This study will examine scores from Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals from 1940-1960 to see how the classical theory topics of harmonic function and harmonic progressions may be applied.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Harmonic Function and Progressions Through Rodgers and Hammerstein Musicals 1940-1960
Other
Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University
Abstract
Music in higher education has been evolving in the United States for over 155 years. While this seems like a lengthy time, most of the classical music theory curriculum has remained the same. Students are still studying many of the prodigious composers, such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. While these are wonderful European composers, American music programs need to be incorporating more American composers and their music into the American curriculum. Not only is it important to study American musicians and their music, but using American popular music can decrease the learning curve because students are more familiar with music from their own era. Countless numbers of students have grown up listening to Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music and have seen many of the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Most local or school theatre programs have broadly used the Rodgers and Hammerstein productions with their students. The effectiveness of the college theory curriculum may not necessarily depend upon the order in which historical styles or periods are studied or upon a melodic or harmonic approach, but upon a concentration on the structure of the music itself. It is supportive to students when the curriculum incorporates music that is native to them. This study will examine scores from Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals from 1940-1960 to see how the classical theory topics of harmonic function and harmonic progressions may be applied.