MUS 201-02 - Intermediate Music Studies: Music, Mind and Brain

4 credits (Fall Term 1)

This course explores the rapidly growing field of the psychology of music. What would the evolutionary origins of music be? How does music evoke emotions in listeners? How do musical behaviors emerge and mature? What are the neural underpinnings of human musicality? What underlies our perceptual and cognitive response to music structure? What are the psychological and neurological processes involved in composition, improvisation, and performance? In an attempt to answer such questions, we will examine scientific foundations of how humans perceive, understand, and create music in light of the advances in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and music theory.

Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Cha