THTREMUS 101: Intro to Acting

Designed to help students develop and strengthen acting skills, this course will cover techniques to enhance self-awareness, sensory awareness, and spatial awareness and will explore strategies to help develop characters and create stories.

THTREMUS 211: Introduction to Theatre & Drama

This course introduces students to as many basic elements of the theatre, practical and theoretical, as time allows. It also presents a number of key plays from various periods, examining them in terms of their dramatic qualities, theatrical strengths, social and political contexts, performance history, and relevance today. This course is geared toward students who do not have extensive experience attending or participating in the theatre.

ARTSADMN 406/506 Sec 001: Critical Issues in Classical Music

This seminar-style course will address issues including power relationships, race, gender, class, the roles of art and artists in society, public policy, audience behavior, and the future of classical music institutions.

ARTSADMN 425/525: Ethics in Arts Leadership

This course will explore the role of ethics in the practice of arts leadership, aiming to empower students in developing their own leadership philosophy viewed through the lens of ethics and moral obligation to their planet, communities, cultural organizations, society, and themselves.

ARTSADMN 430/530: Arts in Community Engagement

This class introduces students to the practice and theory that cultural organizations use for arts-based community engagement initiatives. In addition to coursework, students will complete 50 hours of service learning fieldwork with a cultural organization.

DANCE 100: Intro to Dance

DANCE 100.001 – Modern Dance
This modern dance class is taught by students.

DANCE 100.002 – Round Fan in Chinese Classical Dance
The round fan, used in Chinese classical dance, absorbs the elements of traditional Chinese opera and combines it with basic “Shenyun” elements of Chinese classical dance.

DANCE 100.003 – Acting for Dance
In this course, students will play with a variety of techniques from dance and theatre, learning to use the voice in a variety of ways, practice character-based and abstract movement, and practice performing with intention. No experience necessary.

DANCE 100.004 – Modern
This beginner course lets students explore movement and unlock creativity, building a stronger foundation in modern dance through warm-ups and technical exercises focused on flexibility, strength, and coordination.

DANCE 100.005 – Afro-Caribbean
This course is a study of the various folkloric dance forms of the Caribbean, particularly those of Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil.

DANCE 100.006 – Improvisation: Experimenting with Scores
Scores are rules or prompts that help to guide and shape an improvisation. In this course, students will enact, develop, and discuss a variety of improvisational scores, including but not limited to dance scores. Experience in some form of performance would be helpful to prospective students, but a willingness to be seen trying out new things is required.

DANCE 100.007 – Making Dances
Through this course, students will learn how to create a dance piece that transcends movement/dance itself, exploring creativity, movement invention, scores, variations in space, and the utilization of materials. The class focuses on exploring dance through improvisation, assigned movement studies, and techniques necessary for the creation of solo/group compositions.

DANCE 100.008 – Jazz Funk
In this class, students will groove to a fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and funk styles. This high-energy course explores this dynamic and expressive style to create a fun and energetic dance experience. Students will build confidence, learn intricate choreography, develop musicality, and improve flexibility and coordination. No prior dance experience required.

DANCE 100.009 – Hip Hop
This hip hop class is taught by students.

DANCE 100.010 – Queer Social Dances
This course offers an introductory exploration of queer social dances, spotlighting house dance, waacking, and voguing. These dance forms, deeply rooted in the history and culture of LGBTQ+ communities, serve as vehicles for improvisation and self-expression, fostering connections, resilience, and celebration.

DANCE 100.011 – Congolese
This course is a study of traditional dances of the African Congo.

DANCE 100.012 – Ballet
This class explores foundational movements with a focus on awareness and gravity, utilizing ballet movement vocabulary that resonates with various physical activities. Designed for individuals of all movement backgrounds, it offers valuable benefits even for seasoned ballet dancers. In addition, this class aims to challenge traditional dance norms, including the gender binary, while promoting awareness of racial diversity.

DANCE 100.013 – Krump
In this course, students will study krump as a modernized street dance form and culture. Students will practice krump foundation while strengthening the ability to freestyle (improvise) by compounding the movements to create a “round.” Students will learn through “training,” “labbing,” and “sessioning” and will examine Krump from local and global contexts by viewing materials including documentaries, interviews, battles, and event recaps. Some dance experience, of any form, is suggested.

DANCE 100.015 – Contemporary
Contemporary dance is a response to and departure from historically codified western forms, such as ballet and modern dance. It is often regarded as an amalgamation of styles that is characterized by its fluidity and focus on self-expression, exploration, and boundary pushing. This course explores the different styles of contemporary dance through exercises in various other dance techniques and examines the culture, history, and gender performance aspect of each of these dance techniques.

DANCE 100.016 – Hip Hop Freestyle
In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of hip hop freestyle dance (bounce, rock, roll, wave, etc.) and a mix of social/party dances that were created to accompany hip hop songs such as “Stanky Legg,” “Milly Rock,” and “Steve Martin.” The course will emphasize the traditional social/party context of hip hop culture and will explore the local and global influence of hip hop. Students will create a dance performance to showcase at the end of the term (which will be open to the public to view).

Arts Chorale

A mixed choir, the Arts Chorale is open to any student at the University of Michigan and most members are not music majors. No audition is required; all are welcome.

University Band
Repertoire for University Band, which uses full wind ensemble instrumentation, consists of mainly grades 5 and 6 and is the more advanced of the non-major concert bands. Audition is required for placement. All interested students should enroll in ENS 346.001.

Campus Band
Repertoire for Campus Band, which uses full wind ensemble instrumentation, consists of grades 3 to 5. Playing assessment for part assignments only; everyone with experience playing a band instrument is welcome to join. All interested students should enroll in ENS 346.002.

Campus Orchestra

The Campus Symphony Orchestra and Campus Philharmonia Orchestras offer a welcoming and collaborative environment for non-music majors, and an opportunity to perform an exciting and diverse variety of great orchestral music on the famed Hill Auditorium stage. All interested students should enroll in ENS 344.001 (Campus Symphony Orchestra) or ENS 344.002 (Campus Philharmonia Orchestra). 

Campus Jazz Ensemble

The University of Michigan Campus Jazz Ensemble is the premier non-major jazz performing experience offered by SMTD, with placement by audition. All interested students should enroll in ENS 360: Campus Jazz Ensemble

The University of Michigan Gamelan Ensemble is open to all, regardless of musical training. The group will learn how to play pieces on different instrument groupings from Java and Bali, Indonesia, with repertoire ranging from traditional works to contemporary compositions.

The University of Michigan’s guitar ensemble, open to all guitarists, is a supportive/collaborative environment where students will learn how to perform with other guitarists and work with a conductor.

Open to all U-M students by audition, the Hockey and Basketball bands support their respective sports at all home games and selected tournament games.

Open to all U-M students by audition, the Michigan Winter Ensemble is a competitive color guard performance group that performs and competes in the MCGC circuit.

Out of the Blue is the University of Michigan’s prison outreach choir, a collaboration between PCAP and SMTD, overseen by Dr. Eugene Rogers. Students from across the university, alumni, and community members are encouraged to participate in the ensemble. Members can enroll as an official class either through SMTD or the Residential College, or they can join as a club.

The Men’s Glee Club welcomes you to audition for our 164th season serving as ambassadors of song. The coming year will be particularly special as we will tour to South America in May 2024 (optional for Glee Club members). The Men’s Glee Club welcomes all male-identifying and non-binary students who sing tenor or bass to audition.

The Women’s Glee Club is a SSAA choral ensemble open by audition, representing undergraduate and graduate women from diverse fields across campus. WGC gives female students the opportunity to express their love of music through performance, community outreach and travel. Repertoire ranges from the Renaissance to the present; includes folk music, college songs, and works specifically written for women’s chorus.

Guitar 110: Intro to Guitar
This introductory course in popular guitar style will teach students essential performance skills while building a deeper understanding of the cultural importance of the guitar in popular music. No prior guitar experience needed to enroll.

Guitar 111: Intermediate Guitar
This intermediate guitar course will teach students continued technical and performance-based skillsets on the instrument. Guitar 110: Intro to Guitar or comparable guitar experience recommended.

Guitar 112: Advanced Guitar
This advanced guitar course will explore in detail key guitarists throughout the diverse history of the popular music genre. A “case-study” approach will be taken to introduce the varied techniques, chord structures and melodic soloing styles of guitar greats such as Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, and Joni Mitchell, to name a few. Guitar 111: Intermediate Guitar or comparable guitar experience recommended.

GUITAR 150: Individual Studio Lessons

Private studio guitar lessons are available to all university students and are tailored to meet students’ specific interests and goals on the instrument. A range of engaging topics will be explored in detail from week to week while developing performance based skills on the guitar. Guitar 112: Advanced Guitar or equivalent experience recommended prior to enrolling.

MUSICOL 346.001: History of Music from the 18th Century to the Present

A survey of European music from ca. 1750 to the present. The main goal of the course is to lead students to develop an in-depth appreciation of classical, romantic, and contemporary music in its historical contexts, and to engage in a critical reflection on the status and role of “art music” and its educational import in the contemporary world. A number of readings will be taken from recent studies on individual composers and musical works.

JAZZ 420: Roots Music & Improv for Strings

Learn roots music repertoire in the styles of American & European traditional fiddling, and expand creativity through improvisation. All string players welcome.

JAZZ 450/550: Contemplative Practice

450/550: The Contemplative Practices Seminar
This seminar introduces sitting meditation and includes journaling, walking meditation outdoors, and contemplative reading.

455/555: Nature-based Contemplative Practice
This seminar introduces nature-based contemplative practices, which deepen our connection with the natural world by expanding our conversation with the elements.

454/554 Special Topics/”Finding Your Way”
This is a course in contemplative journal writing. Through guided, reflective writing based on weekly prompts, this course helps students explore life-path questions.

COMP 221: Intro to Elements of Composition

It’s easy to take for granted that behind all music is at least one person who sat down and composed that music. In this course, students will become familiar with the practical aspects of composing – the process of thinking, listening, and working like a composer.

THEORY 137: Intro to Music Theory

This course offers a broad overview of music theory and the tools employed in the field. Students will discuss ideas, concepts, and trends over time, including the building blocks and grand architecture of music, through diverse examples. This course culminates in a creative final project employing techniques discussed throughout the semester.

MUSICOL 121: Art of Music

This course offers an introduction to western art music (also known as classical music) from 1700 to the present. Students will gain fluency in describing the elements of music (musical forms and styles, aesthetics, instruments, and genres) in addition to learning how historical and societal developments have influenced music over time. Through listening, reading, discussing, and attending live concerts, students will learn how to think critically and communicate effectively about the genre of classical music.

MUSICOL 345: History of Music – The History of Western Music I

This introduction to European music from the Middle Ages to the mid-18th century helps students become familiar with the basic musical forms, styles, and structures of the pre-modern era. It also reflects on the role and significance of music in relation to contemporaneous issues of power structures, race and gender dynamics, and coloniality.

MUSICOL 345: History of Music – Bollywood Sounds

Bollywood, the Hindi cinema of India, is internationally known for its vibrant song and dance sequences. This course will explore Bollywood song and dance as it has changed through the years and circulated in live form around the globe.

MUSICOL 346: Music & Media

This course traces the evolution of media technologies and their symbiotic intersections with musical creativity, music reception, and social experience. Beginning with the advent of music publishing, and extending through successive innovations in recording, radio, film and television, the Internet, and artificial intelligence, we will explore the impact of media developments on musical practices that range from the symphonic to sampling. We will also consider the influence of media dissemination on music commerce and mass culture, while pondering strategies employed by artists and audiences alike to manipulate media contexts, circumnavigate creative and distributive obstacles, and facilitate social change through musical exchange. 

MUSICOL 346.002: Music Video in the US: From Talkies to TikToks

This class will explore music video throughout its history, from Vitaphone and rock films to YouTube and TikTok, considering how artists employ music video to craft narrative, express identity, make political statements, exercise agency, and promote their music in the heavily mediated music industry. Students will have the chance to devise, film, and edit a music video of their own.

MUSICOL 346.004: Electric Guitar: A History of Loudness

This survey course dives into the electric guitar’s history and contemporary culture, while exploring its expansive place in popular music across the world. The course will consider broader questions about music’s role in society, engaging topics such as technology, media, commodification, community, and identity.

MUSICOL 346.005: Global and Popular Music

This course is a social-ontological study of global and popular music through the lens of musicology, ethnomusicology, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. We will interrogate the historical, social/cultural and philosophical theory, as well as the methodologies through which popular music illuminates societal structures and behavior. Such an undertaking will involve the critical analysis of popular musics from selected social contexts of the globe. By problematizing the notion of “popular culture” and “popular music”, we will critically explore popular music as sound and practice – which engenders behavior, discourse, social structures, and methodologies of study. Analytical approaches to the study of this course will include musical and textual analysis, hermeneutics, semiotics, as well as social/cultural analysis (through close readings of discourse). Throughout the course, we will pay special attention to how processes of globalization shape the production, circulation, and consumption of popular music in the digital age. By the end of the course, students should be able to critically analyze how popular music shapes social entities into complex assemblages.

MUSICOL 346: Music of Black Americans

This course is a survey of the Music(s) of Black Americans from the era of slavery to the present. Through weekly listening and readings from the fields of academic music studies and Black studies, students will gain foundational knowledge of the creation, development, and performance of Black American musics across time, style, and place. In these discussions we will consider the socio-political and cultural implications of music in the lives of Black Americans while remaining attentive to the range of different experiences within Black American communities. Course meetings will consist of a combination of lecture, discussion, and group listening.

MUSICOL 417/517: History of Jazz

This course will examine the history and development of jazz music from its origins in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century to the present. Students will explore how the music and musicians both influence and are influenced by contemporaneous social, cultural, and political developments.

MUSICOL 346.006: Taylor Swift: Songwriter & Superstar

Taylor Swift is one of the most influential pop superstars of the twenty-first century. Over the past two decades, she has built an enduring career with significant contributions in areas ranging from music to marketing to intellectual property law. Scholars have taken notice, and a burgeoning interdisciplinary subfield of “Swift Studies” has emerged across the humanities and social sciences. This course takes a chronological and thematic approach to Swift’s remarkable career, facilitating a deep dive into her musical catalogue. With each album explored, students will gain specific musical and theoretical tools that allow them to use Swift’s story as a point of departure to consider larger questions about popular music, social identity, political economy, and contemporary media. We will explore a combination of studio recordings, music videos, live performances, journalism, scholarship, interviews, social media posts, and fan-created content. Through reading, writing, research, discussion, and critical listening activities, students will walk away from this course with an intimate knowledge of Swift’s musical work and celebrity brand, an understanding of her place in the larger popular music ecosystem, and a set of analytical tools that they can apply to popular music and culture more broadly.

MUSICOL 346.002: History of the American Musical

The genre of the musical has long been celebrated as one of the United States’ most beloved forms of entertainment. Yet, beyond the joys of its flashy dance numbers and catchy tunes, it has also served as a mirror, reflecting American history, politics, and identity throughout the twentieth century and beyond. In this course, we will explore a core repertoire of musicals across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from Porgy and Bess to Hamilton. Through reading, listening, and viewing musicals, students will engage with complex facets of American identity, including themes of race, nation, class, disability, gender, and sexuality.

MUSICOL 346: Music and Our Digital Lives

In this class we will delve into questions around streaming, virality, social media, internet culture, and AI technologies to better understand the inner workings of our digital music world. 

Digital music is embedded in our daily routines: Spotify playlists pipe through grocery store speakers, streaming music fills our ears as we walk across campus, and viral hits accompany the videos we watch as we scroll during our downtime. How did we come to these listening practices? What technological developments brought us to this world of instantly available music? How is AI going to shape the musical world to come? In this class we will delve into questions around streaming, virality, social media, internet culture, and AI technologies to better understand the inner workings of our digital music world. This class will culminate in a final project that integrates AI music making, critical playlisting, and community-oriented creative writing.

PAT 200: Intro to Electronic Music Production

This course is for students not majoring in Performing Arts Technology who are interested in electronic music composition, production, and performance.

PAT 220: Songwriting Workshop

This introductory course in pop songwriting will include a survey of diverse and iconic songwriters throughout popular music history and will teach students myriad creative skills to compose original pop songs through fun and collaborative songwriting projects.

The Piano 110 non-SMTD course is designed for non-music majors who are interested in learning beginner piano skills in a group class. No prior experience is required.

The Piano 111 non-SMTD course is a continuation of Piano 110. This course is designed for students looking to continue their piano study, or for non-music majors with some prior piano playing experience to further their skills in a group setting.

PIANO 150: Advanced Individual Studio Lessons

This course is designed to provide non-SMTD students, ranging from beginner to advanced, with private piano instruction. Students will receive a 30-minute lesson with a graduate student instructor each week.

MUSIC 210: Rap History & Songwriting

This course will focus on message, intentionality, and style, while allowing participants to explore their own artistic expression through hip hop and spoken word. No experience is necessary.

JAZZ 420: Roots Music & Improvisation for Strings

Based in traditional and contemporary acoustic instrumental music, this course is open to string players of all kinds. It explores improvisation, arranging, accompaniment, and ensemble skills through the lens of various genres of “fiddle music” – bluegrass, old-time American, Appalachian, Celtic, jazz, swing, new grass, and more.

A look behind the scenes of Jazz 420: Roots Music & Improvisation for Strings (video)

PAT 305: Video Game Music

This course charts the evolution of video game music from the first synthesized “bleeps” and “bloops” of early games to the present. The course culminates with a creative final project: composition of video game music.

MUSIC 460: Bleep Boop: Writing about Video Game Music

This course explores the relatively new discipline of writing about video game music, honing writing skills by focusing on common types of writing that arise from a study of game audio. The course is built around iterative process, peer review, thoughtful discussion, and critical analysis.

VOICE 111: Beginning Voice Class

This beginning-level group instruction course focuses on the fundamentals of voice production and performance preparation. The course is designed to help develop a basic understanding of vocal function, vocal health and hygiene, and singing technique as well as the process of learning music and enhancing solo performance.

WELLNESS 412: Yoga for Performers, Dancers & Athletes

This class is an introduction to yoga fundamentals and their application to athletic/dancer fitness and performance.