Music Curriculum, first version

Playing music is not for everybody, on the other hand, should we require an introduction to music class? Or is the music program just one part of the art curriculum, a subsection? We are talking about creating a fair amount of visual-aural crossover, so how do we do it?

I have sketched out the intro to music class I will be teaching this fall, so perhaps this is a place to start. I am using pieces of music that I am very familiar with, and using some of the same musicians in different contexts to build familiarity with personal style and aesthetic choices. If anybody has suggestions, please post them. But more helpful would be posting ideas about cross over from OTHER classes, especially visual art.

The approach I have settled on is to organize music into categories of purpose, with vivid examples from multiple traditions. Students will be expected to be able to identify and describe the most prominent features of each.

For instance:

Soaring Music (the Devotional): Black Gospel ("Give Me Wings", "Daniel in the Lions' Den"); Pierre de la Rue (Motets); John Coltrane Quartet ("A Love Supreme"); Milton Cardona ("Bembe"- a fantastic afro-cuban CD- the rites of Santeria)

Intense and Labile Music (the Romantic): this is music that emphasizes more of an individual's emotional world, rather than the ecstatic, transpersonal longing of the Devotional. Beethoven ("Sonata Pathetique"); Hank Williams ("I Feel So Lonesome I Could Cry"); Joni Mitchell ("Blue"); Amalia (various Portuguese Fado performances).

Proportional Music (the Classical): this is music where structure and the balanced introduction of material is the overarch characteristic. Haydn ("Erdody Quartet"); Chinese Classical ("Guang Lin San", "Ping Sha Luo Ya"); Bimsen Joshi (Indian Classical, "Rag Todi")

Purposeful Music (the Programmatic): obviously, music for specific occasions or purposes. John Phillip Sousa, traditional sea shanties, the soundtrack to 2001

Experimental Music (the Provocative): music written to get the audience to listen in a new way. Erik Satie ("Vexations"); Henry Cowell ("Exaultation"); John Cage ("Sonatas and Interludes"); Captain Beefheart ("Trout Mask Replica"); John Zorn; Sonic Youth; Albert Ayler; etc etc.

Part Two of the class would look at structure- Songs, Improvisation, Composition. It would then break down the elements of musical form to Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, Space.

It is very unlikely that we would make it to Part Three, which would be a look at a number of pre-rock American Genres such as Swing, the Great American Songbook, Delta Blues, New Orleans Jazz, Gospel, Soul, early Country, and regional folk musics.

There it is. What next?