Studying Music at Kenyon
Learning how to listen to and study music can expand and enrich students’ interior lives, making music individually enhances creativity, and making music together touches the communal aspects of life. Music classes, including ethnomusicology, musicology, music theory and applied study, emphasize the interconnectedness of listening, creativity and critical thinking by which students become articulate practitioners of the musical arts.
Featured Courses
Introduction to Musical Style
Dive into a chronological overview of music from the Middle Ages through the postmodern period and an introduction to the research methods used in the fields of historical musicology and ethnomusicology. Emphasis is placed on learning to listen analytically to and write about music, and on understanding the role of music within society.
Music and the African American Experience
What do spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco and house, hip-hop and rap have in common? These genres were all developed within the African American community. Explore the genesis and stylistic elements of the various genres and their historical, cultural and political significance.
Songwriting
Learn how to write songs in various forms through hands-on activities, analysis and listening assignments, and how to create and utilize powerful lyrics. Using software programs such as Logic Pro and GarageBand, students are encouraged to explore their original ‘voices’ and approaches to the craft of songwriting and novel uses of technology.
Seminar in Ethnomusicology
Investigate the issues, methods and history of the discipline of ethnomusicology. This course focuses on case studies drawn from different music genres and areas of the world that illustrate the complexities of considering music in its cultural contexts. Student work involves close listening, engagement with cultural theory and practical fieldwork exercises.
Kenyon awards scholarships of $25,000 per year, renewable every year, for exemplary ability in music.
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Under the direction of Professor of Music Dane Heuchemer and Professor of Music Ted Buehrer.
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Under the direction of Professor of Music Ted Buehrer.
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The Chamber Singers and the Community Choir will present their winter concert under the direction of Professor of Music Benjamin Locke.
Faculty Spotlight
"Goong: Sound Through Fire," a new documentary by Professor of Music and Anthropology Maria Mendonça that follows the creation of a gong for Kenyon’s Indonesian gamelan ensemble, was selected for the NAFA International Ethnographic Film Festival and the Ierapetra International Documentary Film Festival where it received the Michel Foucre Award for Best Direction.
60-Second Syllabus: Music Theory
Professor of Music Ted Buehrer's "Music Theory/Ear Training" course is offered over the course of two semesters, providing students with an in-depth study of the parameters of music and how they function within a composition. Through an investigation of traditional music theory, students develop their skills in both music writing and analysis. The course also includes short composition projects each semester.
Ready to play?
With numerous ensembles to choose from and superb music facilities to perfect their craft, Kenyon music students don’t miss a beat.
Storer Hall
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio 43022