Class

8-Week: Writing About Music

Elvis Costello or Frank Zappa or someone else once said, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” The origin of the claim is debated, but it points to a concern that has occupied writers since Plato: How can one write about art that can’t be seen? Music permeates culture, accompanying our daily lives, altering our moods, and contextualizing our communities, but it is notoriously difficult to describe with words.

In this class, we will explore writing about music by examining the subjectivity of musical experiences, describing how properties of music translate to emotional or physical responses. The class will combine instruction, workshops, and active listening to foster fluency in musical language that can be incorporated into fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Readings, listenings, and discussions will include both fiction and non-fiction and cover a wide range of genres and global musical traditions. No prior musical experience is required. All course materials will be readily available online or provided by the instructor.

Students will write about music, ranging from reviews to fictional depictions, which we will workshop in class. A final project will be defined according to students’ interests and chosen genres.

No prior musical experience is required for this class. Readings and listenings will be provided by the instructor. Recommended (not required) books include:
Davis, Angela. Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. Knopf Doubleday, 1998.
Gioia, Ted. Music: A Subversive History. Basic Books, 2019.
Marcus, Greil. The History of Rock 'N' Roll in 10 Songs. Yale University Press, 2014.

Please email [email protected] at least two to three weeks in advance if you have any accessibility requests for this class. PLEASE NOTE: the elevator in Open Book will be unavailable for use from July - August 2025 due to modernization. This class takes place in-person, at the Loft at Open Book. Please see the Loft’s website for the most up to date information about the Loft’s COVID policies.