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World Music: Soundscapes in a Changing World

Music today moves effortlessly across national and geographic boundaries. Join instructor Scott Wenzel in one-on-one, electronic conversations to explore the social and cultural settings of music in your own life and around the world. The ten units of this online course give you deep insights into the surprising complexity of your own musical world:

Unit 1 - Introduction Unit 2 - The Music of Everyday Life Unit 3 - Music and Migration Unit 4 - The Study of Local Musics Unit 5 - Music of Worship and Belief Unit 6 - Music and Dance Unit 7 - Music and Memory Unit 8 - Music and Identity Unit 9 - Music and Politics Unit 10 - Music in the Real World

With Scott's guidance and feedback, you will explore the varied soundscapes of your own life and in particular ethnic communities across North America. Along the way, you will learn about basic concepts of sound and music that help you appreciate artists as diverse as Eminem and Tuvan throat singers. As Shelemay explains to us, "when we encounter the variety of musics that surround us, we are given a chance to move into different worlds of experience, to travel beyond their surface in order to explore the complex of meanings hidden there."

Regarding credits: World music: Soundscapes in a Changing World is a self-paced music course for personal enrichment only. If you are looking for a distance education music course available for university or high school credit, check out our Independent Learning music program.

Instructor Scott Wenzel:

Scott's background and professional interests are a blend of performance and education. Currently, in addition to a position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he teaches world music and culture courses at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also serves as a percussion instructor and performs regularly as a professional musician. Over the past 30 years he has performed with symphony orchestras, pop, rock and blues bands, fusion groups, variety bands, large and small jazz ensembles, chamber groups, and various types of world music ensembles and 'ethnic' groups. Reflects Scott: "Both my teaching and performing careers owe much to my graduate studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and my undergraduate work in music and alternative education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee."

Costs:

$135 plus course materials. Work at your own pace and take up to a year to finish. You will earn 3.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) when you complete the course. Register any time.

Course materials:

Textbook: Kay Kaufman Shelemay. Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. ISBN 0-393-97536-3.

CDs: Kay Kaufman Shelemay. Recordings for Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. ISBN 0-393-10422-2.

Shelemay's approach is unique in that it organizes the study of the world's music by exploring the traditions of cultures that have migrated to North America and those that have originated there. Particularly useful is the book's focus on the roles music plays in the everyday lives of individuals and communities. Students learn the fundamentals of music while examining the social and cultural settings of different "soundscapes," that is, the settings, sounds, and significance of various musical traditions. The book is useful as a springboard for student exploration into the soundscapes of his or her own community.

Your contact for more information about World Music is Jamie Henke, Faculty Associate, Division of Continuing Studies, Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison. 608-263-6822, jhenke@dcs.wisc.edu) Learn more about Jamie Henke .

Also of interest:

Independent Learning music courses are another option for distance education through University of Wisconsin-Extension. Most courses are available for college or high-school credit.

How to register

Telephone: Call 608-262-2451 to register. Our phone is answered M-F, 7:00 am-4:30 pm Central Time. At other times please leave a message, and we will return your call. If you have other questions, call toll-free 1-877-336-7836.

Online: Register now online with our secure server.

E-mail: Send your name and contact information to LSAonline@dcs.wisc.edu and we will respond as soon as possible to assist you with registration.

Fax: Print and fax our registration form.

Mail: Print and mail our registration form.

Photo by: Michael Forster Rothbart