Philip
Tagg
Teaching and related activities
| Courses | Teaching materials
Courses
In January 2010 I retired and moved back to the UK, since when I’ve done no regular teaching..
Cours donnés à l'Université
de Montréal 2002-2009
Courses (‘modules’ ) given at the University
of Liverpool 1993-2002
Details
of other courses I taught in Liverpool 1993-2002 are no longer
on line but much of their course material and some student work originating from those days is still accessible (see below).
Course materials
(written,
edited or compiled by P. Tagg unless otherwise indicated)
- See
also courses section, above.
- See
also external links and Audiovisual materials
General and administrative
Popular Music History
Music and Moving Images
Music Analysis and Semiotics
Epistemology of music (musicology, popular music studies, etc. )
General and administrative
Epistemology of music (music, popular music studies, etc.)
"Absolute" music (problems of)
REPLACED BY MUSIC'S MEANINGS, CHAPTER 3. (2012).
- Adorno
on Popular Music; see also 'Socio' section of Chapter 4 in Music's Meanings (2012).
- Century
of the Self Indispensable viewing and 4 short texts about propaganda, ‘advertising’and consumer
manipulation.
- Chester, A. 1970. For
a rock aesthetic and Second
thoughts about a rock aesthetic
- Definition
of popular music from Kojak:
50 Seconds of TV Music.
- Fabbri, F. 1981. A
Theory of Musical Genres: Two Applications [95k]; superseded by Fabbri (1999).
- Fabbri, F. 1999. Browsing Music Spaces - Categories and the Musical Mind [pdf 78k]; see also Chapter 8 in Music's Meanings (2012).
- Hamm, C. 1981. Some
thoughts on the Meausurement of Popularity in Music [54k]
- Hennion,
Antoine. Les professionnels du disque. Une sociologie des variétés.
1981, Paris: A.M. Métaillié (255p).
- Introduction aux études
de la musique populaire : cette version française de la présentation PowerPoint peut causer des problèmes de téléchargement. Prière
de consulter la version anglaise : Popular
Music Studies: a brief introduction
- Leeuwen,
Theo van. Speech, Music, Sound. 1999, London: Macmillan
- Mattelart & Neveu: Introduction aux cultural studies (1996, PDF, 48 A4 pp.). Édition 2003, 122 pp. € 7,95 (en ligne).
‘Music’, definition of (notes, March 2002)
REPLACED BY MUSIC'S MEANINGS, CHAPTER 2. (2012)
- Music’s Meanings (710 pp., 2012).
- Jean-Jacques Nattiez (ed.). Musiques — une encyclopédie
pour le XXe sicle. 2003, Paris : Actes Sud / Cité
de la Musique, surtout les pages 674-749, 807-876 et 901-953.
- Popular
Music Studies: a brief presentation (Simplified PowerPoint presentation
for The Rayson Huang Lecture, Department of Music, University of Hong
Kong, 2003)
- John Shepherd, David Horn, Dave Laing, Dave, Paul Oliver, Philip
Tagg, Peter Wicke, Jennifer Wilson (eds.). Popular Music
Studies - a select international bibliography. 1997, London
& Washington: Mansell (18+450p). ISBN 0 7201 2344 5 8349 work
titles, author index, subject index.
- Troubles with Tonal Terminology (2011). See also videos What [the hell] is Tonality? and Tonality & Modality.
- Williams, Raymond. 1976. Definitions of 'Popular'
- Ten
Little Title Tunes: Chapter
1 — The rise of musical absolutism; Chapter
2 — The decline of musical absolutism? (Tagg & Clarida, PDF 34 + 56 pp.). Download Ten Titles for peanuts.
- Peter
Wicke : Rock Music: Culture, Aesthetics and Sociology. 1990,
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39914-9.
Popular Music History
Lecture/Reading
- Background
dates to Popular Music Studies (ed. D Harker, M Kelly, P Tagg)
[upd. June 2001, 338k HTML]
- Background dates for History of English-Language Popular Music (PDF)
- Franco
Fabbri : La chanson. Musiques, vol. 1 (ed. J-J Nattiez),
p. 674-702.
- Floyd Jr., Samuel A. The Power of Black Music: Interpreting its History
from Africa to the United States. 1995, New York & Oxford: Oxford
University Press
- Frith,
Simon. Sound Effects. Youth, Leisure and the Politics of Rock’n’Roll.
1983, London: Constable (255p). ISBN 0 09 464950 2.
- Frith,
Simon & Goodwin, Andrew (ds) : On Record: Rock, Pop and the Written
Word. 1990, London: Routledge
- Garofalo,
Reebee. Rockin' Out. Popular Music in the USA (3rd edition) 2004,
Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall (517p).
- Hamm,
Charles. Yesterdays.
Popular Song in America. 1979, New York: W W Norton (533p).
ISBN 0 393 01257 3.
- Hennion,
Antoine. Les professionnels du disque. Une sociologie des varits.
1981, Paris: A.M. Mtailli (255p). ISBN 2 86424 008
4.
- IMAGES: origines ouest-africaines (source Paul Oliver: Story of the Blues).
- Lettre
ouverte propos des musiques noires,
afro-américaines et européennes.
- Merwe,
Peter van der. Origins of the Popular Style. 1989, Oxford: Oxford
University Press (352p). ISBN 0 19 316121 4.
- Allan
Moore : La musique pop. Musiques, vol. 1 (ed. J-J Nattiez),
p.832-849.
- Jean-Jacques Nattiez (ed.). Musiques — une encyclopédie
pour le XXe sicle. 2003, Paris : Actes Sud / Cité
de la Musique, surtout les pages 674-749, 807-876 et 901-953.
- Open
letter about ‘black music’, ‘Afro-American’ and ‘European’
music
- Negus,
Keith. Producing Pop - Culture and Conflict in the Popular Music
Industry. 1992, London: Edward Arnold (175p). ISBN
0 340 51759 X.
- Pierfrancesco
Pacoda, Gino Stefani. Rave, techno, transe. Musiques,
vol. 1, pages 850-861.
- Souchard,
Maryse. Rap et protestation sociale. Musiques,
vol. 1, pages 762-876
- Origins
of rock ’n’ roll (PowerPoint)
- Présentation PowerPoint sur les origines du rock ’n’
roll
- Présentation PowerPoint sur les origines britanniques des
styles nord-américains populaires (en anglais: British
blue notes and backbeats- musicological missing links. An example
of how musicology can contribute to the defalsification of canonic
consensus in the history of North American popular music;
this presentation should be viewed/heard in conjunction with the Open Letter about “black
music”).
- Rock
'n' Roll 'n' Film
- Rothenbuhler, Eric W. 1987. Commercial Radio and Popular Music: Processes of Selection and Factors
of Influence
- Tamlyn,
Garry. The Big Beat: Origins and development of snare backbeat and
other accompanimental rhythms in Rock ‘n’ Roll. 1998, University
of Liverpool (300 p.) (PhD Thesis, Institute of Popular Music).Théberge,
Paul. Any Sound You Can Imagine. Making Music / Consuming Technology.
1997, Hanover NH: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0 8195
6309 9.
- Walser,
Bob. Running with the Devil. Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal
Music. 1993, Middlebury, CT: Wesleyan University Press. (xviii+222p). ISBN 0 8195 6260 2
- Patrick
Villanueva : Le jazz. Musiques,
vol. 1 (ed. J-J Nattiez), p.719-748.
- Gianfranco
Vinay : La comdie musicale. Musiques, vol. 1 (ed. J-J Nattiez), p.703-718.
- Why
Rock 'n' Roll? Why 1955? [PowerPoint]
Écoute/Listening
Ce cours
comprend un répertoire de base dont l'écoute est nécessaire
et obligatoire. Malhereusement, à cause de la législation
restrictive en vigeur dans le domaine des droits d’auteur vis-à-vis
la diffusion des connaissances musicales dans l’éducation
publique, il est impossible, voire illégal, que le professeur
fasse copier pour ces étudiants le repertoire de base de ce cours.
Cependant
il dépose deux copies privées de ce répertoire
dans la bibliothque. Le répertoire de base est donc disponible
aux oreilles de chaque étudiant.
Les enregistrements
du répertoire sont en format MP3 sur un DVD ou sur une clé
USB. Les discographies et les annotations de mes enregistrements
personnels ne sont accessibles qu’aux étudiants en possession
du mot de passe et du code d’identification corrects. Les étudiants
ne recevront ces codes d'accès qu'après avoir rempli le formulaire (qui n'existe plus puisque je ne suis plus là!).
Répertoire
d'écoute
Music Analysis and Semiotics
‘Tagg var så vennlig å foreslå en fremgangsmåte: en metode tilpasset populærmusikken’ *
(Yngvar Steinholt: Rockens rolle i Russland . Forskning i Norge, 2003*)
- Analyse
sémiotique (simplifiée) de la musique populaire présentation
PowerPoint, 50% en français)
- Basic
pop guitar notation (1994 by Brad Sheward, ed. Tagg)
- Björnberg, Alf. On aeolian harmony in contemporary popular
music (original English version, 1984)
- Björnberg, Alf (1992).
Music video and the semiotics of popular
music [was html 37k]
- Brackett,
David. Interpreting Popular Music. 1995, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press: 260 pp. ISBN 0 521 47337 3.
- Chandler, D. Semiotics for Beginners (essential basic reading)
- British
blue notes and backbeats- musicological missing links. An example of
how musicology can contribute to the defalsification of canonic consensus
in the history of North American popular music [This PowerPoint presentation
should be viewed/heard in conjunction with the Open
Letter about “black music”. Ce document n'est accessible
qu’ à ceux en possession du mot de passe et du code d’identification
corrects / This document can only be accessed by those in possession of
the correct user-ID and password]
- Burns, G. 1987. Typology
of 'hooks' in popular records [pdf 84k]
- Nic Thompson: Drumkit
notation key | Notation pour la batterie
- *** Everyday Tonality II (2015).
- "Form", its problems and meanings: see Chapters 11-12 in Music's Meanings (2012).
- ‘Form’ and the Night Doctors (Médecins de nuit); video.
- Fernando
the Flute IV
- Guide
du travail d’analyse de la musique populaire
Introductory notes to the semiotics of music (1997)
REPLACED BY replaced by Chapters 5-14 in Music's Meanings (2012).
- Kojak:
50 Seconds of TV Music (book info); transcription, table of musemes, definition
of popular music
- Lead sheets and lead sheet chord shorthand were in Tagg’s
Harmony Handout (2000). Now in "Chords" chapter of Everyday Tonality (2009: 145-158)
- *** Music's Meanings (2012), chapters 5 (semiotics), 6-7 (intersubjective and interobjective), 8-9 (parameters of musical expression),
10 (vocal persona), 11-12 ("form" and meaning), 13 (sign typology), 14 (film music analysis).
- Marconi,
Luca. Muzak, jingles et vidoclips. Musiques,
vol. 1, pages 807-831.
Melody
in Everyday Tonality II ;
Melody & accompaniment
chapters 4 & 12 in Music's Meanings (2012: 425-446).
- Reception tests and VVA classification
• Interobjectivity: structures, musemes, IOCM, PMFCs
Semiotics and the semiotics of music
chapters 5-14 in Music's Meanings (2012).
- Semiotics
of popular music assignment notes
- Signal
treatment recognition examples/Recognition d’effets de traitement
sonore
- Subjectivity
and soundscape, motorbikes and music; included as part of Chapter 12 in Music's Meanings.; see also video Buzz, Roar, Click, Crash.
Tagg’s Harmony Handout
all contained in Everyday
Tonality II and/or Music's Meanings.
Timbre
Chapter 1 in Everyday Tonality II;
Chapter 9 in Music's Meanings (2012)
Tonality
passim in Everyday
Tonality II.
- Troubles with Tonal Terminology (2011). See also videos What [the hell] is Tonality? and Tonality & Modality.
- 'Universal' music and the case of death [96k PDF] html
- Vocal persona: Chapter 10 in Music's Meanings (2012).
Music and Moving Image
Encyclopaedia
entries for EPMOW
(Encyclopædia
of Popular Music of the World, Vol II, pp. ix, 521-601; ISBN 978-0-8264-6322-7)
Harmony is on pp. 521-549; Melody on pp. 560-601
All substantial EPMOW articles are now contained in Everyday
Tonality II and/or in Music's Meanings
Those EPMOW entries were: ACCOMPANIMENT, ANTIPHONY, CHORD, CIRCLE OF FIFTHS, COUNTERPOINT, DRONE, HARMONY, HETEROPHONY, HOMOPHONY, LEAD SHEET CHORD SHORTHAND, MELISMA, MELODY, MODALITY/MODE[s], NOTE, OCTAVE, PICTH, TUNING and TURNAROUND.
The two books also contain explanations of: AESTHESIC, AFFECT, ALOGOGENIC, ANACRUSIS, ANAPHONE, ANAPHORA, ARBITRARY SIGN, ATONAL, ATONICAL, AURAL STAGING, BEAT, BODYISM, CHORUS, COMMUTATION, CONNOTATION, CROSS-DOMAIN REPRESENTATION, CUE, DENOTATION, DIATAXIS, DIATONIC, DISTORTION, ECHO, EMOTION, ENVELOPE, EPISODIC MARKER, EPISTROPHE, EXTENDED PRESENT, FEELING, ‘FORM’, GENRE, GENRE SYNECDOCHE, GESTURAL INTERCONVERSION, GROOVE, ICON, INDEX, INTEROBJECTIVE, INTERSUBJECTIVE, INTERVALS, IOCM, JAZZ STANDARD, KINETIC, LIBRARY MUSIC, LOGOGENIC, LOUDNESS, MELODY-ACCOMPANIMENT DUALISM, METAPHOR, METRE, MOOD, MOTIF, MOTORIC, MUSOGENIC, NOTATION, PENTATONIC, PERIODICITY, PHRASE, PMFC, POÏETIC, POLYSEMY, QUARTAL, RANGE, REGISTER, RESPONSORIAL, REVERB, RHYTHM, RIFF, SEMANTICS, SEMIOSIS, SEMIOTICS, SIGN, SONATA FORM, SPATIALITY, SPEED, STYLE, STYLE FLAG, SUBBEAT, SURFACE RATE, SYNAESTHETIC, SYNCRISIS, SYNTAX, THEME, TEMPO, TERTIAL, TIMBRE, TITLE MUSIC, TONAL, TONALITY, TONE, TONIC, TONICAL, UNDERSCORE, VOCAL PERSONA, VVA.
See also the Glossary on this site.
The following short encyclopædia articles are available separately on line:
▪ Changes ▪ Drone ▪ Hocket ▪ Lead sheet ▪ Melisma ▪ Note ▪ Plagiarism (by Bob Clarida) ▪ Polyphony (general def.)

*Translation
of Norwegian quote: He was kind enough to suggest an approach, a method
adapted to popular music (thanks, Yngvar!)