Courses

Supervised music therapy clinical practice with children and adolescents with mental, physical and/or emotional problems in a variety of settings within the New York City area. A weekly seminar covers critical issues pertaining to assessment, treatment, and evaluation of music therapy with these populations.

This course will provide an overview of qualitative, quantitative, & mixed-methods research in music therapy. It will focus on methodological issues such as philosophical foundations, design & implementation, & the functions of research reports specific to each type of research. Students will acquire the skills & knowledge required to critically evaluate research studies of all types.

Theoretical and methodological foundations for the use of music as therapy are explored in depth with an emphasis on work with children and adolescents. Psychological, philosophical, and sociological theories in music; underlying assumptions of pathology governing treatment of populations with disabilities; relevant therapy theories and research findings in music therapy are studied.

Theoretical and methodological foundations for the use of music as therapy are explored with an emphasis on work with adults and the elderly. Established and creative techniques of music therapy, group processes, and personal resources of the music therapist are explored.

Music is universal to all human cultures. This course will explore fundamental concepts of the psychological, emotional, and cognitive effects of music and what factors in the human body and brain are involved in producing them, with particular emphasis on cross-cultural study. Students will learn beginning methods of computational feature extraction and machine learning to explore simple
artificial intelligence models that build on and articulate the conceptual frameworks of music and
cognition introduced in the initial phase of the class.

An introduction to the field of acoustics emphasizing sound production by musical instruments, propagation of sound from source to listener (including electronic reproduction), and psychoacoustics perception of sound.

In this course students prepare to enter the professional world by means of creating and presenting an Industry Showcase for an invited audience of theatre professionals. The course includes repertoire investigation / selection, rehearsal for Showcase numbers, industry advice on type, wardrobe. Students also explore the techniques and skills of networking, unions, casting directors, agents, managers, and many business and “life as an actor” skills necessary for a career in the business.

The Music Theatre Workshop is divided into specialized topics, such as voice and diction, song analysis, audition technique, and production. The emphasis of the workshop is performance, its techniques, its theory and its reality. Courses are taught by Broadway professionals active in the disciplines and who have extensive experience in education. Guest lectures share their experiences and lead seminars. Each workshop culminates with an end-of-semester critiqued performance. Students perform material regularly in class.

This course introduces students to the practice and discipline of writing narrative and theatrical songs (those that tell a story or function as part of a larger one) through a survey of the literature, an examination of the principles and tools employed in such songs, and guided creation of individual songs and larger works. Analyses of material from the repertoire serve as a basis for inspiring new work. Emphasis on comprehending and mastering the writing process, and
responding to the modern cultural context in which this work is created.

This course introduces students to the practice and discipline of writing narrative and theatrical songs (those that tell a story or function as part of a larger one) through a survey of the literature, an examination of the principles and tools employed in such songs, and guided creation of individual songs and larger works. Analyses of material from the repertoire serve as a basis for inspiring new work. Emphasis on comprehending and mastering the writing process, and
responding to the modern cultural context in which this work is created.

The course introduces students to the stylistic and analytical norms of writing compelling and well-grounded analyses of music. Students will progress through a series of exercises leading to a substantial music analysis in written narrative form. Students will develop and expand their writing skills in preparation for advanced coursework in music theory and literature, as well as scholarly writing in music.

This course addresses the role of narrative when designing serious games, simulations, multimedia, emerging media, learning materials and social media. Narrative forms have been used for teaching and learning given their role in memory, cognition, the engagement of learners, as well as in case studies for learning, teaching, and research. This course explores the design principles and constitutive elements of narrative-centered learning through a variety of authoring tools and platforms.

This course explores the metamorphosis of the US into not just a country of immigrants, but a country of intense nativism, suspicion and hostility to outsiders of certain stripes. We highlight how stakeholders in the American political project have used means both democratic and supra-democratic to impact the question of who can and cannot enter the country, pushing on one end to erect sturdier barriers to entry and on the other, to welcome migrants with more open arms.

This course is designed to provide students with a working knowledge of brain & behavior relationships by studying the neurological bases of motor & sensory function, speech & language production, language comprehension, hearing, swallowing, & cognition. Development of the nervous system, the action potential, central & peripheral nervous system anatomy & physiology, & related pathological conditions are discussed.

This course focuses on the role of motor speech control during development with an emphasis on pediatric motor speech impairments. Topics include the differential diagnosis of children with speech sound disorders, including pediatric dysarthria and childhood apraxia of speech. The course also offers an overview of intervention approaches, including intervention planning and execution for different pediatric motor speech impairments.

In this course students develop a working knowledge of brain and behavior relationships by studying the neurological bases of motor and sensory function, speech and language production, language comprehension, swallowing, and cognition. Students examine and discuss the development of the nervous system, the action potential, central and peripheral nervous system anatomy and physiology, and related pathological conditions.

Theoretical foundations underlying motor control related to the clinical application of various approaches to the assessment and treatment of clients with neuromotor dysfunction. Development of preliminary skill in assessment of motor behavior, selection of appropriate assessment tools and selection of treatment strategies to promote the client's occupation and role performance. Traditional and contemporary views of motor behavior - motor control, motor development, and motor learning will be presented.

Develop an understanding of both the physiological & theoretical underpinnings of brain behavior relationships through the study of "the physiological brain and neural systems, (i.e., neuroanatomy), human brain development, historical & current brain models, neurodevelopmental, neurological & psychiatric disorders as well as etiology, assessment, treatment, & prognosis of disorders.