Music Theory Faculty Make Headlines

CIM music theory faculty member Dr. Diane Urista and head of theory Dr. Tim Cutler are making significant contributions to the study of music with their recent and upcoming publications.

Dr. Uristaʼs book, The Moving Body in the Aural Skills Classroom: A Eurhythmics Based Approach (2016), uses movement-to-music as a basis for developing musical comprehension and expression. It contains a myriad of exercises that can easily be integrated into any learning environment.

As one of twenty-three authors invited to contribute to The Norton Guide to Teaching Music Theory (2018), Dr. Urista transformed ideas from her book into an essay titled, “The Moving Body in the Music Theory/Aural Skills Classroom.” This guide, covering a wide range of topics, is an indispensable theory pedagogy reference.

With his website musictheoryexamples.com serving as a resource for the past fifteen years, Dr. Cutler explores even more topics in his first publication, The Norton Anthology of Music for Analysis, which was released in November. Professors and students will be able to quickly locate musical passages that demonstrate a specific chord or technique and a Spotify playlist will be provided.

Inspired by a seminar he taught at CIM, Dr. Cutler has a second book in progress titled, Bending the Rules of Music Theory. This text will focus on interesting musical examples that artistically sidestep conventional boundaries. It will be available in January 2019.

By: Kimberly Speiran