The energy of guitars screaming out of amplifiers turned up to 11. The hush of a crowd of thousands waiting for that first hit from the drums. The beauty of a well-crafted lyric that captures something elemental and true in just a few words. All of these tell part of the story of rock, a music that transformed global culture in the 20th century. In eight weeks, you will learn to think like a rock musician and a rock critic and get to know the music and its place in the world. In the spirit of "critical making," you'll learn the music's history and why it matters so much to musicians, learn the basics of songwriting or develop your skills, learn to hear recordings as complexly layered musicals, and experience live shows as densely significant sociomusical events.

Summer II

Instructor: G. Solis

This course fulfills the general education criteria for these areas:

• UIUC: Literature and the Arts
• UIUC: U.S. Minority Cultures