The Music and Sound Workshop provides a forum for graduate students and faculty across the University of Chicago to discuss works in progress that focus on aspects of musical and sonic cultures past and present. Our workshop examines sound’s multiple facets, which include material, music-historical, music-analytical, technological, filmic, environmental, perceptual, and social perspectives. Our goal is to offer a rich interdisciplinary space for participants to experiment with and refine approaches to the analysis of music and sound.

This year, we are experimenting with a new format, alternating between two types of sessions. Our primary session type, Ideas in Conversation, is dedicated to works in progress. Works in progress include not only conference-style workshop presentations, like article/chapter drafts and paper presentation run-throughs, but also sketches, hunches, questions, and other nascent ideas for projects.

Additionally, we are introducing a second session type, Listening Room, focused on group listening and analysis of a musical/sonic object. The aim of these sessions is to hone our active listening skills and to provide each other with insights into the sounds that form the backbone of our research. Each quarter, we will solicit suggestions for objects, which might include songs, albums, pieces, sounds, audio clips, film scenes, music videos, TikTok clips, advertisements, recordings of music at events (festivals, sporting events, etc.), podcast soundtracks, and more.