Materials for psychology course for Music Majors

[Matthew McCabe <mccabem@xxxxxxx>]

hi all --

i'm in the process of developing my first music psychology class here at 
CSU for this coming Spring semester, and i thought i would ask a really 
loaded question:

can anyone recommend introductory-level materials (journal articles 
or online resources preferable) that i can use to bring undergraduate 
music majors up to speed on general psychology and auditory perception 
topics?

the reason i ask is this:  the majority of them will have never seen 
anything like this before since the course is for music majors.  our 
school is very performance-oriented, and it wouldn't surprise me if i had 
to explain things like the physics of a vibrating string and explain what 
an overtone is during the first week...  time i don't want to squander.

i'm looking for easy-to-understand articles on the fundamentals -- 
auditory perception, cognitive psychology, the scientific method, things 
like that.  we will be addressing a variety of topics, but i haven't quite 
nailed down specifically which yet.  in all likelihood we will do things 
like emotion, memory, and musical meaning, but i need to see how much time 
i have once we get past the basics.

if you've taught a course like this before, please let me know what you 
have used.  i've already chosen our textbook -- William Forde Thompson's 
"Music, Thought, and Feeling" -- which I like very much.  i think the 
students will enjoy it if i present it the right way!  many of them have 
never approached music in this way before and i'm looking forward to 
messing them up a bit :)

best,

m






---
matthew mccabe <mccabem@xxxxxxx>
visiting assistant professor / music tech :: columbus state university
ph.d. candidate :: music composition :: uf college of fine arts
lab member :: reilly cognition and language lab :: uf phhp