This seminar offers a survey of theoretical and analytical approaches to popular music, a fast-growing subdiscipline of music theory. Readings will draw on recent scholarship in the areas of form, tonality, harmony, melody, phrasing, texture, rhythm, metre, and timbre, and analytical techniques will be applied to a variety of repertoire from rock, pop, hip hop, and related genres. Students are encouraged to engage their analytical work with discussions of music performance, perception, and popular music’s bilateral relationship with society. Work will include critical reading responses, short transcription/analytical assignments, and a final analytical paper and presentation.