Cal Poly SLO - Department of Music
Course Syllabus - Music 208 (Musicianship III) - Spring 1999

Lab Hours will be announced in class.

Materials:Music for Sight-Singing by Robert W. Ottman (4th edition); Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1996.

You will need a tablet of music paper, available in the bookstore. We will also continue to use the Yasui, Lynn, and Hall texts from last quarter. And, of course, Pencils! Erasers! Metronomes!

Please bring your materials to every class meeting (I will inform you which books are needed).

A reminder of mnemonics you can use to identify intervals is linked to this page.

Here is a link to a web site that may interest you: MacGamut

Course Description: Music 208 builds on musicianship skills acquired in Music 106. The course will consist of discussions, guided and independent performance practice, and periodic examinations. Your success in the course is a direct result of practicing . . . so build practice time into your weekly schedule. Try to find someone to work with; Marisa, Christine and I are always willing to help you!

Prerequisites: satisfactory completion of Music 106 or its equivalent (I recommend that you talk with me if you didn't achieve a course grade of at least a 'B' in 106)

Course Requirements:

I. Eight quizzes. Each quiz will count as 8% of the final grade, although I will drop the lowest grade. The quizzes will be given every Tuesday, beginning 2nd week (no quiz in Week 10). Missed quizzes: Make-up quizzes are a privilege, not a right. One missed quiz will be treated as your "dropped" quiz. A make-up quiz for a second missed quiz will be allowed only when 1) the reasons for your absence are beyond your control and 2) you keep me informed about your status (via any of the means suggested at the top of the syllabus!).

II. A final (which is cumulative), which will constitute 11% of the course grade.

III. Three individual performance tests. These will be conducted primarily by individual appointments, during the second, fifth, and eighth week of the course. Portions of the second and third performance tests will be done in class (yikes!!) Each performance test is worth 8% of the total course grade. Missed appointments—or absences on in-class testing days—will affect your grade . . .

IV. Practice / Homework. The "TBA" hour for this class is reflected on your practice log and via homework assignments. Each week's grade counts for 1% of your overall grade (with 9 grades equaling 9% of the course grade). The weekly grade will average the grade for the week's practice time with the grade(s) for any assigned homework for that week. Homework will be graded as follows:

The grading scale for each week's practicing will be based on time:

A	161-180(+) minutes	B-	81-100
A-	141-160	C+	61-80
B+	121-140	C	60
B	101-120	F	<60

Contract Policy: We often say that small amounts of daily practice are more beneficial to musicians than long but infrequent "cramming" sessions. In order to underscore this point, you may elect to become a "contract" student, in which a lower weekly total (140 mins.) is required to earn an "A"—but your practicing needs to be at least 20 minutes daily. Details are at the top of the practice log.

No Free Lunch: Since Music 208 is primarily a 'skills' course, absence (or tardiness) undercuts the amount of time you spend working on your musicianship skills. Therefore, absences or tardies need to be 'made up' during your weekly practice to maintain your practice-log grade for that week. In other words, if you miss a day of class (50 minutes), you'll need to put in 110 minutes over the course of the week to get a "C" for that week. If you're 10 minutes late one day, you'll need to show 70 minutes of practicing on that week's log for a "C." Please—it is your responsibility to talk to me about what was covered before the next class meeting!

There are many "practice" activities you can undertake to fulfill your practice requirement, including work on the computers (either in the Piano Lab or in the Department Office), work with the course cassettes, practice with a partner, the teaching assistant, or me, and, of course, practice on your own. All practice time recorded on your log must be initialed—by the department secretaries, the teaching assistants, your partner, me, or yourself (if you worked alone).

V. All portions of the course requirements must be completed in order to receive a passing grade.

Course Outline - Music 208 - Spring 1999

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this page was modified on 3-22-99