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Course Syllabus - Music 211 (Musicianship V) - Winter 2002

Professor: Dr. Alyson McLamore  
Office Phone: 756-2612
Email: amclamor@calpoly.edu  
Office: 132 Davidson Music Center
Web Site: http://cla.calpoly.edu/~amclamor
   
Office Hours: Mon 3:10-5; Tues/Wed 11:10-12, Thurs 12:10-1; and by appointment—just ask!

Lab Hours will be announced in class.

Materials:

Studying Rhythm by Anne Carothers Hall (2nd ed.); Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998.

Music for Sight-Singing by Robert W. Ottman (5th edition); Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 2001.

You will also need a pencil (and eraser), a metronome, and a tablet of music paper. (I prefer 8-1/2 by 11 sheets, myself.)

Please bring your materials to every class meeting.

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 211 is a second-year course in the practical skills of being a musician. More attention will be given to the type of ear-training exercises required on graduate entrance exams. Like private lessons, practicing will be on your own; the time you spend with me is only the tip of the iceberg, and probably will not be sufficient for you to master all the areas we will cover. The course will consist of discussions, guided and independent skills practice, and periodic examinations. Did I mention practicing?

Prerequisites: satisfactory completion of Music 210 (I recommend 'B' or better) or permission of the instructor.

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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 Wednesday, beginning 2nd week (no quiz in Week 10). Missed quizzes: Make-up quizzes are a privilege, not a right. Usually, a missed quiz will be treated as your "dropped" quiz. However, if you discuss your absence with me ahead of time, and we agree that it is for a reason beyond your control, I can usually arrange to record the exam for you -- but I require that you complete the quiz before the graded quizzes have been returned to the class (usually the next class meeting). Except under extraordinary circumstances, no more than one quiz can be taken by tape.

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

III. Three individual performance tests. These will be conducted in class, during the second, fifth, and ninth weeks of the quarter. Each is worth 8% of the total course 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 10grades equaling 10% 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:

Turned in when due and completed properly A
Turned in when due but with a few small errors B
Turned in when due but with several problems C
Not turned in when due,, or substantially incorrect F

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

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).

No Free Lunch: Since Music 211 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!

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

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Course Outline - Music 211 - Winter 2002

Week 1 Jan 7 Mon.   Ottman Ch. 11; Hall Sect. 20
  Jan 9 Wed.   Hall Sect. 21
Week 2 Jan 14 Mon. [Performance Tests 1] Ottman Ch. 12
  Jan 16 Wed. [Performance Tests 1]; Quiz 1 (practice logs checked)
Week 3 Jan 21 Mon. HOLIDAY (MLK B'day)  
  Jan 23 Wed. Quiz 2 (practice logs checked)  
Week 4 Jan 28 Mon.   Hall Sect. 22
  Jan 30 Wed. Quiz 3 (practice logs checked)  
Week 5 Feb 4 Mon. [Performance Tests 2]  
  Feb 6 Wed. [Performance Tests 2]; Quiz 4 (practice logs checked)
Week 6 Feb 11 Mon.   Ottman Ch. 13; Hall Sect. 23
  Feb 13 Wed. Quiz 5 (practice logs checked)  
Week 7 Feb 18 Mon. HOLIDAY (Washington's B'day)  
  Feb 20 Wed. Quiz 6 (practice logs checked)  
Week 8 Feb 25 Mon.    
  Feb 27 Wed. Quiz 7 (practice logs checked)
Week 9 Mar 4 Mon. [Performance Tests 3]  
  Mar 6 Wed. [Performance Tests 3]; Quiz 8 (practice logs checked)
Week 10 Mar 11 Mon.   Ottman Ch. 14; Hall Sect. 24
  Mar 13 Wed. Final (as per campus policy for activity classes) (practice logs due)

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this page was modified on 12-21-00