INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC MUS 1030-002 Summer 2011 Syllabus Time 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. MTWR Location: SFA 303 Instructor: Dr. Christine Isley-Farmer Office Hours: By Appointment Office Phone: 898-2479 Campus email: [email protected] Required text (bring to every class): David Willoughby, The World of Music, 7th ed. (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010). Required Recordings: Set of three CDs to accompany The World of Music. Required materials, textbook and CDs are available in the Phillips Bookstore (KUC). You may also find them in the two used bookstores near campus. Reserve recordings and other materials are available in the IMR (Instructional Media Resources) which is located in the Learning Resources Center. Please check the hours: Sunday (closed), M-R (8am-7pm), Friday (8 am-4:30pm), Saturday (12 noon-4pm) Learning Outcomes and Course Objectives: 1. To provide students with a working knowledge of various types of music within historical, political and cultural contexts 2. To develop in each student a familiarity with the concert milieu, in the hope, that the individuals in the class will cultivate a lifelong relationship with music of various styles and cultures. 3. To help students develop discriminating listening skills and the ability to articulate intelligently their musical perceptions. Course Description: In this course we will seek to understand more fully music and its relationship to our lives and human cultures. We will focus on the diverse music of the United States, the Western classical tradition, and briefly study non-Western music traditions. We will study the many modes of musical expression; compositions, improvisation, performance, dancing and listening. We will consider issues of the place of music as an expression of culture, a historically changing art, and issues of style. Most importantly, we will cultivate active listening to help students acquire the vocabulary and tools to articulate their musical perceptions. Students should be prepared to dig into the music and think critically. To facilitate explorations, student will engage in a variety of in-class work, short writing assignments, listening facets, and write about their experiences as an observer/audience member. General Guidelines: 1. Ask Questions: If you do not understand something, please ask questions-either in class (many other students wondering the same thing will be grateful to you), during office hours, or over email. I am here to answer questions. 2. Attendance Policy: Attendance is your responsibility. Since this class is of such short span, you will not be allowed any absences (11 meeting times ONLY). Should youmiss class, each class that you miss will result in the lowering of your grade by one letter grade. There will be no make-ups for exams, late dates for papers or reports, barring illness or death in the family (documentation required). Pop quizzes will be given at the beginning of class. These quizzes will be brief in scope and will be taken from the Study Guides that you will receive as well as from your assigned listening. If you are late to class, your pop quiz grade for that day will be a zero. You will be allowed ONLY 2 late arrivals to class, after which your grade will be lowered a letter grade. At the end of the session, the lowest pop quiz grade will be dropped. 3. Disabilities: If you have a learning problem or other disability or concern about note taking, readers, or testing, please communicate this to me as soon as possible. You may also contact the Office of Disabled Student Services (898-2783). 4. Do your assigned readings and listening before class-be prepared to discuss them. 5. Email: You are required to have an MTSU email account, and you should check it regularly, since I may be emailing you over the duration of this class. I will not be using Facebook to communicate with you. 6. Academic Misconduct: I will not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic misconduct. All homework, papers, reports and exams are to be an individual effort (i.e. your own work) unless I specify otherwise. Should I suspect that you have cheated or plagiarized any work, I reserve the right to give you an “F” and to bring the issue to the MTSU Judicial Board. If you have further questions or concerns about this, please ask me. 7. Exam Make-Up Policy: Make-up exams are not granted EXCEPT in the case of a medical emergency for which you will have to provide me with verifiable documentation from a physician/hospital. For a family emergency, I must have the contact number of the hospital, funeral home, etc to verify the reason for your absence. 8. Late Assignment Policy: All homework assignments and papers are due at the beginning of the class on the stated day. For each 24-hour period that the assignment is late, your grade will be reduced by one grade level. If you have an excused absence due to a medical or family emergency, I will consider accepting your work late, but only if your excuse is verifiable. 9. Listening Tips: Schedule a regular time each day to listen closely to your listening assignments. Take notes when you listen. Consider making note cards with factoids and facets for every piece that we study. Play the compilation CDs as much as you can-in the car, before you sleep, while you cook and eat dinner, etc. 10. Dropping or Withdrawing from this Course: Please refer to the university withdrawal policy published at http://www.mtsu.edu/withdraw/withdrawal_withdrawal.shtml. A note: Modification to the course or syllabus: This is an interactive course and as we work together and as we hold discussions, the direction of the course may change appreciably. If I feel the course needs reshaping in any way, I will consult with you as a class and will make accommodations for any problems that changes create for individuals. Evaluation (Grading) Your grade will be based on the following: 20% Film reviews (2 film reviews/papers at 10% each) 45% Exams (3 @15% each)10% Pop quizzes 5% Class Participation (in class questions, questionnaire, discussions; in class presentations) 20% Projects (Circles 10%, 3 Facets @ 10%) Grading Scale: 92-100 A 71-73 C- 89-91 B+ 68-70 D+ 85-88 B 64-67 D 81-84 B- 61-63 D- 78-80 C+ 60 and below F 74-77 C Explanation of Grading Criteria and Guidelines: 1. Pop Quizzes: These quizzes will be given at my discretion at the beginning of the class period. Questions will come from