MUB 111/112/211/212/311/312/411/412/413/511/512/513 – Applied Oboe Fall Semester 2014 Schedule TBD Dr. Rebecca Mindock LPAC #1129 LPAC #1129 Office Hours: posted and by appt. 251-460-6482 (o), 303-601-8096 (c) Course Format: Web Enhanced mindock@southalabama.edu COURSE SYLLABUS Course Description This course involves the private study of oboe. Required Materials A working oboe and at least three working reeds For majors (recommended but not required for non-majors): Reed making materials, especially a knife (with sharpening equipment), plaque, mandrel, cutting block, thread, staples, and as much cane as is necessary to sustain the student’s regular reed making throughout the semester Sheet music/method books as assigned Metronome and Tuner Maintenance materials, especially a swab, a screwdriver, and cork grease Course Goals and Objectives The goal of this course is to provide individualized instruction in order to help the student build his/her skills as an oboe player and work towards mastery of the instrument. This means that the student will aim to develop the requisite physical skills required to succeed with the oboe, such as tone production, breath control, and finger technique, as well as the necessary aural and visual skills, such as pitch adjustment and sight reading. There will also be an emphasis on stylistic interpretation and musicality. Finally, the student will be expected to develop the skills to adjust their reeds, and students majoring in the instrument will be required to learn to make their own reeds successfully. These goals will be reached through the practice and performance of etudes and pieces as assigned by the instructor, and through guided reed making practice. Expectations The student will be expected to attend each lesson prepared to play the exercises or pieces assigned and to demonstrate that a reasonable amount of progress has been made throughout the week’s practice. If the student is a major, he or she will be expected to demonstrate that attempts to make reeds were made since the last lesson, and to bring those attempts to the lesson for instructor inspection, no matter how successful. The number of credits for which the student is registered dictate the minimum amount of daily practice expected of the student, i.e., a student registered for one credit should practice a minimum of 30 minutes per day, a student registered for two credits should practice one hour per day, and a student registered for 3 credits should practice two hours per day. To reiterate, these are the minimums; especially since we oboe players have to also set aside practice time for reed making, it will very likely be necessary to spend double this amount of time each day in order to be adequately prepared for each lesson. Mindock Applied Oboe Syllabus, p.2 Attendance Policy Due to the individual nature of this instruction, attendance is of the utmost importance. If a lesson is missed due to illness or documented emergency, notify the instructor as soon as possible, and a make-up lesson will be scheduled at the mutual convenience of instructor and student. If advance notice is given for missing a lesson, a make-up can be more easily scheduled. Any unexcused absences will not be made up. More than two absences may result in a failing grade. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the lesson schedule may need to be modified with appropriate advance notice given to the student. Grading Policy Studio Grade – 70% Each lesson will be graded, with the exception of the first lesson, which will be an assessment and planning period. Lesson grades will be averaged and will constitute 70% of the semester grade. Grades are recorded for every lesson, and each student is always welcome to check on his or her grade at any time during the semester. Grades are based on performance, progress/improvement, effort, and attitude. As these terms can be rather subjective, it is in the student’s best interest to know his or her grades as the semester progresses. Any student who is clearly unprepared for his or her lesson may be asked to leave the lesson and instructed to find a practice room in which to practice for the remainder of their lesson time; should this occur, the student will receive a failing grade for that day’s lesson. A = Exceptional progress, always prepared B = Good progress, usually well prepared C = Some progress, inconsistent preparation D = Little progress, rarely prepared F = No progress, never prepared Further definition of grading (as it applies to lessons): A = A thoroughly prepared lesson on the assigned material, with evidence of extensive practice. Assigned lesson material is played near-perfect and performed musically. “Near-perfect” means that the student knows the music sufficiently well that notes and rhythms are not a problem and that the student has made a thoughtful effort to perform the piece musically. The student has made several reeds and is ready to show them to the instructor. B = An adequately prepared lesson, with evidence of substantial practice on the assigned material. Lesson material is played well, with minor flaws, but lacks polish. The student has made one or two reeds to show, or the student did not make any new reeds but has made a significant amount of progress on reeds that had been previously started. C = A somewhat prepared lesson, with evidence of moderate practice on the assigned material. Lesson material is played moderately well, but with consistent note and rhythm problems. The student has made a moderate amount of progress in terms of reed making, but nothing significant. Mindock Applied Oboe Syllabus, p.3 D = A lesson not well prepared, with evidence that some practice has taken place on the assigned material. Lesson material is played rather poorly. The student has not made any new reeds and has only a minimal amount of reed making progress to show the instructor. F = A lesson not prepared at all. Evidence that little or no practice has taken place on the assigned material. The student has no reed making progress to show to the instructor. Applied Music Exams (Juries) – 30% Students enrolled at the 200 level or higher for two credit hours will be required to perform an applied music examination (jury) before the instrumental faculty at the end of the semester. The purpose of this exam is to monitor the progress of the student in their instrumental study. There will be two separate juries, the Technical Jury and the Studio (Artistic) Jury. Expectations will vary according to the level of the student. You will be assisted in your lessons in the preparation of appropriate material for this exam. Studio Jury – 20% - schedule TBD The student will perform a solo or concert etude with accompaniment as appropriate to the repertoire. In addition, the student will be asked to sightread. The performance will be graded on both artistic and technical merit by the members of the instrumental faculty. There will also be sight reading during this component of the jury. Technical Jury – 10% The student will perform the technical requirements appropriate to their level of study for the instrumental faculty. Play patterns according to the oboe studio directives, quarter note = 92. • Semester 1 – all major scales, arpeggios, and thirds, full range (one or two octaves as appropriate); full range chromatic scale (low Bb to high F) • Semester 2 – all natural minor scales, arpeggios, and thirds; chromatic scale • Semester 3 – harmonic minor scales and thirds, dominant 7th arpeggios; chromatic scale • Semester 4 – melodic minor scales and thirds; diminished 7th arpeggios; chromatic scale • Semester 5 – all whole tone scales (2), diminished scales (3), Blues scales (12), and augmented arpeggios (4); chromatic scale • Semester 6 – all Dorian and Mixolydian scales and minor 7th arpeggios; chromatic scale All Technical Juries, with the exception of Semester 4, the Upper-Division/Barrier Exam, will be performed via video, according to the following instructions. The Upper-Division/Barrier Technical Exam will be performed live before a panel of faculty. Video Instructions • Each student must create an unedited video of his/her required scales & arpeggios. • The student is encouraged to use a metronome during the video to play the scales and arpeggios at the assigned tempo. • Any pause between consecutive scales must be no more than six (6) seconds. Mindock Applied Oboe Syllabus, p.4 • • • • • • All videos must be no longer than ten (10) minutes. Any video that exceeds this limit will be immediately rejected and given a failing grade. Students must perform all keys & patterns in either circle or chromatic order. All patterns must be performed from memory. The video picture should display the entire body of the player, showing clearly that no music is being used. A student may record his or her video as many times as necessary to produce an acceptable result. However, no editing within a video will be allowed. The video must be uploaded to the student’s YouTube account (or Google Drive), after which the student must email the web link URL for the video to his or her applied professor by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 5th. The members of the wind and percussion faculty will then observe and grade the technique jury video. Grading Scale >90% A >80% B >70% C >60% D <59 F Reed Making Class At the discretion of the students and instructor, it may be possible that an additional time for weekly group reed making practice, in conjunction with Dr. Mindock’s bassoon students, will be arranged. The expectations and requirements for reed making in lessons will then be shifted to this reed making hour, to allow for more time in lessons on musical material. This reed making hour will not be required of non-majors, but it will be strongly recommended. Concert Attendance and Recital Class As an oboe student, listening to others perform is an important part of your education. Oboe students will be required to attend any student or faculty recitals featuring oboe players. Other performances featuring oboists, such as Mobile Symphony concerts, are strongly recommended. Performing before a live audience is an important and invaluable learning experience, and each student will do so at least once a semester. It is also recommended that one take advantage of the Recital Class performing opportunities and perform more often than the minimum requirement. Upper Level Study At the end of the second year of study at the 200 level, the student will be required to pass the Upper Division Barrier audition for the faculty jury. Specific requirements are as follows: 1. All major, harmonic and melodic minor scales and arpeggios (including dominant 7th and diminished 7th) from memory. 2. The student must present a list of etudes studied that semester, any of which the committee may ask to hear. 3. Two solos (or excerpts) in contrasting styles. At least one should be accompanied. 4. Sight-read a selection chosen by the committee. Mindock Applied Oboe Syllabus, p.5 5. Exhibit a standard of musicianship that the faculty associates with upper division applied study International Double Reed Society It is strongly recommended that all majors become members of the International Double Reed Society (IDRS). The fee for student membership is $30 annually, and membership gives the student access to large online databases of music and information as well as copies of the four print journals published annually. Information can be found at www.idrs.org. IDRS has a conference every summer, and the next conference will be in Tokyo, Japan on August 15th-20th, 2015. Any students who have the means to attend are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this rare opportunity. JagAlert JagAlert is a program intended to help students be successful in 100-200 level courses. If you are not doing well, you will receive an email instructing you to see your professor along with instructions to access an online tutorial intended to help with common problems affecting academic performance. Watch for this email during week 8 of this semester. Final Drop Date The final date to withdraw from the course is October 24, 2014. Hearing and Musculoskeletal Heath and Injury Prevention Hearing and musculoskeletal health, as well as injury prevention, is important for everyone, but especially for student musicians. If you have concerns regarding your hearing or musculoskeletal health or for injury prevention, please discuss them with your applied professor, area coordinator, ensemble director, or department chair. The Department of Music website has a page dedicated to links and resources to provide information on these topics. Visit www.southalabama.edu/music and click the link in the sidebar titled “Protecting the Health of our Student Musicians.” Students with Disabilities In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will be afforded reasonable accommodations. The Office of Special Student Services (OSSS) will certify a disability and advise faculty members of reasonable accommodations. If you have a specific disability that qualifies you for academic accommodations, please notify the instructor/professor and provide certification from the Office of Special Student Services. OSSS is located at 5828 Old Shell Road at Jaguar Drive, (251-460-7212). Counseling and Testing Services Counseling and Testing Services provides a variety of free and confidential services for students. For further information regarding this resource go to www.southalabama.edu/counseling or call the office at 460-7051. Changes in Course Requirements Not all classes progress at the same rate thus course requirements might have to be modified as circumstances dictate. You will be given written notice if the course requirements need to be changed. Mindock Applied Oboe Syllabus, p.6 Academic Disruption Policy The University of South Alabama’s policy regarding Academic Disruption is found in The Lowdown, the student handbook. http://www.southalabama.edu/lowdown/academicdisruption.shtml Disruptive academic behavior is defined as individual or group conduct that interrupts or interferes with any educational activity or environment, infringes upon the rights and privileges of others, results in or threatens the destruction of property and/or is otherwise prejudicial to the maintenance of order in an academic environment. The coordinator expects all students to be cordial, courteous and respectful of faculty members and fellow students. Student Academic Conduct Policy The University of South Alabama’s policy regarding Student Academic Conduct Policy is found in The Lowdown: http://www.southalabama.edu/lowdown/academicconductpolicy.shtml The University of South Alabama is a community of scholars in which the ideals of freedom of inquiry, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of the individual are sustained. The University is committed to supporting the exercise of any right guaranteed to individuals by the Constitution and the Code of Alabama and to educating students relative to their responsibilities. Penalties may range from the loss of credit for a particular assignment to dismissal from the University. Degree revocation may be warranted in cases involving academic misconduct by former students while they were students at USA. Note that dismissal from any University of South Alabama college or school for reasons of academic misconduct will also result in permanent dismissal from the University. Faculty, students, and staff are responsible for acquainting themselves with, adhering to, and promoting policies governing academic conduct. Students are expected to complete their own coursework and not provide unauthorized information or materials to another student. Students may learn about the meaning of plagiarism and how to avoid it at the following link: http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/instruction/plagiarismforstudents.html