MUL235 – Survey of Musical Masterworks I
Fall Semester 2014
TR 8:00-9:15am
LPAC Rehearsal Hall
Office Hours: posted and by appt.
Course Format: Web Enhanced
Dr. Rebecca Mindock
LPAC #1129
251-460-6482
mindock@southalabama.edu
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Description
This course is the first of a two-semester sequence and will familiarize the student with the vocabulary,
traditions, conventions, genres and repertoire of the art music world. The course will focus on the "greatest
hits" of the concert repertory and other works of a regional/timely interest.
Prerequisites
Successful completion of MUT 113 or permission of instructor
Textbooks and Other Materials
Required:
Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. McGraw Hill, 10th Edition. ISBN #978-0-07-802508-2
Along with this textbook, you are required to purchase the accompanying audio, which is available as either
an access card to the online streaming material or by purchasing the accompanying CD set (9 discs).
Concert ticket: Mobile Symphony Orchestra, “Beethoven and Blue Jeans,” November 15th, 2014 at 8pm or
November 16th, 2014 at 2:30pm at the Saenger Theatre. Student price tickets available.
Recommended:
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th Edition. ISBN # 978-0205313426
Bellman, Jonathan D. A Short Guide to Writing About Music. 2nd Edition. ISBN # 0-321-18791-1
Course Goals and Objectives
This course aims to familiarize the student with the major eras of the documented history of western music
through the study of representative works. The course also aims to build the student’s active listening skills,
as well as the student’s ability to speak and write about music in an analytical way.
Attendance and Class Preparation
In order to prepare for each class meeting, the student is to read the textbook pages that correspond with that
class day (as noted in the course schedule below). Students are also expected to review the listening
assignments that correspond to each assigned page selection. Obvious failure to prepare this material
adequately will hinder class participation and may result in a reduction of class participation points.
Much of this course will be spent in interactive class discussion and active listening. Attendance is essential
for the learning process. A portion of the grade will be based on class participation and attendance. When
over 20% of classes are missed, the instructor may reserve the right to withhold the option to make
up missed exams. Students should note that physical presence is not the entire definition of “attendance”
and, if the instructor notes that student is physically present but is otherwise mentally engaged (i.e., working
on assignments for another class, sleeping, etc.), the student may not receive full attendance points for that
class day, at the instructor’s discretion.
Late arrivals to class are extremely disruptive and will not be tolerated. Attendance in class each day is
worth 5 points; if you arrive late, you will lose 1 point for each five minutes that you are late.
In addition, attendance of the Mobile Symphony’s “Beethoven and Blue Jeans” concert (either November
15th, 2014 at 8pm or November 16th, 2014 at 2:30pm) will be required. Students will need to turn in their
program and ticket stub, with their name clearly marked, to the instructor at the following class meeting and
be prepared for a brief quiz and in-class discussion about the concert. This activity is worth 30 points.
Listening Assignments
Listening assignments will be made throughout the semester in order to provide first hand experience with
the music studied and discussed in class. The listening material on which the students will be tested will all
be drawn from the required audio materials that accompany the textbook. Supplemental listening
assignments, to be used with Active Listening Assignments or for paper topics, will be made available on
the course website. Listening will be part of each exam.
Tests
One fundamentals quiz, two tests, and a final exam will be given during the semester on reading,
discussion, and listening material. These examinations are worth over 50% of your final grade for the
course. Test and quiz dates are given in the attached schedule, but may be changed as the course
progresses with advance notice in class. Please plan to be in class for tests and quizzes. Make up tests
and quizzes are difficult for all concerned. If you know in advance that you will be unable to attend class
on the day of a test or quiz, a time can be arranged with the instructor to take it in advance. If you miss
due to illness or other emergency, a doctor’s excuse or other documentation must be presented. Make
up tests and quizzes will be scheduled at the instructor’s convenience. Missed make up tests and
quizzes will be graded as “zero”. Any student caught cheating on any test or assignment will receive a
zero grade for that exercise. A subsequent offense will result in disciplinary action through the office of
the Dean of Students.
Concert Reports
Attendance at two live performances is required during the semester in addition to the concert
specifically required for the course. You will write a concert report on each of these two concerts. Each
report will be worth 50 points. You must do the following: 1) attend the entire program, 2) attach a
printed program from the event to your paper, 3) report on the program as an informed critical listener,
and 4) comment about the music almost exclusively. Each paper should be 2-4 pages long, double
spaced. A grading rubric for these assignments will be passed out along with this syllabus.
These concerts must be considered “art music” in nature, and may include orchestra concerts, opera,
band concerts, choir concerts, musicals, chamber music, and recitals. It must be a live performance and
must be considered a “concert” as opposed to entertainment at a social function or bar. You may not
report on a concert in which you are a participant, and you cannot use the mandatory concert for
this assignment. A list of appropriate performances can be found on the Department of Music web page
at www.southalabama.edu/music/recitalattendance. If you have any questions about what is
appropriate, or wish to attend a concert not on the list, check with the instructor first. In order to avoid
procrastination, these papers will be due throughout the semester on October 14th and November 25th
by the beginning of class. You are of course welcome, however, to turn them in early, and I encourage
you to not let too much time elapse between attending your chosen concert and writing your response
paper for it.
Active Listening Assignments
Throughout the semester, we will have four Active Listening Assignments. The dates for these
Assignments are listed on the course schedule below. There will be two components to each Active
Listening Assignment: (1) a short written assignment and (2) participation in class discussion.
Short Writing Assignment. For each Active Listening Assignment, you will be given several pieces to
listen to, along with a set of discussion questions to answer. (The recordings are housed on our
USAonline page; see below.) These questions are such that they have no “right or wrong” answers, and
should invite debate and discussion. You will write your answers – aiming to fit your responses into
approximately two pages, double-spaced – and turn them in at the beginning of the class on which the
assignment is due.
Class Discussion. Once all responses have been turned in, we will address these questions in class and
students will be asked to share their responses. (I recommend making a second copy of your response
for you to reference in class.) New ideas may also be presented to further invite discussion, and some
small group discussion may be involved.
Grading. Each Active Listening Assignment will be worth a total of 30 points; the writing portion will
comprise 20 of those points, and the discussion portion will comprise the remaining 10 points. This
writing assignment is designed to give you practice in the difficult trade of writing about music, and will
therefore only be graded on completion; if you thoughtfully answer the questions with a well supported
argument, you will receive full points for the writing portion of the exercise. Full points for the
discussion portion of this assignment will be awarded to all students who actively participate in
discussion.
Research Essay
There will be one short research essay assigned in this course, due Thursday, November 13th by the
beginning of class. I will provide you with a list of possible topics for this essay; you will choose one
and write a 3-4 page essay (double spaced) on that topic, citing at least three quality research sources
(reputable music encyclopedias, books, and journals – no wikipedia!), one of which must be the New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. While you may use your textbook as a reference, it cannot
count as one of your three required sources. This assignment will be worth 50 points. A grading rubric
for this assignment will be passed out along with this syllabus.
Paper Formatting Requirements and Deadlines
All papers are to be double-spaced, with standard margins (no more than .75” left and right, no more
than 1” top and bottom). Your font should be 12-pt in Times New Roman, Helvetica, or a reasonable
equivalent, printed in black ink. Please be sure your name and this course number are clearly labeled on
the front of the document and that all pages (including programs in the case of concert response papers)
are firmly stapled together. All writing assignments are to be turned in as hard copies; I will not accept
papers via email unless there are extenuating circumstances that I approve ahead of time. All papers not
turned in by their posted deadline – date and time – will be penalized 5 points per day, taken from
the paper’s final grade. (If you must turn a paper in late, it is recommended that you turn it in to the
instructor’s faculty mailbox in the main office, and that you have another faculty or staff member in the
office time and date stamp the paper for you, so that you receive credit for the exact time the paper was
turned in.) Papers turned in with unsatisfactory formatting or missing programs (when required) will
either not be accepted or will receive a point deduction at the discretion of the instructor. You will also
need to submit your paper electronically to turnitin.com to verify that none of the paper has been
plagiarized. Here is the log-in information you will need to access our course page at turnitin.com:
Class Name: MUL235
Class ID: 8382270
Class Enrollment Password: Beethoven
If you have never used turnitin.com before, you will first need to create an account, using the above
information to enroll.
Paper Rewrites
If you receive a grade lower than a B (before lateness or formatting deductions) on either the first
concert report or the research essay and would like the opportunity to raise it, you are allowed to choose
one paper to rewrite. The rewrite is due within two weeks of receiving the graded paper, and the grade
of the rewritten paper will be averaged with the grade of the original paper. Any deductions made for
lateness or incompleteness to the original paper will still apply to the rewrite.
Writing Boot Camp
Dr. Moore and I are offering two “Writing Boot Camp” sessions outside of our MUL courses this
semester in the interest of providing students with additional guidance for the writing and research
required in the MUL sequence. These sessions will include a tour of the music reference collections at
the University Library, a tutorial on searching for journals relevant to music, guidelines for research and
citation styles, and general tips and guidelines for the types of papers we write in the MUL sequence.
While this will be required for students in Dr. Moore’s MUL 335 class, I do not require that you as
MUL 235 students attend; however, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you attend a session,
especially if you are either a music major or a music minor who intends to take either MUL 335 or 336.
If you attend a complete session, you will receive 10 extra credit points. These sessions will be held on
Sunday, August 24th from 2-5pm and on Monday, August 25th from 4-7pm in Room 181 of the
University Library.
USAonline Course Materials
I will maintain a USAonline/Sakai page for this course. You can access that page by logging into
USAonline (using the J Number and email password) at:
http://ecampus.southalabama.edu
Our class is appropriately named “MUL-235-102 Fall Semester 2014”. You will need to use this site to
access the audio recordings for each Active Listening Assignment; those recordings will be housed
under the “Media Gallery” section. This site will house copies of all class documents (including this
syllabus) in .pdf format.
There is also a companion web space for your textbook, with many helpful resources; it can be found at
www.connectkamien.com.
Grading Procedures
Semester Point Breakdown:
Class Attendance/Participation — 30 classes, 5 points each
Attendance at Required Concert
Fundamentals Quiz
Test #1
Test #2
Final Exam
Active Listening Assignments – 4@30 points each
(20 points writing, 10 points class discussion)
Concert Reports — 2@50 points each
Research Essay
Total
150
30
50
150
150
200
120
100
50
1000
Final Drop Date
The final date to withdraw from the course is October 24th, 2014.
Grading Scale
900-1000
A
800-899
B
700-799
C
600-699
D
0-599
F
Cell Phones/Laptops
Cell phone use is not permitted in the classroom at any time. If you must have a cell phone for emergency
purposes, then the phone must be kept in vibration mode, the instructor must be informed prior to class,
and you must leave the classroom if you get a phone call. Cell phones are disruptive to the class and a
student violating these policies will be asked to leave the classroom and his/her participation grade for that
day will be affected accordingly. On exam days, cell phones are forbidden (you may leave one with the
instructor for emergencies). Anyone with a cell phone during an exam will receive a 0 on that exam.
Laptops are also not permitted in this class, unless required due to disability.
Tentative Course Schedule
Date
8/19
8/21
8/26
8/28
9/2
9/4
9/9
9/11
9/16
9/18
9/23
9/25
9/30
10/2
10/7
10/9
10/14
10/16
10/21
10/23
10/28
10/30
11/4
11/6
11/11
11/13
**
11/18
11/20
11/25
11/27
12/2
12/4
Day
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
**
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
**
26
27
28
**
29
30
Material
Syllabus, Intro
Elements of Music –Melody/Harmony/Meter/Rhythm/Texture
Elements of Music – Tone Color/Instruments
Fundamentals Quiz
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Active Listening Day #1
Baroque
Baroque
Baroque
Active Listening Day #2, review
Test #1 (Days 5-11)
Classical
Classical
FALL BREAK, NO CLASS! ☺
Classical
Beethoven/Romantic, Concert Report #1 Due
Romantic
Romantic
Active Listening Day #3
Romantic
Romantic
Romantic, review
Test #2 (Days 13-22)
20th Century
20th Century, Research Essay Due
MSO BBJ Concert: Sat, 11/15 @8pm, Sun., 11/16 2:30pm
20th Century
Active Listening Day #4
20th Century, Concert Report #2 Due
THANKSGIVING BREAK, NO CLASS! ☺
20th Century
Review
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, December 9th, 8-10am
Textbook Pages
1-10, 32-67
10-31
71-90
93-114
117-134, 145-151
152-168
135-144, 169-180
183-203, 223-227
204-215, 227-231
216-223, 232-233
234-248, 251-259
260-291
292-318
319-333
333-350
350-357
357-382
383-391
392-408
408-436
437-460
JagAlert
JagSuccess 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.
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, (251-4607212).
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.
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