Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
Fall Semester 2015
Ear Training IV, MUS 317
Music B 203A
Tuesday/ Thursday 1:00 - 1:50
Instructor: Levi Walls
Office Hours: Music B 215, TTH 2-3 or by appointment
Phone: 707.826.5774
Email: Levi.Walls@humboldt.edu
TEXTS & MATERIALS
Ottman: Music for Sightsinging, 9th Edition
Please bring pencils and 8.5”x11” staff paper to each class, and a folder/binder to keep track of class examples.
COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Aug 25
Aug 27
Syllabus Day and info cards
Sep 1
Sep 3
Sep 8
Sep 10
Dictation Quiz #1 -
Sep 15
Mastery Performance Quiz #1
S 13.72, 13.75, 13.77, 13.79, 13.82, 13.83, 13.84, 13.85
R 14.4 - 14.9, 14.11 - 14.14, 14.16, 14.33(2pt),
14.34(2pt)
PIANO 1
Sep 22
Sep 17
Mastery Performance Quiz #1
Sep 29
Oct 1
Oct 6
Oct 8
Dictation Quiz #2:
Oct 13
Mastery Performance Quiz #2
S 13.92, 13.95, 13.100, 13.107, 13.109, 13.110, 15.26
R 14.21-14.28, 14.31, 14.32
PIANO 2
Oct 15
Mastery Performance Quiz #2
Oct 20
Oct 22
Sep 24
Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
Oct 27
Oct 29
Dictation Quiz #3:
Nov 3
Mastery Performance #3
S 15.1, 15.3, 15.5, 15.6, 15.9, 15.11, 15.13
R 17.4, 17.10, 17.13, 17.18, 17.22, 17.24 -17.27
PIANO 4
Nov 5
Mastery Performance #3
Nov 10
Nov 12
Nov 17
Nov 19
Nov 24 FALL BREAK
Nov 26 FALL BREAK
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Dec 1
Dec 3
Dictation Quiz #4
Dec 8
Mastery Performance #4
S 15.63, 15.69, 15.32, 15.77, 16.4, 16.5, 16.7, 16.33
16.25- required
R 18.4 - 18.15
PIANO 6 in both Major & Minor keys
Dec 10
Mastery Performance #4
OVERVIEW
Ear Training IV is a continuation of your training in Ear Training III. We will work to develop your aural
understanding of music and its fundamental elements. In this course we will develop your skills through melodic,
harmonic, and rhythmic dictation. We will also practice sight singing of melodies and sight reading of rhythms.
Sight singing skills will be developed using the conductor’s beat and chromatic number syllables (however, I will
allow solfège if you wish to use it.) Rhythm, where applicable, will be performed using Gordon Rhythm Syllables.
Class dictation examples will not be graded, but are crucial to your development in the class, since it is more
difficult to get dictation practice outside of class.
Skill at ear training develops slowly and only with constant practice. Because it is much easier to practice the
performance components of the class on your own we will spend relatively less time in class on these aspects of the
course. However, you should plan to spend a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes a day outside of class honing these
skills. It is only through continuous repetition that you will be able to thoroughly master the elements of this course.
GRADING SYSTEM
In order to pass the class, you have to achieve a passing grade in each element of the course. This means a
minimum 60% in each element. Each mastery and dictation quiz will tally each area separately, adding scores into
an overall grade for that element.
Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Singing Performance
Rhythmic Performance
Keyboard Performance
Harmonic Dictation
Melodic Dictation
Rhythmic Dictation
EXAMS
Mastery Performance will include the following assigned melodies and rhythms from the Ottman book as well as
the attached piano progressions. You will be assigned a day and an individual time slot for your quiz. Please show
up promptly at your assigned quiz time. If you are tardy or absent for your mastery quiz, no make up will be given.
All singing/rhythmic performance exams are pass/fail of each element. To pass your quiz, you must perform the
selection with limited mistakes in 2 attempts.
You are allowed 1 re-do of each mastery element, pending instructor approval. No re-do opportunities are allowed
for unexcused absences or elements that are willfully unprepared on the day of testing.
SINGING EXAM CONTENT
1. 13.72, 13.75, 13.77, 13.79, 13.82, 13.83, 13.84, 13.85
2. 13.92, 13.95, 13.100, 13.107, 13.109, 13.110, 15.26
3. 15.1, 15.3, 15.5, 15.6, 15.9, 15.11, 15.13
4. 15.63, 15.69, 15.32, 15.77, 16.4, 16.5, 16.7, 16.33 16.25- required
RHYTHM EXAM CONTENT
1. 14.4 - 14.9, 14.11 - 14.14, 14.16, 14.33(2pt), 161434(2pt)
2. 14.21-14.28, 14.31, 14.32
3. 17.4, 17.10, 17.13, 17.18, 17.22, 17.24 -17.27
4. 18.4 - 18.15
KEYBOARD EXAM CONTENT
See attached sheet (examples I. II. IV. & VI)
Dictation Quizzes will include melodic and harmonic progressions covered in class as well as rhythmic dictation
and error detection.
QUIZ CONTENT
Harmonic
1. Mixture
2. bII6 chords
3. +6th chords
4. Modulation through harmonic pivots
Melodic
1. Arpeggiations of I, IV, V, and V7
2. Chromatic non- harmonic tones
3. Modulation I to V, i to III
4. Modulation to any closely-related key
Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
Rhythmic
1. Duple Triple and Quadruple beat Divisions
2. 3 against 2
3. Changing meters, beat stays the same
4. Changing meters, beat changes duration
Dictation quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class period. Quizzes missed due to tardiness will not be
made up. No make-up exams will be given for unexcused absences.
The following grading system is in place for dictation quizzes:
Harmonic:
2 points for each correctly identified chord, 1 point for each correct bass & soprano note
Melodic:
2 points for each correct pitch, 1 point for each correct rhythm
Rhythmic:
1 point for each correct beat
As each quiz will be worth a different amount based on the selections, your total percentage will
be applied to 25 for each element. For example, a melody dictation had 42 points possible and
you missed 1 pitch and 2 rhythms. Your score for that dictation is 38, giving you 90.48% and a
total of 22.62 points out of 25.
Each quiz is made up of 3 elements: melodic, harmonic and rhythmic. Each section is worth 25
points and contributes to your total grade for that element. With 4 quizzes, this means that you
have a total of 100 points possible for each dictation element
ATTENDANCE
Since much of your ear training practice will be done during class, it is advisable to be present.
Each missed class will deduct from your final grade. You are allowed three absences (for illness), after which one
percentage point will be deducted from your final grade per absence. Three times late to class counts as one absence.
Arriving more than 10 minutes late to class constitutes an absence. Absences from arriving 10+ minutes late can be
transmuted into a normal tardiness if you do a dictation HW and hand it in at the BEGINNING of the next class
meeting. If you choose this option, you must make a request for the HW, which I will email you by the end of the
day. Any lateness more than 30 minutes cannot be undone.
If you are absent:
∙ Send me an email BEFORE the start of class. (Levi.Walls@humboldt.edu)
∙ Arrange for a colleague in the class to find out if there have been any changes in the assignments. You are
expected to keep up with the assignments so that you will be up-to-date when you return to class.
OFFICE HOURS
I am always happy to meet with you either informally before or after class, as time allows, during office hours or by
appointment.
Music Department Assessment Goals and Outcomes
Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
Goal 1: Students will demonstrate the ability to hear, identify, and work conceptually with the elements of music –
rhythm, melody, harmony, and structure.
Outcome 1A: Students can write harmonic progressions demonstrating correct voice-leading using standard
elements of chromatic harmony including mixture, Neapolitans, Augmented Sixth chords, and enharmonic
pivot chords.
Outcome 1B: Students can analyze a piece written in sonata form.
Outcome 1C: Students can write down melodic dictation that modulates to closely-related keys.
Outcome 1D: Students can sightsing diatonic melodies with leaps from I, IV, and V7 chords.
Goal 2: Students will demonstrate familiarity with, and an ability to perform a wide selection of musical literature
representing principal eras, genres, and cultural sources.
Outcome 2A: Students can identify and trace essential developments in Western Art Music history.
Outcome 2B: When listening to a musical composition, students can identify its historical era, cultural
sources, genre, texture, instrumentation, and possible composer when appropriate.
Outcome 2C: Over the course of four years, music majors will perform a wide variety of music – in solos,
large and small ensembles, from different eras, in different styles.
Goal 3: Students will demonstrate ability in performing areas appropriate to the student’s needs, interests, and
degree path.
Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate improvement in their performing skills – both in the quality of their
performance and the difficulty of the repertoire they can perform.
Goal 4: Students will demonstrate effective English writing skills.
Outcome 4: Students will demonstrate the ability to write clearly and effectively about music, using
appropriate discipline-specific vocabulary.
Area C Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will apply discipline-specific vocabulary and central discipline-specific concepts and principles to a
specific instance, literary work or artistic creation.
2.Students will respond subjectively as well as objectively to aesthetic experiences and will differentiate between
emotional and intellectual responses.
3.Students will explain the nature and scope of the perspectives and contributions found in a particular discipline
within the Arts and Humanities as related to the human experience, both individually (theirs) and collectively.
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the intellectual, imaginative, and cultural elements involved in the
creative arts through their (or, “as a result of their”) participation in and study of drama, music, studio art and/or
creative writing.
Humboldt State University
Department of Music
Class Syllabus - MUS 317
Ear Training IV
Students with Disabilities: Persons who wish to request disability-related accommodations should contact the
Student Disability Resource Center in House 71, 826-4678 (voice) or 826-5392 (TDD). Some accommodations may
take up to several weeks to arrange. http://www.humboldt.edu/~sdrc/
Add/Drop policy: Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for
dropping or adding classes. http://www.humboldt.edu/~reg/regulations/schedadjust.html
Emergency evacuation: Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs) , and
review http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/campus_emergency_preparedness.php for information on
campus Emergency Procedures. During an emergency, information can be found campus conditions at: 826-INFO
or www.humboldt.edu/emergency
Academic honesty: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding academic honesty:
http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/academic_honesty.php or
http://www.humboldt.edu/~humboldt/catalogpdfs/catalog2007-08.pdf
Attendance and disruptive behavior: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and
disruptive behavior: http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/attendance_behavior.php