Pasadena City College
Music Appreciation
Music 21-Section #9649
Spring Semester 2014
Instructor: Selina U. (Traylor) Perera
Room: Center for the Arts 210
Mondays and Wednesdays 1:35pm-3:00pm
Email: superera@pasadena.edu
Course Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basics of music and the history of art music in Europe from roughly the 15 th century through the late 19 th century.
Student Learning Outcomes: (Things you should be able to do by the end of the semester)
1. Describe the elements of music.
2. Recognize and identify common western instruments and voice types.
3. Discuss the historical and social context of western music.
4. Distinguish and analyze various eras, forms, genres, and composers of western music.
5. Communicate about western music using proper terminology.
Student Performance Outcomes: (Things you will do that will help you master the items listed above)
1. Define and explain the elements of music including vocabulary, forms, instruments and performers.
2. Recognize and identify the common instrument and voice types and their techniques of performance.
3. Recognize and distinguish various styles of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.
4. Recognize the various forms and styles of vocal music, both secular and sacred, solo, ensemble and choral, throughout the periods covered.
5. Understand and describe the various forms of instrumental music, including symphonic, program, and chamber music.
6. Recognize the major composers of western classical music and representative works.
7. Successfully critique a live concert performance.
Course Requirements:
Reading Assignments
The required textbook for this course is The Enjoyment of Music, 11 th edition, shorter version, by Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney. In addition to the text, you will be asked to use the website associated with the text. This
URL for this website is: www.wwnorton.com/enjoy
Reading assignments for a particular day should be completed before class. There may be occasional reading quizzes that will count toward your attendance and participation grade.
Written/Aural Assignments
Listening Reports
Students are required to submit two listening reports. Each report will contain about 10-15 entries, each one based on listening examples in the textbook. You will hear listening examples in class, and you will study those same examples in the music lab/library. Your lab hours should be dedicated to completing these reports/studying for the listening portion of the exam. These reports will be submitted no later than the day of the exams (mentioned below). The purpose of the listening assignment is to familiarize you with the music of the era or eras being discussed. The listening reports will assist you in your preparation for the exam. Each listening report will count for 5%.
(2 reports, 5% each= 10%). Guidelines for the assignment are attached to this document (page 6), so they are also available on my Pasadena web space (in the syllabus document).
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Concert Reports
Students are required to attend two concerts in the European art music tradition and write two separate 2.5-
3.5 page reports. You may attend a classical music concert, a recital, the opera, a symphonic band concert, etc.
If you are unsure about your choice of concert, please see me. Each concert report counts for 15% of your overall grade. Please consult attached guidelines for more information (page 5).
(2 reports, 15% each=30%)
Exams
There will be two exams given during the course of the class. Exam #1 will evaluate your knowledge of everything covered during the first portion of the semester, and Exam 2 will cover the second portion (in other words, the final exam is not cumulative). There will be no make-ups! In case of an emergency, a doctor’s note or evidence of a police report will be required. Any pop quizzes given will NOT count toward your exam grade, but rather toward your “Attendance and Participation” grade (see below).
Exam #1, 20%, Exam #2, 25%=45%
Attendance and Participation
You are expected to attend every class, unless you have a written excuse. You are also expected to participate when appropriate, including unannounced quizzes. Your attendance and participation will account for 15% of your overall grade. If you do miss class, you are responsible for making up materials. That means finding out from a peer or myself, what you missed during your absence. (Please note that although 18 hours of listening are required, completion of this requirement will count toward 5% of your overall grade, leaving 10% for attendance, participation and quizzes). Please note: Lab listening hours MUST be completed BY the time class starts on the day of the final to receive credit.
Office hours:
Location-Adjunct Lounge on the third floor of the Arts building
From 12:30pm-1:30pm on the following dates:
January 15, January 22, February 26, March 3, April 9, May 5
Course Schedule:
WEEK 1
January 13: Course Introduction
Log onto www.wwnorton.com/enjoy and explore the site.
Written Assignment due: Make a journal/log of your music listening practices for the entire week. Try to observe the following: Where do you listen to music? When do you listen to music (study, work, over dinner)?
What music do you listen to and what music do you hear around you? (More details given in class)
(Due Wednesday January 22)
January 15: Introduction to the Elements of Music
Ch. 1-10 (pages 4-67-a close reading is not essential as we will be going over each topic in class)
Log onto www.wwnorton.com/enjoy and explore the site.
WEEK 2
January 20: No class- Martin Luther King Holiday
January 22: Introduction to the Elements of Music continued
WEEK 3
January 27: The Renaissance Era
Ch 14, 15 (pages 89-103)
January 29: The Renaissance Era continued
WEEK 4
February 3: Renaissance Era continued and Intro to concert reports
February 5: Baroque Era
Introduction and Vocal music
Prelude 3, Ch 16, 17 (pages 106-129)
WEEK 5
February 10: The Baroque Era Continued
Instrumental music
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Ch. 18-20 (pages 130-147)
February 12: The Baroque Era Continued
WEEK 6
February 17: No class (president’s day)
February 19: More Baroque Era
WEEK 7
February 24: Intro to classical
Classical Era, Part I (18th Century Classicism)
Prelude 4, Ch. 21, 22 (pages 150-169)
February 26: More Classical
WEEK 8
March 3: Exam review, Elements of music, Renaissance, and Baroque
March 5: EXAM #1 (LISTENING REPORT#1 DUE!!!)
WEEK 9
March 10: No CLASS-Spring Break!
March 12: No CLASS-Spring Break!
WEEK 10
March 17: The Classical Era, Part II (18th Century Classicism)
Ch.23, 24 (pages 170-185)
(CONCERT REPORT #1 DUE!!!)
March 19: More Classical
WEEK 11
March 24: More Classical era TBD
Ch. 25, 26 (pages 187-201)
March 26: More classical /Mozart film
WEEK 12
March 31: No class-Cesar Chavez day
April 2: More classical
WEEK 13
April 7: More classical
April 9: More classical
WEEK 14
April 14: 19th century Romanticism
Prelude 5, Ch. 27-29 (pages 204-229)
April 16: More 19th century Romanticism
Ch. 30, 31 (pages 230-251)
(CONCERT REPORT #2 DUE!!!)
WEEK 15
April 21: More 19th century Romanticism
April 23: Choral and Dramatic Music in the 19th Century
Ch. 32, 33 (pages 252-281)
WEEK 16
April 28: Choral and Dramatic Music in the 19th Century
Ch. 32, 33 (pages 252-281)
April 30: More Choral and Dramatic Music in the 19th Century
WEEK 17
May 5: Exam#2 Review (LISTENING REPORT #2 DUE!!!)
May 7: EXAM #2
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USEFUL LINKS for class
1. Exploring the world of Music on Learner.org http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html
2. Los Angeles Philharmonic http://www.laphil.com/
3. USC Thornton School of Music http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/
4. Classical Music radio (91.5 fm) http://www.kusc.org
A few other very important items:
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5. UCLA Center For Performing Arts http://cap.ucla.edu/
6. UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music http://www.schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/index.php
7. Caltech Public Events http://events.caltech.edu/
This Syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. (While I do not anticipate any major changes, they may very well occur. In this case, I will do my best to accommodate the majority of the students).
PLAGIARISM is a serious crime. 2.
This excerpt below comes from the PCC academic integrity bulletin at: http://pasadena.edu/resource/accred_631.pdf
Responsibility of Students
The ultimate success of a policy on academic integrity depends largely on the degree to which the policy is willingly supported by students themselves. Students are more likely to support a policy if they are informed and understand the reasons for the policy (as succinctly stated above). Therefore, in an effort to encourage and support academic integrity at PCC, the following recommendations are made for students:
• Study the Academic Integrity Policy and the Types and Definitions of Academic
Dishonesty.
• Be honest at all times.
• Act fairly toward others. For example, do not disrupt or seek an unfair advantage over others by cheating, or by talking or allowing eyes to wander during exams.
• Take group as well as individual responsibility for honorable behavior. Collectively, as well as individually, make every effort to prevent and avoid academic misconduct, and report acts of misconduct that you witness.
• Do not submit the same work in more than one class without the instructor’s permission.
All work submitted to fulfill course requirements must be work done by the student specifically for that course.
• Unless permitted by the instructor, do not work with others on graded coursework, including in class and take-home tests, papers, or homework assignments. When an instructor specifically informs students that they may collaborate on work required for a course, the extent of the collaboration must not exceed the limits set by the instructor.
• Know what plagiarism is and take steps to avoid it. When using the words or ideas of another, even if paraphrased in your own words, you must cite your source. Students who are confused about whether a particular act constitutes plagiarism should consult the instructor who gave the assignment. Also, study the types and definitions of academic dishonesty outlined in this policy.
• Know the rules - ignorance is no defense. Those who violate campus rules regarding academic misconduct are subject to disciplinary sanctions, including suspension and dismissal.
Please also see the link below for more information: http://www.pasadena.edu/ipro/policies/pcc_4520.pdf
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Students will attend a western art music performance of their choice and write a 2.5 to 3.5-page
(800-1000 words) report (double-spaced, 12 point times or times new roman font). The paper should contain information regarding the performance as well as your own observations and analysis of the performance. If the paper is too short, you will NOT receive full credit.
Section 1:Your first paragraph should provide the necessary information about the performance
(time, location, etc.)
-Where and when it occurred?
-Who performed?
Who attended?
-What type of venue did it take place in?
-What was the occasion?
-Pay attention to how the performers interact with one another and with the audience, and how the audience responds to the music (dancing, socializing, sitting quietly). Consider the following questions:
-How do the performers address the audience?
- When does the audience applaud (after the piece, during the piece, not at all) and why?
Section 2: You should write a few paragraphs describing the actual musical performance in detail.
This is the most important part of the report. Please be sure mention the title, composer and era of all pieces played and describe at least 3 pieces in detail, being sure to answer the following questions:
-Title?
-What era was it from?
-Composer?
-Instrumentation? (If different from other pieces)
-Any soloists?
-Musical Texture?
-Tempo?
-Dynamic contrasts?
-Language?
-Have we studied this piece in class? If not, does it remind you of anything we have learned in class
(what specific piece(s) and why)?
-Is it sacred/secular? (What is the music used for)?
-How long was the piece (approximately)?
Section 3:Your final two paragraphs should contain your opinions about the performance
-Was it good, excellent, sub-par? Why?
-Also include any information about your personal experience:
-Did you notice anything about the music or the context that you haven’t before?
-Was this a completely new experience for you?
-Has the experience changed or expanded your understanding of musical performance?
Your papers will be graded for both content and grammar. Be sure to read through these parameters as you are writing to ensure that you are addressing all the criteria. Proof of attendance (ticket stub, dinner receipt, photograph of yourself at the event, etc.) is required. Late papers will be penalized.
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LG #:
1. What is the purpose of the music (social dance, religious, narrative (tells a story), dramatic, etc.)? How do you think the sound achieves this purpose? (Please be specific)
2. What kinds of things are used to produce the sound (one voice, 4 voices, drums, chordophones, etc.)? Name
as many as you can and be as specific as possible.
3.
How does the music sound (rough, smooth, loud, soft, energetic, chaotic, meditative, percussive, etc.)?
4.
How would you describe the rhythm: Fast or slow? Steady beat or fluctuating? Is the meter duple, triple--does it change?
5. List as many characteristics that you can that will help you remember this piece and distinguish it from others.
(BE VERY SPECIFIC HERE!!!!)
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