University Curriculum Committee
Proposal for New Course
1. Is this course being proposed for Liberal Studies designation?
If yes, route completed form to Liberal Studies.
Yes
No
2. New course effective beginning what term and year? (ex. Spring 2009,
Summer 2009)
3. College
Fall 2010
See effective dates schedule.
CAL
4. Academic Unit /Department
5. Course subject/catalog number
7. Long course title
MUS 410
Music
6. Units/Credit Hours
3
Topics in Music Theory
(max 100 characters including spaces)
8. Short course title (max. 30 characters including
Topics in Music Theory
spaces)
9. Catalog course description (max. 30 words, excluding requisites).
In-depth study of a particular musical topic from a theoretical, analytical, and/or compositional
standpoint. May be repeated with different topics. Pre-requisites: C or higher MUS 221 and MUS 222,
or instructor consent.
10. Grading option:
Letter grade
Pass/Fail
or Both
(If both, the course may only be offered one way for each respective section.)
11. Co-convened with
11a. Date approved by UGC
(Must be approved by UGC prior to bringing to UCC. Both course syllabi must be presented)
12. Cross-listed with
(Please submit a single cross-listed syllabus that will be used for all cross-listed courses.)
13. May course be repeated for additional units?
yes
*
no
a. If yes, maximum units allowed?
no
b. If yes, may course be repeated for additional units in the same term?
*with different topics
only
yes
no
(ex. PES 100)
14. Prerequisites (must be completed before
proposed course)
C or higher in MUS 221 and MUS 222
15. Corequisites (must be completed with
proposed course)
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16. Is the course needed for a new or existing plan of study
(major, minor, certificate)?
yes
no
Name of plan?
All music major plans
Note: If required, a new plan or plan change form must be submitted with this request.
17. Is a potential equivalent course offered at a community college (lower division only)
If yes, does it require listing in the Course Equivalency Guide?
Please list, if known, the institution and subject/catalog number of the course
18. Names of current faculty qualified to teach this course:
yes
yes
no
no
Stephen Brown, Bruce Reiprich,
Jennifer Russell, and Tim Smith
19. Justification for new course, including unique features if applicable. (Attach proposed
syllabus in the approved university format).
Currently all of our music majors take a five-semester sequence of music theory courses,
consisting of Harmony I through IV (MUS 121, 122, 221, and 222) followed by Form and
Analysis (MUS 303). Though Form and Analysis is a very standard and traditional course for
undergraduates to take as their fifth semester of music theory, we would like to be able to be
able to offer our students a greater variety of options. Thus we propose to replace Form and
Analysis with an in-depth, variable topics course in music theory. Given current enrollments,
we would normally expect to offer two or three sections of this class each year, with each
section focusing on a different topic. Therefore, over the course of two years we could offer 46 different advanced music theory classes on a rotating basis (rather than 4-6 sections of the
same Form and Analysis class again and again), with no increase in staffing. Our plan would
therefore offer students much greater variety and choice at more advanced levels of music
theory. In addition, many of our students would like to take additional classes beyond Form
and Analysis, yet we currently have little to offer them, due to staffing constraints. Under our
proposed plan, students would be able to take multiple advanced courses in music theory if
they so choose, and thus would be able to pursue music theory in much greater depth than
they currently can. Also, we have identified the core material from Form and Analysis that we
feel is crucial for our students, and we plan to ensure that this material is covered in Harmony
I through IV. Moreover, for one of the topics classes we would offer a class similar to the
current Form and Analysis class. Therefore, our proposal would significantly enrich our
curriculum without detracting from it.
For Official AIO Use Only:
Component Type
Consent
Topics Course
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35. Approvals
Department Chair (if appropriate)
Date
Chair of college curriculum committee
Date
Dean of college
Date
For Committees use only
For University Curriculum Committee
Date
Action taken:
Approved as submitted
revised 8/08
Approved as
modified
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MUS 410: Topics in Music Theory
Musical Form in the Classical Period
Fall 2010 (3 credits)
General Information
Class Meetings:
Instructor:
Office:
Office hours:
E-mail (preferred):
Phone:
Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m., Room 215
Steve Brown
Room 235
Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Sign-up sheet is by my office.
stephen.brown@nau.edu
523-1781
Prerequisites
To enroll in this course, you must have passed MUSIC THEORY IV and EAR TRAINING IV
with a C or better.
Course Description
In this course we will pursue an in-depth study of musical form in the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, focusing on the instrumental music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. In
the first half of the semester we will trace a gradual progression from small-scale to large-scale
form, focusing first on Classical theme types, then binary forms, and finally sonata form,
particularly as it occurs within the first movement of a multi-movement instrumental work. In
the second half we will examine the typical forms underlying the other movements of a standard
multi-movement instrumental work, focusing on slow movements, last movements, and the first
movements of concertos. Forms covered here include ternary, rondo, sonata-rondo mixtures, and
others.
Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will:
 Have an enhanced understanding of the forms and processes underlying traditional tonal
music.
 Be able to identify and discuss both small- and large-scale form within an entire multimovement work from the Classical period, including both typical and unusual features in
the music.
 Be able to express their analytical ideas in writing, with greater precision and clarity.
Required Text and Materials




William E. Caplin, Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental
Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Course packet (approx. 250 pages) containing the music we will analyze in the class.
Three-ring binder for storing notes and assignments, plus additional scores and handouts
not in the packet.
Staff paper and pencil.
Assignments and Grading System
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In addition to the assigned reading, there will be two main kinds of written work. First, you can
expect approximately one regular homework assignment per week (except for the weeks when
papers are due); these assignments will ask you to do such things as writing paragraph-length
responses to questions about an excerpt or a piece, analyzing the chords of selected passages,
creating formal diagrams and musical reductions, etc. In addition to these assignments, you will
have three short papers (approx. four pages each), spread roughly equally throughout the
semester, each one focusing on a different piece.
Weekly homeworks:
Three short papers:
55%
15% x 3 = 45% total
All assignments will be graded on a scale of 0-100. At the end of the semester, your numerical
grades will be averaged together and converted to a letter grade using this system:
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
0-59
A
B
C
D
F
Attendance policy
You are expected to attend class regularly, arrive promptly, and participate actively in the class.
Three unexcused absences are allowed over the course of the semester. After those first three,
your final grade will be adjusted downward by one letter increment for every three classes
missed. For example, if your grade averages to an A, but you miss 4-6 classes, you will receive a
B. Absences will normally be excused only with written documentation (e.g., an institutional
excuse or doctor’s note). If you do need to be absent, please get notes on the day’s class meeting
from a classmate and make sure that you have any assignments and handouts that were
distributed.
Course Schedule
Class meetings:
Aug. 24, 26
Aug. 31, Sep. 2
Sep. 7, 9
Sep. 14, 16
Sep. 21, 23
Sep. 28, 30
Oct. 5, 7
Oct. 12, 14
Oct. 19, 21
Oct. 26, 28
Nov. 2, 4
Nov. 9, 11
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Topics and Readings:
Review of harmony, including modulation and basic chromaticism. Read
Caplin ch. 1-2.
Small-scale Classical form: cadences, phrases, theme types. Caplin ch. 34.
Small-scale form, continued. Caplin ch. 5.
Four-movement overview; small ternary and minuets. Caplin ch. 6 and 15.
Minuets, continued.
Sonata form: expositions. Caplin ch. 13. Paper #1 due Tuesday, Sep. 28.
Expositions, continued. Caplin ch. 8-9.
Developments. Caplin ch. 10.
Recapitulations and codas. Caplin ch. 11-12.
Slow movements. Caplin ch. 14.
Slow movements, continued. Paper #2 due Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Course Schedule, continued
Last movements: rondo form. Caplin ch. 16. No class Thursday, Nov. 11
(Veteran’s Day).
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Nov. 16, 18
Nov. 23, 25
Nov. 30, Dec. 1
Last movements, continued.
Concerto form. Caplin ch. 17. No class Thursday, Nov. 25
(Thanksgiving).
Concerto form, continued. Paper #3 due during Final Exam Time.
Policy Statements
Be sure to the review the University policy statements at the following site:
http://www2.nau.edu/academicadmin/UCCPolicy/plcystmt.html
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