Syllabus: MUS 215 – Theory II – Fall 2015
Course Information
Meeting Time and Location
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 9:00-9:50 AM
Music A, Room 131
Contact Information
Professor: Elizabeth Medina-Gray
Email: Elizabeth.Medina-Gray@humboldt.edu
Office Phone: (707) 826-5448
Office: Music A, Room 107
Office hours: Tuesday and Friday, 2:00-3:00 PM. Additional times by appointment.
The best way to contact me is by email or by coming to my office hours. I will respond to emails
promptly whenever possible, but I will not answer emails after 9:00 PM. Before contacting me
please be sure to read the syllabus, which has answers to a number of common questions.
Feel free to stop by my office any time my door is open (if my door is closed at non-office-hour
times I am probably grading, preparing classes, etc., so please do not disturb). I am happy to
discuss anything covered in class, to answer questions about completed or nearly completed
homework assignments (before the due date), to review graded homework assignments before
revisions, etc. However, I will NOT re-teach material covered in class on a day you were absent;
it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate.
Textbook and Required Materials
Clendinning and Marvin: Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis, 2nd edition (textbook,
anthology, and recordings)
Staff paper and notebook paper
Pencil (no pen, please)
Binder for collecting class materials
Classroom Conduct
Class will begin on time, so arrive a few minutes before the beginning of class. Please silence all
cell phones, and put them away for the duration of the class. If you need to leave class
temporarily for any reason, please do so without asking, as quietly as possible.
Pre- and Co-Requisites
Theory I is a pre-requisite for Theory II. If you have not completed Theory I (or tested out of it
in some way), you are unlikely to have a good experience in Theory II. Additionally, if you have
not already completed the piano class requirement, you should be enrolled in a piano class.
Theory II is a pre-requisite for Theory III and Music History to 1750.
Course Description
In this course we will complete our study of diatonic harmony and begin the study of
chromaticsm with secondary chords and modulation. The last third of the course will focus on
the study of musical form, beginning with small units (phrases, subphrases, and motives) and
expanding to binary and ternary forms. The course concludes with more detailed study of
motives. The format of the course is a mixture of informal lecture and in-class practice.
Student Learning Outcomes
HSU SLOs
HSU graduates will have demonstrated:
 Effective communication through written and oral modes.
 Critical and creative thinking skills in acquiring a broad base of knowledge and applying
it to complex issues.
 Competence in a major area of study.
 Appreciation for and understanding of an expanded world perspective by engaging
respectfully with a diverse range of individuals, communities and viewpoints.
HSU graduates will be prepared to:
 Succeed in their chosen careers.
 Take responsibility for identifying personal goals and practicing lifelong learning.
 Pursue social justice, promote environmental responsibility, and improve economic
conditions in their workplaces and communities.
Music Department SLOs
This course will contribute to your acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to these Music
Department (and National Association of Schools of Music) learning Outcomes:
 Students will demonstrate the ability to hear, identify, and work conceptually with the
elements of music – rhythm, melody, harmony, and structure.
 Students will demonstrate familiarity with, and an ability to perform a wide selection of
musical literature representing principal eras, genres, and cultural sources.
 Students will demonstrate ability in performing areas appropriate to the student’s needs,
interests, and degree path.
 Students will demonstrate effective English writing skills.
Course-level SLOs
 Students will demonstrate understanding of harmony and principles of voice leading,
incorporating material from Theory I plus vii7, ii7, IV7, diatonic sequences, secondary
dominants, and modulation using diatonic pivot chords.
 Students will demonstrate ability to analyze excerpts of music incorporating material
from Theory I plus vii7, ii7, IV7, diatonic sequences, secondary dominants, and
modulation using diatonic pivot chords.
 Students will be able to analyze forms: periods, binary forms, and ternary forms.
Course Requirements and Grading
Homework
You should expect to have a homework assignment for nearly every class. These assignments
will take roughly 2 hours each, and will include part-writing exercises, analyses, and readings
from the textbook. Certain assignments later in the semester will have you compose a Minuet for
solo instrument and piano accompaniment, culminating in a performance on the last day of class.
As you work on the assignments, refer to your notes and the textbook, and as much as possible
listen to the music you are writing or analyzing (on a piano or other instrument, or on a
recording). Since making errors and then correcting those errors is an important part of the
learning process, I allow you to revise homework assignments.
Due dates
Due dates are listed below under “Course Schedule.” Homework is always due at the beginning
of class.
Late and Incomplete Homework
To understand what is happening in class you must keep up with all of the homework and turn it
in on time. That said, I will accept up to three assignments one class period late without penalty.
If you hand in an assignment more than one class period late, or if you hand in a fourth late
assignment, it will receive no credit. This includes assignments handed in late as a result of an
absence (with the rare exception of a serious documented illness lasting more than three class
periods). I do not accept homework that is less than approximately ¾ complete.
Grading and Revisions
I grade all homework assignments out of 20 points. If your grade is 18 or lower, you may revise
the assignment for a higher grade. If your grade is 11 or lower, you must revise the assignment
to receive credit. (In other words, your grade for that assignment will be 0 until you submit a
passing revision.) In both cases, your new grade will be the average of the original and revised
scores. Revisions must be completed on a new page, stapled to the original assignment. Do NOT
erase or write over the original. Revisions will be accepted up through two class periods after the
assignment is returned to you. (For example, if you received the graded assignment on Monday,
you may turn in revisions in class on Wednesday or Friday of the same week.)
Academic Honesty and Group Work
There is a fine line between helping a classmate and cheating. Consider the following:
 Cheating occurs if two people compare every answer on an interval or chord-spelling
assignment.
 Helping occurs if two people review how to spell a chord or interval, practice
together on no more than the first one or two chords in the assignment, and then
complete the assignment separately.
 Cheating has usually occurred if two people hand in identical part-writing
assignments.
 Helping can include trading part-writing papers to check for errors after both people
have completed the assignment.
 Giving answers, or telling someone if something is correct is usually cheating.
 Asking a person questions which will lead him to discover his mistake, or how to do
something is always helping.
Because group discussion is often helpful when learning theory, every student has the option of
completing up to 12 assignments in a small group. The policies for group work are as follows:
 A group may include two or three people, and not more.
 The group will hand in one copy of the assignment, labeled with the names of all
group members.
 All members of the group must work together on the entire assignment
 All members must equally participate and benefit from the collaboration.
 Each group member must physically write an approximately equal portion of the
assignment.
 Revisions follow the same policy as with individuals.
 Groups with more than three members or where the writing was not shared equally
will not receive credit for the assignment, and will not be allowed to revise.
Quizzes
There will be several short quizzes to drill concepts and practice speed, especially early in the
semester. Quizzes will take place promptly at the beginning of class. These quizzes cannot be
made up or retaken.
Exams
Test #1: Friday, September 25, during class time.
Test #2: Friday, October 23, during class time.
Final exam: Monday, December 14, 8:00-9:50 AM.
Exams can only be made up if you contact me before the missed exam, ideally several weeks in
advance.
Final Grade Calculation
Homework: 60%
Quizzes: 5%
Test #1: 10%
Test #2: 10%
Final exam: 15%
Letter Grades are calculated as follows:
A=93%-100%
A-=90%-92%
B-=80%-82%
C+=77%-79%
D+=67%-69%
D=60%-66%
B+=87%-89%
C=73%-76%
F=below 60%
B=83%-86%
C-=70%-72%
Attendance
I expect that you will attend every class and will arrive on time. If you are not in class, you miss
part of your education. If you must be absent, you are responsible for getting notes from a
classmate and getting any handouts or assignments from Moodle. Homework assignments are
still due by the beginning of class even if you are absent. In that case, you may scan and email
the assignment to me, or give it to another student to turn in, or use one of your three allowed
late passes to turn in the assignment at the next class meeting. You may always hand in
assignments early if necessary.
Incompletes
A grade of incomplete will be given only if the following conditions are met: 1) Near the end of
the semester a severe illness or other catastrophe makes completing the semester’s coursework
impossible. 2) You request a grade of incomplete as soon as you realize that you will be unable
to complete your coursework. 3) You are passing the course when you request the incomplete.
Course Schedule
Homework assignments are listed on the due date (subject to change with fair notice)
Week 1 – Review
Aug. 24
Aug. 26
Aug. 28
HW #1
HW #2
Week 9 – Modulation, Review, Test #2
Oct. 19
HW #19
Oct. 21 Review
Oct. 23 Test #2
Week 2 – Predominant 7th chords, vii7
Aug. 31
HW #3
Sep. 2
HW #4
Sep. 4
HW #5
Week 10 – Periods, Sentences (Ch. 17)
Oct. 26
Oct. 28
HW #20
Oct. 30 No class (SMT conference)
Week 3 – vii7
Sep. 7
No class (Labor Day)
Sep. 9
Sep. 11
HW #6
HW #7
Week 11 – Periods, Sentences, Binary form
Nov. 2
HW #21
Nov. 4
HW #22
Nov. 6
HW #23
HW #8
HW #9
Week 12 - Binary form (Ch. 23)
Nov. 9
Nov. 11 No class (Veterans Day)
Nov. 13
Week 4 – Sequences (Ch. 18)
Sep. 14
Sep. 16
Sep. 18
Week 5 – Sequences, Review, Test #1
Sep. 21
HW #10
Sep. 23 Review
Sep. 25 Test #1
Week 13 – Ternary form
Nov. 16
Nov. 18
Nov. 20
Week 6 – Secondary chords of V (Ch. 19)
Sep. 28
Sep. 30
HW #11
Oct. 2
HW #12
**Fall Break**
Week 7 – More secondary chords (Ch. 21)
Oct. 5
HW #13
Oct. 7
HW #14
Oct. 9
HW #15
Week 8 – Modulation (Ch. 22)
Oct. 12
Oct. 14
Oct. 16
HW #16
HW #17
HW #18
Week 14 – Ternary form, Motives
Nov. 30
Dec. 2
Dec. 4
HW #24
HW #25
HW #26
HW #27
HW #28
HW #29
HW #30
HW #31
Week 15 - Review
Dec. 7
HW #32
Dec. 9
Dec. 11 Perform final composition HW #33
Final Exam
Dec. 14, 8:00-9:50 AM
Other Information
Students with Disabilities
Persons who wish to request disability-related accommodations should contact the Student
Disability Resource Center in the Learning Commons, Lower Library, 826-4678 (voice) or 8265392 (TDD). Some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.
http://www.humboldt.edu/disability/
Add/Drop policy
Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for
dropping or adding classes.
http://pine.humboldt.edu/registrar/students/regulations/schedadjust.html
Emergency evacuation
Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs), and review
http://www.humboldt.edu/emergencymgmtprogram/evacuation_procedures.php for information
on campus Emergency Procedures. During an emergency, information on campus conditions can
be found at: 826-INFO or www.humboldt.edu/emergency
Academic honesty
Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding academic honesty:
http://www2.humboldt.edu/studentrights/academic-honesty or
http://pine.humboldt.edu/registrar/catalog/
Attendance and disruptive behavior
Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior:
http://www2.humboldt.edu/studentrights/attendance-behavior