Music 100 - Basic Musicianship - Section 5

Fall 1996, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-10:45 AM
Room 114 Music Building


Professor:

Dr. Janet Sturman,

e-mail: Sturman@U.Arizona.edu;
telephone: 621-1255 Office: Room 160 Music, general office hours: Mon., Tues. 11:00-12:00; Wed. 10:00-11:00; Thur., Fri. 11:00-12:00; other times by appointment.

Course Introduction and Goals


This course focuses on fundamental concepts and skills of music literacy, including an introduction to the rudiments of musical notation, harmony, rhythm, and melody.
After completing this course you will be able to:

You will also have developed some familiarity with the computer as a valuable tool for acquiring and manipulating musical skills.

Comments on Course Format

Regular class attendance is essential for adequate comprehension of the material covered and for earning a good grade in this course. In-class exercises are not duplicated in the text and cannot be made-up outside of class hours. Attendance will be recorded.

Required Text

Kolosick, J. Timothy with A. Simon and B. Bynes.
1991. Explorations: A New Approach to Music Fundamentals Using the Macintosh. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

Click here for tips on using Explorations.

Also Required

A notebook of music score paper -12 staves per page.

Highly Recommended

Portable Keyboard
A good model for our purposes is the Casio SA38, available in the ASUA Bookstore.
Stereo Headphones
For use with your keyboard during in-class work time.

Work Schedule


Subject to change at the instructor's discretion.


Week Day Date Topic/Assignment
Thurs Aug. 22 Course Rationale, Organization, and Expectations. - Concepts of Sound Production, Historical Philosophies of Music and Rationale for Music Literacy.
1 Tues. Aug. 27 The White Keys of the Piano Keyboard Kolosick - Chap. 1
Thurs. Aug. 29 Discuss homework exercises 7-9; In-class Ear Training
2 Tues. Sep. 3 Musical Notation Chap. 2
Thurs. Sep. 5 Discuss homework exercises, pp. 23-27
3 Tues. Sep. 10 Rhythm and Simple Meter
Thurs. Sep. 12 Discuss homework pp. 41-43; and creative exercise, p. 40
4 Tues. Sep. 17 The Major Mode, chap. 4
Thurs. Sep. 19 Discuss homework pp. 57-60; creative exercise p. 55
5 Tues. Sep. 24 The Minor Mode
Thurs. Sep. 26 In-class transformation of canon on p. 54 to minor mode. Discuss homework, pp. 71-75.
6 Tues. Oct. 1 Intervals I. , chap. 6
Thurs. Oct. 3 Prepare for Midterm exam. Discuss homework pp. 80-90.
7 Tues. Oct. 8 Midterm Exam
Thurs. Oct. 10 Intervals II,chap.7
8 Tues. Oct. 15 Discuss homework pp. 101-103. In-class harmonization by thirds.
Thurs. Oct. 17 Overview of Formal Structure; Compound and Asymmetrical Meters, chap. 8
9 Tues. Oct. 22 Discuss homework, pp. 131-132 and creative work, p. 115.
Thurs. Oct. 24 Triads, chap. 10
10 Tues. Oct. 29 Discuss homework, p. 143 ex. 2&3 and p.144
Thurs. Oct. 31 More work with Triads. Discuss homework exercises on p. 146. In-class creative exercises, p. 142.
11 Tues. Nov. 5 Seventh Chords
Thurs. Nov. 7 Discuss homework, p. 155-156 and creative exercise, p. 153.
12 Tues. Nov. 12 Chord Function, chap. 12. In-class completion of pp. 165-167 (first four lines each).
Thurs. Nov. 14 Voice Leading and Accompaniment Patterns, chap. 13 and handouts
13 Tues. Nov. 19 Discuss final compositions. In-class workshop.
Thurs. Nov. 21 Composition sharing with discussion
14 Tues. Nov. 26 Composition sharing with discussion
Thurs. Nov. 28 Thanksgiving holiday - no class
15 Tues. Dec. 3 Composition sharing with discussion
Thurs. Dec. 5 Composition sharing with discussion

Final Exam

Wednesday, Dec. 11 - from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in Room 114.

Summary of Required Work

Subject to minor modification at the instructor's discretion.


Work Point Value Discussion
regular homework assignments 100 points
(10 points each)
Homework will discussed in class, not graded individually. Individual efforts will be recorded as completed, incomplete or not attempted. Each week's completed homework is worth ten points.
midterm exam 100 points The exam will cover concepts learned in the first half of the semester. See guidelinesfor more details.
final composition 50 points All class activity leads to this culminating assignment of creating an original composition. You'll be prepared for this. Even musical neophytes have ultimately found this assignment the most enjoyable part of the course.
listening reviews 50 points You'll be asked to critique your classmates compositions in writing, noting what efforts worked well and offering advice for those that seemed less successful to you. All together these evaluations will be worth a total of 50 points toward s your final grade. You may augment this score by responding to invitations to bring in recordings pertinent to our weekly discussions.
final exam 100 points The exam will be comprehensive. See guidelines for final for more details.

Grading Scale

Points Earned Grade
360-400 A
320-359 B
280-319 C
240-279 D
below 200 E