MUS 112: Music History II

[Sample Syllabus]

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Grout, Donald Jay, and Claude Palisca. A History of Western Music (aka HWM). 6th ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2001.
Palisca, Claude, ed. Norton Anthology of Western Music (aka NAWM). Vol. 2 (Classical to Modern). New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2001. (With set of 6 CDs.)

EXAMINATIONS AND QUIZZES

The four exams represent 70% of your final grade (15% x 2; 20% x 2). The exams are not cumulative—that is, Exam 1 will cover materials discussed over the first three weeks of class, Exam 2 over weeks 4-7, and so on. Please note that the final exam will be held Tuesday, May 4, at 2:00 pm. The exams will be based upon material drawn from lectures, the textbook, listening materials, and your study of the musical scores, and will involve both written and listening components. The listening component will involve hearing three or four musical excerpts twice in succession. You will be asked to identify the composer, title, and/or approximate date of the composition, and will be expected to assess musical features such as form, rhythm, harmony, texture, and treatment of text. No accommodations will be made for early or make-up exams except under extraordinary circumstances. An unexcused absence from an exam will be graded as 0%.

A series of short quizzes based on the assigned readings will also be given over the course of the term. These will be unannounced, and will take place at the beginning of class. These will count for 10% of your final grade; you will not be allowed to make up a quiz if you are tardy or absent.

TERM PAPER

Each student will be asked to make an assessment of a composer’s style, as well as a critical survey of literature available about that composer. More detail on this paper will be provided on 16 January. These are library research papers, but should also be based upon your study of the scores, recordings, lecture notes, and textbook. First drafts (approx. 8-12 pages) are due March 19; these will be corrected and returned to you, with final versions due April 23. Papers must be typed, should reflect your work exclusively, and will count for 15% of your final grade. Late assignments will not be accepted.

ATTENDANCE

Students are expected to attend and arrive on time for every class, to complete all assigned reading and listening assignments before coming to class, and to bring all necessary books and scores. Attendance and class participation will count for 5% of your final grade. More than three unexcused absences will result in a zero for your attendance grade. If you are unable to attend a class because of professional or university-related obligations, sickness, or extraordinary personal circumstances, please notify me at least one day in advance and provide appropriate documentation (e.g., a letter from your studio instructor for competitions, ensemble director for tours, health center for illness, etc); otherwise, it will be counted as an unexcused absence.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty, according to the Drake University 2002-04 General Catalog (pp. 23-26), involves “any activity that seeks to gain credit for work one has not done or to deliberately damage or destroy the work of others.” This includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism (“misrepresenting another’s ideas, phrases, discourse, or works as one’s own”) and cheating (“the act, or attempted act, of giving or obtaining aid and/or information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations”). Penalties for violating academic honesty standards range from failing grades on the assignment or exam to expulsion from the university. If you are unsure whether or not certain practices violate the principles of academic integrity, please ask me for clarification. For more, please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy in the Drake University General Catalog and to the entry Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and Plagiarism contained in the Drake Student Handbook.

Lecture-Exam-Paper Schedule; Reading and Listening Assignments

Week/Date Readings (HWM) and Listening (NAWM)
1 1/12-16 Pre-Classical and early Classical music (HWM Ch. 13; NAWM #85-93);
PAPER TOPIC ASSIGNED.
2 1/21-23 Haydn and Mozart. (HWM Ch. 14; NAWM #94-100)
3 1/26-30 Beethoven (HWM Ch. 15; NAWM #101-104)
4 2/2-6 EXAM 1; Early 19C Orchestral Music (HWM Ch. 16; NAWM #105)
5 2/9-13 19th Century Vocal Music (HWM pp. 593-602; NAWM #111-116)
6 2/16-20 19th Century Keyboard and Chamber Music (HWM pp. 571-92; NAWM #106-110)
7 2/23-27 19C Italian Opera (HWM pp. 603-17; NAWM #117-19)
8 3/1-5 EXAM 2; 19C German opera (HWM pp. 618-628; NAWM #120-21)
9 3/8-12 Late Romanticism I (HWM pp. 631-60; NAWM #122-25).
10 3/15-19 Late Romanticism II (HWM pp. 660-71; NAWM #126-29); TERM PAPER DRAFTS DUE.
11 3/22-26 SPRING BREAK
12 3/29-4/2 The Second Viennese School (HWM Ch. 21; NAWM #135-39)
13 4/5-9 EXAM 3; Stravinsky and Neoclassicism (HWM pp. 699-709; NAWM #134)
14 4/12-16 20th Century European Masters (HWM pp. 676-699; NAWM #130-33)
15 4/19-23 American Music I (HWM pp. 741-764; NAWM #140-44); TERM PAPER REVISIONS DUE.
16 4/26-28 American Music II (HWM pp. 764-785; NAWM #145-150)
17 5/4 FINAL EXAM, TUESDAY, 2:00-3:50 PM

*This syllabus is to be used as an example, it is not meant for use by students currently enrolled in Music 112