MUSIC 427

SYMPHONIC MUSIC

SPRING, 2006

Instructor: Dr. Patricia Holland
NFAC  Room 308
Campus phone 346-3119

Course Goals: Students will become familiar with the literature of the symphony orchestra, and especially with the musical genre called the symphony.  In exploring the genre, antecedents will be examined, and the evolution of both the orchestra and the genre will be discussed. Students will become familiar with many examples of symphonic music.  Students will also hone their listening skills and their research skills in the field of music. 

Text:                Stedman, Preston. The Symphony, second edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992.  (Text Rental) 

Online Activities: Desire2Learn is a web-based system that we will use for online discussions, quizzes and other coursework.  This URL is http://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/.  

Attendance:     Your on-time attendance at every class session is expected.  Your classmates are distracted by late arrivals, and so am I.  Your grade may be reduced in the event of more than three instances of absence and/or tardiness (combined).  Make-up exams will NOT be offered without a written excuse from a physician.

Concert Attendance: Attendance at live concerts is an excellent way to increase your understanding of the symphonic experience.  You must attend at least one live concert performance of a symphony orchestra during the semester.  The UWSP Symphony Orchestra is performing on March 8 and April 26; this would be a highly-accessible way to satisfy this requirement.  If you are a member of the orchestra, you may use a concert on which you perform to satisfy the requirement, although attendance as an audience member (at another concert) is preferred.  You will be given a writing assignment that is based on the concert you attend.  You will be asked to submit proof of attendance, such as a ticket or program. 

Listening:         You are responsible for familiarity with the music contained on the listening list found in this syllabus.  Recordings of these compositions are available on compact discs at the circulation desk in the LRC.  There will be listening quizzes throughout the course.   

Writing Emphasis: This is a writing emphasis course.  The goals of the writing emphasis component of the course will be to improve students’ general writing skills and to facilitate writing within the music discipline.  ALL WRITING EMPHASIS ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A GRADE.  Failure to complete writing emphasis assignments will result in a grade of "incomplete." 

Grades:            Your grade will be determined by your performance on several evaluative opportunities: 

                                    Online Quizzes (4 @25points each)                                 100

                                    Listening Quizzes (2 @ 20 points each)                           40

                                    Online Writing Assignments (5 @ 20 points each)            100

                                    Bibliography and Outline for Paper (10 and 15 points)        25

                                    Paper                                                                            75

                                    Final Exam                                                                    60

                                    Possible Points:                                                            400                                           

Grade translations (minimum points for each letter grade): 

A (93%) 372                  B+ (87%) 348                C+ (77%) 308                D+ (66%) 264

A- (90%) 360                 B (83%) 332                  C (73%) 292                  D (60%) 240

                        B- (80%) 320                 C- (70%) 280                 F less than 240

Late assignments will be graded on their merit; then the points will be reduced by one (1) for each day the assignment is late.  Points for late research papers will be reduced by four (4) points per day. Your final course grade may be reduced for more than three unexcused events of absence and/or tardiness (combined events).