MUS 111: Music History I

[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. 1 (Ancient to Baroque). New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2001. (With accompanying set of 6 CDs.)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Assuming you complete all requirements and assignments, you should be able to:
-Differentiate among various compositional styles that emerged between ca. 800 AD and ca. 1750, with the further objective of associating them with specific periods and/or composers
-Understand how music affects and is affected by larger historical trends
-Explain how and why different genres, styles, and/or forms arose at particular points in history
-Define a wide variety of terms and concepts related to musical style and genre

FOUR EXAMINATIONS

The four exams represent 60% of your final grade (15% x 4 = 60%). The exams are not cumulative—that is, Exam 1 will cover material from the first four weeks of class, Exam 2 from the next four, and so on. Please adjust your schedules now as 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%.

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. You will be expected to answer, in paragraph form, one or two questions on various topics, and may be required to provide descriptions or definitions for various terms or concepts. The listening component will involve hearing three or four musical excerpts twice in succession. You may be asked to identify the composer, title, and/or genre of the composition, and the approximate date. You will also be expected to comment on musical features of the excerpts such as form, rhythm, texture, treatment of text, and relationship among voices. Most excerpts will be taken either from NAWM or examples discussed in class, but unfamiliar excerpts may appear that require you to identify a probable composer and approximate date based on the music’s characteristics.

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 5% of your final grade; you will not be allowed to make up a quiz if you are tardy or absent.

TWO SHORT PAPERS

Over the course of the term, you will be asked to write two short (approx. 1500-2000 word) papers on assigned topics, which will be announced on Oct. 4 and Nov. 12. You will be asked to address a question or issue that lends itself to comparing and contrasting works covered in NAWM or in lecture. These are not library research papers, but should instead be based upon your study of the scores, recordings, lecture notes, and the textbook. First drafts are due Oct.15 and Nov. 22, respectively; these will be corrected and returned to you, with final versions due Oct. 29 and Dec. 3, respectively. Papers must be typed, should reflect your work exclusively, and will count for 30% (15% x 2) of your final grade. Late assignments will not be accepted.

ATTENDANCE

Class meetings, like rehearsals and concerts, are a professional obligation. 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 8/23-27 Ancient Music; Sacred and Secular Monophony (HWM pp. 1-46; NAWM
#1-3)
2 8/30-9/3 Sacred and Secular Monophony cont. (HWM pp. 46-66; NAWM #4-12)
3 9/8-10 Early Polyphony; the Ars Antiqua (HWM ch. 3; NAWM #13-18)
4 9/13-17 The Ars Nova (HWM ch. 4; NAWM #19-24)
5 9/20-24 EXAM 1; Early Renaissance Vocal Music: England and
France (HWM ch. 5, NAWM #25-29)
6 9/27-10/1 Early Renaissance Vocal Music: the Low Countries (HWM ch. 6, NAWM
#30-34)
7 10/4-8 Sixteenth-Century Secular Music (HWM ch. 7; NAWM #35-46).
PAPER 1 ASSIGNED.

8 10/11-15 Sixteenth-Century Secular Music cont.; Late Renaissance Sacred Music
(HWM ch. 8; NAWM #47-50). PAPER 1 DUE.
9 10/20-22 Late Renaissance Sacred Music cont.; EXAM 2
10 10/25-29 Early Baroque Madrigal and Opera (HWM pp. 251-273;
NAWM #51-54); PAPER 1 REVISIONS DUE.
11 11/1-5 The Early Seventeenth Century (HWM pp. 273-304; NAWM #55-65)
12 11/8-12 The Late Seventeenth Century (HWM ch. 10; NAWM #66-70); PAPER 2
ASSIGNED.
13 11/15-19 EXAM 3; Instrumental Music of the Late Baroque (HWM ch. 11;
NAWM #71-75).
14 11/22 Masters of the High Baroque (HWM pp. 373-386; NAWM #76-78).
PAPER 2 DUE.
15 11/29-12/3 Johann Sebastian Bach (HWM pp. 386-405; NAWM #79-82); PAPER 2
REVISIONS DUE.
16 12/6-8 George Frederic Handel (HWM pp. 405-417; NAWM #83-84)
17 12/14 FINAL EXAM, 2:00 PM

* *This syllabus is meant to be used as an example, it is not meant for use by students currently enrolled in Music 111