Andrea La Rose
Brooklyn College
MoWe 9:25-10:15
Gershwin 347

lab: Chorus. Mo 6:40-9:10 Prof. Babcock. G247.

office: 505 Whitehead
office hours: MoWe 8:30-9:15, 10:30-11:15; or by appointment
email: larose1@earthlink.net

class website: http://home.earthlink.net/~larose1/music61.html
• syllabus and assignments will be posted here.

This syllabus is subject to change at my discretion.

goals:
• memorize A440
• sing any interval within an octave
• rhythm: perform and take dictation in any simple or compound meter, using subdivisions up to and including sixteenth notes and triplets, and common syncopation.
• melody: perform and take dictation of any diatonic melody (major and minor), possibly exploring raised 4ths and flat sevenths. special focus on renaissance, baroque, classical, American folk repertoires. use conventional notation and abbreviated notation (rhythm, lyrics, solfege for folk songs).
• harmony: take dictation of any diatonic chord progression (major and minor), possibly exploring secondary dominants to dominant and subdominant key areas. sing chorale-style progressions.
• 2-3 voice contrapuntal dictation and sight singing.

tools:
• tuning fork pitched at A440— available at your favorite music store. You must have one by 8 September. You must have A440 memorized by 4 October.
• Robert Ottman. Music for Sight-Singing, 6th edition.*
• Horvit, Koozin, Nelson. Music for Ear Training, 1st edition.
both books come with a CD and are available at Shakespeare & Co, next to McDonald’s on Hillel Place.
• staff paper! (buy or make at home!!!)

* it is very important that you get the 6th edition! Don’t ask me if an earlier edition is "okay." It’s not.

grading:
• all grading is 0-100. performing and dictation get equal weight.
• for performance tests, restarting will subtract 5 points each time, up to –15. if you have to restart more than 3 times, you forfeit the test. unsteady tempo/blatant hesitation = -10.
• tests involving rhythm only, the score is determined by the number of notes. e.g., if there are 20 notes in an exercise, each note is worth 5 points.
• tests involving melody/harmony, each note has a rhythm and a pitch aspect. for example, if there are 20 notes in an exercise and on a particular note you get the rhythms right, but not the pitch, then you lose 2.5 points per pitch missed.
• if you gradually go out of tune so that you don’t end up in the right spot, or you miss one interval but get all of the other intervals right (so that the whole thing ends up being off, but there were redeeming qualities to your performance) you will not get lower than a 75.

make-ups:
• if you miss a class (no questions asked), you have until the following class to make up the tests, either at my office hours or by appointment. No exceptions!! If you miss a lot of classes, drop the course.
• if you get a 80 or below on any test, you have until the following class to try for a higher grade, either at my office hours or by appointment. Be reasonable: if you have to do this for every class, you are not preparing yourself adequately. If it’s a case of nervousness, then you need to practice in front of people more often. In other words, I am offering this because I understand the importance of being successful in this course; do not take advantage of my generosity.

grading scale:
A+ 96-100
A 91-95
B 86-90
C 81-85
D 75-80
F 0-74

This is a very strict scale, because ear-training classes are the most important classes you will take. It’s worth far more than the two credits assigned to it. Ear-training enables you to "auralize" music in detail. In the same way you can visualize, say, the subway map, or recall what your mother said two weeks ago, you can learn to hear music in your head and write it down, or look at a new piece of music and know what it sounds like before you pick up your instrument or open your mouth to sing. Think about what kind of power that is! This is not about showing off; it’s about having the skills to express yourself through music, whether it’s your music or someone else’s. It enables you to practice away from your instrument and achieve a sense of scope about the music you are studying. You do not have to have a gorgeous voice, but you must be willing to perform and make mistakes in front of everyone.
Accuracy is of utmost importance in this class. Either you get it or you don’t; hence, the strict grading. Some of you are going to find this class very difficult — it simply means you are going to have to spend more time working on the material than some of your peers. No, it’s not fair, and yes, it can be annoying and frustrating. But the rewards are great. It is worth the effort.
Please feel free to ask me for tips or explanations if something is just not happening for you. Do keep in mind, however, your success in this class is determined by the amount and quality of time you spend on it.

odd classes: performing
even classes: dictation

1. Mo 30 Aug
go over syllabus
rhythm: whole, half, quarter, eighth notes and rests in simple duple and triple meters. count and clap method, conduct and sing method, taa and tap method.
melody: do, re, mi in major; la, ti, do in minor
harmony (always both major and minor): tonic, dominant (V)

2. We 1 Sep
methods for taking dictations, exercises on the presented material
Mo 6 Sep — no class

3. We 8 Sep
performance tests on the previous material.
rhythm: dotted whole, half, quarter in simple duple and triple meters.
melody: do, re, mi, sol; la, ti, do, mi
harmony: tonic, dominant (V), subdominant (IV)

4. Mo 13 Sep
dictations on class 1

We 15 Sep — no class

5. Mo 20 Sep
performance on the previous material.
rhythm: 4 sixteenths, 2 sixteenths plus eighths combinations in simple duple and triple meters.
melody: do, re, mi, sol, la; la, ti, do, mi, fa
harmony: tonic, dominant, subdominant (ii)

6. We 22 Sep
rhythm: 4 sixteenths, 2 sixteenths plus eighths combinations in simple duple and triple meters; anacrusis.
melody: do, re, mi, sol, la, do’; SOL, la, do, re, mi, sol, la’; P8
harmony: major — I, ii, IV, V; minor — i, iv, V, VII

7. Mo 27 Sep
dictations on class 3

8. We 29 Sep
performance on class 6

9. Mo 4 Oct
rhythm: dotted eighths plus sixteenths in simple duple and triple meters.
melody: low sol, fa; low mi; P5; bass clef.
harmony: major — I, ii, IV, V, vi; minor — i, iv, V, VI, VII

10. We 6 Oct
dictation on class 6

Mo 11 Oct — no class

11. We 13 Oct
performance on class 9.

12. Mo 18 Oct
rhythm: triplets — 1 beat, 2 beat in simple duple and triple meters.
melody: major scale, natural minor; M3, m3.
harmony: dominant (V7)

13. We 20 Oct
dictation on class 9.

14. Mo 25 Oct
performance on class 12.

15. We 27 Oct
performance on the previous material.
rhythm: compound meters, cut time.
melody: M2, m2; tenor clef
harmony: iii; III

16. Mo 1 Nov
dictation on class 12.

17. We 3 Nov
performance on class 15.

18. Mo 8 Nov
rhythm: renaissance meters; hemiola
melody: P4, TT
harmony: review; longer progressions

19. We 10 Nov
dictation on class 15.

20. Mo 15 Nov
performance on class 18.

21. We 17 Nov
rhythm: swing eighths
melody: M6, m6; alto clef.
harmony: V(7)/V; two part harmony.

22. Mo 22 Nov
dictation on class 18

We 24 Nov = Friday, no class

23. Mo 29 Nov
performance on class 21.

24. We 1 Dec
rhythm: syncopated eighths & sixteenths using ties and rests
melody: M7, m7
harmony: V7/V

25. Mo 6 Dec
dictation on class 21.

26. We 8 Dec
performance on class 24.

27. Mo 13 Dec
performance review.

28. Tu 14 Dec = We
dictation on class 24. review.

final exam TBA: two part dictation, sight singing rhythms and melodies, sing something from your repertoire.