MUSC 1301HThis is an archive of the Common Course Outlines prior to fall 2011. The current Common Course Outlines can be found at http://www.gpc.edu/programs/Common-Course-Outlines.
Credit Hours 3
Course Title Music Appreciation (Honors)
Prerequisite(s) Acceptance into the Honors Program
Corequisite(s) None Specified
This course is designed for students who wish to deepen their enjoyment of music by studying the evolution of musical style as revealed in major compositions by representative composers from the major musical periods. No prior knowledge of music is required. This course is not intended for music majors. This course is MUSC 1301 for honors students.
Expected Educational Results
As a result of completing this course, the student will be able to perform the following:General Education Outcomes
- Identify from an aural example the probable style periods (Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth-Century), composer, and performance genre of a music composition. (Selected examples of these works appear as the Core Listening List in the Course Content below.)
- Identify from aural examples the instruments of the orchestra, both individually and by instrument family within the orchestra.
- Identify monophonic, polyphonic, and homophonic textures from aural examples.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the following musical topics:
- Form: Ternary, binary, sonata-allegro, rondo, theme and variations, fugue, concerto grosso, and minuet.
- Vocal genre: Opera, recitative, aria, oratorio, cantata, and art song.
- Notation, melody, harmony, rhythm, and dynamic indications (pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, fortissimo, crescendo, and decrescendo).
After completion of this course, the student will understand the following:Course Content
- The elements of music and how these affect the sound and style of music.
- The sound quality of orchestral instruments.
- The musical styles and their historic context and relation to other arts (visual and theatre).
- The major composers and their contributions to music.
- The major compositions and their stylistic significance.
Assessment of Outcome Objectives
- This course is a survey of the musical forms from the Middle Ages to the present.
Instruction will be given through the use of lectures, discussion, recordings, videotape, and attendance at concerts by the students. Music Appreciation (Honors) explores through time the historical, cultural, political, religious, and social influences as well and other factors influencing composers’ lives and work.
- The following musical examples shall constitute the Core Listening List for this course.
Individual instructors are encouraged to add other examples to this core.
Anonymous: Alleluia: Vidimus stellam from Mass of the Epiphany Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.5, Mvt. I & Little Fugue in G-Minor Bach: Cantata No. 140, 4th & 7th Mvts.
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Mvt. II
Beethoven: String Quartet in C-Minor, Op. 18,# 4, Mvt. IV & Sym. No. 5, Mvt. I
Benjamin Britten: The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Mvt.IV
Bizet: Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98, 4th Mvt.
Chopin: Nocturne in E-Flat Major & Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12
Copland: Appalachian Spring, Section 7, Variations on Simple Gifts
Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Desprez: Ave Maria...virgo serena
Handel: Ev'ry Valley & Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah
Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G Major, 2nd Mvt.
Hildegard of Bingen: O, Successors
Machaut: Agnus Dei from the Notre Dame Mass
Monteverdi: Tu, Se Morta from Orfoo
Mozart: Part I, Don Giovanni & Piano Concerto #23 in A Major, K. 488, 1St Mvt.
Mozart: Symphony No. 40, Mvt. I & Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Mvt. III
Palestrina: Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass
Puccini: La Boheme, Act 1
Reich: Sextet, 3rd mvt.
Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw
Smetana: The Moldau
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Part I
Strayhorn: Take the A-Train
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy
Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Reed Pipes from Nutcracker Suite
Vivaldi: La Primavera from The Four Seasons
Wagner: Prelude and Act III to Lohengrin & Die Walkure, Act 1
Webern: Five Pieces for Orchestra, (;~o. 3)
Weelkes: As Vesta Was Descending
Zwilich: Concerto Grosso 1985
- The following people will be examined in the context of their respective historical period and their principal musical accomplishments:
Pope Gregory I, Guillaume de Machaut, Josquin Desprez, Giovanni da Palestrina, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Peter Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Bela Bartok, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Edward Kennedy Ellington, and Charlie Parker.
- Additional attention will also be directed towards American Jazz and will cover topics such as ragtime, swing, blues, improvisation, scat singing, 12-bar blues form, front line, New Orleans style, Big band, Bebop, Cool, Fusion, and riff.
The course grade shall be based on tests, the final examination, and other assignments such as concert reports and research project. All tests including the final examination will include questions based on aural examples and include essay questions. Instructors shall require either a series of brief written reports on concert performances or reports on topics related to the course. Each instructor shall include in the course syllabus information on the grading criteria and weight assigned to grades of tests or reports.
An in-depth study of some aspect of the course content will also be required of each student. Types of assignments to satisfy this requirement are suggested below:
- a conventional research paper of 8-10 pages.
- several short papers, some of which are research based, involving the student in different aspects of the course content and the evaluation of concert performances.
- two five-page interpretative papers based on intensive study and examination of primary sources, and perhaps incorporating secondary sources.
- oral presentations of a research project.
- panel presentations about specific musical topics.
ASSESSMENT OF EXPECTED EDUCATIONAL RESULTS
Assessment of student work in individual courses:
- Class Participation and Quizzes 10 – 20%
- One or two in-class exams 15 – 40%
- Writing assignments 25 – 40%
- Comprehensive final exam 20 – 25%
This course will be assessed during the fall semester every three years. Each student who is enrolled in the course shall be required to complete an Assessment Examination consisting of selected multiple choice and/or matching questions on the content specified above.
The evaluation of this examination shall be the responsibility of the Department Chair, with the results for the class given to each instructor and reported to the Academic Dean or Coordinator.
USE OF ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
During the semester following the administration of the exam, the Music Discipline Committee and Honors Committee will receive the results and consider modifications in course content, instructional improvement, and curriculum changes. All recommendations will be documented and used for strengthening the course.
DATE: April 3, 2006