Syllabus

20th Century American Music
MUS 29

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is intended to survey and examine music created by selected American composers from about 1900 to the present. Emphasizing, but in no way limited to "classical" music, the course will also delve into popular American genres such as blues, jazz, Broadway, film music and rock.

No previous musical experience is necessary as the course will emphasize experiential listening activities rather than formal musical analysis. Special attention will also be given to developing listening skills of a critical nature and written analysis of the pieces heard.

COURSE MATERIALS
There is no text for this class. You will receive periodic handouts and/or reserve reading assignments.

Reserve reading will be found in the CRAIG HALL LISTENING LIBRARY, not Abell Library. If these reserve assignments are found missing, subsequent reserve materials WILL be placed in Abell with all the inconveniences that accompany using reserve materials in a large library.

The CRAIG HALL LISTENING LIBRARY is open during the week from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Evening hours are usually M-Th, 7:00-10:00 pm, plus Sundays. Please plan accordingly.

RECORDINGS

1. Recorded music can be found in the CRAIG HALL LISTENING LIBRARY on the first floor across from the Music and Art office.
2. Look up the COMPOSER of the work for which you are searching in the card catalog. You may then locate the piece in either the albums or CDs and listen on the stations in the room.
3. There are two CD burners in the room. Study copies of the recordings may be made by using either the stand-alone burner or the burner in the eMac. Selections from albums may be duplicated by using the stand-alone CD burner or cassette recorder. Student workers are in the room to assist you. Bring your own blank CDs.
4. IMPORTANT: Please be assured that if you remove a recording used in class with the idea that I would then not be able to assign work or test on it, I will simply use a different recording on the test or assignment. In other words, instead of being tested on a specific piece, you will be tested one very similar but that you have never heard! To make your life and the lives of your colleagues easier, just leave the recordings in the Listerning Library.

Regular listening and analysis assignments will be given. Quizzes, both announced and unannounced, on the lecture, listening, and selected reading material will be given throughout the semester. Other assignments will always be accompanied by a handout giving specific information about the assignment. There is no large research paper for this class, but there is a project for the end of the semester.

TESTS
There will be two tests and one final exam throughout the semester. Since intelligent discussion of one aspect of 20th century music necessarily requires understanding of that music which came before it, the final exam will require a cumulative knowledge of the course materials.

ATTENDANCE
Most of the material for the course will be developed through in-class listening, discussion, and lectures. “Making-up” such work is not really possible; therefore, this makes attendance important. More than two or three absences during the semester will probably affect your understanding of what is going on in class, not to mention your performance on assignments and tests. That being said, there is no specific grade penalty for absences..

Assignments, presentations, tests, quizzes, exams, etc. will not be made up or accepted late due to unexcused absences. Absences are excused and late work and make-up exams are allowed at the discretion of the instructor, usually as a result of school-sponsored activities or extreme personal emergencies. In general, make-up work will be due BEFORE the posted due date.

GRADING
All quizzes, tests, and assignments will have a point value. Points earned will be added and then divided by the total possible points to determine a raw percentage. The raw percentage is adjusted with consideration for the highest grade achieved in the course to determine the final percentage. The final percentage will be applied to the following scale to determine the final grade.

A = 93-100
A- = 92
B+ = 91
B = 83-90
B- = 82
C+ = 81
C = 73-80
C- = 72
D+ = 71
D = 63-70
D- = 62
F = below 62

ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY
Just as your instructors have a responsibility to teach you, you have a responsibility to learn. There are several ways to do this, but one guaranteed to make this and other classes an exercize in sleep deprivation is to sit and allow yourselves to be “lectured at.” Lectures do constitute the vast majority of this course, and a talk with most of my former students will confirm that I love to hear myself talk. It is your questions, opinions, and overall contribution to the course which allows for meaningful integration of the information and keeps me from droning on ad nausium. (most of the time)

Furthermore, if you are having trouble with something, it is your responsibility to find me and get help EARLY. There are many ways of explaining something, and I will be glad to try them all until we find one that works for you. Seeking out extra help is an intelligent information gathering technique, not a sign of underachievement.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The special emphasis placed at Austin College on teaching and learning includes a high premium on academic integrity, on the clear assertion that cheating and other forms of abuse of the academic process are not to be tolerated. The faculty and officers of the college will act on the assumption that students, in accepting admission to Austin College, are aware that they are submitting themselves to a high standard of academic honesty and are agreeing to take part in the norms and procedures by which the college observes and enforces the standards.
Cheating and plagiarism are not acceptable IN ANY FORM at Austin College, and the proof of such action, with due process, is grounds for dismissal.

Be safe and smart. Do your own work and give credit when someone else’s work has helped you.

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