Professor Carmelo Comberiati
Music Department
Email: comberiatic@mville.edu
Phone: (914) 323-5252
Music Building, Room 114
Fall, 2008

MUH 1007: Listening to Music

Required Text: Roger Kamien, Music: An Appreciation, 6th ed. Brief, 2008. The author has a very helpful interactive online site to accompany the text.

Required Listening: Roger Kamien, Music: An Appreciation, 6th ed. Brief, 2008, accompanying CDs.

Required Web Materials: This course is supplemented with a Blackboard page including specific assignments and additional listening material. Create a blackboard account at http://blackboard.mville.edu (if you don’t have one) and enroll for this course by following directions from course handout.

A rubric for the concert report is available on the Blackboard page, along with copies of the PowerPoint presentations from class. Please keep your email address available to receive mail during the course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS GRADING
1. Attendance at all sessions 15% Quiz on Materials
2. Listening and Reading Assignments 40% Semester Exams
3. Quiz on Musical Materials 25% Listening Report
4. 2 Semester Exams 20% Final Exam
5. Final Exam  
6. Listening Report  

COURSE OUTLINE AND LISTENING ASSIGNMENTS

Date Topic Pieces Pages in Kamien
Aug. 25 Unit I: The Materials of Music All pieces in text. 4-57
Sept 18 Quiz on Materials of Music
Sept 18 Unit II: Style Periods and Repertoire Hildegard, O Successores; 
Josquin, Ave Maria; 
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No.5; 
Haydn, Symphony No. 94, ii; 
Chopin, Nocturne; 
Wagner, Die Walküre, Love scene; 
Webern, Five Pieces for Orchestra, iii; Zwillich, Concerto Grosso 1985.		 65-7,
78-82, 
96-105, 
145-60, 165-8, 
208-19, 231-3, 
278-85,
288-304, 332-3
365-8
Oct 9 Unit III: World Music: India All pieces in text. See Wesleyan University's Virtual Instrument Museum Part VII--all pages
Oct 20 First Semester Exam on Units II-III
Oct.23 Unit IV: Vocal Music anonymous, "Alleluia"; 
anonymous, "Ompeh"; 
Weelkes, "As Vesta was Descending";
Monteverdi, "Tu se' morta," from Orfeo;
Bessie Smith, "Lost Your Head Blues";
Lennon/McCartney, "Lucy in the Sky with
     Diamonds"; 
Schubert, "Der Erlkönig";
Bach, Cantata No. 140, excerpts;
Handel, Messiah, excerpts.		 65-9, 
407-11, 
85-7, 
110-9, 
370-9, 
398-401,

219-25,
134-40,
140-7
Nov. 6 Unit V: Program Music, Part One Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, "Spring";
Smetana, The Moldau;
Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, iv		 103-4, 124-9, 
245-6, 252-6, 
246-52
Nov. 13 Second Semester Exam on Units IV-V, Part One
Nov. 17 Unit V: Program Music, Part Two Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun;
Copland, Appalachian Spring;
Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Intro and
     Omens of Spring.		 304-10, 
345-8,
311-8
Nov. 24 Unit VI: Absolute Music and Opera Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
     (all movements);
Mozart, Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488, i;
Mozart, Don Giovanni, (excerpts);
Puccini, La Bohème.		 154-7, 160-2, 172, 193-5, 197-205, 
173-4, 188-92, 
177-86, 
270-77
Dec 8 Listening Report due: 1/2 letter grade off for each day late
  Final Exam on Units V, Part Two-VI during Exam Week

This course addresses a core repertory for listening to concert music. Due to its nature as a one semester survey, the course will proceed at a considerable pace; however we should cover the necessary tools to understand and appreciate any music in the concert tradition. Guided listening will be our principle activity, both in and out of class; and you will be tested in class on the core repertory and independently through the listening report.

The listening report is a musical analysis of the pieces in either a live concert program or a recording. The model for your report will be the lectures in class and the readings in the text, Music. The music you choose must contain pieces from the eras covered by this course and these pieces must be in styles similar to ones studied in class.

Learning Objectives: MUH 1007: Listening to Music provides an introduction to appreciating music in the concert tradition. It also introduces some basic repertoire and an overview of the historical eras of music in the western art tradition . This broad entry level course will introduce students to the following Music Department Learning Objectives:

Objective II: Critical Thinking and Aural Analysis

bulletBy learning to examine pieces within specific historical and cultural contexts, and learning to ask questions about the style, context, and function for historical understanding, performance or transmission of ideas to others.
bulletBy developing the ability to compare and contrast major works in history of music.

Objective III: Breadth of Knowledge

bulletBy learning the names, time periods and characteristics of a major historical periods and styles.
bulletBy demonstrating broad, generalized knowledge of repertoire, formal procedures, and chronology of style.

Objective VI: Develop a Global Outlook

bulletBy developing a basic familiarity with international musical cultures in popular and art traditions in Western and non-Western cultures.
bulletBy understanding the role of religion, socio-economic, and political factors in influencing music.

Assessment: Achievement of these objectives will be demonstrated through in class examinations and the concert report.

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Links to Interesting Music Related Sites

The American Musicological Society web page contains links to many music organizations, as well as a comprehensive list of classical and popular music on the web.

The Library of Congress often has music exhibits, currently including music at the Vatican.

Method for Listening Reports (Click on Bullets to collapse or expand outline)

bulletHow to Proceed
bulletChoose concert or recording (check program in advance).
bulletHave concert program or recording approved for report.
bulletGo to the Listening Room and try to find recordings of the pieces on the concert program, or by the same composer. Take notes as you listen.
bulletAttend the concert or listen to the recording and take notes as you listen (if you can without disturbing your neighbor). Be sure to save your program.
bulletAssimilate and synthesize notes from recordings and the concert.
bulletHow to Write a Good Musical Analysis
bulletFocus on musical elements discussed in lectures (see Course Outline and Music: An Appreciation for examples and ideas).
bulletDo not dwell on problems with a performance, i.e., wrong notes, uninspired performance, untied shoelaces of the soprano, etc. (although these may be mentioned in passing).
bulletUse examples and be specific about the musical elements that you discuss, e.g., "The crescendo in the woodwinds was followed by a conjunct melody in the bassoons." Use diagrams, graphs, and/or music notation if it helps to clarify your meaning.
bulletAlways try to determine the form of the pieces you hear. The form is equivalent to your conclusion, for our purposes. It always helps to compare forms to pieces studied in class.
bulletDo not be afraid to make observations that you are not fully prepared to substantiate. Music takes place on verbal and non-verbal levels; your "gut reaction" is valid and should be incorporated with your verbal analysis.
bulletYour presentation of material is vitally important. In fact, I will be quite picky about spelling, sentence structure, paragraph structure, tense agreement, as well as the proper use of the musical vocabulary.
bulletDo not rely solely on Wikipedia, musical texts, dictionaries, record jackets, or other such references for your report. Rely, instead, on your own observations and expectations.
bulletTry to enjoy the music; that is important, too.
bulletDon't "think" your way through every work. Listen for unusual sounds, beautiful melodies, or just the remarkable way that a composer can elucidate a text.
bulletBe respectful of others around you who are there for enjoyment. Don't arrive late or leave your seat in the middle of a piece. Talking is very distracting to the audience, as well as the performers.
bulletShow appreciation with applause. Classical events are often more restrained than sporting events. For example, it is probably best to avoid whistling, cheering loudly, or shouting out the performer's name.
bulletFollow the program through the concert. Do not applaud between movements of a larger work; wait until the end of the last movement.