Course Objectives

The prerequisite for this course is MUS 130, or by passing the appropriate section of the SFSU theory placement evaluation

This 3-unit course is an introduction to the elements of modern music as an outgrowth of Western European traditions. Styles of music covered will include rock, pop, folk, blues and jazz. We will explore aspects of notation, terminology, rhythm, scales/modes, key signatures, the circle of 5ths, transposition, intervals, melody, chords, chord inversions and figured bass, lead sheet notation, Roman numeral analysis, chord progressions and voice leading, and basic forms/structures. Students will demonstrate their understanding through written and oral/recorded exercises. All work will be submitted electronically through email and/or Canvas.

As this is a completely remote and asynchronous class, lessons will be delivered in the form of videos (linked through Canvas) and texts/tutorials (linked through this syllabus). I will hold regular and by-appointment office hours (via Zoom and occasionally in person) and I encourage everyone to connect and interact with me as much as possible.

MUS 200 – APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE OF CLASS TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

(Week No.)

Week of

Class Topics, Downloadable Notes, and Helpful Links

Assignments, and items to print (or just download)

for that week with specific due day

Assignments marked with ** are not dropped in the final grade tabulation

(1)

Aug 26

Class organization, Course overview

Previewing the syllabus

(see WEEK 1 MODULE in Canvas)

Joni Mitchell discussing her approach to composing

musictheory.net website (for general reference)

(F) Hand in (optional but encouraged): Student Survey

(2)

Sept 2

Preparing for the General Review Assignment

Practice version as seen in the video

(see WEEK 2 MODULE in Canvas)

REVIEW:

Rhythm/Meter; stemming; simple & compound meters

(W) Hand in: General Review Assignment

                     (can be done on a tablet or on paper)

Read: Note values, time signatures, rhythm

(3)

Sept 9

Scales: major; minor (3 types); pentatonic; blues

Key signatures, the circle of 5ths, modulation & transposition, intervals

modes & whole tone

(see WEEK 3 MODULE in Canvas)

Songs/pieces referred to in the video:

Playing In The Band - Grateful Dead (Dorian)

So What - Miles Davis (Dorian)

In Dorian Mode - Bela Bartok (Dorian)

India - John Coltrane (Dorian)

Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles (Mixolydian)

Fire On The Mountain - Grateful Dead (Mixolydian)

Foots - Hop Sauce (Mixolydian)

Violes - Claude Debussy (Whole Tone)

Four In One - Thelonious Monk (Whole Tone)

Read:

major scales

minor scales

scale degrees

pentatonic & blues scales

intervals

key signatures, circle of 5ths, transposition

Read:

modes and whole tone scales 

Scales and modes summary

(4)

Sept 16

Melody: analysis; construction; motif; cadences

(see WEEK 4 MODULE in Canvas)

(M) Hand in: Modes/Whole Tone Assignment

Read:

General Melody

Four melodies (Four Melodies audio)

Melodic Structure

Autumn Leaves Melodic Structure

(Autumn Leaves audio with highlighted melodic skeleton)

Little Help from My Friends reduction

Tailgate analysis (audio)

Phrases, Cadences, Periods

(5)

Sept 23

Chords: triads, 7th chords, extensions

(see WEEK 5 MODULE in Canvas)

(M): Hand in: Melody Writing Assignment (audio example)

Read:

Triads and 7th chords

Chord extensions and alterations

Chords summary (audio)

Example from end of the CHORDS 1 video

(6)

Sept 30

Combining chords & melody I

(see WEEK 6 MODULE in Canvas)

Note Stacking Tutorial

(M): Hand in: Triads & 7th Chords Assignment

Read:

Chord tones (audio examples, first 2 pages)

Example song 1 audio

Example song 2 audio

(7)

Oct 7

Combining chords & melody II - nonchord tones

(see WEEK 7 MODULE in Canvas)

(M): Hand in:

Chords & Melody I Assignment

YESTERDAY excerpt: audio

Example 1: audio   MIDI

Example 2: audio   MIDI

Read:

Nonchord Tones

Audio: Jazz Example

Audio: Twinkle, Twinkle...

(8)

Oct 14

Chord Inversions: slash notation; figured bass (an intro)

(see WEEK 8 MODULE in Canvas)

Note Stacking Tutorial

(M): Hand in:

Chords & Melody II Assignment

NCT analysis audio example

NCT writing audio example

(9)

Oct 21

Diatonic Chords/Roman Numerals: major

(M): Hand in: Inversions Assignment (details TBA)

(10)

Oct 28

Diatonic Chords/Roman Numerals: minor keys

(M): Hand in: Diatonic Chords Assignment I (details TBA)

(11)

Nov 4

Chord Progressions: voice leading; cadences, progressions

(T): Hand in: Diatonic Chords Assignment II (details TBA)

(12)

Nov 11

Lead Sheet Notation

(M): Hand in: Chord Progressions Assignment I (details TBA)

(13)

Nov 18

Form: blues

(M): Hand in: Keyboard Demonstration (audio)

November 25-29: Fall Recess, No Classes

(14)

Dec 2

 Form: song forms and modulation

(M): Hand in: Blues Assignment I (details TBA)

(15)

Dec 9

Wrap up; prep for final project

(F) LAST DAY OF CLASSES

(M): Hand in: Song Form Assignment I (details TBA)

(16)

Dec 16

(F, Dec 20, noon): Final Project Due

Required Text

Recommended Book I

Recommended Book II

Recommended Notation App

Music Notation and Theory for Intelligent Beginners (free PDF here)

By Jono Kornfeld

A College-Level Music Dictionary:

Oxford, Harvard, etc.

Or access to a comprehensive online music dictionary

Essential Dictionary of Music Notation

Gerou

Alfred Publishing Company, Inc

ISBN 9780882847306

Approximate cost: $11.00

MuseScore

Grading:  All grades will be given as a percentage.  Only your final grade will be a letter grade.

Each assignment will have its own grade. You can also look up your grades to date on Canvas, where information will be posted periodically in a spreadsheet. Grades are listed via an assigned alias to protect your privacy.

One to one meeting: 0%

This cannot be required in an asynchronous course, but I hope I can meet with each of you (virtually or in person) for a short, informal chat so we can get to know each other in a more informal human-to-human manner. You can email me to set this up.

Keyboard Demonstration: 10%

Details TBA

This will consist of a recorded video of a simple keyboard playing exercise.

Written Homework: 60%

Analysis and worksheet-style assignments

Musicianship Homework: 15%

Ear-training-based work such as transcriptions or simple sight reading/singing.

All work is due on the day posted in this syllabus. Advance notification requesting an extension is fine in most cases, but unnotified late assignments are not automatically accepted. The lowest two grades will be dropped.

•  will be due by noon (12pm) on the stated due date via email

•  the typical procedure for turning in assignments via email or Canvas will be to send a photo (heic, pic, jpeg, etc.), or pdf of the page(s), an mp3 audio file, or a video file (or link to one if the file size is too large for email)

Please label your file(s) before sending, using the following type of formatting:

• first name_assignment name_page number* (*if necessary)
• for example: “jono_minor_scales.pdf” or “jono_chords_p1”, “jono_chords_p2.pdf” for multiple page assignments
• in your email, include the assignment title in the subject line – please do not reply to an unrelated thread with an attached assignment; it could be overlooked
• work will be emailed back to you with annotations/comments and a percentage grade
• keep a folder/archive of all returned work

Redo Policy: Unless otherwise specified, I encourage you to redo any homework assignment that gets less than a 93%. The score of the redone version of the assignment will at the very least be averaged with the original score for a final assignment grade, with a maximum possible grade of 93%. Redone assignments are due one week the original assignment is returned unless otherwise arranged.

Redoing an assignment means that you either make clear corrections on the original assignment, or you submit a copied-over, corrected version of the original assignment; you don't have to copy over portions of the original assignment that were done correctly.

Final Project: 15%

Details TBA. This will be either an analysis or composition project. Because it will be due at the end of the semester, it cannot be redone.

**Please note: the above percentages are subject to redistribution**

Missed assignments: in the event of an unforeseen missed deadline, assignment-extensions will be granted for extenuating circumstances on an individual basis. It is important that you notify me as soon as possible in cases like this.

Extra credit assignments (optional): may be assigned and will be announced in class and on the syllabus.

Plagiarism: While some collaboration is expected and productive, the bulk of your assignments and definitely anything composed must be done individually unless otherwise specified.  Violations will be subject to the University's Code of Conduct as it relates to such matters.

Please note the following from the SFSU Bulletin: To receive credit toward completion of the degree requirements, a grade of C or better is required for all music courses in the Bachelor of Arts in Music major...To receive credit toward completion of the degree requirements, a grade of C or better is required for all music courses in the Bachelor of Music major.

Letter grade breakdown by percentage points:

A = 93-100; A- = 90-92; B+ = 89-87; B = 86-83; B- = 82-80; C+ = 79-77; C = 76-73; C- = 72-70; D+ = 69-76; D = 66-63; D- = 62-60; F = 59-0

Student Support

Disability access

Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact the instructor.  The Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process. The DPRC is located in the Student Service Building and can be reached by telephone (voice/415-338-2472, video phone/415-335-7210) or by email (dprc@sfsu.edu).

Student disclosures of sexual violence

SF State fosters a campus free of sexual violence including sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and/or any form of sex or gender discrimination.  If you disclose a personal experience as an SF State student, the course instructor is required to notify the Title IX Coordinator by completing the report form available at http://titleix.sfsu.edu, emailing vpsaem@sfsu.edu or calling 338-2032.

To disclose any such violence confidentially, contact:

*The SAFE Place - (415) 338-2208; http://www.sfsu.edu/~safe_plc/

*Counseling and Psychological Services Center - (415) 338-2208; http://psyservs.sfsu.edu/

*For more information on your rights and available resources: http://titleix.sfsu.edu

Miscellaneous Don'ts

Students may not capture audio, photos or video from class/video sessions on their own devices without explicit permission of the instructor and everyone present, unless part of a DPRC-authorized accommodation. Students may not post any course materials to any third-party sites or post any recordings, screenshots, audio or chat transcripts in any settings outside the class. Violations of this are subject to student disciplinary action.

Communication

There may be instances where we need to make individual, special arrangements.  In these cases, it is best that we do so with confirmation emails. In the event that we have made a special arrangement, please make sure we have at least done so in writing.  If you write to me, please communicate as clearly and professionally as possible.  While this is a music class, you are expected to practice college-level, professional communication standards in your written and oral communication. Make sure your SFSU email is set up to forward to your regular/personal email address. I will respond to emails with 24 hours.

Revisions to this Syllabus

The syllabus (including assignments, and grade distributions) and downloads are subject to revisions as the semester progresses.  Check the syllabus web page often, and your email, and listen for announcements in videos.  Please do not download the lecture notes and/or assignments all at once in case revisions are made as the semester progresses.

Notation

In an ongoing effort to nurture your notation skills, some work handed in must be written in pencil, or via a tablet (i.e. by hand). It will be specified as to which assignments this applies to. Other assignments can be done using notation software. When using staff paper for any hand-written assignment, the paper should have no left- or right-side bar lines and have no clefs printed on it. Use this link if you need to print staff paper. Notation (via hand or computerized) is a factor in grading. Notation errors, cross-outs, sloppy notation or analyses may lower assignment grades and/or will be handled on a discretionary basis.

Printing Materials for Class

You may need to print some materials/assignments for class. However, it is understandable that printing could be a hardship for some, in which case we will work out an alternative so that everyone can access what they need. You should also be able to photograph, convert or scan assignments for email submission. All materials will be available through the web syllabus (and occasionally Canvas & emails) and will be PDF files.

Resilient Teaching & Learning Plan

Our campus community is often called to demonstrate compassionate resiliency by adapting and responding to a number of unexpected events, or disruptions, such as personal illness or injury, the COVID-19 pandemic, or unhealthy air quality and power outages due to wildfires. A disruption is a situation that will prevent you, me, or the entire class from participating in 'class as usual' for a reason we could not have predicted at the beginning of the semester.  Our goal as a learning community is to do our best to keep teaching and learning with as little interruption as possible.

If something along these lines happens, we should be able: to maintain communication and send assignments via email; use the web syllabus and Canvas to access assignments; possibly adjust the curriculum; use SFSU’s Zoom app to hold live meetings and/or view recorded lectures.

Most importantly, I am committed to supporting students when they are affected by uncontrollable circumstances in order to keep our in-person and virtual learning environments nurturing and inviting places.

Health & Safety Commitments

Everyone’s health and safety is our paramount concern at SF State. We ask every member of our campus community to join a pledge to make and follow plans to keep fellow students, faculty, and staff safe and well. Feeling confident, safe and well will help you focus on your academic success. To participate in this class, all students are expected to: 

• stay informed on the most up-to-date information related to SF State’s COVID-19 response and Campus Comeback plan
• plan ahead for possible class disruptions due to COVID-19 or other unexpected events, such as unhealthy air quality caused by smoke
• take care of yourself and others by staying home when you aren’t feeling well or believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, and 
• follow all required health and safety guidelines, including verifying your proof of vaccination or exemption status before coming to class; and wearing a multilayered mask over your nose and mouth at all times when indoors on campus; and wash your hands as often as possible (i.e. soap and water, hand sanitizer). 

For more information about SF State’s response to COVID-19 and how you can keep yourself and others safe and well, visit the COVID-19 information web page. To plan for how you will maintain your academic success when unexpected events disrupt regular teaching and learning activities, follow the information on the course syllabus.