GOALS:

To develop and enhance advanced skills in music reading;
To provide training in the ability to sing diatonic and chromatic melodies, including use of solfeggio;
To develop the ability to hear, identify, and reproduce complex harmonic and melodic concepts after a few hearings;
To be able to demonstrate the same ability in accurately transcribing tonal music from repeated hearings;
To utilize all these skills so as to improve performance skills in lessons and ensembles.
The overall purpose of this course is to continue and build on the learning from the first two semesters of music theory and aural skills.

TEXTS:

The texts for this course are Berkowitz, Fontrier and Kraft, A New Approach to Sight Singing , 4th ed. (Norton, 1997; ISBN 978-0393969085) and Benward and Kolosick,, Ear Training: a technique for listening, 7th ed. revised with transcription CD (McGraw-Hill, 2010; ISBN 978-0073401362). These texts were used for MUSI 125/126 last year and MUSI 225 last fall semester.

In addition, we will continue to use MacGAMUT 6 ear training software for practice and quiz use. Please remember that you cannot use another person's disk and save your own results; each student must own an individual user disk.

ASSIGNMENTS:

SIGHT SINGING

Each week a new group of sight reading exercises will be assigned from the Berkowitz book. Sight reading will involve solo prepared singing starting with melody 220, two-part prepared singing, solo sight singing, instrumental sight playing, and combined piano-singing exercises (singing one line while playing another) starting with Sing and Play 21. The use of solfeggio syllables is expected, and errors in this will result in lower grades for each exercise.

EAR TRAINING

Ear training during class periods will include interval and chord recognition, one-and two-part melodic or rhythmic dictation, and will advance to recognition of chord progressions and soprano and bass lines from four-part exercises, starting with Unit 7 of the Benward and Kolosick text. There will also be transcription exercises from the Benward CD, to be written down and turned in at a later class period. There will be regular assignments in MacGAMUT as well, with the .MG6 files to be uploaded to the course Moodle site.

EXAMS and GRADING:

In determining the final grades, each of the individual sections (in-class ear training, transcription, and singing) must be completed with an average of D or better in order to receive a passing grade in the course. Given the new curriculum, a final grade of D+ or lower will mean that the MUSI 222 course must be repeated successfully in order to complete the terms of the music major or minor.

The midterm will include in-class sight-singing on Tuesday, March 6, ear-training on March 8, and a take-home transcription exercise due at the time of the ear-training midterm. The ear-training final will be given at class time May 8, sight-singing at 8:00 a.m. May 11, and review of the results on Tuesday, May 15, at 9:00 a.m. (during the MUSI 222 final examination time).

Grades will be determined as follows: In-class ear training, 25%; prepared and sight singing, 25%; transcriptions, 20%; midterm, 15%; final, 15%. Midterm and final will include ear training (from Benward and MacGAMUT), 40%; sight singing, 40%; and transcriptions, 20%.