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 and Benward & Kolosick, Ear Training, 7th ed. with transcription CD. These will continue to be used in the spring semester.

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, two-part prepared singing, solo sight singing, instrumental sight playing, and combined piano-singing exercises (singing one line while playing another). 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. There will also be transcription exercises from the Benward CD, to be written down and turned in at a later class period.

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. As always, a final grade of D+ or lower will mean the 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, October 7, ear-training on October 9, and a take-home transcription exercise. The ear-training final will be given at class time December 6, sight-singing at class time December 9, and review of the results during the final examination time on Friday, December 12, at 1:00 pm.