GENMUS 1001 - From Elvis to YouTube

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2014

A survey of popular music of the Rock era. This course considers the stylistic, socio-cultural, economic, and technological aspects of popular music. Regarding style, greatest attention is given to the evolution of popular genres from the 1950s through the 1990s, including Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, Folk Rock, Country, The Beatles/British Invasion, Motown and Soul, Progressive Rock, Metal, Funk, Disco, Punk, Rap/Hip-Hop, Grunge, Alternative, Electronica, Avant-Garde Rock and Mainstream Pop. The first part of the course looks at the pre-cursors of Rock-era music including Anglo-American Folk and early Blues. The latter part of the course considers music of the past two decades, with emphasis on the institutionalisation of Rock music in contemporary society, and the role of digital technology in the transformation of both the creation and consumption of popular music.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code GENMUS 1001
    Course From Elvis to YouTube
    Coordinating Unit Elder Conservatorium of Music
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Assumed Knowledge No previous ability to play an instrument or read music required
    Course Description A survey of popular music of the Rock era. This course considers the stylistic, socio-cultural, economic, and technological aspects of popular music. Regarding style, greatest attention is given to the evolution of popular genres from the 1950s through the 1990s, including Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, Folk Rock, Country, The Beatles/British Invasion, Motown and Soul, Progressive Rock, Metal, Funk, Disco, Punk, Rap/Hip-Hop, Grunge, Alternative, Electronica, Avant-Garde Rock and Mainstream Pop. The first part of the course looks at the pre-cursors of Rock-era music including Anglo-American Folk and early Blues. The latter part of the course considers music of the past two decades, with emphasis on the institutionalisation of Rock music in contemporary society, and the role of digital technology in the transformation of both the creation and consumption of popular music.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Mr Steven Knopoff

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1. Understanding and appreciation of the historical, socio-cultural, and music-stylistic trends of English language popular music of the rock era, as well as of selected earlier popular forms which contributed to the development of rock era music.
    2. Aural familiarity with examples of a variety of styles and songs of this period.
    3. Development of aural awareness and critical listening skills through assigned- and in-class listening.
    4. Development of music research skills and confidence in written communication.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1, 2
    The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 1, 2, 3, 4
    An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems. 1, 2, 4
    A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies. 2, 3, 4
    A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 1, 2, 3, 4
    A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community. 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Required Textbook:
    Covach, John and Andrew Flory. 2012. What's That Sound: An Introduction to Rock and Its History. 3rd edition. New York: W. W. Norton. 95% of the weekly readings are from this course textbook.

    Additional Required Materials available in MyUni:
    *Reading: A very small number of required readings not in the textbook are available as .pdf files.
    *Required Listening: Approximately 80 songs comprise the required listening for this course. These    
    are available as streaming (downloadable) audio in the MyUni course and as .mp3 files available for loan at the Elder Music Library.
    *In-Class Handouts: Several handouts comprising definitions and additional reading will be distributed during the course in order to support the lecture and reading content of particular topics.
    *'Basic Elements of Popular Music': a list of basic music-technical terms/definitions that all students should learn.
    Recommended Resources
    The Elder Music Library contains a substantial number of physical resources relevant to this course, including books, journals, CDs, and DVDs.

    The Electronic Music Resources Guide ( http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/music ) contains quick links to key music databases for scholarly research and online listening. It also contains links to websites of publicly available online scores, collected editions, and professional associations. Here too you can find a regularly updated list of new books, scores, CDs and DVDs available in the Elder Music Library.

    Oxford Music Online is a portal that enables searching in Grove Music Online and other Oxford reference content in the one location. Students can access Oxford Music Online which houses Grove Music Online through the link on the Elder Music Library website at:
    http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/music
    Grove music online [electronic resource] can also be located as a title search through the library catalogue. The 29-volume print copy is available from the Elder Music Library's reserve collection.

    Online Learning
    MyUni will be used for various Course documents, including in-class handouts, information about assigned listening and additional listening items, assignments and other relevant information.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Lectures will address the information and aims set out in the Course Description. There are no tutorials for this course; however lectures will include opportunities for questions/answers and limited open discussion. The lectures will also involve playback of audio and video examples. The in-class audio-visual material is a key component of the course content, the consumption and understanding of which is as important as for the spoken portion of the lecture and the readings.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    In addition to the 3 contact hours per week, it is anticipated that students would spend 6-8 hours per week in reviewing lecture notes, preparing the assigned readings and assigned listening, undertaking suggested readings and listening, revising for exams, and researching and writing the course essay.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Schedule

    The following schedule is indicative of the topics in this course.
    Some topics and ordering of topics may vary from year to year.

    Week 1 Introduction to the Course; Introduction to Musical Terms; Studying Rock: 'Four Themes'

    Studying Rock; The World Before Rock 'n' Roll (late 19th c. — early 20th c.)
    Week 2 The World Before Rock 'n' Roll (1920s-early 1950s)

    Week 3 Rock 'n' Roll (mid-late 1950s)

    The Early Sixties: The Demise of Rock-'n'-Roll and the Promise of Soul (Girl Groups, Dance Music, and the Rise of the Pop/Rock Producer)
    Week 4 Folk Music Revivalists; The Beach Boys and the Beatles in the early Sixties; Beatlemania and the 'British Invasion'

    American responses to the 'British Invasion'
    Week 5 Folk Rock in the mid-1960s; Dylan, the Beatles and ‘Serious’ Pop Song Lyrics of the mid-Sixties

    Exam #1
    Week 6 Motown Pop and Southern Soul Music in the 1960s

    California Counter-Culture and the Evolution of Psychedelic Rock in the 1960s
    Week 7 More on Psychedelic Rock; Rock Festivals; Blues-Rock

    1970s Singer-Songwriters; Progressive Country and the Development of Country-Rock in the late Sixties/early Seventies; The Growing influence of Rock Music on the Popular Mainstream in the 1970s
    Week 8 British Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, and Glam in the early 1970s

    Black Pop, Reggae, Funk and Disco in the 1970s
    Week 9 Punk and New Wave in the late 1970s; Indie Bands and Post-Punk Legacy of the 1980s

    1980s Digital Technology, MTV, and the Popular Mainstream
    Week 10 Rap and Hip Hop in the 1970s through '90s; Grunge, Metal and other Alternative Styles in the late 1980s and Beyond

    Week 11 Pop (not Rock) in the Sixties and Seventies; The Avant-Garde in Rock and Pop (from the mid 1960s through the turn of the Century)

    1980s Electronica and subsequent trends in electronic dance and pop
    Week 12 A survey of Popular Music in the Early 21st Century

    Course Summary
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Weighting Date Learning Outcome
    Exam #1

    25%

    This 45-minute exam will be held during class in Week 5 1, 2, 3
    Exam #2 35% This 75-minute exam will be held during the normal Tuesday class time in Week 13 1, 2, 3
    Course Essay 40 % The 1,600-1,800 word essay will be distributed and discussed in class in Week 6 and will be due in Week 14 1, 3, 4
    The first, lower-weighted exam is formative in that students will get feedback on their work and a better understanding of how to approach the second, similarly structured exam. The second, more heavily weighted exam and the course essay are summative in nature.


    Assessment Related Requirements
    Lectures: An Attendance Roll will not be taken in this large lecture format course, however, active presence at 100% of the lectures is expected. Because the lectures are information-dense, students are advised to take notes during lectures (personal audio recordings of lectures are also allowed). Students who miss lectures will likely not perform as well on exams due to inability to make up for missed information.

    Test and Exam Attendance: All students are required to sit the tests and exam on the scheduled dates. No exceptions will be made except on certified medical grounds or on professional or compassionate grounds if approved by the coordinator well in advance of the scheduled exam.

    If you are ill on the Day of a Test or Exam: You should not sit a test or exam if you are ill, both because you could infect others and because you will likely not perform at your best (note: once you sit an exam you cannot request a supplementary due to illness-induced poor performance). You should visit a doctor and obtain a medical certificate for the day of the test/exam, as this is required for medical Replacement/Additional Assessment. Further information and Application forms for Replacement/Additional Assessment are available at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/supps.html
    Assessment Detail
    Exams
    Both exams will consist of a combination of short answer questions (e.g., involving one sentence answers), multiple-choice questions, and questions requiring one- or two-paragraph responses. The exams will assess material covered in course lectures, assigned readings, and assigned listening.

    Exam #1 will cover lectures given, and readings and listening items assigned prior to Exam #1.

    Exam #2 will focus primarily on lectures, readings assigned after the first exam, but will also assess some of the content from the earlier part of the course. Exam #2 will assess only those listening items assigned after the first exam.

    Students are required to sit both exams as scheduled. No exceptions will be made except in the case of certified medical or compassionate grounds.

    Essay
    Students will be given a set range of topics to choose from for this essay. Each topic will allow students to compare and contrast two artists or groups of their choice in accordance with criteria explained in the essay instructions. Further information will be provided in the essay instructions, to be distributed and discussed in class approximately two months before the essay due date.
    Submission
    Essay submission - refer to instructions on MyUni.

    Each student must submit their essay in PDF format through the Assignments section of the MyUni course.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.