MUSSUPST 1001 - Musicianship Fundamentals 1A

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2017

This course aims to provide a fluent and functional understanding of musical concepts and their use in a wide range of music, including classical, jazz and popular music styles. A range of theoretical concepts will be investigated through the study of selected musical scores. Students will be expected to listen to works and to read musical scores. Through a range of activities, including improvisation, composition, keyboard and singing, students will consolidate their theoretical knowledge and skills. Topics to be explored relate to the nature of music, as well as the materials and structures of music (pitch, melody, rhythm, harmony, form).

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code MUSSUPST 1001
    Course Musicianship Fundamentals 1A
    Coordinating Unit Elder Conservatorium of Music
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 4 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Incompatible MUSSUPST 1110, MUSJAZZ 1500A, MUSPMACT 1511, MUSSUPST 1000A
    Assumed Knowledge Some proficiency with reading standard musical notation
    Assessment Compositional exercises 20%, Tests/quizzes including aural & sight-singing test 40%, Exam 40%
    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
    On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

    1. Demonstrate fluency in musical literacy and understanding of musical concepts
    2. Develop aural skills and inner hearing through choral singing
    3. Recognise musical techniques and develop awareness of musical aesthetics through score analysis and critical listening to a wide range of music
    4. Gain familiarity with effective means of researching music materials using the Elder Music Library and related online resources
     
    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)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1, 2, 3, 4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2, 4
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    2
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    2, 3
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Textbook
    Musicianship textbook and/or software may be required for this course.

    Summary of Music Theory Terminology
    A brief outline of some of the basic music theory terminology that all students need to know.

    Materials from Lectures Posted in MyUni
    There will be weekly postings to MyUni of material associated with the lectures. Additional material (e.g. related to tutorials) may also be posted to MyUni. The material posted to MyUni comprise a core resource for this course.

    e-learning resources
    All students are strongly encouraged to make use of the excellent online resources available through the Conservatorium’s subscription to “e-learning resources”. In addition to comprehensive information that is clearly presented, there are numerous practice questions for aural and theoretical questions, as well as a wide range of other support information.

    Students who are deficient in certain areas presumed knowledge/skills will be directed to work through relevant portions of the e-learning site in order to bring their knowledge/skill up to the required level.

    The e-learning resources website is located at: e-lr.com.au
    Access the site using the following username and password:
    User Name: student.elder.sa
    Password: stave
    Recommended Resources
    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://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/about/libraries/eml/internet_resources/
    Grove music online [electronic resource] can also be located as a title search through the library catalogue.

    Fitzgerald, Jon. 2003. Popular Music Theory. East Lismore, NSW: Hazelmount Publishing.

    Turek, Ralph. 2007 & 2014. Theory for Today's Musician. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    The above-listed books are available at the Elder Music Library. The 2014 edition of Theory for Today's Musician is available as an e-book resource via the Barr Smith catalogue.
    Online Learning
    The MyUni site for this course will contain this Course Profile and various learning resources.

    The Elder Music Library’s Music Resources Guide 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.
    http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/music

    You can listen to an extensive range of works either on or off-campus through the library's Naxos subscription. Via the library catalogue, search using Naxos as the title and limit your search to ‘electronic resources’. You will be prompted to enter your uni ID number and password to access the Naxos catalogue and there is a wealth of material available for listening (but not downloading) via the internet. You can search for recordings many ways, such as by composer, performer or name of the work. The link to the Naxos catalogue is as follows: http://uoa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/

    Many public domain classical music scores have been digitised and can be accessed through the Petrucci Music Library - http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page (can also be accessed via the Music Resources Guide).
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Lectures will explore a range of topics, and will be supported by tutorials conducted in the keyboard/computer laboratory and workshops that involve choral singing and critical listening activities.
    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 6-9 hours per week in reviewing lecture
    notes, preparing for tutorials, listening to repertoire, preparing for tests and exams, undertaking suggested listening, reading, or viewing, and practising musicianship skills.
    Learning Activities Summary

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

    Week 1:

    Introduction to the Course: Basic Theory in Classical, Jazz and Pop Contexts

    Week 2:
    Introduction to Acoustics, Pitch and Timbre

    Week 3:
    The Harmonic Series and 12-note Equal Tempered Tuning; Concept of 'Cents'; Notions of 'Consonance'/'Dissonance'; Circle of 5ths and Scale (or Key) Relations 
    Week 4:
    Pitch Notation Basics: Treble, Bass and Alto clefs; Transposing Instruments; Rhythmic Basics: Notational and Metric Considerations; Grooves and Styles 

    Week 5:
    Scales and Modes: Major and Minor scales; Modes of the Major Scale, especially Dorian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian

    Week 6:
    25 Minute In-Class Test Covering Tutorial-Specific Content from Weeks 1-5
    Continued Coverage of Scales and Modes 

    Week 7:
    Keys and Chord Progressions: What is 'Tonal' Music?
    Chord Progressions Involving Progressions of I, IV and V Harmonies 

    Week 8:
    Scales and Modes: Pentatonics and Blues Scales; Blues 'Sounds; 'Ornaments'; 'Riffs'; 'Hooks')

    Week 9:
    7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords and Chord Inversions as used in Jazz, Pop and Classical music and theory

    Week 10:
    Introduction to Secondary Function Chords (especially V/V and V/ii); Circle of Fifths Progressions in Diatonic and Chromatic contexts 

    Week 11:
    Consolidation of Material from Weeks 6-10 

    Week 12:
    Course Summary and Revision 
    Specific Course Requirements
    There are no additional course-specific requirements.
  • 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 TASK TYPE WEIGHTING COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
    Test 1 Formative and Summative 15% 1, 3
    Library
    Induction Test
     Summative 10% 4
    Test 2 Formative and Summative 15% 1, 3
    2 Workshop
    Assessments
    Summative 30% 2
    Course Exam Summative 30% 1, 3
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Attendance and participation expectations are as follows:

    Lectures: Although attendance at all lectures is expected, leave applications will not be required to be submitted to the lecturers due to logistical reasons. Students are advised that poor attendance at lectures will very likely have a significant negative impact on their ability to complete assessment tasks. Lectures will be recorded and made available in MyMedia.

    Tutorials:
    Full attendance at tutorials is expected and students will be required to attend at least 8 of 10 tutorials. With the exception of certified medical absences, each tutorial absence beyond the permitted 2 will result in 5 marks being deducted from the student's full course result.

    Workshops: Full attendance at workshops is expected and students will be required to attend at least 8 of 10 tutorials. With the exception of certified medical absences, each workshop absence beyond the permitted 2 will result in 5 marks being deducted from the student's full course result.

    Workshop Performance Participation: All students are required to participate in the end-of-semester workshop choral performance. With the exception of certified medical absences, failure to attend and participate in the workshop choral performance will result in a score of '0' for this 15%-weighted assessment.

    Test and Exam Attendance: All students are required to attend the in-class tests and exam on the scheduled dates, and to complete the online portions of tests within the specified periods of time. No exceptions will be made except on certified medical grounds or on professional/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. You should visit a doctor and obtain a medical certificate for the day of the test/exam, required for medical replacement assessments. You should also notify the coordinator at your soonest opportunity to request a medical replacement assessment. Requests for medical replacement assessments will only be considered if the coordinator is contacted within a short period of the missed test or exam (e.g., within a day or two, NOT two or three weeks later.
    Assessment Detail
    Test 1 (in two parts)
    Assesses both lecture content and tutorial-specific content from Weeks 1-5, with each type of content worth half of the total 15% weighting.

    Library Induction Test
    Assesses student's ability to effectively find music and music-related sources in the Elder Music Library. Completion of the test requires carrying out specified research-related tasks and answering a series of questions. Students will have approximately 5 weeks to work through and complete the Test in their own time.

    Test 2 (in two parts)
    Assesses both lecture content and tutorial-specific content from Weeks 1-5, with eachtype of content worth half of the total 15% weighting.

    2 Workshop Assessments
    1) Sight-Singing / Aural Musicianship Test, date TBC near the end of the semester (weighting: 15%)
    2) Choral Concert Participation, date TBC during SWOTVAC (weighting: 15%).

    Course Exam
    A 2-hour Exam will cover lecture content from the whole semester. Tutorial-specific and Workshop content will not be included in the Exam.
    Submission

    No information currently available.

    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.

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