Course Syllabus

MUSC 1166 A Cappella Choir I

Course Description

This course, open to all students without audition, focuses on song, and the role that song plays in human culture. Students will be taught the fundamentals of singing, including basic music-reading skills. In the process of preparing music for performance, students will examine historical and cultural contexts for musical creation, connecting the music they perform with the times and circumstances in which the music came to be, and in which students now live.

Justification

Musical preparation and performance at the college and university level is typically rigorous, and must meet a high artistic standard. Students engaged in this process, by means of preparation, performance, and reflection in the form of written feedback, experience and fulfill all of the outcomes intended for a Fine Arts (FA) general education course. Courses to be designated as a Fine Arts (FA) General Education experience are expected to provide students with an understanding of the basic conceptual frameworks, historical and cultural contexts of artistic works, and be instilled with a sensibility of the creative process. Assessment will occur through the student’s ability to critically evaluate creative works using the language and methodology appropriate to the disciplines of dance, music, theater, and/or the visual arts.Vocal music majors are required to perform in a choral group each semester of their program both at our institution and at transfer institutions. The choir credit transfers for both the major and the non-major.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students will interact with music from various lands and cultures.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students will be asked to search for examples and various performances of the music being studied, compare the examples against one another and the CHOIR’S own performance, and be asked to cite these examples in written post-concert essays. Students will also be taught the rudiments of music-reading.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Students will consider the influence of history, art, culture, location, and context while studying music under consideration in the course.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Time spent closely encountering well-crafted music and poetry will expand each student’s understanding of the human experience. Each convincing and full-committed performance, along with post-concert reflections in the form of assigned essays will prove each student’s informed response to the music sung.
5. A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Time spent closely encountering well-crafted music and poetry will expand each student’s understanding of the human experience. Each convincing and full-committed performance, along with post-concert reflections in the form of assigned essays will prove each student’s informed response to the music sung.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Poetry is a crucial component in choral music. By exploring the poetry in the music, students will learn to recognize and appreciate well-crafted words, and the many ways in which fine poetry can describe the human experience. Essay questions will prompt students to share their own thoughts and experiences within the context of the poetry they encounter. Music is an experience present in virtually all human cultures. By exploring Art Music, and all kinds of Popular Music, students will learn to see themselves and their life experiences in the music. The human voice is the instrument by which choral music is made. To sing well, a person must be healthy. Students will be asked to adhere to a suggested regimen of diet, sleep, exercise, and healthy social interaction.  Poetry is a crucial component in choral music. By exploring the poetry in the music, students will learn to recognize and appreciate well-crafted words, and the many ways in which fine poetry can describe the human experience. Essay questions will prompt students to share their own thoughts and experiences within the context of the poetry they encounter. Music is an experience present in virtually all human cultures. By exploring Art Music, and all kinds of Popular Music, students will learn to see themselves and their life experiences in the music. The human voice is the instrument by which choral music is made. To sing well, a person must be healthy. Students will be asked to adhere to a suggested regimen of diet, sleep, exercise, and healthy social interaction.
2. Provide an informed synopsis of the performing and/or visual arts in the contexts of culture and history through reading and interpreting pertinent information using a variety of traditional and electronic media. Students will be asked to search for examples and various performances of the music being studied, compare the examples against one another and the CHOIR’S own performance, and be asked to cite these examples in written post-concert essays. Students will also be taught the rudiments of music-reading.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the conceptual and elemental principles fundamental to the creation of various forms of artistic expression. Performing Choral Music is a unique human experience, in that it requires one to integrate many skills and disciplines at once and all the time.
4. Exhibit an ability to critically analyze artistic works using appropriate techniques, vocabulary, and methodologies. Students are asked to critically evaluate musical and poetic works within the contexts of the time/place from which they come, and the present day. Students are asked to articulate their point of view relating to the music and poetry and to explore any possible connections with ideas of nature, culture, values, ethics, and civil society.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will understand the music in its historical setting as well as the stylistic, expressive, and formal qualities associated with the particular era of music history.
2. They will understand the textual meanings of the compositions. The students will attempt to communicate the understanding which they have gained to their audiences.
3. Students will be able to respond more sensitively to a masterwork which they have rehearsed, having discussed text, dynamics, phrasing, conditions under which it was composed, and performing it to an appreciative audience.
4. Students will gain and apply a cultural and historical awareness to a variety of phenomena. Students will increase their knowledge of all musical periods and the social aspects of that time by studying this music and its composition.
5. Students will be able to memorize and perform selected repertoire.

Course Content

Music will be chosen from all periods of music history and from all levels of difficulty within the ability of the current group. The skills of sight-singing and rhythmic reading will be taught through daily exercises and through rehearsal of the music. Proper vocal techniques will be discussed and applied.