MUS 111, Music Theory II

MUS 111, Music Theory II	William Wieland
Northern State University — Every Spring Semester — Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00 am — Spafford 305
Instructor: Dr. William Wieland Office: Spafford Hall Room 304 Phone: 626-2499	Office Hours: Please refer to my Class Schedule. E-mail Address: William.Wieland@northern.edu (I usually respond within 24 hours except weekends and holidays.)

Course Description: An integrated study and application of tonality, melody, harmony, texture and form, from music notation through modulation. Includes sight singing, ear training, and dictation. Introduction to composition and arranging, i.e. instrument ranges, transposition, tessitura and preliminary score analysis.

Prerequisite: MUS 110 or consent of the instructor.

Credit Hours: 3

Instructional Methods: Listening, lecture, discussion, analysis, singing, playing, composing, arranging, Internet tutorials, online drills, computer software, quizzes, speed quizzes, and a comprehensive final exam.

Required Text: None. All course materials are free and online.

Materials: Please acquire music notation software. Several are free online. Please bring a pencil, paper, scratch paper, and staff paper to every class. Free staff paper can be printed from my web site. Go to Theory Things and look under “Staff Paper”. You will also receive handouts.

Objectives: (from the NASM Handbook 2021–22, Section VIII. B.)
1. c. Students must acquire the ability to read at sight with fluency.
2. a. Students must acquire an understanding of the common elements and organizational patterns of music and their interaction, the ability to employ this understanding in aural, verbal, and visual analyses, and the ability to take aural dictation.
2. b. Students must acquire sufficient understanding of and capability with musical forms, processes, and structures to use this knowledge and skill in compositional, performance, analytical, scholarly, and pedagogical applications according to the requisites of their specializations.
3. Students must acquire a rudimentary capacity to create original or derivative music.
5. While synthesis is a lifetime process, by the end of undergraduate study students must be able to work on musical problems by combining, as appropriate to the issue, their capabilities in performance; aural, verbal, and visual analysis; composition/improvisation; and history and repertory.

Performance Standards / Grading Policies: I weigh MUS 111 grades as follows:

10% Class Ensemble Project (semester-long project)
10% Threefold Amen
10% Piano Composition (You may begin today.)
5% Other Assignments (worksheets and analyses)

A — 90% to 100%
B — 80% to 90%
C — 70% to 80%
D — 60% to 70%
F — Below 60%

40% Quizzes: Octatonic Scale Blues Scale Major and Minor Seventh Chords Diminished and Half-diminished Seventh Chords Authentic Cadence Writing Cadence I.D. Cadence Writing Roman Numeral Analysis (including vii^o, VII and 7th chords) Applied Chords

20% Comprehensive Final Exam — If you are unexcused from the final exam, you will receive a 0. You must score at least 60 on the final exam to pass MUS 111.

5% Speed Quizzes: Dominant Sevenths Intervals Chord Recognition

To pass the course, you must earn a semester average of at least 60 and score at least 60 on the final exam.

Quizzes and Performing Evaluations: You may retake any quiz and/or performing evaluation during my office hours before 5:00 pm on the last day of class. However, you may only retake a particular quiz or performing evaluation once a day. I will record only the highest grades. Note: Even if you earn a good grade on the first attempt at a quiz, you may wish to take it again as a review. Most quiz material appears on the final exam.

What is an A? An A is going beyond what is usual. Students who simply meet minimum course requirements earn Bs or Cs. An A indicates extraordinary work and a B is a good grade.

Attendance: Regular daily attendance is strongly recommended and is required during class exercises, activities and quizzes. Of course, those with certified and serious reasons for missing class will be accomodated. Excessive absenteeism or tardiness usually results in lower grades. Students are responsible for information missed as a result of being absent or tardy.

Official Notices Technology in the Classroom

Caveat: This syllabus is subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.