Course Syllabus

Jump to Today
 
Summer 2019

Instructor:             Naeim Rahmani
E-mail:                     naeim.rahmani@bellevuecollege.edu
Phone:                    425-564-3114
Office Hours:     By appointment. Please mail me to set up a time. 

Course Information

OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

  • Articulate the difference between active, interactive and passive listening.
  • Describe a skill set related to actively listening to music.
  • Articulate an inventory of their listening skills, their openness and their interests in relationship to a variety of musical styles..
  • Identify the elements of music and how composers use them in the creation of music.
  • Demonstrate an understanding and the use of a basic body of musical terminology.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the skills and the activities that can make the experience of attending a concert more meaningful.
  • Describe the cultural norms of each of the periods of music history, how they vary, how they influence and are reflected in the art of the each period of music history.
  • Identify major composers of each of the periods of music history and describe the characteristic of their music as well as the cultural influences that affected their lives.
  • Identify a repertoire of music by sound, period of music, composer, and stylistic characteristics, and relate it to its historical, cultural, and technical context.
  • Demonstrate their listening skill level by reviewing a selected contemporary musical composition.

HOW OUTCOMES WILL BE MET

The activities of this course provide students practical listening experiences to build new listening skills and the structure and background to experience music at a more meaningful level. The class normally comprises six units focused on listening techniques, the elements of music, vocabulary for discussing music, and the historical styles of the art music of western composers, as well as popular music and brief excursion to "world" music.  

Each Part contains a series of reading assignments, listening exercises and that must be completed before you can move to the next Textbook Part. In addition, students will complete a Final Writing Project, built around appreciating a style/era of music.  This project may include attending a live performance.

TEXTBOOK INFORMATION

Enjoyment of Music (13th Ed.), Kristine Forney, Andrew Dell'Antonio, & Joseph Machlis, W.W. Norton
  • Enjoyment of Music (eBook only): 978-0-393-63906-3  [Students can upgrade to a looseleaf copy of the textbook at any time during the quarter.]

QUIZZES 

Every chapter concludes with a quiz that includes questions related to identifying and describing musical examples from the unit, as well as multiple-choice, true/false, matching and other “objective” questions about factual course content.

All of the quizzes are “open-book,” meaning students may refer to the textbook and online readings, their notes, and the musical examples during the quizzes. It's important that you stay on top of the quizzes there are MANY of them.  They are short and digestible but there is a lot of them.  PLEASE HEED THIS WARNING. 

 

LATE SUBMISSION POLICY: [PLEASE READ] 

PLEASE NOTE: The coursework for MUSC%105 is highly structured and has strict deadlines for each Textbook Part.  MUSC&105 IS NOT an online course that provides an option to do all of the course at the end of the quarter.  You must make the assigned deadlines, NO EXCEPTIONS.  If you can't commit to deadlines throughout the quarter then I suggest you drop the course and find another one that fits your needs.  

Any assignment completed past the deadline will receive a deduction of 10% each day it is late.  All of the assignment deadlines are set to 11:59pm, so 10% is set to be deducted after that assigned time.  I will NOT be changing grades that are completed past midnight (for example, 12:04am).  Plan your time accordingly, you will be given approximately 10 to 14 days to work through a Textbook Part and do all of the required work.  Calculating the 10% per day deduction means if you are 10 days late on an assignment it will receive a grade of zero, even if it is 100% work.  Please note that quizzes will not be accessible on Canvas ten days after the due date.   This means that all quizzes & assignments are due on particular deadlines and it is YOUR responsibility to be checking due dates for work accompanying each Part in the textbook on a frequent basis.  Being oblivious to a deadline or not managing your time correctly is not an excuse. 

 

GRADING POLICY

     A-level work:

    • is excellently done, and goes well beyond the minimum requirements of the assignment.
    • demonstrates a high degree of intellectual engagement in the assignment and enthusiasm for learning.
    • is well organized, submitted on time, and communicates ideas clearly, with a minimum of spelling and grammar errors.
    • displays excellent analytical thinking skills, originality and insight, and the ability to recognize and synthesize relevant facts and concepts.
    • demonstrates a high degree of understanding of and facility with  the ideas and skills taught in the course, including the ability to recognize and describe musical events using appropriate terminology and concepts, and an openness to unfamiliar types of music and ways of listening.

     B-level work:

    • is good work that clearly goes beyond minimum requirements for the assignment.
    • is on the right track to “A” work, but does not score as highly on the criteria outlined for above for “A” work.

     C-level work:

    • is acceptable, but only minimally meets expectations and minimal requirements for the assignment and scores only at threshold levels on the criteria outlined for above for “A” work.
    • typically demonstrates inconsistent or merely superficial understanding of or facility with course concepts and skills, and little intellectual engagement in the activity.

     D-level work:

    • is substandard.
    • clearly lacks sufficient content and depth of thought, demonstrates only limited understanding of course concepts or interest in the assigned activity, and falls substantially short of fulfilling the minimum assignment requirements and the expectations outlined above.

     F-level work:

    • is unacceptable and not worthy of a passing grade.
    • falls far below the minimum requirements of the assignment, demonstrates only the most minimal level of effort and intellectual engagement in the activity, and meets virtually nont of the requirements and the expectations outlined above.

GRADE WEIGHTING

Final grades are determined by student performance on the various class assignments and exams, in approximately the following proportions:

  • Part Quizzes  80% [Chapter Quizzes 30%, Listening Quizzes 30%, Prelude Quizzes 10%]
  • Final Writing Project 20%
  • Class discussions & "Music in Words" assignments 10%

Subject to change as warranted, letter grades are assigned according to the following ranges. (These are "subject to change because I occasionally apply a curve at the end of the quarter to the benefit of student grades, if the difficulty of the quarter's work warrants it).

GRADING SCALE

Grades will be assigned based on each student’s accumulated points as a percentage of the total points possible, according to the following scale:

  A: 95-100%
  A-: 92-94%
  B+: 89-91%
  B: 86-88%
  B-: 83-85%
  C+: 80-82%
  C: 77-79%
  C-: 74-76%
  D+: 71-73%
  D: 68-70%
  F <68%
     

 

Classroom Learning Atmosphere

Instructor's Expectations: No musical talent or prior music training is necessary for success in this course, but students do need to be willing to:  

  • learn some of the basic concepts of music: rhythm, pitch, melody, etc.;  
  • listen to different types of music with open ears and an open mind;   
  • learn to recognize music samples from the cultures covered in class (if you do the assigned listening this will not be any more difficult than recognizing the music of your favorite bands).

In a traditional, in-class format this course would meet for about 1 hour every day, and a student would need to spend at least 1-2 additional hours each day on homework. You should expect to invest the same amount of time in this online version of the course.

Academic Honesty: The principle of academic honesty underlies all that we do and applies to all courses at Bellevue College. One kind of academic dishonesty is plagiarism, which may take many forms, including, but not limited to, using a paper written by someone else, using printed sources word-for-word without proper documentation, and paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others without acknowledging the source. Plagiarism can also occur when non-written ideas are taken without documentation--using someone else's design or performance idea, for example. In short, plagiarism is passing off someone else's ideas, words, or images as your own; it amounts to intellectual theft--whether or not it was your intention to steal. Bellevue College instructors have access to commercial plagiarism detection software, so please be advised that any work you submit may be tested for plagiarism.

Participating in academic dishonesty in any way, including writing a paper or taking a test for someone else, may result in severe penalties. Dishonestly produced papers automatically receive a grade of "F" without the possibility of make-up. The Dean of Student Services will also be notified of such conduct, and repetition of the behavior will result in progressively more serious disciplinary action (for example, an instructor may recommend that the student fail the course for a second offense or even that a student be expelled for a serious offense, such as stealing an exam). Grades lowered for plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty may be appealed through the regular channels, and any further disciplinary action taken by the Dean may also be appealed through existing processes.

Affirmation of Inclusion:  Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination. We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect. (View the document at: http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/inclusion/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)

Student Code Statement On Unacceptable Behavior:  “Cheating, stealing and plagiarizing (using/copy & pasting the ideas or words of another as one’s own without crediting the source) and inappropriate/disruptive classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Bellevue College.  Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn, arriving late or leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell phones/pagers to ring, and inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates.  The instructor can refer any violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Vice President of Student Services for possible probation or suspension from Bellevue College.  Specific student rights, responsibilities and appeal procedures are listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the office of the Vice President of Student Services.”  The Student Code, Policy 2050, in its entirety is located at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Important Links

Technical Assistance: Student Help Desk

        Email:         http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/servicedesk/students/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. or http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/elearning/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
        Phone:       425-564-HELP (4357)
        Office:         Bellevue College Main Campus, Room A140
        Web page:  http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/elearning/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

 

STUDENT PROCEDURES & EXPECTATIONS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

ARTS & HUMANITIES COMMITMENT TO STUDENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 

 

DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER (DRC)

The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If you have a disability or learning challenge for which you have documentation, or you have seen someone for treatment, and if you feel you may need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact the DRC as soon as possible.

If you require assistance in case of an emergency situation, such as a fire, earthquake, etc, please meet with your instructor immediately.

The DRC office is located in the B 132. The reception desk can be reached at 425-564-2498. Deaf students can contact the DRC by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110.

Please visit the DRC website, at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., for program and application information other helpful links.

 

TITLE IX WEBSITE (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Bellevue College Public Safety Department staff provides personal safety, security and crime-prevention services to the campus community 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Public Safety is located in room D 171 and on the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Contact Public Safety by phone at 425-564-2400. 

ACADEMIC CALENDARS

STUDENT SERVICES   

*This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due