UI
School of Music
Horn
Pedagogy and Literature
025:254:001
Spring
2009
Syllabus
Instructor: Jeffrey Agrell
Office: M12
Phone: 335 -1648
Cell: 541-6965
E-mail: jeffrey-agrell@uiowa.edu
Instructor No. 127
Office Hours: TBA
Horn Studio Web Site:
www.uiowa.edu/~somhorn
Course
Description
25:253 Advanced Brass Pedagogy
and Literature I: Horn. This is a half-semester course,
meeting twice weekly (T/Th 9:30-10:20 in M12), January
20-March 12, 2009
I
would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that
may require some modification of seating, testing or other
class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be
made. Please see me in my office by appointment.
Course
Goals
Through bi-weekly classes the
student will gain:
•
Knowledge of
pedagogical topics relating to the horn
•
Knowledge of the
standard literature (etudes and solos) both elementary and
advanced, of the horn
•
Basic knowledge of
the history and development of the horn
Course
Requirements
Contribute to class discussion
by being prepared with all assignments on time.
Assignments as specified below. Due dates are not
negotiable because
class
discussion will often be dependent upon your understanding
of the assigned work. Late papers will be graded down one
letter grade per day late.
Consider making extra copies of all assignments to give to
the other students.
Students should pick up Course
Pack at Zephyr Copies asap.
Students should have a 3-ring binder for any additional
handouts, notes, and other information.
Grading
The
final grade will reflect the average of grades:
Class
discussion participation: 30%
Papers & reviews 40%
Listening notes 20%
Giving a beginner lesson 10%
Plus/minus grading will be used.
Listening assignments
Listen to the assigned
recordings. Hand a paragraph each on each composer and work
(general style and specific characteristics). Suggestions
to get started: liner notes, Groves Online, reserve texts,
UI horn studio web site links.
Written
papers
•Peruse the texts on reserve in
the library, take notes.
•Take note of agreements and disagreements, with special
attention to particularly interesting or unusual approaches
to each topic. Give your own opinion, but justify it.
•Format:
upper right hand corner: Name, Horn Ped/Lit, Date. Centered
title: subject of assignment.
•Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date
listed.
•All
written assignments
(including Listening Assignments) should be computer
printouts (i.e. not hand-written). Spell
check [computer]
and proofread
your work before
handing in! Computers will not catch confusions between
homonyms like their
and
there,
your
and
you’re,
for example. You
will be
marked down for typos and proofreading errors. Consider
exchanging papers with a classmate and proofread each
other’s papers.
Written
reviews
Format for title bar (first
paragraph):
Composer:
Title. Arr/ed. Publisher, year. Grade level (1-6 [easy to
difficult]).
should be well-written and
specific, including discussion of:
•
musical style,
harmonic language, rhythmic complexity, historical
perspective (including date or era of composition),
comparable pieces if helpful
•
difficulty, range,
tessitura, endurance considerations
•
special techniques
required (multiple tonguing, mutes, stopped horn, extended
techniques)
•
length, number
& character of movements
•
the accompaniment
(difficulty, relative weight, reduction?)
•
the edition,
especially for older works available in multiple editions
Review
Suggestions
1.
Use professional musical vocabulary. Take care with word
choice and syntax. Avoid clichés, slang, and trite
colloquialisms like the plague. Eliminate qualifiers like
“rather”, “quite”, “sort of”, and so on. Don’t use
constructions like “it seems.” Take a stand: is it or isn’t
it?
2. Refer to music and book reviews found in
The Horn
Call for examples of length and
style (most often, 150-200 words; 2-3 paragraphs)
3. Reviews can and should reflect your opinion of the
material, but you must back up your statements with facts,
references, and logic.
4. Readers of your reviews often want to know whether they
should purchase the material. Tell them very clearly why
they should spend – or save – their money. List pros and
cons; tell who would benefit from the material and who
would not.
5. Be clear, simple, and direct. Don’t say “eschew
obfuscation” when you can say “be clear.”
NB: We
will use the
pitch naming convention of the American
Acoustical Society, i.e. middle C = C4, an octave about
that is C5, and so on.
Note
Taking
What
you
don’t have
to hand it for grading:
•class notes (but it is highly
advisable to take them – detailed notes will help you later
when you have to teach horn)
•Notes from your reading
What
notes you
do have to
hand in for grading:
•Notes on listening assignments
Attendance
Attendance is expected for all
classes. If you are unavoidably detained, let me
know
asap by
phone or email before
class begins. The
first unexcused absence will drop your semester grade by
one-third; the second an additional whole letter grade;
three unexcused absences mean an Incomplete for the
semester.
Disclaimer
Changes may be made in the
course content and/or order of presentation as the semester
progresses in response to the needs of the individual
students and the class as a whole.
Questions?
If
there is anything about the course information or
assignments that is unclear, don’t hesitate to
ask the instructor asap. Announcing on the day that an
assignment is due that the instructions were not clear is
not an acceptable excuse for lateness of an assignment.
Student
Rights and Responsibilities (From Chapter 7 of the CLAS
Faculty Handbook)
All students
in the College have specific rights and responsibilities.
You have the right to adjudication of any complaints you
have about classroom activities or instructor actions.
Information on these procedures is available in the
Schedule of Courses and online in the College's Student
Academic Handbook. You also have the right to expect a
classroom environment that enables you to learn, including
modifications if you have a disability .
Your
responsibilities to this class - and to your education as a
whole -include attendance and participation. You are also
expected to be honest and honorable in your fulfillment of
assignments and in test-taking situations (the College's
policy on plagiarism and cheating is on-line in the
College's Student Academic Handbook. You have a
responsibility to the rest of the class-and to the
instructor-to help create a classroom environment where all
may learn. At the most basic level, this means that you
will respect the other members of the class and the
instructor, and treat them with the courtesy you hope to
receive in turn.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Policies and
Procedures
Administrative
Home of the Course
The
administrative home of this course is the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences, which governs academic matters
relating to the course such as the add/drop deadlines, the
second-grade-only option, issues concerning academic fraud
or academic probation, and how credits are applied for
various graduation requirements. Different colleges might
have different policies. If you have questions about these
or other CLAS policies, visit your academic advisor or 120
Schaeffer Hall and speak with the staff. The CLAS Academic
Handbook also contains important CLAS academic
policy:
www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/index.shtml
Accommodations
for Disabilities Under the Americans with
Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, instructors provide reasonable academic
accommodations for qualified students with disabilities.
Students seeking academic accommodations first register
with Student Disability Services and meet with a counselor
in that office who reviews documentation and determines
eligibility for services. Students approved for
accommodations arrange to meet privately with course
instructors. Visit Student Disability
Services at www.uiowa.edu/~sds/.
Complaint
procedure
www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml#4
Making a
Suggestion or a ComplaintStudents have the right to make
suggestions or complaints and should first visit with the
instructor, then with the course supervisor if necessary,
and next with the departmental DEO. All complaints must be
made as soon as possible. For more information
visit,
www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml#5
CLAS
policies and procedures for complaints involving grades
Complaints should be brought to
the attention of the instructor, department, and if
necessary the CLAS Associate Dean for Academic Programs and
Services (120 Schaeffer Hall) as soon as possible. Only in
extraordinary cases may a procedure involving a complaint
begin more than six months after the time of the incident.
Students with grading grievances are responsible for
providing all documentation except for grade records.
According to College policy, grades may not be changed by
the College without the permission of the department
concerned (see the above link).
Understanding
Sexual HarassmentSexual harassment is
reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the University.
It subverts the mission of the University and threatens the
well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit
this
site (www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/)
for definitions, assistance, and the full University
policy.
The
Ombudspersons Office, located at C108 Seashore Hall
(335-3608), provides conflict resolution services, as well
as general information about University policies and
procedures. (www.uiowa.edu/~ooombuds/)
Make-Up
Exams
University regulations require
that students be allowed to make up examinations which have
been missed due to illness, mandatory religious
obligations, other unavoidable circumstances, or
University-sponsored activities. (www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/iv/02.htm#21)
Academic
fraud and cheating
http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml#1
All forms
of plagiarism and any other activities that
result in a student presenting work that is not his or her
own are academic fraud. All academic fraud is reported to
the departmental DEO and then to the Associate Dean for
Academic Programs and Services. See
Academic Fraud at
www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml
for the complete
policy.*
Be aware that almost all instructors at The University of
Iowa check for plagiarism using the Turnitin.com plagiarism
detection system:
www.uiowa.edu/~provost/plagiarism/turnitin/index.shtml.
University’s
Statement on Diversity
“The
University of Iowa values diversity among students,
faculty, and staff, and regards Equal Employment
Opportunity and Affirmative Action as tools to achieve
diversity. The University believes that a rich diversity of
people and the many points of view they bring serve to
enhance the quality of the educational experience at The
University of Iowa.” (http://www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/ii/08.htm#82)
Student
Classroom BehaviorStudents have the right to a
classroom environment that encourages learning. The ability
to learn is lessened when students engage in inappropriate
classroom behavior, distracting others; such behaviors also
is a violation of the
Code of Student Life (http://www.uiowa.edu/~vpss/policies/ii/a.shtml#main).
When disruptive activity occurs, a University instructor
has the authority to determine classroom seating patterns
and to request that a student exit the classroom,
laboratory, or other area used for instruction immediately
for the remainder of the period. One-day suspensions are
reported to appropriate departmental, collegiate, and
Student Services personnel (Office of the Vice President
for Student
Services and Dean of Students).
Reacting
Safely to Severe WeatherThe University of Iowa
Operations Manual section
16.14
outlines
appropriate responses to a tornado (i) or to a similar
crisis. If a tornado or other severe weather is indicated
by the UI outdoor
warning
system,
members of the class should seek shelter in rooms and
corridors in the innermost part of a building at the lowest
level, staying clear of windows, corridors with windows, or
large free-standing expanses such as auditoriums and
cafeterias. The class will resume, if possible, after the
UI outdoor warning system announces that the severe weather
threat has ended.
University
Examination Policies;
Missed exam policy. University policy requires that
students be permitted to make up examinations missed
because of illness, mandatory religious obligations,
certain University activities, or unavoidable
circumstances. Excused absence forms are required and are
available at the Registrar web site:
www.registrar.uiowa.edu/forms/absence.pdf
Final
Examinations. An undergraduate student who
has two final examinations scheduled for the same period or
more than three examinations scheduled for the same day may
file a request for a change of schedule before the
published deadline at the Registrar's Service
Center,
17 Calvin
Hall,
8-4:30 M-F, (384-4300).