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Instructors:
Matt Pelandini , Office: 111, Office Hrs: 10-11am
Email: pelandim@cwu.edu
Ben O'Shea, Office: 125, Office Hrs.: TBA
Email: osheab@cwu.edu
Text: Concise Guide to Jazz 4th ed. by Mark C. Gridley,
Including CD , ISBN: 0131826573
This class is a survey of the history of Jazz music. A logical, sequential
approach to the elements, style periods, instruments, and personalities
of the Jazz world are going to be covered. A big part of learning
any kind of musical instrument or style is listening. You will be
expected to listen to examples of different types of Jazz music, and
be able to identify elements covered in the class. To accomplish this,
there will be a daily listening quiz that will cover simple concepts
covered that week, or the previous day. To those of you who are not
music majors (which should be most, if not all of you) do not worry,
you will not be expected to conquer complicated music theory concepts
or be forced to put on a recital. The purpose of this class is to
simply spark an appreciation for this uniquely American and expressive
art form.
In this class, we are going to use the online virtual classroom called “Blackboard�.
You will receive a handout detailing the steps necessary to obtaining
a username and password. This service utilizes your CWU EMAIL, so
if you have not set that up, please do so ASAP. If you have any questions
about this course please feel free to ask during office hours, or
email us. Questions regarding individual grades will not be discussed
during class, but can be asked after class time or during office
hours. This syllabus, various class notes, test dates and times,
and grades will be available online at Blackboard (http://courses.cwu.edu).
Click the login button, and follow the instructions. Visit this website
if you have questions, and they will most likely be answered.
Class Policies
Attendance:
-
You are expected to come to class everyday. Each day that you have
an absence, your grade IS affected. In the case of illness or family
emergency you are given two free absences. Please come talk to either
one of us to get excused from an absence BEFORE you are to miss
class. Or if you can, please email us before class.
- Extra credit will be available for those who miss class and want
to make up the points. Please refer to the EXTRA CREDIT section
to find out what a opportunities are available.
Grading:
- There will be a few specific assignments and tests that will determine your
overall grade. Each of these will have a clear description of the expectations
to complete the assignment. All major tests will be completed with
ScanTron test forms, so having a number of sheets on hand is essential.
Forms will be furnished to you before the test. Also, some tests will
have a listening component, SO BE ON TIME!!!!!! All other assignments
will be graded based on their content, which will be determined by
the instructors. If you feel you were graded unfairly, please ask us
to go over your assignment OUTSIDE OF CLASS. We will ALWAYS have time
to answer your questions.
- Extra credit will be available for those who want to make up assignments.
Please refer to the EXTRA CREDIT section to find out what a opportunities
are available.
The following are all of the assignments and tests and their descriptions.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Tests:Besides a midterm and final, there will be periodic tests covering material discussed
that week. Most likely, these tests will be on Friday morning, and will
be closed book, open note. This is subject to change!
Assignments:There will be two papers covering various topics. The first paper is a review
of an article from a Jazz periodical. Our library has a large collection
of various acceptable magazines and a list will be furnished to you two
weeks in advance. The second paper is a concert review of “Jazz Nite�.
The date, time and cost will be announced later in the quarter. Both
papers will be accepted if they are at least two pages double spaced.
Grade Weighting:
TESTS = 50% of the overall grade
ASSIGNMENTS = 25% of the overall grade
ATTENDANCE = 25% of the overall grade
Course Outline (subject to change):
Week 1:
- Read/Discuss Ch. 1 - What is Jazz Music?
- Look at the Appendix - "Elements of Music" (pg.
205)
Week 2:
- Continue discussing elements of music
- Read Ch. 2
Week 3:
- Discuss Ch. 2 - How to Listen to Jazz
- Live Introduction of Rhythm section instruments
- Test #1 (Friday) - covers rhythm section instruments, Ch. 1,2,
listening covered so far
Week 4:
- Read/Discuss Ch. 3 - The Origins of Jazz
- Introduction of Trumpets
- Assignment #1 - Article Review
Week 5:
- Discuss the Early Swing Era (Ch. 4, 5)
- Review all previous chapter material discussed
- (Friday) - Midterm, Assignment #1 Due
Week 6:
- Discuss Swing Era (Ch. 5)
- Introduce the Saxophones
- Louis Armstrong Presentation
Week 7:
- Discuss Bebop - Cool Jazz Eras (Ch. 6, 7)
- Charlie Parker Presentation
- Test #3 (Friday) - covers Jazz Origins & Swing Era (Ch.
4, 5) with listening
Week 8:
- Discuss Hard Bop - 1960's - (Ch. 8)
- Miles Davis Presentation
- Introduce Trombones
Week 9:
- Discuss Fusion - Now (Ch. 10, 11)
- Bill Evans, John Coltrane Presentation
- Review for Final
Week 10:
- Review for Final
- Final (Time TBA)
Extra Credit: Throughout the quarter you will have
the opportunity to gain extra credit by attending jazz concerts, writing
one page (double spaced) CD reviews (one song is fine), or presenting
a listening examples including doing a short presentation explaining
the genre, information about the performers, and its significance to
the history of jazz.
Concert Possibilities*:
- IAJE Combo Night
- Jazz at Pearls on Pearl - please check with Ben or Matt before
attending
- Faculty Jazz Recitals
To get credit for attending these concerts, please return the concert
program (punched by the concert usher).
*Specific concert information will be posted when made available in the
music department.
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