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Q:  Why should I take this class?

A:  Because Music History brings people together!

   (Dedicated students Kirsten Hood and Amelia Nagoski share some quality time studying for a 311 exam.)

A:  Most of your listening is on the CDs that are available at the bookstore.  These recordings, along with the reserve CDs, are also kept in the Music Resource Center.  All multimedia lessons are available in the MRC.  The lessons on plainchant will each have a specific disc tied to them (on reserve).   Reserve readings are available online by way of the syllabus.  They require and Acrobat reader (freely provided by the University).

Q:  What are the Norton Listening Guides (NLG)?

A;  The Norton Listening Guides are electronc listening guides I have created for the core examples of the Norton Anthology of Western Music.  These are available as a free download from W.W. Norton, available at  http://www.wwnorton.com/grout/index.htm by means of the password that came with your text.  They are also available in the music resourse center.

Q:  What are the Electronic Listening Guides?

A:  These are non-published guides for remaining works in the Norton Anthology and for additional pieces on the reserve CDs for this course.  They are available on the computers in the MRC.

Q:  Why should I do the reading and listening before the lectures?

A:  Because I said so!

Q:  No, really!  Why?

A:  Because many of the terms and concepts we talk about are difficult to grasp when you first read or hear them.  If you have done the reading, I can use class time to explain difficult ideas rather than introduce them.

Q:  How should I take notes from your lectures?

A:  First, do not copy the PowerPoint slides word for word!  They are there to outline the topic I am discussing, to provide spelling for words and, and list dates for composers and pieces.  Please use them as a reference and as an aid to your note-taking.  All PowerPoint presentations are available on the web from the Electronic Syllabus, they are also available in a format that you can print and use for your note-taking.

Q:  What will the tests be like?

A:  Remember the cries of pain you kept hearing last spring?

    My tests are challenging.  Ask anyone.  But they are predictable, and each will contain:

• "Hot" Listening:  You must recognize pieces we have studied and be able to answer questions about them.
• "Cold" Listening:  You must be able to listen to pieces you haven't heard and identify them in terms of genre, style, period, etc.
• Score ID:  I will give you examples of music, and you will tell me the kind of piece they represent, possible composer, etc.
• Term ID:  I will give you a list of terms, places, people, etc.  Your job is to provide a good, solid definition that shows you have a clear understanding of the meaning and context of the term.
• Essay:  You will be asked to write essays about general topics discussed in class.

Q:  What is a "good, solid definition"?

A:  Here are some examples:

    Good:  Madrigal: A kind of vocal piece [what it is] popular in the sixteenth century [context].  Madrigals are unaccompanied, through-composed pieces in Italian and often dealt with various aspects of love, etc. [more complete description].  Text painting was an important aspect of madrigal composition [extra bit of good information].

    Not so good:  An Italian secular piece.  Sung unaccompanied. [correct, but minimal information]

    Really bad:  It's when everyone sings "Fa la la la la." [time to consider a new career]

Q: Why are the tests on Wednesday night?

A:  Two reasons:  1) It allows you more time to complete the exam (90 minutes +/-) and 2) It allows us more time in the classroom for lecture and discussion.  We are, after all, talking about more than 1200 years of music.  That works out to less than 2 minutes per year.  So, time is pretty tight!  If you have a conflict, talk to me and we can work it out.

Q:  What are the workshops that we have on some Wednesday nights?  Are they required?

A:  These are chances for you to have some hands-on experience with things such as singing plainchant and improvising polyphony.  They are not required, but they are EXTRA CREDIT, they will make you a better person, and you have that time blocked out anyway!

A:  The readings from Grout are not much more than outlines of events, descriptions of techniques, and discussions of pieces.  I can't do much more than that in class.  But the readings are HISTORY.  They are all the voices of the people who lived in those times, and who wrote and performed the works you are listening to.  The context that they provide is the glue that will hold all of this together.  And I have you answer questions about them so that you think about what they are saying.

Q:  Why do we have readings about women in music, and not talk about them much in class?

A:  The history of women in music forms a narrative that is usually separate from the one that we study in class.  Where they intersect, I will bring their activities into our discussion.  But the story presented in your readings from Bowers and Tick is pretty much a self-contained story. The historical fact is that the music and activities of women were often at the margin, and simply to shoehorn it into our discussion glosses over that crucial fact.  If it does, we risk losing the very rich context that explains the successes and failures of women during these times.

Q:  Does you really live, eat and breathe this stuff?

A:  Well, in another life, in an Italian castle far far away . . . .
 

Your professor at a concert at the 14th century castle of Torrechiara, near Parma, Italy.

remurray@udel.edu