Catalog Description and Rationale for the Course

APPLIED COMPOSITION COURSE PLAN MINOR 2013-14

PMW 131c, 132c, 231c, 232c, 331c, 332c, 431c, 432c Instructor: Dr. Ken E. Read

Catalog Description and Rationale for the Course APPLIED MUSIC STUDIES The heart of any music degree program is applied music studies, where a student takes private lessons from an experienced instructor. Cincinnati Christian University offers private applied instruction in . . . composition. . . .. Students are assigned to teachers based on their level and ability, and on the teacher’s availability. No audit status is permitted. There is no refund of instruction fee after classes begin. Students enrolled in applied lessons on a major level are required to attend a weekly studio class that correlates with their private instruction. Studios provide group instruction to supplement the private lessons. Major and minor level applied lessons require a board exam at the end of each semester (except semesters in which students perform a recital).

MUAP 131c Applied Minor Instruction (1hr) A thirty-minute lesson each week, with a minimum requirement of weekly practice.

Students who are preparing for ministry in the area of music benefit from being prepared for the creative needs in the church. They should be able to orchestrate choir pieces or hymns, write modulations, create vocal arrangements and fill whatever other needs a local church might have. They may be able to contribute greatly to the church program if they can write songs or compose pieces, which are appropriate for church use. The composition major in general and this course in particular is designed to equip students to be ready for the challenge of excellence in musical creation.

Instructional Objectives The student who satisfactorily completes the composition major should be able to: 1. Recognize effective compositional technique found in pieces. 2. Use good compositional technique in writing arrangements, modulations, songs, orchestrations, descants, etc. 3. Construct a song or composition that is of excellent quality. 4. Score and document musical ideas properly and legibly. 5. Know and utilize rules of counterpoint, ranges of instruments and principles of lyric writing. 6. Create ways of updating arrangements to fit current styles.

Course Procedures The course consists of individualized private instruction in the area of composing, arranging and songwriting. Each week there is also a "studio," where all composition students meet together for group presentations, instruction and discussion. Prerequisite to the course is outstanding completion of MUTH 110 and 111 or their equivalent, and acceptance by the music faculty as a composition major; however, other students may participate in the studio time without credit if they wish.

Major Requirements and Evaluation Procedures The course is treated like other private lessons on the primary instrument level, with a minimum time requirement of 84 hours for the semester (an average of six hours each week) in order to pass. A total of 84 hours of preparation time yields a C for the “practice hours” portion of the grade, 96 hours for a B, and 110 hours for an A. Students will be required to fill out weekly contract/assignment sheets. Attendance at 14 private lessons and studio sessions is required, as well as attendance at 5 recitals in the fall semester and 10 in the spring. Work will be performed before others in the studio, and students will arrange to have pieces performed for boards at the end of the semester. Thirty-minute junior recitals for composition majors are mandatory; sixty-minute senior recitals are an option. To receive advanced level approval, three compositions must be publicly performed on campus. In the fall, composition majors will have one work presented and defended in a board examination, and their portfolio will be listed and examined. In the spring, composition majors have one of their works performed in a Composition Recital before the student body.

Evaluation will be based on weekly contract assignments (40%), studio attendance and participation (10%), practice hours (10%), recital attendance (10%), and subjective measure of talent, skill, and progress (30%).

Suggested order of study for composition major (modified for specific student needs):

__ 16th Century Counterpoint, with practical applications

__ 18th Century Counterpoint, with practical applications

__ Lyric writing

__ Twentieth-century techniques

__ Songwriting

__ Recording production

__ Vocal composition

__ Instrumental and vocal composition

__ Orchestration

__ Movie scores