*Syllabus- Playing and Hearing Music 2

Fall- 2022
*subject to change
MUSI 2693 FA01
Monday, Wednesday, Friday- 1130am- 1220pm
Location- HDH 226

Instructor information
Dr. Tristan De Borba
Assistant Professor
Office hours- By Appointment
HDH164
Tristan.deborba@acadiau.ca

Course description
This course is a musicianship class that develops your knowledge of the various building block
of music including: melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, etc. Through various exercises
including ear training, sight singing, dictation and improvisation students will gain a practical
understanding of these musical parameters and how they are used in various musical styles
(classical, jazz, pop, music traditions from around the world, etc.). The skills developed in this
course will allow the student to grow as a musician and apply their musicianship to future work
in performance, education, composition, (ethno)musicology, music theory, music therapy,
pedagogy and other disciplines. This course will culminate in a music research presentation and
a music performance project that will enable the student to apply their musicianship in a creative
way.

Learning goals

You are expected to spend about 3 hours a week practising your PHM2 exercises and doing your
assignments. All students are required to participate in class in group activities.

Topics covered (among others)

1. Rhythm: singing, clapping and dictation. The use of various systems for subdividing rhythms
will be discussed including number counting (1 and 2 and 3 e and a 4 e and a).

2. Sight singing: students will develop their aural skills by singing various melodies. We will use
solfege (movable do) and other singing methods (eg. singing on a single syllable). Students will
also learn to recognize and sing various intervals. We will sing tonal, modal and atonal melodies.

3. Conducting: students will learn basic conducting patterns and apply them to their rhythm and
sight singing exercises. Conducting is an excellent way to ‘feel’ music pulse and will reinforce
the other rhythm exercises that we study.
4. Music theory: students will gain a practical knowledge of musical theory and apply those
principles to an understanding of intervals, rhythm, melody and harmony.

5. Timbre development: timbre is the tone character of an instrument or voice or the various tone
colours that an instrument or voice can attain. Timbre is an important and underappreciated
music parameter. The student will learn to recognize the timbres of various instruments and the
different timbres explored by musicians in different styles through critical listening, discussion
and improvisation. Timbral effects as used in contemporary and experimental music of various
music styles will be introduced.

5. Listening skills: Students will develop a critical ear by listening to various musical examples
from various styles.

6. Special topics such as practising and others will be discussed.

7. Creativity: all of the previously mentioned musical skills will be applied through creativity.
Students will develop their improvisation and listening skills through the final performance
project.

Required Texts

There is no required textbook for this course. Course materials will be distributed as handouts
and posted on our Acorn page. You are required to bring all distributed materials to class.

Evaluation

• Attendance and participation- 20%

• In class Quizzes (ear training and aural skills)- best 3 out of 4 (10% each)- 30%
• Midterm individual assessment- 15%
• Applied Musicianship- Creative Music Performance Project- Music Inspired by Pauline
Oliveros - 15%
Performance: Date and Venue TBD- end of term.
You will be graded on your preparation, participation and performance in rehearsals
(during class times) and in the concert presentation of this project.
• Applied Musicianship- Creative Music Research Project- 20%
Presentation due on Friday November 25 at 1159pm

Attendance
Attendance will be taken and will be used in calculating your attendance and participation grade.
You are responsible for all of the material covered in class. It is your responsibility to ‘catch up’
on any material missed when absent. If you are absent for an evaluation, and have a legitimate
reason for your absence you must make arrangements with the instructor to re-take the evaluation
or you will achieve a mark of 0. Quizzes will generally not be made up except in extenuating
circumstances.

Assignments

You are required to complete a research presentation for this course (see separate document with
detailed information on this). Late assignments will be marked down 10% for every 24hrs they
are late. Any exceptional circumstances must to be discussed with the instructor. Assignments
must be received by 11:59pm on the due date or will be considered late.

Important Dates

Quizzes

All quizzes are held in class at the beginning of the class. Please don’t be late.
• Quiz 1- Wednesday September 14
• Quiz 2- Wednesday September 28
• Quiz 3- Wednesday October 12
• Quiz 4- Wednesday November 9

Midterm

Midterm Individual Assessment- by appointment, Monday October 17- Friday October

October 21. See Midterm Individual Assessment outline for more information (will receive
outline by Monday October 3).
(there will be no regular PHM2 classes on midterm week).

Applied Musicianship- Performance Project- Pauline Oliveros project

• Performance: End of term 1- date and venue TBD- during class time if possible.
• Rehearsals: we will use our Friday class time to rehearse and prepare for this
performance. While Monday and Wednesday class will be focused on developing
musicianship skills, Fridays will be an opportunity to apply those in creative
performance.

Applied Musicianship- Creative Music Research Project

- see Creative Music Research Project document for more details

Composer Proposal: Friday September 16

Thesis Proposal/Outline/Bibliography due on Wednesday October 5
Presentation Video due on Friday November 25
Reflection- Wednesday December 7

Other important dates

First class- Wednesday September 7
Last day to add/drop and not get a W- Friday September 16
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no classes)- Friday September 30
Thanksgiving- Monday October 10 (no classes)
Monday October 17, Wednesday October 19, Friday October 21- no regular class. Midterms
by appointment.
Monday October 31- Friday November 4- Reading week, no classes.
Friday November 11- Remembrance day, no classes.
Wednesday December 7- last day of class.

Email Policy and Communication

I am happy and available to answer questions related to course material via email. However, you
should please check your course syllabus and other materials on Acorn before contacting me. If
you still need clarification, please feel free to email me and I will answer your question or
arrange to meet you via Teams or in-person to discuss your question or concern. Please check
your Acadia email account daily for any changes or information to this course. You are
responsible for all information on Acorn and communicated via email.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a very serious academic offence and as per Acadia University policy will not be
tolerated and can result in dismissal from the university. Please review the Acadia University
plagiarism guide at: https://library.acadiau.ca/research/tutorials/you-quote-it-you-note-it-2.html

Accessibility
If you are a student who anticipates needing supports or accommodations please contact
accessible.learning@acadiau.ca or call at 902.585.1093.