Music 335—Orchestration & Composition

Syllabus 2001

Elmhurst College

Dr. Mark Harbold

Course Goals	Materials You Will Need	Course Activities & Requirements	Projects
Course Schedule	Course Policies	Important URLs	How to Find Me

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Download Project 2 File

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Important Announcements

—Project Two template can now be downloaded from this web page. Just click on the “Download Project 2 File" link at the top of this page.

Course Goals

To learn the characteristics of standard instruments & voice types
To develop a working knowledge of notational conventions
To cultivate relevant listening & score study skills
To acquire a basic vocabulary for score study
To study the requirements of different musical textures
To explore principles & techniques for combining sounds successfully
To distinguish between transcription, arranging, orchestration, & composition
To employ MIDI software as a tool for notation & arranging
To transcribe & arrange music for various ensembles

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Materials You Will Need

Required materials—
Gary White. Instrumental Arranging. McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Gary White. Student Workbook to accompany Instrumental Arranging. McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Music Manuscript paper with at least 16-18 staves per page

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Course Activities & Requirements

Grades

Your final grade will be based on the following—

Daily Assignments	25 @ 0.4%	=	10%
Quizzes	12 @ 2.5%	=	30%
Projects	3 @ 15%	=	45%
Final Exam	1 @ 15%	=	15%

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About Assignments and Testing

Daily Assignments—Reading assignments are on the Course Schedule below. Workbook pages, listening & score study, MIDI assignments, and other work will be assigned in class on a daily basis. Failure to do assignments will count against your final grade.

Quizzes—Weekly quizzes will cover daily assignments (reading, workbook, listening, etc.) and materials covered in class.

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Projects—Three transcription and arranging projects must be completed using MIDI notation (Finale) and/or sequencing (Vision or Musicshop) software. These short works for various ensembles will demonstrate your mastery of course materials. Grades are based on technical skill, musical effectiveness & creativity. Projects Two and Three will be performed by the Elmhurst College Band and Jazz Band during the last week of the semester (dates and times T.B.A.), so you must hand in both score and parts and attend the rehearsals at which your arrangements will be read.

Project One—Transcription for mixed chamber ensemble based on one page of your choice from Musorgsky’s piano work, Pictures at an Exhibition.
Project Two—Concert band arrangement of a pre-existing melody with brief introduction and coda based on motives and patterns from that melody.
Project Three—Jazz band arrangement using block voicing, one chorus in length.

Final Exam—This comprehensive exam will test you on the most essential materials covered in this course. The exam exercises (on transposition, textural analysis, error detection, instrument characteristics, and so on) will closely resemble exercises from the weekly quizzes.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

Jan 30 Unit 1—Fundamentals Notation & Transposition Read—Ch. 1, pp. 1-20	Feb 1 Unit 1—Fundamentals Preparing Scores & Parts Read—Ch. 2, pp. 21-33 Assignment 1—Ch. 1: E1; F1; H1; I1; J; K; M6 & 8
Feb 6 Unit 1—Fundamentals Musical Textures Read—Ch. 3, pp. 34-50 Assignment 2—Ch. 2: B1b (mm. 1-13) & 8; C3	Feb 8 Unit 2—Instrumentation Woodwinds I Read—Ch. 4, pp. 51-62, 70-75 Assignment 3—Ch. 3: B3-8
Feb 13 Unit 2—Instrumentation Woodwinds II Read—Ch. 4, pp. 63-69 Assignment 4—Ch 4: A1-3, 6-8; C1-2; D3-4 Quiz One (Ch. 1-3)	Feb 15 Unit 2—Instrumentation Brass I Read—Ch. 5, pp. 76-84 Assignment 5—Ch 4: B1-3, 5-7, 9-12 (1st 2 meas.)
Feb 20 Unit 2—Instrumentation Brass II Read—Ch. 5, pp. 85-92 Assignment 6—Ch. 5: A1-3, 7-8; D3 & 5; G1 (1st 5 notes) Quiz Two (Ch. 4)	Feb 22 Unit 2—Instrumentation Percussion I Read—Ch. 6, pp. 93-105 Assignment 7—Ch. 5: B (1st meas.); F1-2 (1st 2 meas.)
Feb 27 Unit 2—Instrumentation Percussion II Read—Ch. 6, pp. 105-125 Assignment 8—Ch. 6: A; B; C Quiz Three (Ch. 5)	Mar 1 Unit 2—Instrumentation Strings I Read—Ch. 7, pp. 126-140 Assignment 9—Ch. 6: D
Mar 6 Unit 2—Instrumentation Strings II Read—Ch. 7, pp. 141-148 Assignment 10—Ch 7: A2-4 (1st 2 meas.); B1-3 Quiz Four (Ch. 6)	Mar 8 Unit 2—Instrumentation Keyboards, Harp & Guitar Read—Ch. 8, pp. 149-167 Assignment 11—Ch. 7: C; E1-4
Mar 13 Unit 2—Instrumentation Human Voices & Young Musicians Read—Ch. 9, pp. 168-178; Appendix B, pp. 369-379 Assignment 12—Ch. 8: A2-4; B1; C; D (mm. 1-4, 16-19) Quiz Five (Ch. 7)	Mar 15 Unit 2—Instrumentation Balance, Blend, Masking, & Voice Crossing Read—Ch. 10, pp. 179-192 Assignment 13—Ch. 9: A1 (to m. 4), 2-4 (to m. 2); B
Mar 18-25 Spring Break
Mar 27 Unit 3—Transcription Monophonic Texture & Melody Read—Ch. 11, pp. 193-210 Assignment 14—Ch. 10: A1-3, 6, 10-13; B2-3, 5-6, 8-10, 13-14 Quiz Six (Ch. 8-9; Appendix B)	Mar 29 Unit 3—Transcription Homorhythmic Texture & Harmony Read—Ch. 12, pp. 211-227 Assignment 15—Ch. 11: A2
Apr 3 Unit 3—Transcription Polyphonic Textures I Read—Ch. 13, pp. 228-231 Assignment 16—Ch. 12: A4	Apr 5 Unit 3—Transcription Polyphonic Textures II Read—Ch. 13, pp. 231-238 Assignment 17—Ch. 13: A2 Quiz Seven (Ch. 10-12)
Apr 10 Unit 3—Transcription Homophonic Textures I Read—Ch. 14, pp. 239-244 Assignment 18—Ch. 13: A4	Apr 12 Unit 3—Transcription Homophonic Textures II Read—Ch. 14, pp. 245-258 Assignment 19—Ch. 14: A1-9 (analysis); A3 (arrange) Quiz Eight (Ch. 13)
Apr 17 Unit 4—Arranging Accompaniment Textures Read—Ch. 15, pp. 259-270 Assignment 20—Ch. 14: A9 (arrange) Project One Due	Apr 19 Unit 4—Arranging Introductions, Transitions & Codas Read—Ch. 16, pp. 271-288 Assignment 21—Ch. 15: B (choose one) Quiz Nine (Ch. 14)
Apr 24 Unit 4—Arranging Planning Form Read—Ch. 17, pp. 289-298 Assignment 22—Ch. 16: A	Apr 26 Unit 4—Arranging Further Arranging Concerns Read—Ch. 18, pp. 299-309 Assignment 23—Ch. 17: 1-5 Quiz Ten (Ch. 15-16)
May 1 Unit 4—Arranging Larger Ensembles I Read—Ch. 18, pp. 299-309 Project Two Due	May 3 Unit 4—Arranging Larger Ensembles II Read—Ch. 19, pp. 310-332 Assignment 24—Ch. 19: A; B1-2 Quiz Eleven (Ch. 17-18)
May 8 Unit 4—Arranging Larger Ensembles III Read—Ch. 20, pp. 333-366 Project Three Due	May 10 Unit 4—Arranging Larger Ensembles IV Quiz Twelve (Ch. 18-19)
Tuesday, May 15 Final Exam, 1 pm

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Course Policies

Class Participation

Attendance and participation are important. Under normal circumstances, tell me ahead of time if you must miss class. In emergencies, present a note from your doctor, the college health service, or the Dean when you return. You can be absent or late up to three times each without penalty; further lateness or absences will count against your final grade.

Academic Dishonesty

This course follows the guidelines described in the E-Book. Any attempt to submit someone else’s work, words, or ideas as if they were your own is plagiarism, which may result in a “zero” for the assignment, an “F” for the course, or referral to the Dean of Students. Click here to read the E-Book’s Code of Academic Integrity.

Elmhurst College Disabilities Policy

Elmhurst College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this course, please contact the Director of Advising at 103 Goebel Hall (617-3450).

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Important URLs

EC Web-based Email—http://206.68.117.1/twig/index.php3/

Music Department Web Page—http://www.elmhurst.edu/~mus/

Mark Harbold’s Web Page—http://www.elmhurst.edu/~markh

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How to Find Me

If you need assistance of any kind in this course, please contact me. You can see me during office hours, or make an appointment.

Office	Irion 113
Office Hours	MW 10:30-11:30 TTh 2:30-3:30
Email	markh@elmhurst.edu
Phone	630.617.3521
Fax	630.617.3738

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Page created 1/11/01 by Mark Harbold—last updated 4/25/01.