ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Number and Title: MUS 122 Introduction to the Study of Music Literature
Credit Hours: 3 Semester Hours
Textbook: Music – An Appreciation - Roger Kamien
Instructor: Ms. Alma Brooks Lyle
Any student requiring alternative formats for testing and/or handouts for this course, or
Other types of accommodations due to a handicapping condition, should advise me.
MUS 122 fulfills the following institutional, state, and national standards:
Alabama State University Conceptual Framework 1.1
Alabama State Department of Education Rules for Music Knowledge and Ability Standards:
290-3-3.32(1)(a)3.INTASC Standards 1, 4, and 7
NASM Standards VIII. B.3.., VII.D.2.(4) (Bachelor of Arts); VIII.B.4.
I. Purpose
A. This course is intended for music majors who will enroll in it in lieu of the music appreciation course required in the core curriculum.
B. Emphasis will be placed on:
1. a comprehensive study of the aspects of sound that shape music.
2. a detailed perspective of the historical and cultural contexts of music.
3. in-depth experiences in listening to the literature of music via:
a. the cultivation of listening skills
b. intensively listening –during class meetings-to the literature of music.
c. listening assignments to be executed beyond the boundary of class meetings.
4. a tack in which the course is considered prerequisite to MUS 320 History of Music.
II. Course Content
Students must demonstrate comprehension of course content by:
A. Defining music (generally, and in detail)
B. Treating the following:
1. Properties of musical sounds
2. Performing media
3. Basic elements of music
C. Listing and defining types of texture
D. Listing, defining, and discussing instrumental forms and processes
E. Listing, defining, and discussing vocal genres.
F. Defining and discussing musical style
G. Listing the chronology of style periods in the history of music, including the following information for each period:
1. designation
2. dates
3. characteristic elements
4. representative composers (or representative writers on music,
5. where applicable)
H. Responding intelligently (perceptively and in an informed manner) to listening quizzes in which they are instructed to focus their attention on the musical events as they unfold.
I. Responding accurately in listening examinations in which they will be required to include the following information for each recorded composition:
1. title
2. movement or other applicable designation (or N/A)
3. composer and his/her nationality
4. stylistic period and its dates
5. descriptive /analytical information
J. Discussing the elements of music in non-Western cultures, e.g.,
1. Sub-Saharan (sub- Saharan) Africa
2. India
3. Japan
III. Sequence of Topics
A. Music Defined
B. Primary Properties of Musical Sounds
C. Performing Media
D. Rhythm
E. Melody
F. Harmony
G. Musical Texture
H. Musical Form
I. Musical Style
J. Music in Non-Western Cultures
IV. Evaluation
A. Listening Quizzes 20% of final grade
B. Tests Prior to Final Exam 50% of final grade
C. Final Exam 30% of final grade
V. Grading Scale
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F below 60
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MUS 122 – Introduction to the Study of Music