Muag 5215 Advanced Vocal Diction

Syllabus

MUAG 5215—ADVANCED VOCAL DICTION

Fall, 2013

Instructor: Jennifer Lane Time: Tuesday, Thursday, 11:00-12:20

Location: Music 295 Office Hour: Thursdays 1:00 – 2:00 or by appointment

Course Content: Advanced Italian, French, and German diction. Phonetics and pronunciation. Prerequisite(s): MUAG 1906, MUAG 1907, MUAG 1909, or consent of instructor. Prior training in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is required to take this course. An entrance exam will be given on the first day of class in all three languages. Students who do not pass this exam will not be admitted to this course.

Class meetings: Attendance is strictly required. Up to two excused absences are permitted (and only on days you are NOT scheduled to perform and/or on which Exams are not scheduled), for which no less than 48-hours prior notification is required. You will still be responsible for all assignments and work may not be turned in late due to missed classes. Unexcused absences will adversely affect your grade. Missed in-class performances will seriously affect your grade and may not be made up. Appointments such as medical, dental, etc. must not be scheduled during class times and will not be accepted as an excused absence.

Required Work: Regular in-class prepared performances and periodic exams. Students are required to have a pianist present when performing in class. No exceptions. If your pianist does not show up for any reason, your inability to perform will adversely affect your grade. Reading and listening assignments will be given throughout the course. Completing them is required.

Following this syllabus are the class schedule and in-class performance sign-up sheet. The schedule and content are subject to change.

Week of: /

Tuesday

/ Thursday
August 27 / Exam
September 3 / Italian reading / Italian reading
September 10 / Italian singing / Italian singing
September 17 / Italian singing / Exam
September 24 / German reading / German reading
October 1 / German singing / German singing
October 8 / German singing / Exam
October 15 / French reading / French reading
October 22 / French singing / Rehearsal + Concert at UNT on the Square 7:00 pm - public
October 29 / French singing / French singing
November 5 / Exam / No class
November 12 / Review / Review
November 19 / In class performance / In class performance
November 26 / Final Exam / No class Thanksgiving Day

Week of: /

Tuesday

/ Thursday
August 27 / IPA Exam
September 3 / Italian reading 8 / Italian reading 7
September 10 / Italian singing
1. Nereida
2. Marco
3. Patrick
4. Kristen
5. Christopher / Italian singing
1. Megan
2. Grace
3. Stephanie (bring pianist)
4. Shelby (bring pianist)
5. Chaazi (bring pianist)
September 17 / Italian singing
1. Rachel
2. Anna
3. Rachelle
4. Phillip / Exam
September 24 / German reading 8 / German reading 7
October 1 / German singing
1. 2 remaining poems
2. Rachel
3. Anna
4. Rachelle
5. Stephani / German singing
1. Marco
2. Patrick
3. Kristen (bring pianist)
4. Christopher (bring pianist)
5. Grace (bring pianist)
October 8 / German singing
Megan, Nereida, Shelby, Chaazi, Philip / Exam
October 15 / French reading 8 / French reading 7
October 22 / French singing
1, Megan
2. Chaazi
3. Philip
4. Rachel
5. Nereida / Rehearsal + Evening Concert at UNT on the Square 7:00 pm – public: Everyone with Nola
October 29 / French singing
1. Stephanie
2. Anna
3. Patrick
4. Kristen
5. Shelby / French singing
1. Chris
2. Rachelle
3. Marco (bring pianist)
4. Grace (bring pianist)
5.
November 5 / Exam / No class
November 12 / Review / Review
November 19 / In class performance / In class performance
November 26 / Final Exam / No class Thanksgiving Day

Remember, your pianist is required to be present when you are scheduled to sing. If the pianist does not show up and you are unable to perform, your grade will be adversely affected.

Course Format: Each language will be practiced both spoken and sung by each student, coached by the instructor, who will explain and model the sounds. Students will at times be invited to give feedback on each other’s performances

Objectives:

1. Clarity, accuracy and precision of consonants and vowels in speech and singing

2. Ease and vocal freedom using vowel modification to achieve greater understandability

3. Uniformity and interrelatedness of consonant and vowel sounds across languages, using IPA

4. Expressiveness through the mastery of the above

Requirements:

1. Class attendance

2. One song performed in each language (3 total)

3. Completing all reading and listening assignments

4. Three exams: entrance, midterm and final

5. Concert at UNT on the Square 10/24 at 7:00 pm (date to be confirmed)

Grading Structure:

1. In-class performances (sung and spoken) and UNT on Square performance 50 %

2. Exams 30%

3. Prepared readings and listenings 20%

4. Perfect Attendance 5% extra credit

5. Each unexcused absence -10%

Grading scale is A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F = 0-59, I = Incomplete, W = Withdrawal, WF = Withdraw Fail.

Sample resource materials: Lieder Line By Line, Phillips, 1996; Diction, Moriarty, 1975; The Interpretation of French Song, Bernac, 1970; Language & Diction articles in NATS Journal of Singing

Please see me if you need help with this course. If you are not free during my office hour, I will be happy to schedule an appointment with you when you are free. To make an appointment, please send me an email that includes your free times. You can also email me questions you have about the class or about assignments. Please include your name in the email. I usually reply within 24 hours, but I may not read emails that you send after 5:00 pm until the following morning. If I do not reply within a day, please resend your email. I will reply to the email address that you send me, but official emails from me or the administration are only sent to your Eagle Connect account. You must register your personal email as an alias if you want your email forwarded to the account that you usually use (see http://ams.unt.edu).

Student Evaluation of Teaching (SETE)

Student feedback is important and an essential part of participation of this course. The Student Evaluation of Teaching (SETE) is a requirement for all organized classes at UNT. This short survey will be made available at the end of the semester to provide you with an opportunity to evaluate how this course is taught.

Excused Absences

Excused absences include official University or College of Music activities, medical emergencies, and illnesses. If you have traffic problems or other family emergencies, please email me. Excused absences do not count against your attendance or lower your grade. Absences to work a job are NOT excused absences. If you have a chronic medical condition that might affect your class attendance or performance, please see the Office of Disability Accommodations. But please email me or give me a copy of the documentation for your excused absence from the Dean of Students Office or the Music Office, because I do not always receive them directly from these offices. If you are ill, please email me as soon as possible, and when you return to class, show me your doctor’s excuse. But please do not provide me with information about your medical condition, because of federal privacy laws. If you have an emergency and expect to be absent for several weeks, please contact the Dean of Students Office, which will take your information and notify the faculty. Please email me once a week with an update on when you expect to return to class.

Assignments

Must be turned in on the day due. If you do not understand how to complete an assignment, see me for help before the assignment is due. You can turn in an assignment late for full credit if you had an excused absence. Please reference on the assignment why you are submitting it late.

Americans with Disabilities Act

The College of Music complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodation for qualified students with disability. If you have an established disability as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act and would like to request accommodation, please obtain an accommodation letter from the Office of Disability Accommodation no later than September 12th, and then see me to discuss your recommended accommodations. If you have a chronic medical condition that might affect your class attendance or performance, please see the Office of Disability Accommodations, which will inform me of the accommodations that you need. Do so even if you do not consider your condition a disability. This course is designed to be accessible. Many of the common accommodations are built into the structure and delivery of the course materials.

Penalties for Cheating

Cheating on an exam will result in an automatic grade of "F" in the course. Identical assignments will result in a grade of “0” for each student who handed in the assignment, regardless of who completed the assignment and who copied it. Do not work on assignments together or hire a tutor to do your assignments. Tutors usually make errors and give incorrect solutions. See me if you need help with an assignment. Under the new Student Academic Integrity Policy, I am required to report all violations to the Division Chair, who will document them in a database that the Provost Office uses to track students who collaborate on assignments or cheat on tests. See this web page for more details:

http://policy.unt.edu/sites/default/files/untpolicy/pdf/7-Student_Affairs-Academic_Integrity.pdf.

Student Conduct

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates respect. Disruptive behavior in class, such as having separate conversations, giggling, passing notes, doing other work, texting on a phone, etc. will not be tolerated. If you do it, you will be asked to stop. If you do it again, you will be asked to leave. If repeated incidents occur, you will be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students, in accordance with UNT Policy 18.1.11

Incompletes

You can only request an "I" in this course if you are ill within three weeks of the end of the semester or have a personal or family emergency beginning or continuing within those three weeks. You must request the incomplete in a timely fashion and you also must sign a form that indicates what work you must finish and when it is due. You must also be passing the course to qualify for an incomplete. The Registrar can also help you receive a medical or personal emergency withdrawal from all of your courses if necessary.

Student Evaluation of Teaching (SETE)

______

Please tear off and hand in to Instructor:

I have read this syllabus and understand its requirements (MUAG 5215, Fall 2013).

Signature of student:______Date:______