Course Syllabus
Course: MUSC 4856
Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
Department: Music
Title: Private Jazz IV
Semester Approved: Spring 2024
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2028
End Semester: Fall 2029
Catalog Description: This course provides individual musical instruction in jazz at the beginning to intermediate level. This course augments but does not replace private study on the major instrument and cannot be taken in the place of private lessons. All students taking this course are also required to participate in regular master classes, recitals and juries which fulfill the lab portion of the course. The course is also available to non-music majors who wish to develop their musicianship and performance skills. This course is repeatable for credit. An additional fee is required.
Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1; Lecture: .5; Lab: 1
Repeatable: Yes.
Prerequisites: Permission of Instructor
Justification: As an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), Snow College is required to provide competent private instruction for music majors in all vocal and instrumental specialties. Private instruction is required of music majors in four-year music degree programs and must appear on student transcripts. This course offers an excellent opportunity for all Snow College students to develop
musicianship and performance skills. Courses of this type are taught at all NASM accredited institutions in Utah.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Continue to develop good practice habits, and keep track of practice hours using a practice journal or log sheet Student will turn in practice journal or log sheet to the instructor. Practice is the primary means of participation assessment. Instructor will give advice on how to schedule better practice hours.
Learn repertoire appropriate to an intermediate to advanced/professional grade level In jazz, repertoire learning also requires transcription and arranging. These processes challenge aural skills and generate written work for the instructor to assess. Student will perform repertoire in the lesson for the Instructor.
Learn intermediate and advanced technique skills necessary to perform more challenging repertoire Student will demonstrate knowledge of skills in performance for Instructor.
Memorize music for performance (where appropriate) Student will demonstrate in performance.
Perform in master classes, recitals and other public events Student will demonstrate in performance.
Perform an end-of-semester jury Student will demonstrate in performance.
Continue to demonstrate proper artistic style and technical facility. Student will demonstrate progress in these areas in each lesson, progressively playing more skillfully, artistically, and with more facility, in comparison to classic and modern recordings and stylistic examples, from which exercises of these skills are derived. Stylistic development in jazz relies on the improvement of aural skills, which will be assessed in lessons by the instructor.
Content:
Study of major and minor scales, modes and other scales as assigned, their corresponding arpeggios, and similar essential musical structures.Development of technical skill through study of exercises and etudes appropriate to student playing level.Study of solo repertoire and standard jazz repertoire appropriate for third-year college students and/or the individual level of the student.Development of increased skill in improvisation through the mastery of harmonic materials, and exploration of melodic devices.Development of aural skills through regular in-depth study of recordings, including the transcription of performances by master artists.Greater focus on instruction in performance practice in a variety of styles and historic periods, and examining the playing style of a variety of master artists.Continuing development of tone strength and quality within all ranges of the instrument.Development of performance technique, including memorization techniques, stage deportment and anxiety management.Study and practice will be assessed through instructor feedback and public performance.Jazz is one of the greatest cross-cultural artistic developments of recent history, and its study will help students of all backgrounds to develop a concrete understanding of how diversity yields creative innovation.
Key Performance Indicators:
Each student will be evaluated in the following areas, by the instructor, in each lesson: Performance (Recital, Jury, and weekly lesson assessment), Participation (Attendance), Written Assignments (Composition and Arrangement Assignments), and Aural Skills.
Performance 30 to 40%
Participation 25 to 35%
Written 20 to 25%
Aural Skills 15 to 20%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Jazzology, by Robert Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha.
Current Edition. (Optional)
Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians, by Bert Ligon, Hal Leonard, 1999. (Optional)
Pedagogy Statement:
Each student's ability and level of experience will vary. This course is designed such that it can be tailored specifically to a given student's needs and goals. Specific repertoire, transcription assignments, method books, technique exercises, listening assignments, and scales/scale degree patterns will vary from student to student, depending on specific needs. This course cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution, and thus, the instructor must take into account the individual needs of the individual student.
Students receiving private instruction in music receive the most intense training available for their chosen instruments. These lessons are an in-depth study of the techniques, body posture, hand-eye skills, memorization skills and performance
practices specific to their instruments or voice types. As such, students learn music from a variety of stylistic periods, and learn to play or sing in the style representative of those periods. Students also learn key concepts of music theory and aural
development that relate specifically to the development of their performance skills, thus giving them the very highest level of informed sensitivity training. Feedback is given constantly during the lessons as well as in recorded master classes, recitals, and in written form for jury performances.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture/Lab
Maximum Class Size: 1
Optimum Class Size: 1
