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MUT 2117: THEORY IV

T/Th 9:3010:45, WPAC 150



Instructor: Joel Galand Office: WPAC 146c Office Hours: T 3:30-5:00/Th 2:00-3:30
Phone: 585-820-5538 (Cell) E-mail: galandj@fiu.edu

TEXTS AND COURSE MATERIALS:
I. Aldwell, Edward, and Carl Schachter. Harmony and Voice Leading. 4th ed. Belmont, CA:
Schirmer, 2011. ISBN 978-0-15-506242-9. Hereafter referred to as A&S. You should already have this
text from Theory IIII. If you do not, please buy it at the FIU Bookstore or order it from amazon.com or
some other on-line source.

You do NOT have to buy the Workbook that comes as an optional additional purchase. If you buy the
version of the text that the FIU Bookstore ordered, you will have access to the Premium Website associated
with the text. The website includes an electronic version of the Workbook. In addition, assigned exercises
from the Workbook will be distributed to the class, either in person, via Ecampus Moodle, or via e-mail.

Nor do you have to buy the CD set also available for separate purchase with this text. The sound files for
the relevant chapters will be uploaded to Ecampus Moodle.

II. Straus, Joseph N. I ntroduction to Post-Tonal Theory. 3
rd
ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN 0-13-189890-6.

Available at FIU bookstore.

Supplemental:
Handouts and scores to be distributed in class or electronically as needed.

Bring to every class:
Text book currently being used, recent handouts, blank staff paper, writing materials.

PREREQUISITES and CO-REQUISITES:
C or better in Theory III, except that composition majors must earn a minimum of B in each theory course.
Transfers may be placed into Theory IV through an exam.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES:
This course picks up where Theory III left off. Theory IV addresses advanced chromatic techniques
applicable to much nineteenth- and earlytwentieth-century music and then moves on to consider post-tonal
techniques.

We will begin by covering Units 2933 of Aldwell & Schachter, which cover the following topics:

II (the so-called Neapolitan) [Covered in Theory III but reviewed here]
Augmented-sixth chords [Covered in Theory III but reviewed here]
advanced uses of modal mixture
altered dominants
common-tone dissonant chords
linear chromaticism (e.g., chromatic sequences and chromatic voice exchanges)
extended, form-defining uses of chromaticism (e.g., large-scale tonicizations of chromatic areas).


During the last third of the course, we will cover selected chapters from Joseph Strauss Introduction to
Post-Tonal Theory. At the same time, we will analyze a variety of relevant music, ranging from
transitional works (e.g., late Liszt pieces, certain passages from Wagner), through Debussy, Scriabin,
Stravinsky, the second Viennese School, and others. A final take-home project, due April 24, will cover
concepts covered during the last part of the course.

By the end of the semester, you should have learned to use a variety of chromatic techniques and post-tonal
techniques and to be able to apply them to analytical contexts.

REQUIREMENTS:
The percentages below can be adjusted plus or minus about 10%, to reflect different learning
strategies (some people to better on papers, some do better in an exam situation).

I. Regular written exercises (50% of grade). Usually one or two per week. These exercises are
designed to give you practice with a particular technique (e.g., using chords with augmented fifths). In
order to do the exercise, you will need to complete the assigned reading on the relevant topic and to consult
your class notes and handouts. The exercises will involve some combination of part-writing and analysis,
with the emphasis falling on the former.

II. Three larger projects 15% each.

IV. Class participation and attendance: 5%
Students should expect to be called upon individually.
Occasionally, techniques will be introduced in class lectures that are not discussed in the textbook.

LATE POLICY:
I expect to receive all assignments on time.

When I return graded assignments, I often include a sample solution, and I also discuss the assignment in
class. ONCE THE SOLUTION TO AN ASSIGNMENT HAS CIRCULATED, I CAN NO LONGER
ACCEPT THAT ASSIGNMENT FOR CREDIT. THEREFORE THE FOLLOWING POLICY
OBTAINS FOR THIS COURSE:

1) Assignments should be turned in as you exit the class on which they are dueOR BEFORE. Students
following these conditions will receive full credit on the assignment---any mark down will be based purely
on content.

2) Assignments turned in after 11 AM on the due date but by the beginning of the class following the due
date will be accepted but with a 5-point penalty.

3) No assignments will be accepted if they more than one class day late. For example, if an assignment is
due on Thursday January 26, I will not accept that assignment after the beginning of class on Tuesday
January 31.

4) Absence from class, either on the day homework was assigned or on the day that the assignments was
due, is not an excuse for turning in homework late, unless the absence was because of a documentable,
unforeseeable emergency.

5) Everyone gets THREE freebies. You can decide to skip these assignments or turn them in late without
having that affect your grade negatively. If you wish to exercise this option for a given assignment, you
must so indicate IN WRITING. You cannot take two freebies in a row, because in that case you might
miss an entire topic. I expect that these three freebies will cover serious occasions (illness, family
emergency). If you use them up and then try to get a fourth late assignment excused because of, say,
illness, I will not excuse that fourth assignment unless you can document that your illness prevented you
from completing all four assignments. In any case, if you have to miss more than two weeks worth of
work because of illness, you should be taking a medical leave.

6) THE THREE LARGER PROJECTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A FREEBIE. These are due on
the due date.

INCOMPLETES:
I do not give incompletes except under extraordinary circumstances. These must be approved in advance
using an official FIU Incomplete Form.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:
There is no formal attendance policy in this class. A small portion of the grade (5%) is based on attendance
and participation. What that basically means is that if, at the end of the semester, your grade is borderline,
Ill bump it up (say from a high B to a low A) if you have attended regularly. If I dont know you from
Adam, you wont get that little edge.

If you miss a class you have to make sure the assignment due that day gets to me somehow in order to
receive full credit.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Plagiarism in the form of failing to cite sources properly will not be an issue in this class, which does not
involve writing research papers. I do require that all the work you turn in be entirely your own.

COLLABORATION ON ASSIGNMENTS AND TAKE-HOMES IS NOT ALLOWED. YOUR
WORK MUST BE ENTIRELY YOUR OWN.

You can ask a fellow student to clarify the instructions. You can ask a fellow student a question about the
content of the course (e.g., anything in the textbook or handouts or class lectures). You can ask a fellow
student a general question (e.g., Is it OK to have parallel fifths if it results from the combination of a
passing tone and an anticipation, or How do you correctly resolve a diminished-seventh chord?). You
can ask such general questions even if they address something that pops up in the assignment. What you
cant ask is something like Show me what you did in mm. 3-4 of the exercise.

To be sure, many assignments involve modeling your work closely on examples presented in class or in
your text. It is even entirely possible that a particular exercise may have only one possible legal solution.
The important thing is that you struggle to synthesize the texts and class examples on your own.

Sometimes, an assignment might include an instruction along the lines of , Model your phrase on Example
xxx, p. yyy. What that means is that I want you to adopt the given form and broad harmonic outlines of
the model. It does not mean I want you to merely to COPY or TRANSPOSE the model.

The FIU Code of Academic Integrity may be found at
http://academic.fiu.edu/AcademicBudget/misconductweb/1acmisconductproc.htm

GRADING SCALE:
A+ (98-100): Not an official university grade. I give this only for a truly exceptional assignment
that is perfect within the given parameters.

A (94-97): A nearly perfect assignment that fulfills all the requirements of that exercise. May
contain a couple of minor errors (e.g., the rare missing accidental, one case of careless
parallel fifths or octaves).

A/A- (93) Similar to above, but a bit more leeway for careless errors. Need to proof read more.
A- (91-92)
A-/B+ (90)

B+ (88-89) You have largely understood the assignment and made a good effort at completing it,
B+/B (87) but you made several careless errors (parallels, dissonance treatment), and/or you
B (84-86) did not always come up with particularly artistic outer voices. For instance, you may
have ignored such formal cues as antecedent/consequent structure or cadential arrivals.
You may have failed to notice implied motivic or sequential repetitions within the given
material.

B/B- (83) Same considerations as above apply, only more so. You probably need to spend a good
deal more time on assignments. Perhaps there are some conceptual confusions that need to
B- (81-82) be cleared up. Try coming to an office hour! You may also need to bear in mind that
these exercises are mini pieces of music. If you are just moving from chord to chord,
B-/C+ (80) trying to avoid local mistakes, you will not come up with a good overall soprano or bass
line, and your exercises will lack larger-scale formal organization.

C+ (78-79) These are the minimum passing grades for music majors. You have done enough of the
C+/C (77) work accurately to avoid failing the assignment, but if you want to raise your grade, you
C (73-76) will probably have to study the readings and examples more carefully, spend much more
time revising your own work, get tutoring, and e-mail or see me if you dont understand
something.

C- (72) At this point, I stop giving split grades and merely average in numbers. These grades are
all failing grades for music majors. But it is better to have a 69 averaged in than a 50.
D+ (69) I might give a C- or D+ to someone who has fundamentally misunderstood the topic at
hand or wasnt able to spend much time on it but still made the effort to turn something
in. A D or D- assignment might have a little bit that is salvageable. It is rare that I give
an F. Either the assignment wasnt turned in at all (0), or else only a small fraction of it
was done, in which case you might get a few some points.
D (66)
D- (62)
F (below 60)

****Minimum Grades****

All students in the Composition trackundergraduate or graduateneed to earn a B or better in this course
in order for it to count towards the B.M. All undergraduates other than those in the Composition track need
to earn a C or better in this course in order for it to count towards the B.M.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Tuesday January 10: First day of class.

Tuesday January 17: Last day to drop class without financial liability.

Tuesday February 23: First larger project due.

Friday March 2: Last day to drop with DR grade. IF YOU WANT TO DROP THE COURSE, YOU
MUST DROP IT YOURSELF. NO ONE WILL DROP IT FOR YOU. IF YOU DO NOT DROP
THE COURSE, YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GRADE YOU EARN.

Thursday March 29: Second larger project due.

Tuesday April 24: No class meeting. Modified final week schedule.

Thursday April 26: Final class meeting. The class final is scheduled for this day, from 7:30 to 9:30 AM in
WPAC 150. Since the final project is in lieu of final exam, we will use this final meeting as an optional Q
& A session for those who want last-minute help.

Friday April 27: Third larger project due 5 PM.

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