Syllabus (Su24)

Inclusivity in Learning

Your success in this class is important to me. We will all need accommodations because we all learn differently. If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let me know as soon as possible. Together we’ll develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course.

I encourage you to visit Disability Services to determine how you could improve your learning as well. If you need official accommodations, you have a right to have these met. If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 4205; 993-2474; http://ds.gmu.edu) to determine the accommodations you need; and 2) talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.

Community Agreements

Adopted by Dewberry School of Music Voting Faculty on August 17, 2022

I am committed to being respectful

I am committed to respecting the personhood of all community members across sociocultural identities, social status, and affiliation in the Dewberry School of Music, CVPA, and at Mason. This includes using community members’ preferred names and pronouns. I am committed to respecting others’ artistic professionalism with open and timely communication and input on decision-making whenever appropriate. This atmosphere of respect applies both in-person and across digital media platforms.

I am committed to being an active participant

I am committed to participating as actively as I can and will communicate when something is taking away my attention. I understand that active participation may look different for each community member and I trust that seach member is showing up to the best of their capacity.

I am committed to using “I” statements and hearing “I” statements

I am committed to speaking from my own experience and feelings by using “I” statements rather than generalizing. (I think, I feel, I believe.) I am committed to practicing hearing the experiences of historically and institutionally marginalized community members individually. And seeing each community member as individuals who represent themselves and not the whole socio-cultural groups to which they belong.

I am committed to practicing empathy

I am committed to appreciating how others may be feeling and thinking. Practicing empathy also means considering how internal and external context, such as societal issues, affects how community members may show up.

I am committed to acknowledging intent, and addressing impact

Not all harm that is experienced comes from an intentionally harmful place, often bias-based harm is rooted in stereotypes and prejudice formed through socialization. This doesn’t mean that the harm feels any less hurtful. I am committed to acknowledging the harm intentional or unintentional, tending to the hurt person, and working to prevent future harm. I recognize that there is both burden and value in the contribution of community members with historically marginalized identities.

I am committed to acknowledging the liveliness of language

Language and the way we engage with language are contextual and constantly evolving. Our community includes individuals with various cultural identities, ethnic and racial identities, religions, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and intersecting backgrounds. Having sensitivity to language is essential in cultivating the conditions of inclusion for all community members. As an example, “guys” is often used in addressing groups of people however the phrase is not gender-neutral and may feel exclusionary to some non-binary members in our community (recommended replacements, folks, y’all, everyone).

I am committed to being okay with agreeing and disagreeing respectfully and challenging my assumptions

I am committed to the practice of separating the point of view or statement with which I disagree from the person when actively engaging in moments of disagreement. I am committed to the practice of calling in (suspending judgment without shame) instead of calling out (shaming). I will lead with curiosity, listen to understand, and ask for clarity. I recognize that meeting people where they are, requires each of us to do the internal work to challenge our assumptions and build self-awareness of our socialization that is connected to those assumptions.

I am committed to seeking harmony

While I will do my best to show up for and with other, I understand that there may be moments of disharmony. I am committed to self-reflection and concern for others and being an instrument of positive change. When moments of discord, dissent, or disagreement happen, I am committed to doing the individual internal work for the co-creation of peace.

Instructor Info

  • Name: Dr. Prosser (he/him/his)
  • Email: sprosse4@gmu.edu
  • Office: deLaski Performing Arts Building (PAB) A-416 
  • Communication: I will strive to answer emails promptly during business hours (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm EST). I am also happy to use Teams to chat with you in a channel or one-on-one. Please do not feel pressured to email me back outside your own working hours.

One-on-one appointments

  • Please email me to set up an appointment, and include some times you are available in your initial email. I don’t have set office hours over the summer but we can probably find something that works. I only take meetings during business hours (EST).
  • We can meet in person or virtually.

Course Information

Goals

  1. Review techniques of analysis that music theorists commonly use
  2. Critique and apply academic music theory literature
  3. Develop several crucial skills for the professional musician:
    • analysis skills, through your assignments
    • writing skills, through your weekly responses
    • presentation skills, through your video presentations

Recommended Prerequisite

MUSI 501, 502, and 516 or appropriate score on graduate placement exam.

Organization

This is an asynchronous online course, with different “venues” for different activities.

  • This website is for distributing information about assignments.
  • Canvas is for submitting assignments and receiving grades/feedback.
  • Microsoft Teams is for communication and collaborative work. You can also use Teams to ask questions to the whole class about assignments, etc.

Pace and workload

The summer version of this course is an accelerated and compressed 8-week version of the 15-week course that occurs in the fall semester. We will move very quickly.

Due dates are typically Thursdays and Sundays—more details are given below in Assignments.

Calendar of Topics

Course Materials

  • There is no required text. Materials will be accessible online or on our readings page.
  • You should have access to a microphone and camera for video chatting and making videos of yourself.

Recommended (not required):

  • Spotify (app)
  • Microsoft Teams (app)
  • An app for making black-and-white .pdf scans from your phone. I recommend ABBYY FineScanner, which has a free version suitable for our purposes. Most phones also have an app built in. On iPhones, you can scan documents within the Notes app.

Grading

Your grades and rubrics will be on Canvas.

Weighting

Expand each category for more details on how the grade is calculated.

15% – virtual participation
Participation is pass/fail and based on your timely engagement in the Teams channel each week.
25% – weekly assignments
  • Weekly assignments are graded pass/fail, where anything above 70% is a passing grade.
  • Your assignments grade will be equal to the percentage of assignments you passed. For example: if there were 4 assignments, and you passed 3, your homework grade would be 75% (3 ÷ 4 = .75).
10% – symposium participation
Symposium grades have two components: 1) your individual analysis, and 2) your participation in the group discussion.

  • Your individual analysis will be given a grade according to a rubric.
  • Your participation in the group discussion is another separate grade.
  • Your analysis symposium grade will average individual analysis and participation grades together equally.
50% – final project (15% video, 35% paper)
The final project is the majority of your grade, so your grade may change significantly based on your performance on this project.

Letter grades

93–100: A
90–92: A−
87–89: B+
83–86: B
80–82: B−
70–80: C
0–69: F

Assignments

By Thursday: weekly reading and responses

Most weeks, you will have two readings and/or videos to complete.

On Thursday by end-of-day, please check in on Teams in the Reading Responses channel with some type of response about the reading. You might ask clarifying questions, summarize an important bit of it, or just relate to it in some way. You can also respond to someone else’s message (start a thread). This counts toward your participation grade (pass/fail). There’s no word count to worry about; I just want to see you engage with the reading.

By Sunday: analysis assignments

You will submit your weekly analysis assignments on Sundays by end-of-day. Assignments are submitted on Canvas, in .pdf format.

Analysis Symposia

A few times during the semester, we will have group projects that I call “analysis symposia.” On symposium weeks, you will not have any additional reading. Instead, you will practice implementing the techniques you have already learned.

For each symposium, I will assign two pieces and divide students into groups. Within each group, half will do one piece, and half will do the other.

  1. You will begin with individual analyses. Make a video explaining what you discovered in the piece.
    • The video should be at least 5 minutes long, but no more than 10.
    • I would like to see your face in the video, because in an online class, I think that’s helpful for understanding that we’re all humans and not just names on a screen (but if you can’t do this for some reason, just discuss with me).
    • Note that this is an individual analysis, so you should not be collaborating with your group mates yet.
    • It will probably be helpful to have a visual of some kind, too, whether it’s in the video or in a PDF you upload to the channel.
  2. By Thursday end-of-day, upload your video to your designated Teams channel so your peers can view and respond to your video.
  3. After submitting their individual analysis, each group member will discuss how their findings interact with those of the other members (all other members, not just those who did the same piece!). Use the chat function in the Teams channel to do this.
    • Approach discussion like a chat conversation rather than a response essay—ask people questions, wait for their replies—just have a conversation! Don’t be too stiff.
    • Try to do this as soon as possible after all videos are submitted, to allow plenty of time for back-and-forth interactions. Your group may find it helpful to set expectations for when people will submit initial responses (i.e., make sure not everyone submits at the last minute).
    • Be sure you have something to say to each person that shows that you understood their analysis and makes a connection between theirs and your own.
    • I’ll evaluate these discussions on Monday, but again: please do not wait until the last minute to do this—everyone needs time to receive, understand, and respond to discussion. Timeliness in responding is part of your grade.

Late work policy

The accelerated pace of this course means you will have a heavy workload. In light of this, falling behind in the course can be disastrous on your end and mine. Furthermore, much of the course is participation based, which necessitates everyone participating at (around) the same time. This forces me to be quite strict with deadlines, and in general, late work will not be accepted.

Of course, if there is an emergency or some other dire scenario, we should have a conversation about how to move forward so you can complete the course.

Final project

For the final project, you will analyze a piece of your own choosing, demonstrating your understanding of techniques learned in class.

The final project has two components: a video and a final paper.

Details on the content of the project, including due dates, may be found here.

Policy

Honor code

Mason is an honor code university. Read the honor code. Students are expected to abide by the honor code.

ChatGPT and other AI tools

Please be thoughtful if you choose to use AI tools. I understand that AI tools can aid your learning—for example, checking your grammar and suggesting better phrasing—but it should not be replacing your learning.

AI-produced text likely will not meet the standards of the course, because AI currently doesn’t have the capability to do effective music analysis. And above all, as graduate students, you should be working to become an expert on music and music studies, and writing yourself without using AI is an important part of that process.

If you use AI to generate text, you should indicate that clearly in your assignment submission; failure to do so constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Title IX

As a faculty member and designated “Responsible Employee,” I am required to report all disclosures of sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and stalking to Mason’s Title IX Coordinator per university policy 1412. If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact the Student Support and Advocacy Center (703-380-1434), Counseling and Psychological Services (703-993-2380), Student Health Services, or Mason’s Title IX Coordinator (703-993-8730; cde@gmu.edu).

Privacy

Students must use their MasonLive email account to receive important University information, including communications related to this class. I will not respond to messages sent from or send messages to a non-Mason email address.

Week 6 (Jul 1) : Analysis Symposium #2

Because Week 4 and 5 topics aren’t able to be integrated as easily as Week 1 and 2, some students will be doing a sonata analysis while others will do a pop analysis.

The process is essentially the same for all —just be sure you know which repertoire you should be analyzing.

Sonata repertoire

If you are in a sonata group (sign up on Canvas), you will be analyzing a movement from Mozart’s String Quartet in G major, K. 387, to review our techniques for tonal music.

19:24 – iii. Andante cantabile
26:39 – iv. Molto allegro

I have divided everyone into groups and put you in Teams channels accordingly. Split in half, and have one half analyze mvt. iii while the other half analyzes mvt. iv. Your groups should use Teams to collaborate. I can view your channel but I will not be receiving notifications from it, so ping me (using the @ symbol) if you have a question.

Analyze these sonata-form movements using both hypermeter and sonata theory. Some thoughts to inspire you:

  • How does Mozart play with the hypermeter throughout this movement?
  • How does the hypermeter interact with the form of the piece?
  • What Type of sonata do you think this is (Type 1, Type 2, etc.)?
  • Did you have trouble locating the MC/EEC/ESC? If so, why?
  • Beyond the obvious transpositions of material, how are the themes from the exposition altered in the recapitulation?

Pop repertoire

If you are in a pop group (sign up on Canvas), you’ll be analyzing one of these two recent R&B hits that borrow elements from gospel music. Both “Same Drugs” by Chance the Rapper and “Broken Clocks” by SZA are very interesting lyrically as well as tonally.

You have been divided into groups. Split in half and have two people analyze SZA and two people analyze Chance. Your groups should use Teams to collaborate. I can view your channel but I will not be receiving notifications from it, so ping me (using the @ symbol) if you have a question.

I suggest beginning with a Burns-style lyric analysis, and then considering how tonality and form can connect to your lyric analysis.

Some thoughts to inspire you:

  • Both music videos have a strong dose of nostalgia.
  • How does that nostalgic tone relate to the narrator/narratee?
  • How does the nostalgic tone relate to the tonality?
  • What is the form of each song—is there anything unusual?

Group Process

Your groups should use Teams to collaborate. I can view your channel but I will not be receiving notifications from it, so ping me (using the @ symbol) if you have a question.

  1. You will begin with individual analyses. Make a video explaining what you discovered in the piece.
    • The video should be at least 5 minutes long, but no more than 10.
    • I would like to see your face in the video, because in an online class, I think that’s helpful for understanding that we’re all humans and not just names on a screen (but if you can’t do this for some reason, just discuss with me).
    • Note that this is an individual analysis, so you should not be collaborating with your group mates yet.
    • It will probably be helpful to have a visual of some kind, too, whether it’s in the video or in a PDF you upload to the channel.
  2. By Thursday end-of-day, upload your video to your designated Teams channel so your peers can view and respond to your video.
  3. After submitting their individual analysis, each group member will discuss how their findings interact with those of the other members (all other members, not just those who did the same piece!). Use the chat function in the Teams channel to do this.
    • Approach discussion like a chat conversation rather than a response essay—ask people questions, wait for their replies—just have a conversation! Don’t be too stiff.
    • Try to do this as soon as possible after all videos are submitted, to allow plenty of time for back-and-forth interactions. Your group may find it helpful to set expectations for when people will submit initial responses (i.e., make sure not everyone submits at the last minute).
    • Be sure you have something to say to each person that shows that you understood their analysis and makes a connection between theirs and your own.
    • I’ll evaluate these discussions on Monday, but again: please do not wait until the last minute to do this—everyone needs time to receive, understand, and respond to discussion. Timeliness in responding is part of your grade.

Assessment

You will be assessed individually in two parts.

Your individual analysis should:

  • Incorporate all techniques appropriate to your repertoire (sonata theory and hypermeter for orchestral music; form, lyrics, and tonality for pop music).
    • Orchestral music: Create an annotated score for your Schubert analyses that shows your hypermeter and Sonata Theory analyses.
    • Pop music: create a lyric lead sheet (similar to Week 5) that shows chord symbols and labels the sections of the piece. Your lyric analysis can just be in your verbal discussion.

In your Teams discussion, you should

  • submit your video and your discussion on time so others can engage with it
  • respond lucidly to any questions asked to you
  • comprehend what others have said to you
  • demonstrate familiarity with both pieces
  • make comparisons with other group members’ analyses (including those who did the other piece)

A full rubric for each component can be viewed on Canvas.

Week 5 (Jun 24) : Techniques for Pop Music

This week, we’ll discuss pop music through two lenses: tonality and lyrics. Before you begin, you’ll have to familiarize yourself with form in pop music, if you are not already comfortable with terms like “verse,” “chorus,” “bridge,” etc.

You will read about the unique problems that pop music has with tonality and reflect on harmony in pop music vs classical music. You will also learn how to analyze the structure and poetry of lyrics. This goes beyond the kinds of meaning-based lyric analyses you see on sites like Genius.com and instead analyzes the poetic structure of the lyrics. We will learn through Lori Burns’s excellent approach. Your analysis assignment will incorporate both of these issues.

Continue reading Week 5 (Jun 24) : Techniques for Pop Music

Week 4 (Jun 17) : Techniques for Tonal Music

This week you will learn how to approach the nuances of hypermeter in tonal music. You’ll get introduced to the concepts through Edward Klorman’s excellent summary of popular approaches, listening to several pieces by Strauss, Mozart, Bach, Haydn, and others.

You will also learn a new approach to sonata form. You probably learned the basics of sonata form in your undergraduate degree, but this week we will learn one of the newer and more nuanced approaches to sonata form: Sonata Theory according to James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy (2006).

Continue reading Week 4 (Jun 17) : Techniques for Tonal Music