The new edition of Kostka, Payne, & Almen, Tonal Harmony, includes the option for an online component called "Connect," which may be bundled with the textbook or purchased in a separate subscription.  From what I can tell, the recorded examples for the text and workbook can now only be accessed through Connect.  If this is true, I think is a giant step backwards and a disturbing development.  The cost of this venerable textbook should be enough to allow students access to the recordings, in my opinion.  I have written to my McGraw-Hill rep, but have not received a reply.  Does anyone have a definitive answer?  Is it possible still to access the recordings online as it was with the previous edition?  I hope I just missed something, and there is a simple explanation.  I also apologize if I mischaracterized Connect and how it relates to the book.  Any help sorting this out would be appreciated.

Best,

Rick

I'm designing a new aural skills portion in a larger course for second year music majors. As I haven't taught aural skills in a few years, could anyone recommend an affordable sight-singing text, preferrably one under $50? The preferred text would feature sight-singing exercises organized by interval and examples from 'the literature' - including both classical and popular musics.

The class will only meet 1-2 times per week and singing will be balanced with dictation and other ear-training exercises.

All advice is welcome!

Danielle

Our course catalog lists the class as officially having a cap of 40, which (I'm told) is the default cap assigned to all classes unless another cap is specified.  So, we'll be doing what we can to change that cap this year.

In the meantime, what is the cap on your school's classes?  What is the usual enrollment of each section?

Thanks for your help!

Zac

-- is web-based;

-- is usable by students across multiple platforms (laptop/smartphone/tablet);

-- can track overall student use and performance across all those platforms, with reports accessible to me;

-- costs as little as possible.

Any and all advice welcome -- thanks!

Jonathan Santore

Plymouth State University (NH)

jsantore@mail.plymouth.edu

As a result of ardent application of Schenkerian theories in the past 25-30 years, the traditional study of cadence in the US has undergone a radical revision, cutting ties with the traditional discussion of harmony and cadence, both in America and abroad.

      I feel sorry for those students who have been told that the only form of full cadence is the interaction of dominant and tonic in root position, and that everything else is a form of...tonic prolongation. Also, if the tonic is approached stepwise there is no cadence under any circumstances, but if the dominant is approached stepwise there may be a cadence...These students have been deprived from the opportunity to get acquainted with other concepts, to enjoy the beautiful spectrum of imperfect authentic cadences involving inverted dominants and tonics, as well as dominant substitutes. Besides, they will not know there is a plagal cadence and even a plagal half cadence (see Rimsky Korsakov's Practical Manual of Harmony written more that 120 years ago). Of course, the revision of harmonic function and cadence brings about a revision of harmony and musical form with some, in my view, devastating results.

      The good news is that musical literature empirically defies any rigid theory and postulate by offering a wide range of cases which belong to the routine language of composers and cannot be hidden or denied. I will give you three examples. 

      Contrary to the widespread claim that specific sentences (of Schoenberg) lack an interior cadence, a great number of excerpts display clear cadences in the end of a presentation phrase, and these cadences fully comply with the rigid terms of the "contemporary revisers of cadence". Three immediate example are:

      1) Mozart, sonata in C, K279, I, opening of main theme. Here not only the presentation phrase, but also the first basic idea itself ends with what my colleague and friend Bill Caplin would call "an extended cadential progression" - T6 - SII6 - D - T.

      2) Mozart, sonata in F, K332, I, beginning of development section. Another clear cadence at the end of the presentation phrase, this time a half cadence enhanced by the cadential 6/4. This gesture is introduced as early as in the basic idea, and is repeated at the end of the presentation. The whole structure is a hybrid between sentence and parallel period (presentation plus consequent). By the way, this is also a good example for those who claim that the cadential 6/4 "must not be introduced so early in the beginning of the musical thought". Here it is.

      3) Beethoven, sonata Op. 14/2, II, mm. 1-4. A basic two measure idea is repeated , and forms a presentation which ends with a half cadence. Again, even the first basic idea here ends with a clear half-cadence.

      Music examples such as those are not so rare - they belong to the most beautiful pages of music literature and represent an inseparable part of the routine language of great composers. Besides, all other numerous  examples which have interior cadences involving inverted T or D, will also be of great interest to those who do not abide by the "new concept of cadence".

      Concerning  the strange claim about the resolution of the cadential six-four into the dominant, reading: "The fourth over the bass in cad.6/4 must resolve down by a step, because it is dissonant." Of course, the fourth most typically moves down by a step, but the routine language of composers includes a great number of other treatments of the so-called "dissonant fourth", and one of those is the so-called "Marpurg Cadence" which is pretty frequent in music. It involves the soprano moving up by a step (do-re). Immediate example: Beethoven, sonata Op. 2/1, III Menuetto, mm1-14. Such examples are fairly frequent in the output of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Not to speak of the fact that the cadential 6/4 is occasionally rearranged, all of its upper voices leaping, sometimes occupies one or more measures and is freely arpeggiated and prolonged, especially in concertos. On top of that, the "sol-si" soprano contour above K6/4 - D will involve moving of the "dissonant" fourth upward in alto or tenor. In a Mozart example (sonata in G, K 283, I, m.15), the fourth leaps up a fourth to provide the seventh of the dominant chord. So much about what the "dissonant fourth" must do. It is obvious that composers all too frequently treat it as a chord tone which it is.

      With all of the above reflections I wanted to instigate a type of awareness in the community of music teachers which will allow them to open more to real music and stimulate their students to think creatively and critically. When I hear the sentence: "We have to teach our students the most typical things in part-writing first, and only then mention exceptions, if at all" – it becomes clear to me that the person who pronounces that does not make a difference between "exceptions" and routine musical language of the epoch which is indispensible. This lack of understanding  – along with the lack of enough observations of musical examples from the CCP – inevitable leads to ineffective and unprofessional  teaching which confuses the students and closes the door before their creativity and critical thinking.

      A  teacher cannot place the label "poor" on some phenomenon which makes sense in the CPP only because it occurs less frequently than another phenomenon. "Poor" and "less typical" are not equivalents, are they?

List of Universal Elements Necessary For [Any] Music:

pitch, rhythm, timbre, instrument types, orchestration, articulation, types of linear/vertical motion (oblique, parallel, contrary, silence), silence, melody, harmony, counterpoint, scale/mode, temporal placement of elements, modulation, contrast, meter, pulse, form, consonance/dissonance, temperament/tuning, repetition, variation, character, predetermined or improvisational forms, language, social meaning, dynamics, intervals, acoustics, technology, organizing concept, musicianship, voice leading, symbols/notation, group communication and direction . . .

Some universals cross categories and are interrelated and most should be universal (notation may not be used in every culture of music, but most major musical philosophies have symbols and notation and why I have included it). 

How is this all valuable?  Instead of teaching music theory as an element of the Western canon, it might be useful from a more generalized perspective to see how any of the above Universals can be compared across a wider spectrum, scale for example - how is it used in classical, jazz, Japanese music, Native American music, experimental music, etc.  If one can start from a perspective of generalization, insight into that aspect of function in music could be illuminated in a more comprehensive light.  

In connection with Meter Symposium 2 (held at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 24-25 February 2017) we are surveying people’s ideas and experiences surrounding the teaching of meter. If you are a teacher of music at any level, or have been until recently, we would be grateful if you would respond to the short survey. 

Would you also kindly read the Participant Information Statement included with the survey.

All survey responses return as anonymous via Survey Monkey. The survey responses will eventually be collated into a report that may form the basis of a journal article.

Understanding and Teaching Meter Survey link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/metersurvey2017

Best regards,

Dr Michael Webb.

Senior Lecturer in Music Education 

& Musicology (ethnomusicology)

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

T 61 2 9351 1332 | F 61 2 9351 1287 | 

michael.webb@sydney.edu.au

_____________________________________________________

Andrea Calilhanna Grad.Dip.T(Mus) DipMus LMusA AMusA MMTA FCSME 

Sydney Conservatorium of Music - Research Assistant

Master of Music (Musicology  - Music Curriculum Development)  Graduate Research Student

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrea_Calilhanna

https://au.linkedin.com/in/andrea-calilhanna-20391955

http://music.sydney.edu.au/research/special-research-events/meter-symposium-two/

I wonder if anyone has experience with a space that doubles as computer lab and piano/keyboard lab.  (Currently my institution has a separate room for each, but I can't help but think that there might be some innovative furniture or equipment that could improve upon this--perhaps some way to quickly turn a keyboard into a computer desk and vice versa....)

Thank you for any thoughts and/or experiences you're willing to share.

Best wishes, 

Jeremy 

__________________

Jeremy Day-O'Connell

Associate Professor and Chair

Music Department

Skidmore College

Has anyone used the software StaffPad on the Surface Pro in their own work or in the classroom? I'm curious to evaluate it to see if we can use it in a pedagogical or classroom capacity at our institution, but they don't have any kind of trial version or 'review copy' available. At its high price I wanted to have some idea of how it was.

Any help would be appreciated! You can e-mail me separately at gghunt 'at' uta.edu

Thanks!

Graham

As Chair of the Scholars for Social Responsibility Interest Group of the Society for Music Theory, I’ve been feeling an obligation to make a public statement on SMT-Discuss since the US election results were announced on November 8. Regardless of political views or nationality, this event has drawn reaction from people around the world. As I’m sure many of you can attest, academia has not been immune to such reactions.

In conversation with members of the Scholars for Social Responsibility IG on our email list, I have heard responses including:

• I’m not sure how to respond to this situation in my professional life
• I want to connect with others to share what’s going on where I am, and find out what others are doing
• I want to work with my students/colleagues/communities to create positive action
• I want to talk about how music theory and its teachings can perpetuate and reinforce political and social structures, and power dynamics
• I want to emphasize critical thinking skills in my classroom, along with musical skills
• I want to help preserve/promote the foundational art works and values of my society
• I wonder whether the SMT membership will be impacted in practical terms (members’ ability to travel to conferences, feel safe in particular venues)
• I want to talk about how politics might impact higher education
• I’m not sure how to support students from minority communities who have expressed feeling at risk

Members also shared non-partisan resources related to teaching in times of crisis (applicable to any number of regional, national, and global events), including:

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning resources on teaching in times of crisis:

https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/crisis/

http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/crisis/teaching.shtml

Philip Bohlman. 1993. “Musicology as Political Act.” The Journal of Musicology 11/4 (Autumn): 411-436.

If you are feeling affinity with any of the above, I encourage you to join our mailing list. We are still growing our membership, and would welcome additional voices as we shape the aim of this interest group. Further, please be aware that this is a non-partisan list, open to all political views (including apolitical views); the US election is one of many topics related to social responsibility that this group might explore, depending on the interests of members. Finally, watch for a session at our 2017 meeting on “The Activist Scholar’s Toolkit”—I’m sure we’ll still have plenty to talk about by then.

best,

Robin Attas

Chair, Scholars for Social Responsibility Interest Group

This year I’ve started teaching a non-major, first-year course called “Music, Mathematics, and Computation.” My plan for the course was a mixture of mathematical music theory (e.g., tuning and temperament, the Golden Section, etc.) and computational music analysis (key finding, similarity measures, etc.). When I first offered the course in the fall, what I found to be the most successful was to talk about post-1965 pieces with some mathematical angle: I’d lecture on the relevant mathematics (translating them for students who may not even have calculus), we’d listen to the piece together, and we’d talk about the experience of listening. We did things like ratios of tempo in Nancarrow, temperament in Young’s The Well-Tuned Piano and Partch’s Barstow, fractals in Ligeti’s Disordre, fractals in Norgard's infinity series, and algorithmic composition in Pärt’s Cantus, John Luther Adams’s For Lou Harrison, and the postcard pieces by James Tenney.

Since this material was the most successful, I’d like to add more of it (probably double it) and ditch things like key-finding, which I'm starting to think only people who read this board care about. Can anyone think of other concepts/pieces I might add to the syllabus?

Thanks so much!

-Mitch Ohriner

University of Denver

Best wishes,

Peter Kaminsky

Professor of Music

University of Connecticut

Awards will be given for the best student poster and student paper. These awards include both a monetary award and feature on the JMTP website, either as a peer-reviewed article or resource. We are in full planning mode for the conference and will have specific information about registration and local arrangements in the next week. Please direct any questions to Jennifer Snodgrass (snodgrassjs@appstate.edu) and Austin Patty (apatty@leeuniversity.edu)

My student and I would appreciate it greatly!

All best,

Tim Cutler

Professor and Co-Chair of Music Theory

Cleveland Institute of Music

timothy.cutler@cim.edu

I'm wondering if any others have experienced this, or if I've just had a couple groups of students who prefer a different approach.  If others have experienced this, I'm curious about two things:  (1) If you think this is part of a larger trend, which might necessitate a philosophical change on my part, and (2) why you think this is happening?  I'm hesitant to draw a connection, but this seems similar to the "anything can be learned/taught through a five-minute YouTube video" idea that seems pretty common these days.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have!

Zac

I'm planning a first-year experience course and thinking about organizing it around how music shapes how we experience time. The course needs to be designed for non-music majors, though they will be in the honors program. Does anyone have resources to suggest? I'm thinking about Elizabeth Margulis's book On Repeat, Lewis Rowell's "New Temporal Horizons" from Music In the Mirror, Steve Reich's writings about his own music, and some of Jonathan Kramer's work, but I would love other suggestions for readings. (I know Stockhausen has written on time in music, but is there anything accessible to first-year non-musicians?) In particular, I don't know of much that talks about how tonal music affects our experience of time through tension and release. I would also really appreciate any thoughts on multimedia resources I might use, including pieces of music.

Thank you!

Tim

Note: our current curriculum (which I am now revamping) contains growing interval chains that culminate in twelve-tone rows by semester four. My gut feeling is that the time spent acquiring these skills could more effectively be spent doing other things (gaining more applicable skills).