MU 203 A: Diatonic Music Theory

Spring 2020 Syllabus

TIME: M/W 11:00 - 12:15

ROOM: Regina 307
INSTRUCTOR: Justin Rowan, MM Office hours: By appointment only.
Office: NA Please send email with 24 hours notice
Email: JRowan@ndc.edu

REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Tonal Harmony by Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne, 8th edition
Workbook for Tonal Harmony 8th edition
Staff Paper for note taking (available as a printoff and as a notebook)

MISSION: Notre Dame College, a Catholic institution in the tradition of the Sisters of Notre Dame, educates
a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional, and global responsibility.

COURSE RATIONAL: The study of music and/or theater demonstrates an understanding of the
performance arts, furthering the ability to develop lifelong creativity and critical thinking abilities to a
major degree program. Non-performance courses in music and theater meet the institution’s core
curriculum as a creative inquiry.

Course Description:
MU203 will introduce more fundamentals of music theory while further teaching topics covered in
MU103. Topics covered will include minor keys; diatonic modes; major, minor, diminished, and
augmented triads; Major, dominant, minor, half, and fully diminished seventh chords; inversions of
triads and seventh chords; Roman Numeral analysis of chord functionality; Roman Numeral analysis of
harmony in major and minor keys; root position part writing and its function in understanding,
identifying, and composing four-part chorales; non-chord tones, doublings, and voice-leading rules in
four-part chorales; understanding and identifying compound meters and rhythms; solfege singing (with
movable Do) of major and minor scales, diatonic and chromatic intervals, and short musical selections in
major and minor modes.

Programmatic Learning Outcomes:

• Define music theory and terminology (2)
• Interpret music notation for written theory and aural skills (2)
• Identify key signatures, intervals, time, and form (2)
• Analyze intervals, rhythms, and tonality in musical excerpts (1, 2, 3)
• Evaluate one’s and others musical theory for accuracy (1, 2, 3)
• Compose musical melodies and rhythms (2, 3)
Assessed by class participation, quizzes, exams, and peer-teaching exercises.

Course Learning Outcomes:

• Identify and interpret written music in Major and minor modes
• Analyze music from the Common Practice Period with Roman Numerals
• Identify and interpret compound rhythms and time signatures
 • Perform (sing) simple diatonic melodies in simple and compound meters
• Compose music following common practice period rules for 4-part voice writing
All to be assessed by class participation, quizzes, exams, and peer-teaching exercises.

Foundational Curriculum Outcome:

Develop both creative and analytical thinking through the exploration of the creative process; define
and apply the vocabulary related to the elements, forms, and styles of music.

Course Requirements:
• In class work/participation – 20%
o Each class session will be worth three points. One for attendance, one for participation
in discussion, and one for in-class work. At the end of semester the total number of
points will be tallied and calculated as this portion of the grade.
• Homework and Projects – 15%
o Homework assignments will each be worth 10 points, and projects will be worth 15 to
50 depending on the amount of work they require. These points will be totaled and
calculated as this portion.
• Aural Skills – 10%
o Participation in aural training sessions is expected for this course. These include solfege
singing, rhythmic and melodic dictation, and sight singing.
• Cleveland Orchestra Concert Report – 10%
• Midterm – 15%
• Final – 30%

Concert Report:
Attend a live performance of the Cleveland Orchestra and complete a one page single-spaced paper
discussing it. It is highly recommended that the student bring a score of at least one piece being
performed on the concert. The instructor will assist in providing the score, as well as access to
discounted student tickets.

Attendance:
• Two unexcused absences will be allowed with no academic penalty. Subsequent unexcused
absences will each result in 5% being deducted from the student’s final grade.
• Class will begin promptly at 11:00. Students arriving more than two minutes late will considered
tardy. Being tardy for 3 classes will count as one unexcused absence.
• Students are expected to be present and attentive for the full length of each session.
• Students are not to leave class for phone calls or messages.
• Students may be excused for:
o A scheduled Notre Dame College athletic game. Not a practice.
o Extreme personal illness with documentation from a doctor.
o Personal and/or family emergency
o Appointments such as regular checkups, dentist appointments, eye exams, and other
non-emergency appointments will not be excused.
o Preexisting class conflicts that will make a student late must be approved before the
class they will affect.
Cell Phone/Device Use:
• All phones, tablets, laptops, and smart watches are to be away during class. If a device is seen
being used during class time the student will be instructed to put the device away. If the device
is out again during the same class period then the student will receive zero participation points
for the day. No exceptions.
• During exams all phones will be placed on the board at the front of class to be retrieved upon
completion of the exam. Watches may remain on, but must not be checked and are subject to
inspection if the instructor suspects any illicit use of the device.
• Headphones and earbuds or any other listening device (other than a hearing aid) must be
removed and put away during class. If a student has headphones in they will lose all
participation credit for the day with no exception.
• The instructor reserves the right to modify the device policy as is deemed necessary throughout
the semester.

Missed Exams:
• If a student has a conflict with a scheduled exam they must communicate it with the professor
24 hours or more before the exam takes place. Failure to do so will result in the student
receiving a 0% grade for the exam. There will be no exceptions.
• Conflicts will only be approved if they would be a regularly excused absence. Documentation
must be presented at least 24 hours before the exam is scheduled.
• If an exam is made up it must be done so before the class period following the scheduled exam.
The exam will be proctored by the professor or by another faculty member of the college with
the approval of the professor. The makeup exam will cover identical material and be graded
identically to the scheduled one, but specific correct answers will differ from the original

Notre Dame College Policies

Personal Responsibility:
Please take personal responsibility for your work and your future. You need to work diligently in your
classes, plan ahead for assignments and exams, and do your best. These are probably the most portable
set of expectations that will transfer into your future professional world. Therefore, as the instructor I
have the following expectations of all students:
• To be present, punctual, prepared and attentive during each class.
• To be willing to participate positively and constructively in class.
• To understand and abide by the procedures, regulations and schedules described in this
syllabus.
• To assume ownership of one’s ideas, opinions, values, etc.

Students can have the following expectations of the instructor:

• To be present, punctual, prepared, and enthusiastic during each class.
• To be genuinely concerned about the student’s ability to perform well.
• To remain faithful to the procedures, regulations, and schedules described in this syllabus.
• To provide a class structure to encourage learning.
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism:
a. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to the following: 1) the completion or
attempted completion of any academic work by means other than those permitted; and 2) the
alteration of a document relating to the grading process, including changing an instructor’s
grade book, or changing answers on a test after the time to complete the test is over.
b. Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to: unauthorized collaboration,
copying another student’s answers, unauthorized aids on a test, using purchased or pre-made
term papers, plagiarism, and destroying another student’s work.
c. Plagiarism occurs when an individual presents the ideas, thoughts, or words of another as his or
her own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, using phrases, sentences, or ideas from a
published source, including the internet, without citing that source, representing another’s
unpublished work as your own, rewriting or paraphrasing the work of another without giving
credit to that person by citation, submitting a paper as one’s own work that has been copied, in
whole or in part, from another’s work.
d. Academic dishonesty may carry specific penalties including but not limited to: failure on the
specific assignment, failure of the course, and/or a letter detailing the offense that is kept in the
Office of Academic Affairs.

Disruptive Student Policy:

The College seeks an environment that promotes academic achievement and integrity, that is protective
of free inquiry, and that serves the educational mission of Notre Dame College. Similarly, the College
seeks a community that is free from violence, threats, and intimidation; that is respectful of the rights,
opportunities, and welfare of students, faculty, staff, and guests of Notre Dame College; and that does
not threaten the physical or mental health or safety of members of the College community. As a student
at Notre Dame College you are expected adhere to Student Code of Conduct. To review the Student
Conduct Code, please see: http://www.notredamecollege.edu/sites/default/files/15-16-Student-Code-
of-Conduct.pdf