Students are expected to select only two classes. The remaining two class periods serve as study periods. Class changes after April 1 will incur a $25 fee.
General Musical Development
RUDIMENTS
(Class Capacity per level 28)
Instructors: L1 TBA, L2 Franklin Miller, L3 Wendell Nisly, L4 Lloyd Kauffman, L5 not offered in 2012
Rudiments is offered as a five-level series that begins with the very basics of music notation. Students who enroll in Rudiments for the first time are required to take a placement test, and will receive testing information with their acceptance letter.
Rudiments 1 assumes no prior musical knowledge. It begins with the elements of basic notation and expands through the study of ledger lines, simple time signatures, note and rest values, and accidentals.
Prerequisites: none.
Rudiments 2 is a study of scales and key signatures and an introduction to intervals.
Prerequisites: basic understanding of Rudiments 1, including letter names in treble and bass clefs.
Rudiments 3 is a study of intervals (perfect, major, minor, diminished, and augmented). It also deals with triplets, syncopation, transposition, incomplete measures, and compound time signatures.
Prerequisites: working knowledge of letter names, scales, and key signatures; the concept of whole and half steps; and the information described in Rudiments 2.
Rudiments 4 focuses on triads, triad inversions, chords, chord progressions, dominant seventh chords, and minor scales.
Prerequisites: fluency with letter names (treble and bass clefs) and a basic understanding of intervals as
described in Rudiments 3.
Rudiments 5 explores basic music composition through a study of tonal and modal foundations, attributes of great melodies, principles of functional harmonization, and the use of simple formal structures to nurture a seed idea into a complete work.
Prerequisites: near mastery of the letter names and solfege syllables, a good understanding of intervals, and a basic understanding of triad and seventh chord inversions.
SIGHT SINGING
(Class Capacity per level 16)
Instructors: L1 Brandon Mullet, L2 Franklin Miller, L3 Wendell Nisly
Sight Singing teaches music reading skills through the demonstration and practice of methods and patterns necessary to read pitches and rhythms at sight. Students learn various tips to help in sight reading, and have opportunities to practice skills through class exercises. Sight Singing is offered as a four-level series that begins with sight reading at its fundamental stage (one-part singing in steps) and progresses to four-part reading with leaps. Students who enroll in Sight Singing for the first time must arrive on campus by 2:00 on Saturday afternoon to take a short placement test. Former students will be placed one level higher unless they request to repeat a level.
CLASS VOICE
Instructors: Lloyd Kauffman, Brandon Mullet
Class Voice will explore the concepts and practice of healthy tension-free singing. Specific areas of study will include developing controlled breathing, phonation that is neither pressed nor breathy, focused resonance, and crisp articulation. Students will sing for, analyze, and critique each other.
Congregational Music
PHILOSOPHY OF CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC
Instructor: TBA
Why is singing such an indispensable part of Christian worship? Does the Bible direct us to a particular type of music? This course analyzes the music of great hymns and explores ways that we can worship in both spirit and truth (reality). Both men and women are welcome.
LEADING Congregational WORSHIP
(Class Capacity 15)
Instructor: TBA
This class examines the essential components of leading congregational singing: personal preparation, planning, clear communication of musical ideas, deportment, using the hymnal and other worship aids, and copyright issues. Participants conduct hymns and choruses in class for instructor and peer review. As this class specifically trains congregational leaders, it is open only to men.