APPLIED VOICE SYLLABUS

Studio of Nell Adams

SPRING, 2002

See the ADepartmental Syllabus for Applied Voice@ for pertinent information that has not been reiterated here.

ASSIGNMENTS:

I. Schedules

If you enroll as an undergraduate for 2 credit hours of applied voice, you will be scheduled for two half-hour lessons a week, one accompanied and one unaccompanied. In order to understand what is required of you, you will refer to pages attached to this syllabus entitled:

(a.) AAccompanied-lesson Schedule@ and (b.) AUnaccompanied-lesson Schedule@ for specific tasks to be executed on certain dates, and (c.) ASong-Division Schedule@ for specific measures numbers which designate the portion of each song to be mastered. Thus, each song requires the successful accomplishment of several specific tasks for designated portions in each song on certain dates.

If you enroll as a graduate for 1 credit hour of applied voice you will be scheduled for one 45-minute lesson a week. Combine the AAccompanied-lesson Schedule,@ the AUnaccompanied-lesson Schedule,@ and the ASong-Division Schedule@ to determine the desired sequence for your learning activity.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO ACCURATELY AND SECURELY EXECUTE THE

ASSIGNED TASK ON OR BEFORE THE SCHEDULED DATE.

This procedure is comparable to other courses where a schedule indicates deadlines for pages to be read and written assignments to be submitted. Since your work in this course is the execution of vocal skills through song literature, this prescribed order offers the best opportunity for you to experience and maintain desirable learning habits which should foster your vocal development.

2. Composer Reports

Write a one-page report (doubled-spaced typed or singe-spaced handwritten) about the composer of each of your songs. Submit the report according to the schedule of dates on the back page of this syllabus. Each report must cite its source(s) in proper bibliographic entries.

3. Interpretation Sheets

Complete an interpretation sheet for each song according to the attached reference sheet. Look to the song text for answers. If any question refers to something not specifically address in the text, provide an answer that maintains and compliments the textual thought and musical mood. Have fun and be creative. Submit answers for each song according the schedule of dates on the back page of this syllabus.

4. Listening Activities

Listen to recordings (approximately 50 min. each which is comparable to one full CD or both sides of a record) of individual soloists singing music comparable to the literature you have been assigned this semester. Most Freshmen are assigned songs with English and Italian or Latin texts, while Sophomores add songs with German texts and further study introduces French texts. Try to find recordings of songs sung in the language you are currently studying. For Freshmen and Sophomores, recordings of Art Songs with piano accompaniment are preferable to works with orchestral accompaniment . CD=s, records, and listening equipment are housed in the Library Resource Center (LRC) in Speed Library. While listening, follow the text of the song or aria when possible.

Write a brief report including: the call number of the recording, the name of the singer, the name of the recording, a list of the selections, and a scant commentary on what you hear in each song based on your perception and understanding of the technical aspects of vocal production; e.g., breath support and control, diction, clarity of tone, legato lines, vibrato rate, dynamic levels, tonal consistency, etc. Include at least two of these features in your brief comments on each song.

The reports on these listening activities are due approximately every two weeks for a total of six reports for the semester. (See back page for specific dates.) For extra credit (one point each toward your studio grade) you may submit additional reports through Apr. 25, but never two in one week

5. Performance Opportunities

Sing in studio recitals and Solo Hour Recitals as assigned. Your attendance at studio recitals, whether you are scheduled to sing or not, is required, and your attendance will be considered a specified task for that week. Absences in studio recitals for any reason other than those stated under Attendance in this syllabus will be not be excused and will be reflected in the grading of the lessons for the week: if scheduled to singBin the grading of the accompanied lesson and if scheduled to attend onlyBin the grading of the unaccompanied lesson.

Studio recitals are scheduled for Wed., Feb. 13 in Aven 326; for Wed., Feb. 27 at 3:00 in Aven 326, and for Mon. Apr. 15 in Aven Auditorium. Check my studio door for possible changes in the location.

Your participation in the auditions of the regional and state competitions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is suggested by the instructor then left to your own discretion but will afford you extra credit: 5 points toward the studio grade. The spring semester state meeting is at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS and is scheduled for April 26-27, 2002. The registration cost for the student is $12.00 per entry. All other expenses (lodging, meals, transportation) are paid by the individual student also.

When singing in Solo Hour, semester juries, or NATS auditions, wear dressy clothes. Men=s attire should include a coat and tie. Women should dress with hemlines falling BELOW THE KNEES and avoid light- or brightly-colored leg covering. They may also wear a dressy pants suit.

ATTENDANCE:

At your lesson time, please knock on the door. Bring a pencil. Come ready to sing, i.e., warm and focus the voice. Have a pencil with you. Please bring a cassette to tape your lessons. The lesson may be taped on my recorder. Always include a pencil with your lesson material.

You must bring this entire syllabus to every lesson along with your music, your index cards with rhythmic notation and textual information as instructed in the ALearning Order Sheet,@ your accompaniment tape, and a PENCIL.

Absence from a lesson will be made up if the absence is based on the following criteria, which includes notification from the student in a timely manner: (1) an illness which can be substantiated by an excuse from the school nurse or your doctor, (2) an official MC responsibility, (3) or a personal emergency which is considered such by the instructor. Absence for any other reason will not require a make-up lesson, and the student will forfeit the opportunity to earn a satisfactory grade; PLUS, the specific tasks scheduled for the next lesson will not be altered or postponed.

If you cannot attend a lesson, contact me as soon as possible. If you are unable to reach me personally (925-3924 studio and 924-0289 home), please notify the music office (925-3440) and ask them to leave a message for me and, if applicable, for your accompanist. If the absence is known far enough in advance, try to make arrangements with another student simply to exchange lessons times, and notify me of the change.

EVALUATION:

Your studio grade is two-thirds of your semester grade. This grade is designed to represent a very objective evaluation and hinges entirely on how you prepare for, attend, and execute scheduled requirements at your weekly lessons. Your end-of-the-semester jury grade is the other third of your semester grade. This grade is an average of the grade you receive from the other members of the voice faculty and hinges entirely on how you perform during your jury. Sufficient daily preparation by you, resulting in secure weekly abilities demonstrated in your lessons, is the most productive means of attaining satisfactory results at the end of the semester; which, in turn, paves the road for free and efficient vocal development.

At the end of each lesson, you will receive either a Satisfactory or an Unsatisfactory grade which will be determined by your ability to ACCURATELY and SECURELY execute each assignment in a minimum amount of time AND TO SUBMIT ANY SCHEDULED REPORTS. Each specific task as assigned in the schedules should take approximately 2 to 3 minutes to execute accurately and securely.

Practice to be able to do this.

ALL of the specific tasks scheduled for the lesson must be executed accurately and securely and in a minimum amount of time and all of the scheduled reports must be completed and submitted for the student to earn a satisfactory grade. Complete the practice chart as assigned.

The studio grade will be determined by your percentage of satisfactory lessons as follows: The number of satisfactory lessons (meaning all scheduled specific tasks are executed accurately and securely in a minimum amount of time and all scheduled reports are complete and submitted) divided by the number of available lessons equals the percentage which becomes the studio grade. For example: 26 satisfactory lessons divided by 28 possible lessons = .93 or 93% and, thus, the student earns a studio grade of 93 which counts as two-thirds of the semester grade. (Any extra points you gain will be added to the STUDIO grade.)

Please note: An unsatisfactory grade is earned in a lesson when any part of any specified task is not executed accurately and securely and in a minimum amount of time, when a report is not submitted or submitted in an incomplete state, when the student is absence from the lesson without excuse, when the student is absence from a studio recital without notification and/or excuse, or when a student consistently makes a mistake that has been constantly called to attention.

Grading Scale

A = 100-93; B = 92-85; C = 84-77; D = 76-69; F = 68 and below

Proper practice skills (as outlined in the attached ALearning Order Sheet@) utilized in the proper amount of time (as outlined in the 2001-2002 Mississippi College Bulletin, p. 207 and the Department Syllabus) will provide ample opportunity to accomplish the specific tasks as scheduled and to complete the reports as assigned. Students who are not able to meet these requirements should seriously consider alternative options, such as:

1. a lighter schedule of classes and/or less time spent in outside employment, so that they may be better able to devote sufficient time and energy toward adequate preparation for their voice lessons;

2. another area of musical emphasis, so that they may be able to discover a satisfactory medium for their success in an appropriate career; and/or

3. a major outside the field of music, so that they may experience more fulfillment in the preparation for their life=s work.

LEARNING ORDER SHEET

TEXT

1. On note cards, write out the rhythmic notation of the melody then put the IPA transcriptions, to be best of your ability, above the rhythmic notation and the word-by-word translations, if applicable, below the notation. Transfer the IPA transcription and the word-by-word translations to your musical score.

FOR #2 - #4 below, SPEAK AT A PITCH JUST ABOVE YOUR NORMAL SPEAKING PITCH AND NEVER LET THIS PITCH DROP. ALSO, WHEN READING, KEEP THE EDGES OF THE TONGUE IN THE AUH-HUH@ POSITION, OR TOUCHING THE BOTTOM ROW OF TEETH, EXCEPT FOR THE QUICK, RAPID, AND CLEAR MOVEMENT NECESSARY FOR ANY CONSONANTS. (When reading vowels only, the edges of the tongue should never leave the Auh-huh@ position.)

2. Pronounce all the syllables correctly in legato style. Begin with the vowels separately; when secure, add the initial consonant; when secure, add the final consonant.

3. Following the same order, correctly read all the syllables fluently in a legato style while you clap the rhythm. Retain the purity of the vowel.

4. Following the same order, rhythmically read all the syllables in a legato style, slowly at first and, gradually, securely moving up to tempo. Always elongate the vowel sound until it changes to a new syllable without any guttural differentiation for rhythmic changes.

DO NOT SING THE TEXT OF THE SONG UNTIL YOUR SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION OF #4, i.e., accurately and securely spoken in rhythm in a minimum amount of time WITHOUT GUTTURAL DIFFERENTIATION OF RHYTHM. (The success of this ability will be determined by the instructor.)

MUSIC

1. Steadily rhythmic read (count OUT LOUD) the melodic rhythm using the syllables you learned in ear-training. Spend extra time on difficult phrases (at a slower speed) until they can be counted without hesitation and up to speed.

2. When secure, rhythmic read the melodic rhythm and simultaneously clap melodic rhythm with accents on strong beats while piano accompaniment is being played.

3. When secure, clap in the same manner while hissing on an [f] and taking a breath at the proper breath phrases.

4. When secure, sing the melody on Tee [ti], Vah [va], Zoo [zu], Noh [no] or Thay [voiceless the] or as assigned: [vr or br] plus vowel, etc.

5. When secure, sing melodic phrases on text vowels while the edge of the tongue remains in Auh-huh@ position.

6. When secure, sing melodic phrases text vowels with their initial consonants always returning the edge of the tongue to the Auh-huh@ position.

7. When secure, sing melodic phrases with complete text but not before you have successfully executed the accurate and steady rhythmic reading of the text in tempo. (The success of this ability will be determined by the instructor.)

8. When secure, sing the song from memory.

The following are due on or before these dates:

Listening reports: Jan. 28, Feb. 11, Feb. 25, Mar. 25, Apr. 8, and Apr. 22.

Composer reports: Jan. 24, Feb. 7, Feb. 21, Mar. 28, Apr. 16.

Interpretation sheets: Mar. 22, Apr. 2, Apr. 9, Apr. 18, Apr. 25

NONE OF THESE REPORTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE STATED DATES.

STRIVE TO SING ONE OF YOUR FIVE SONGS FROM MEMORY DURING OR BEFORE

THESE WEEKS: Feb. 4, Feb. 18, Mar. 4, Apr. 1, and Apr. 15