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On the one hand, good music teaching is good music teaching. An understanding and appreciation for music and its place in history and society is a goal for all music education. On the other hand, it is obvious that instrumental and vocal ensemble teaching require their own unique skills, methods and materials. It is not uncommon that a choir teacher may be asked to take on one hour of beginning band; an orchestra teacher may be tapped to direct a middle school chorus. In all cases, good relations among members of a music faculty rest on a substantive understanding of the various teaching contexts. 

During this three-part course, you will:

• Gather and review materials appropriate for instrumental and vocal ensemble programs;
• Share techniques, ideas and resources with colleagues;
• Practice and evaluate teaching techniques in real lesson/ensemble settings;
• Interact with instrumental and vocal music teachers and observe various approaches and methodologies employed in the performance-based classroom.

Required Materials

For the first term of this course you will need the following texts, available at the University Bookstore:

Tried and Proven Choral Warmups, Texas Choral Directors Association
The Art of Elementary Band Directing, Fraedrich

Though not required, you may find these texts very helpful:

First Lessons on Each Instrument, Instrumentalist Publications (also at the Bookstore)
The Instrumentalist, subscription (available through Dr. Morrison)

• One blank VHS video tape
• Secondary instrument 
• Collapsible music stand
• One 3-ring binder
• Conducting baton

General Expectations

This is an interactive, experience-based course. Learning can only happen if you are present and prepared for the class meetings. Participation and preparation is a significant part of your grade.

Assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting on the due date. Late assignments will receive a 1-point deduction for each calendar day late beginning at 5:00pm on the due date. Absence is not an excuse. Late assignments will be considered turned in when:

• It is personally accepted by one of the instructors, OR
• It is accepted and dated by Hidaat Ephrem, the Music Education Departmental Assistant, OR
• It is received and dated via fax (206-616-4098), OR
• It is received by one of the instructors via e-mail (where appropriate).

Every item you produce should reflect the highest level of professionalism. All written assignments should be typed/word-processed and checked thoroughly for spelling, grammatical and structural errors. Notated musical materials should be in the neatest of manuscript or generated by a notation program. Excessive use of correction material is not acceptable. Assignments not meeting a high standard of presentation will be returned for revision and re-submission. Late penalties will be imposed.
 
 

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Grading Policy

Final grades in this course are determined by the final total of points earned on all assignments, participation and preparation. The following scale shows the minimum number of points required to earn the given landmark grades. Other grades not shown (i.e., 3.9 or 2.7) will also be calculated using this scale.

4.0 = 96 - 100 points
3.5 = 90.5 points
3.0 = 85 points
2.5 = 79.5 points
2.0 = 74 points (minimum grade to fulfill Music Education requirement)
1.5 = 68.5 points
1.0 = 63 points
0.7 = 60 points
0.0 = < 60 points

Follow this link for information on the general UW grading system.

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