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MUSI212

Course Summary

Course : MUSI212 Title : Jazz and Rock Length of Course : 8 Faculty :

Prerequisites : N/A Credit Hours : 3

Description

Course Description:

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to popular American music in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and the cultural contributions of African Americans, Indigenous peoples, Hispanics, and European descendants. Students will learn about ragtime, jazz, how jazz became an art, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and popular music. Important artists will be discussed, important songs will be reviewed, and the intersection of cultures will be analyzed throughout the course.

Course Scope:

Popular music is all around us, in our home, in our cars, in our stores, and in our movies. Have you ever wondered why you like what you like? We all have our favorites, from Beyoncé to The Beatles, from Kanye to Cash, from Oribson to Outkast. Whether you prefer Elvis Presley or Elvis Costello you will enjoy exploring the many genres that make up pop music today. We’ll look at a variety of hits, their historic antecedents, and what they mean for the future of popular music

Using the books “Switched On Pop” and “Breaking Records: 100 Years of Hits” as resources, this course offers insights into the origins of popular music in this country. Even as it delves into popular music from over 100 years ago, it also investigates current trends in popular music and their antecedents. Students bring their personal favorites to the discussions and projects, making the class appeal to contemporary tastes, why they are what they are, and what they mean in a broader context

Objectives

Define key terms, concepts, influences, and people in popular music.Apply musical terminology, concepts, and critical listening skills to differing styles of popular music.Analyze the social, political, and cultural influences on popular music.Explain how popular music works and why it matters.

Outline

Page: 1 of 9                       Date: 1/31/2023 7:54:07 AM

Week 1: Definition and Meaning of Pop Music, Meter, Melody, Harmony

Weekly Goals

Begin to think about what pop music can teach.

Learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology.

Become conversant with three elements of pop music: Meter, melody, and harmony. Practice listening, understanding what is heard, and communicating

The broad definition of popular music is illuminated in the Introduction. Why pop music matters is introduced. Overview

Specific terms of meter, melody, and harmony as they are expressed in popular music are defined and illustrated with examples. Listening is specific with each of the three songs presented. Each illustrates the concept of meter, melody, and harmony, and how it shapes the definition of “popular.” Relating to why popular music matters, each concept, and each song that illustrates it, show a specific relation to personal life, which has meaning for professional and civic lives. Injustice, intolerance, and inequality in the world – as well as beauty, kindness, and wonder – and how these songs illuminate aspects of those, are explored.

Assignments

Week 1 Forum Participation, Initial post due Thursday and Peer replies due Sunday Week 1 Assignment: Quiz 1

Readings

Sloan & Harding Introduction, Chapters 1, 2, 3 Week 1 Learning Material in Content

Week 2: : Definition and Meaning of Form, Timbre, Lyric, Hook, Rhyme

Weekly Goals

Continue to think about what pop music can teach.

Continue to learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology.

Become conversant with five elements of pop music: Form, timbre, lyric, hook, and rhyme. Practice listening, understanding what is heard, and communicating

Overview

Specific terms of form, timbre, lyric, hook, and rhyme as they are expressed in popular music are defined

and illustrated with examples. Listening is specific with songs presented. Each illustrates what the concept of form, timbre, lyric, hook, and rhyme is, and how it shapes the definition of “popular.” Relating to why popular music matters, each concept, and each song that illustrates it, show a specific relation to personal life, which has meaning for professional and civic lives. Cultural expressions, full songs vs. hooks, descriptive challenges, and how these songs illuminate aspects of those, are explored

Assignments

Week 2 Forum Participation, Initial post due Thursday and Peer replies due Sunday Week 2 Assignment: Quiz 2

Reading

Sloan & Harding – • Introduction, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Week 2 Learning Material in Content

Week 3: Roots and Early Jazz to R&B in Pop Music

Weekly Goals

Understand the beginnings of popular music.

Continue to learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology. Make connections from early popular music to the beginnings of rock and roll.

Become conversant with trends of social development as they are influenced by popular music.

Overview

Specific terms from the beginnings of recorded music, the flowering of jazz in the “Jazz Age,” and the beginnings of the rock and roll era are introduced as they relate to popular music. They are defined and illustrated with examples. Listening is specific with songs presented. Each illustrates what the concepts presented in Weeks 1 and 2 are, how they are used to describe recordings, jazz, and rock, and how they show the evolution of the definition of “popular.” Relating to why popular music matters, each concept, and each song that illustrates it, show a specific relation to personal life, which has meaning for professional and civic lives. Cultural expressions, how recordings affected home and professional life, meanings behind the phenomenon of jazz, meanings behind the birth of rock and roll, and how these genres illuminate aspects of life, are explored

Assignments

Week 3 Forum Participation, Initial post due Thursday and Peer replies due Sunday Week 3 Assignment: Quiz 3

Reading

Kuhlmann – • Chapters 1, 3, 6 Week 3 Learning Material in Content

Week 4: Pop Genre History

Weekly Goals

Put into writing what a specific genre of popular music can teach. Relate how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology. Use the elements of pop music to construct a communication vehicle. Practice listening, understanding what is heard, and communicating.

Overview

Specific terms, concepts, and history learned in the first 3 weeks of class are utilized by the student to compose an effective vehicle of communication. That vehicle will show that key terms, concepts, influences, musical terminology, listening skills, and life application are understood. Conveying the history of a popular genre and its importance will be shown through using the above items

Assignments

Week 4 Assignment – Essay: Pop Genre History Recommended Optional Reading

APUS Trefry Library See Week 4 Content in the classroom for instruction, tips, ideas on writing an essay.

Week 5: Definition and Meaning of Syncopation, Modulation, Identity, Sampling, Sound Design

Weekly Goals

Continue to think about what pop music can teach.

Continue to learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology.

Become conversant with five elements of pop music: Syncopation, modulation, counterpoint, sampling, and sound design.

Practice listening, understanding what is heard, and communicating

Overview

During Week 5 “Switched on Pop” authors Sloan and Harding continue their examination of popular music and why it matters. Songs from Lamar, Beyoncé, Spears, M.I.A., and Skrillex reveal the concepts in this week’s title: Syncopation, Modulation, Identity, Sampling, and Sound Design.

Assignments

Week 5 Forum Participation, Initial post due Thursday and Peer replies due Sunday Week 5 Assignment: Quiz 4

Reading

Sloan & Harding – Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Week 5 Learning Material in Content

Week 6: Definition and Meaning of Tonal Ambiguity and Genre

Weekly Goals

Continue to think about what pop music can teach.

Continue to learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology. Become conversant with two considerations of pop music: Tonal ambiguity and genre. Practice listening, understanding what is heard, and communicating.

Overview

During Week 6 “Switched on Pop” authors Sloan and Harding continue their examination of popular music and why it matters. Songs from Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Kelly Clarkson reveal the concepts in this week’s title: Tonal ambiguity and genre.

Assignments

Week 6 Forum Participation, Initial post due Thursday and Peer replies due Sunday Week 6 Assignment: Quiz 5

Readings

Sloan & Harding • Chapters 14, 15. Week 6 Learning Material in Content

Week 7: Pop Genre History

Weekly Goals

Continue to think about what pop music can teach. Continue to learn how pop music reflects society, the economy, and technology. Utilize concepts presented thus far including all elements of popular music. Relate the above to one specific popular artist or one specific popular group.