Monday-Wednesday, 12:45pm–2:00pm, SM 344
Instructor: Dr. David Cartledge
Office Hours: By appointment. I work hard to respond to you very quickly, though–please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Email: docartle@iu.edu
Phone: 855-1738
SCHEDULE:
Week 1 (Week of January 13)
Week 2 (Week of January 20)
Week 3 (Week of January 27)
Week 4 (Week of February 3)
Week 5 (Week of February 10)
Week 6 (Week of February 17) EXAM 1 is Feb 17
Week 7 (Week of February 24)
Week 8 (Week of March 3)
Week 9 (Week of March 10)
Week 10 (Week of March 24)
Week 11 (Week of March 31) EXAM 2 is March 31
Week 12 (Week of April 7)
Week 13 (Week of April 14)
Week 14 (Week of April 21)
Week 15 (Week of April 28)
FINAL EXAM: Monday, May 5; 12:40-2:40 p.m. Please make travel plans accordingly.
Scores:
Scores for most pieces covered in this class are available through IMSLP. You are encouraged, however, to obtain good-quality editions of this music for yourself. As a pianist, you should own copies of virtually all of this material. While most of this music is available in public domain editions available on the internet, public domain editions generally only reflect scholarship as of 1929 at the latest. While such scores can be handy for study, and for classes like this, it would be wise to begin investing in editions of higher quality. Certainly, if you are learning these pieces for performance, you should invest in a good-quality edition. You are encouraged to play through the works as well as to simply listen to them. Note that IU subscribes to the Henle Library.
Recordings:
In the weekly syllabus pages, I have provided links to the IU Libraries’ audio digitizations of the works on the listening list. In general, a link at the artist, title or composer of a piece will take you to the media collections page for the entire recording. In general, clicking on a movement will take you directly to the player. There are some exceptions for single-movement works, where clicking on the title will take you directly to the track. You can also access the recordings through the music library reserves web pages. The actual compact discs or records are also on reserve, and may be listened to within the library.
For the pieces in this syllabus, I have indicated the name of the performer for the reserve recording. You are not, however, obligated to listen to the reserve performances—you may listen to any recording of the work you wish.
Readings:
There is no textbook for this class. You are expected to complete readings from New Grove Dictionary, Second Edition (NG2), or from the reserve book list, as indicated for each class.
Course Learning Goals and Objectives:
The Course learning goals and objectives are as follows:
Over the course of the semester, we will:
- Develop specific analytical knowledge of representative works in the literature, both through aural and score analysis
- Explore piano works in appropriate historical and social context
- Understand the stylistic approaches of a given composer when writing for the piano
- Trace the changes in piano compositional style over time
For assessment in this course, you should be able to:
- Apply prior analysis of specific works in order to recognize and discuss a given work in response to a prompt
- Use your study of style to recognize the likely composer of unfamiliar works
- Write effectively about style, analysis and historical context of piano music in essay form
- Show an understanding of historical keyboard instruments and their impact on the literature
These learning goals will be achieved and measured by:
- Daily class preparation through reading and listening
- Participation in class discussions
- Written examination
- Opportunities to examine and play upon historical instruments through “field trips” within the school
ASSESSMENT:
Exam I: 30%
Exam II: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
Attendance/Participation: 10%
For students in the MM Piano degree, the passing grade is a grade of B (80% or better), as this class is a course in the major for that degree.
Examinations
The written examinations will consist of listening, score identification, short answer and essay questions. You may be presented with examples (either aurally or in score) not on the listening list in the syllabus, and asked to make assessments of the likely composers, and of the music itself. Essay questions will cover both readings and material presented in class. Essay questions may require you to relate composers to one another, to explain general trends in keyboard music, and to relate the literature discussed in class to broader musical, technological and sociological issues. Bear these ideas in mind as you study and listen to the music. The second exam will not be cumulative: it will be based on material from weeks 6 to 10. The Final exam will not be cumulative as far as listening examples are concerned. Other questions in this exam may draw from the entire semester of work.
Essays must be in your own words. This means that you must come up with your own sentences without copying them (even from memory) from others. You may not copy from other students. You may not copy from books, articles or other sources, without proper citation. An essay that contains uncited passages that can be found elsewhere (including the work of other students) will result in a failure for the course.
Class participation
For each class period, you will be expected to have read the relevant materials, to have listened to the music WITH THE SCORE, and to be able to contribute. This means:
Concerning readings:
- knowing and understanding the writing
- being able to explain the writing
- having an opinion about the content
Concerning listenings:
- understanding how the work is put together
- understanding the historical context of the music
- being able to articulate what you like and dislike about the writing, with reasons why.
When reading, it is a good idea to make an outline of each article or excerpt. This will help clarify your thoughts about what the author has said, and will be handy reference at exam time.
When listening, try to figure out what it is that makes this piece unique: What are the elements of the piece? What is the nature of the melody, of the harmony? How is texture used? Are there interesting sonorities in play? What is the form? How does the piece use the piano? Are there evocations of other pieces or genres? Are there evocations of other instruments? For all these questions, how are the results achieved?
Your best grade in this class will be achieved by being prepared for each class. Typically, you should find that you will need to listen to a work, and work through a reading both before and after a class, in order to work most effectively. Consider working in groups—both to listen to music, and to discuss the readings before class. Ask each other tough questions! This will help you clarify your ideas.
A student who attends punctually each class day but does not contribute to discussion or respond to questions will earn the minimum acceptable grade of “B” (80%) for class participation. I regard two absences from (or tardiness to) class as entirely reasonable, and these absences can be made up for by active contribution to class discussions. Absences or tardiness beyond this will decrease those points allocated for participation.
Schedule:
An approximate schedule for the semester is indicated in the weekly schedule. It will be assumed for each lecture that you have read the assignments and listened to the works listed up to and including that class day–it may be difficult to follow the lecture if you have not done so. Some flexibility is built into the scheduling to allow more or less time to be spent on particular composers or works as necessary. You should anticipate that we may be variously slightly ahead or behind the listed material as the semester progresses.
David Cartledge 