MUAP 151, 152, 154 171, 172, 174, 352, 354, 372, 374 Applied Saxophone and Double Reed Lessons, Spring 2016 University of Tennessee, Martin Course Section: MUAP 151, 152, 154, 171, 172, 174, 352, 354, 372, 374; all sections Course Title: Applied Saxophone and Double Reed Lessons Meeting Time and Place: TBA Course Credit Hours: 1-2 Textbooks and Other Required Materials: Materials on this list must be acquired within the time frame specified by the instructor. Please bring all pertinent required materials into every lesson. I may refuse your instruction if you do not, resulting in an unexcused absence! An adequate stock of high quality reeds o One box of style-appropriate reeds is required for each member of the saxophone family you are studying in applied lessons or playing in an ensemble. o I suggest a minimum stock of five for double reed instruments. Metronome, tuner and tone generator o These items must be able to function independently, though does not necessarily have to exist as a separate item. o These items must be able to emit a loud enough volume to be audible in regular solo practice settings. Assigned material for performance and study o You must purchase copies of assigned material for performance and study within one month of the beginning of the semester. Failure to do so will result in an automatic letter grade deduction from your final grade. You may not perform a piece publically that you do not own. o Students may be asked to spend up to $100 per semester on sheet music. Saxophonists: an instructor-approved professional classical mouthpiece for each member of the saxophone family you study or perform on in a University ensemble o Ownership of an instructor-approved professional jazz mouthpiece and appropriate ligature is required for students participating in jazz band on alto or tenor saxophone Double Reeds: supplies for reed making as deemed appropriate by the instructor. All students studying applied music are required to be an active member in good standing of the Woodwind Student Association and pay semesterly dues of $25.00 by the due date requested by the WSA. Instrument Ownership and Care / Maintenance Music majors in any degree who study saxophone as their primary instrument will be required to own an instructor-approved professional-quality alto saxophone by the beginning of their third semester of applied study. Because of the extra expense involved in the purchase of the double reed instruments, music majors specializing in those instruments will be required to own an instructor-approved instrument upon successful passing of the sophomore barrier. Students are required to keep their instruments in high-quality repair. If your instrument is in need of repair, you are required to address the issue within two weeks. If these problems have not been sufficiently addressed, I reserve the right to refuse instruction until the pertinent issues are resolved. I will provide contact information for local or regional repair technicians if you are in need of assistance of finding someone to help you.
Students wishing to use school instruments must speak with me about filling out proper paperwork. If a borrowed instrument is damaged or stolen while checked out to you, you may be held financially responsible for up to full repair or replacement cost. Taking a school instrument off campus is strictly prohibited without explicit instructor permission and may result in the termination of your privilege to use University instruments and / or a deduction from your final grade! Faculty Contact Information Dr. Douglas Owens Office: Fine Arts 234 E-mail: dowens14@utm.edu Office Hours: TBA Phone: (731) 881-7414 Course Description/Information: Applied music lessons are the most effective manner of instilling a high degree of musicianship, discipline and professionalism in students of music. Students will study the solo and chamber repertoire, etudes and standard excerpts written for their instruments. In addition, students will regularly and continually refine fundamentals of technique. Course Resources: Vendor List: Woodwind / Brasswind www.wwbw.com - (800)348-5003 (general music supplies) ProWinds www.prowinds.com (800)789-8509 (general music supplies) Sheetmusicplus.com www.sheetmusicplus.com - (800)743-3868 (general sheet music) Eble Music www.elbe.com - (319)338-0313 (general sheet music) Dorn Publications www.dornpub.com (saxophone sheet music) TrevCo-Varner Music www.trevcomusic.com - (734)253-2067 (double reed sheet music) Forrest's Music - www.forrestsmusic.com - (800)322-6263 (double reed specialists) Charles Double Reeds www.charlesmusic.com - (800)733-3847 (double reed specialists) Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives: It is my intent to hold each of my students to a standard on par with or above the standards set in woodwind pedagogy and performance across the United States. Likewise, I will make every effort to accommodate the personal goals of each of my students while maintaining my high level of expectations as professor. Course Communications: Students are responsible for all studio-related e-mail transactions sent from and to UTM email accounts. Students must check their UTM email at least once a day. When emailing, communication should be professional and include a salutation, body, closing, and signature. As the instructor may not always know everybody in class by name, indicate who you are when signing your email. Without these four parts, your instructor might not respond to your email, so your questions might not be answered. I will do my best to promptly reply to courteous and professionally-written email and calls to my office telephone within a 24-hour time frame Monday through Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM. Please use common courtesy regarding contacting me through text message, personal phone number and social media, especially outside of business hours. If you have a technical issue, please contact the UTM Help Desk at http://www.utm.edu/helpdesk/.
Grading Content Technical exercises, etudes and solo repertoire will be assigned at the beginning of the semester and be kept track of though a Google Doc shared with you. 1. Publically Performed / Public Performance Ready Solo and Chamber Repertoire - minimum of 20 points. o Public performance includes, but is not limited to, jury and recital performances. Public internet video (Facebook, YouTube) may count as public performance at the instructor s discretion. o Public Performance Ready is defined as repertoire that has been prepared to a level of public performance but not performed publically. o Points for repertoire will roughly correspond with the approximate duration of a piece performed at the tempo defined by standard practice. Points allocated toward exceptionally challenging repertoire may be adjusted accordingly. o Pedagogical repertoire may be studied for less credit (usually half). The definition of pedagogical repertoire will be up to instructor discretion. o Points will be awarded through assessment using the linked rubric. o Per instructor discretion, fractional points may be assigned for repertoire in progress. o Students are required to perform at least one traditional classical (unaccompanied or with collaborative piano) selection per semester. o Chamber Repertoire To be eligible for repertoire in this category to count toward credit for public performance, students must 1) be involved in a chamber ensemble that meets at least once per week throughout the semester for a minimum of one hour per meeting and 2) must begin meeting no later than the second full week of the semester. In order for a selection of repertoire to count toward credit in this category, it must be approved by the professor. A piece must be performed publically to count for credit in this category. Students may receive half of their total points in this category through performing substantive chamber music. 2. Technique - minimum of 28.8 points. See linked document for guidelines regarding the study of technical fundamentals. o Students will record videos to be submitted to their personal YouTube channel for all technical exercises. When two different tempi are required of a given item of technique (for example, an articulated and a slurred tempo), two different videos must be submitted. o Students will document their submissions through a Google Sheet (click here for a sample sheet). o Students must prepare and successfully complete at least 75 percent of a key area and must have completed at least 85 percent of all previous key areas in order to advance to the next key area. o Students will submit technique in the following order of key signatures Week 1: 0 Week 2: 1b Week 3: 1# Week 4: 2b Week 5: 2# Week 6: 3b Week 7: 3# Week 8: 4b Week 9: 4# Week 10: 5b Week 11: 5# Week 12: 6b
o Gearing Down: If the student finds a particular tempo level to be unattainable after beginning work, he or she may choose to reduce the tempo level while adding an additional scale group and arpeggio group of the same geared down tempo level to make up for the loss in speed. o Students who fall more than three weeks behind in submitting technique will be ineligible to perform additional material in their lessons or perform in recital or studio class. o Students may be asked to prepare and perform full sets of scale groups or arpeggio groups (example, all harmonic minor scales) of previously-studied material in lessons or in a public setting. The primary purpose of this is to prepare effectively for scale juries. 3. Etudes / Etude Groups - minimum of 15 points. o Points will be awarded for each etude performed using the following criteria for assessment: Score greater to or equal than 90% on linked rubric 3 points Score greater than or equal to 70% on linked rubric 2 points Score less than 70% on linked rubric 0 points o Points for pedagogical etudes will be decided upon at the instructor s discretion. o Points may be awarded for etudes recorded and posted to the Facebook private Studio D page at the instructor s discretion. (see Online Video Posting below) 4. Reed Making (Double Reed Students Only) - minimum of 7 / maximum of 20 points. o One point will be awarded to every reed made meeting pre-set specification and approval 5. Miscellaneous Activity - maximum of 20 points. o Listening Journals This field is worth up to 10 points out of your grade. Students may submit up to five listening journals throughout the course of the semester. Each journal will count two points toward your final grade. Each journal may cover an entire album of the professor s selection, an album available in the UTM library, or an instructor-approved album of your selection. Up to three entries per semester may be written on an album found on Spotify (or similar streaming music service) or a series of YouTube performances by the same artist totaling at least 45 minutes. Saxophonists only: You may submit up to three listening journals covering recordings in either the jazz or classical style. Additional submissions must be in a contrasting style. Each journal will include biographical information about the piece s performer and composer, as well as include personal reactions and thoughts about the selections. You may submit up to two listening journals per calendar month. o Video Commenting This field is worth up to 10 points out of your grade. You may post feedback to the Studio D private Facebook page on five other students performance videos from the current calendar week. Feedback may be submitted by 11:59 PM the Sunday following the posting. Late comment submissions will not be credited. Each week s worth of posting will count one point toward your final grade. o Additional Research Projects Additional research projects may be pursued as agreed upon by the instructor. The weight of this field may be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Attendance Policy As this course meets only once a week, prompt and regular attendance is of the utmost importance. Excepting instructor request, lessons will not be rescheduled. Failure to show up for your lesson counts as an automatic letter grade deduction off of your final average and as an unexcused absence. If there is a conflict with your lesson time, I require advance notice (24 hours) of your anticipated absence; otherwise, your absence will be considered unexcused. If you are unable to attend a lesson and were unable to contact me prior to the lesson time due to extenuating circumstances, you must provide an excuse to me within 6 hours of your regularly scheduled lesson time; otherwise, your absence will be considered unexcused. An accumulation of three unexcused absences will result in the automatic assignment of an F as your final grade and will result in at least a one-year suspension of your enrollment in my studio at UTM. Excessive absences due to illness will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Lesson Etiquette You must arrive to your lesson with your instrument and reeds ready to play. Warm-up time prior to your lesson should reflect AT LEAST half the amount of credit you are registered for (one half-hour warm-up for two credit lessons / fifteen minutes for one credit lessons). If you have a commitment immediately before our session, you are responsible for warming up at some point earlier in the day. Please knock on my door promptly at your lesson time (even if I am with another student). A tardy arrival to a lesson time may result in the cancellation of that lesson. Lesson and Performance Attire All lessons should be attended in no less than business casual attire. As a general rule, it is best to dress closer to the formal than the casual end of the attire spectrum for a performance setting, but exceptions can be made depending on the venue and audience. Please use your best judgment. Juries should be performed in no less than professional attire. Studio Class All students studying for credit must attend studio / woodwind class unless otherwise excused by the instructor. Each missed studio / woodwind class time will result in a one letter grade lowering of the final applied music grade. Studio classes will be held in conjunction with MUAP 310 on Wednesdays at 3 PM. Online Video Posting Each week, you will be required to post a video to the private Studio D Facebook page of you performing an excerpt from an etude, chamber or solo literature of your choosing. o The video you post should be from 45 seconds to 2 minutes in duration. o You may not post a recording from the same selection two weeks in a row. In order to facilitate this posting, you will be required to create a YouTube channel for the sharing of your videos. Failure to post a video in a given week will result in a one letter grade deduction from your final grade. Student public performances will be posted to Studio D-related social media outlets. Performances
All students studying for credit are required to perform at least once on either student recital or in a studio recital setting. Failure to do so will result in an automatic deduction from your final average of one letter grade. Music performance majors are required to perform twice (time permitting) on student recital. If any on-campus performance requires collaboration with another musician, the applied instructor must hear the ensemble in the venue in which it will be performed no later than one day before the performance. As a student of both the UTM Department of Music and of mine, speak with me prior to scheduling off-campus public performances. Collaborative Piano Students are required to perform jury and recital selections with piano collaboration (unless a piece or etude is written for solo instrument only). It is the student s responsibility to speak with their collaborative pianist about scheduling rehearsal and performance times, as well as any monetary fees a pianist requires. Recital Attendance All students are required to attend solo recitals of their studio peers, as well as all woodwind-related faculty recitals. Your attendance at a guest artist recital pertaining to an instrument you study is mandatory; other woodwind-related guest artist recitals are strongly encouraged. Students are expected to inform me at least one week ahead of time of any potential conflicts with peer or guest-artist recitals. An unexcused absence from a major recital of a fellow student within our studio, guest artist on your primary instrument, or member of the woodwind faculty will result in a full letter grade deduction from your overall average. Professional Etiquette Policy Due to the high level of professionalism expected of a musician, you may receive a deduction from their applied lesson grade if you have unexcused absences from large ensemble, small ensembles, or collaborative piano rehearsal. An unexcused absence from a performance will result in at least a two-letter grade deduction. Other violations of professional etiquette may also result in deductions from your final grade. Other unprofessional behaviors (including, but not limited to, tardiness to, lack of preparation for, or a lack of collegial behavior during a rehearsal) may result in a deduction from your final applied lesson grade. All of the aforementioned guidelines apply for ALL musical events and ensembles you undertake, limited neither to UTM ensembles NOR to ensembles taken for credit. Additional applied study Additional applied study with other UTM instructors, professors, or performing artists related to UTM activities is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Please speak with me first if you intend to pursue additional study on your instrument with visiting artists or on an auxiliary instrument. Because of potentially conflicting pedagogical differences between professional musicians, additional applied study outside of UTM is strongly discouraged and may result in the cessation of your study at UTM. Ensemble Participation
Music majors may be required to participate in any major University ensemble (Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra) at the instructor s discretion. Major Assignments and Exams Scale Juries Scale jury guidelines, procedures and requirements may be found at this link. Music majors and minors studying on their primary instrument must take the scale jury. Non-majors and students studying secondary instruments are exempt, excepting specific instructor requirement. Students must pass their scale jury in the semester they audition for upper division in order to be accepted into 300-level applied lessons. Failure to pass the scale jury will result in a full letter grade deduction from your applied lesson grade. Scale juries will be held on Wednesday April 27th from 4:15-6:45 PM. Scale juries for students attempting the Upper Division audition will be held during that time. Juries The major portion of a jury will be a performance of a piece of solo literature for your instrument, but students may be asked to perform ANY material worked on over the course of the semester. Excepting performances of unaccompanied repertoire, all jury performances must be accompanied. Failure to perform a jury with a collaborative pianist may result in a deduction of up to two letter grades from your final average. Failure to perform a jury will result in an F for the semester. Juries do not count a specific percentage toward your grade, but an outstanding (or poor) jury performance may result in an adjustment of your final grade. Juries will be held on Monday, May 2nd from 1-5 PM for most students. Upper Division juries will be held on Tuesday, May 3rd from 1-4 PM. Recital Presentation Music majors in our studio are required to present one full-length recital during their senior year at UTM. Music performance majors in our studio are required to present a full recital in their junior year. Music majors in any degree are strongly encouraged to present solo recitals not required by the degree. Students presenting recitals in addition to their degree requirements before their senior year are not exempt from the presentation of a final senior recital. Academic Integrity: The University of Tennessee at Martin has chosen as its primary objective quality undergraduate education. Commitment to this objective must include an obligation by all members of the University community to promote and protect the highest standards of integrity in study, research, instruction and evaluation. Dishonesty or unethical behavior does not belong at an institution dedicated to the promotion of knowledge and learning. Integrity of the academic process requires fair and impartial evaluation by faculty and honest academic conduct by students. Specific integrity attributes can be found: http://www.utm.edu/departments/conduct/new_academic_integrity.php
Standard of Conduct: When persons enroll in The University of Tennessee at Martin, they retain the rights and duties of a citizen. Additionally, they must assume the duties and observe the regulations imposed by the University community. Specific conduct attributes can be found: http://www.utm.edu/departments/conduct/conduct.php Disability Services: The University of Tennessee provides reasonable accommodations (academic adjustments and auxiliary aids) to ensure equal access to educational content and university programs for students with disabilities. Students who are eligible for and who request accommodations through the Disability Services office must provide instructors with a letter of accommodation. The Disability Services office is located in the Student Success Center, 203 Clement Hall, 731.881.7605.