Wednesday 23 Sept 2015

Musicianship
Unit 1 Exam DretailsPart 1: Dictation
In class Friday, Sept 25th, Wed Sept 30th

Part II: Rhythm and Solfege Evaluation
Monday, Sept 28. 10-minute time slots. Sign up on sheet for a time.

Rhythm
Prepare your choice of one 2-part example from HR 4.G–4.J


Prepared Solfege
Prepare and sing one example from SS 2.68–2.84. not 2.79, (the canon)
Sing on fixed-do syllables.




All-Cadence Chorale
I will ask you to sing either Soprano, Alto, or Tenor from the “All-Cadence Chorale” page.
Your choice of key, my choice of part. I will play the bass while you sing.

Sing & Play No. 3
Prepare 3 examples. You will choose one to sing and play, and I will choose a second.


Unprepared Solfege
I will ask you to sing at sight one solfege excerpt equivalent in difficulty to the 2nd half of Chapter 2 of the Department Sight-singing Textbook.


Practice Tips

Review the entirety of SS Chapter 2. Seriously. Each example should take about 30 seconds to sing through. Sing them on syllables, but don't be afraid to start by just singing on "loo" first if the syllables are getting in the way. And remember, fixed do is just European letter names!


Likewise, sing the "All-Cadence Chorale" parts ad nauseam in the various keys it is printed in. Try singing through a single line--tenor for instance--in every key. Then do the same with alto and soprano.


For the rhythm, set an ordinary metronome to a ridiculously slow tempo, and increase one metronome marking at a time up to the printed tempo. Don't increase until you can perform perfectly. By metronome markings, I mean real markings from a traditional metronome. 40--60 by 2's, 60--72 by 3's, 72--120 by 4's, 120--144 by 6's, 144--208 by 8's.


Music Theory

Quick recap: We started exploring the musical purpose of I & V in first inversion.

Remember, the basic purpose of first inversion chords is to create more melodic (linear) bass lines, to create consonant linear lines between bass and soprano, and to expand an otherwise static single harmony.


Homework: Please print the remaining Chapter 8 workbook pages. for 8-1, please consider possible bass or soprano lines respectively. But you don't need to fill in the alto or tenor yet. This will help prepare you for the examples we look at in class. Nothing will be turned in Monday. 8-1, and perhaps other worksheets from chapter 8 will be due Wednesday 30 Sept.