HARFORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

MUS 222

POPULAR MUSIC OF THE UNITED STATES

SYLLABUS

Instructor: Philip B. Cunneff

Office Location: Joppa Hall, Room J-113

Office Hours: by appointment

Phone: (410) 836-4000 ext. 7576

e-mail pcunneff@harford.edu

REQUIRED TEXT:

Popular Music in America:  The Beat Goes On, Second Edition  ISBN: 0-534-55534-9 with accompanying 3-CD set ISBN 0-534-62821-4 (cd’s are required materials)
Campbell, Michael
Thomson Schirmer
2006

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION:

The history of popular music in the United States is studied from the standpoint of cultural impact. This course includes the study of the origins of a “popular” audience, through the late 19th century; the development of Jazz, Ragtime, Blues, Tin-Pan-Alley, show music, Swing, motion picture music, Country, protest music, Rock and Roll, Folk and Rock. Students are required to participate in listening assignments representative of the various stages of the development of popular music. Three lecture hours per week. This course may require field trip(s). A reasonable alternative option to the required field trip will be available.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

A.      Judge the importance of Stephen Foster in American Popular Music.

B.      Appraise the influence of “Tin Pan Alley.”

C.      Identify the Blues, Ragtime, and Jazz and how they grew.

D.      Evaluate the influence of Broadway and motion pictures on popular music.

E.      Describe the evolution of Jazz to Swing.

F.      Define the post-WWII era and the seeds of rock’n’roll

G.     Recognize how Rock ‘n’ Roll evolved into 60’s Rock

H.      Assess today’s popular music and propose possible future developments.

Outcomes (A – H) communication, critical thinking, science and technology, culture and society

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS:

A.      Lecture/discussion

B.      Directed listening

C.      Performance attendance

D.      Reading and listening assignments

E.      Videos

F.      Weekly tests

RELATION OF COURSE TO GENERAL EDUCATION GOALS

A.      Students will become aware of the historical times and events which gave rise to American popular music and to the technological and cultural developments which helped to fuel its evolution.

B.      Students will learn to evaluate musical experiences in their cultural contexts, giving rise to a new understanding of their own likes and dislikes.

C.      Students will review musical performances, using clear prose writing and a limited technical vocabulary.

D.      Students will learn to hear and identify musical forms and to recognize the sounds of different instruments within given musical examples.

E.      Students will be encouraged to use print, audio-visual and internet resources in their research for class projects.

F.      Students will read and paraphrase the text, and express their own thoughts in class participation, quizzes, written assignments, and essay-question exams. They will develop essential analytical and communications skills by generating reviews and assessments of live and recorded musical performances.

G.     Students will come to understand why certain sounds and musical experiences may be pleasing or unpleasant to them as individuals, in the light of their own cultural experience. Students will be encouraged to recognize the strength and validity of other cultural aesthetics alongside their own.

H.      Students will learn to appreciate the diverse origins of American popular music and the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural influences which have shaped its subsequent evolution.

GRADING:

Final grades are based on the following distribution of points:

Class Participation - 20%

Quiz Scores - 10%

Term Paper – 20%

Mid- Term Exam - 20%

Final Exam - 30%

ATTENDANCE:

Class participation accounts for twenty percent of the student's final grade.  Each student receives a grade every day of class.  If a student does not attend class, a grade of "F" is assigned for that day.  Students are expected to be on time and prepared to begin at 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday section) or 11:00 a.m. (Friday section).  If a student is late for class, a maximum grade of "C" may be assigned for that day.  Students are responsible for all instruction missed due to absence or tardiness.  Quizzes and exams will not be re-scheduled for those not in attendance when administered.  There will be no exceptions to these policies without written and verifiable documentation from a relevant authority stating the reason for the absence or lateness.  This documentation must be on the letterhead of the authority from which it is derived.

COURSE OUTLINE:

WEEK ONE

FOUNDATIONS AND DEFINITIONS, THE ELEMENTS AND IDENTITY OF POPULAR MUSIC (CH.1)

WEEK TWO

POPULAR MUSIC IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (CH. 2)

            WEEK THREE

                        THE EMERGENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC (CH. 3)

WEEK FOUR

THE MODERN ERA IN AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC (CH. 4)

WEEK FIVE

JAZZ, SWING, AND SWEET (CH. 5)

WEEK SIX

MUSICAL THEATER (CH. 6)

WEEK SEVEN

COUNTRY AND FOLK MUSIC (CH.7)

WEEK EIGHT

MID-TERM EXAM

LATIN MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES (CH. 8)

            SPRING BREAK

WEEK NINE

RHYTHM & BLUES AND ROCK’N’ROLL 1945-1960 (CH.9)

WEEK TEN

ROCK AND SOUL IN THE 1960’S I (CH. 10)

WEEK ELEVEN

ROCK AND SOUL IN THE 1960’S II (CH. 10)

WEEK TWELVE

ROCK, RHYTHM & BLUES, AND NEW TRENDS IN THE 1970’S (CH. 11 & 12)

WEEK THIRTEEN

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN FOLK AND COUNTRY MUSIC (CH.13)

WEEK FOURTEEN

ROCK AND BLACK MUSIC SINCE 1980 (CH.14)

WEEK FIFTEEN

FINAL EXAM

PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS (p. 6, 2005-06 HCC Catalog)

All students are expected to exhibit and to practice professional behavior when participating in class, when observing or attending field experiences, internships, athletic and cultural events, co-op assignments or any other related college endeavor. Such behavior includes but is not limited to speech, dress, oral and written remarks/statements and general conduct, per rules and regulations of the campus or off-campus site. Students' behavior reflects on Harford, and it is expected that all students will conduct themselves in a manner and style to bring honor to the College. Unprofessional behavior on or off campus will result in disciplinary action which may result in suspension, failure of a course regardless of grades earned, and/or dismissal.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

The Harford Community College Student Handbook lists (in the Student Code under Proscribed Conduct):

Academic dishonesty, such as:

Cheating, which means knowingly using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids as defined by the instructor;

Fabrication, which means intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise;

Facilitating academic dishonesty, which means knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty; or

Plagiarism, which means knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any written academic exercise.

Any such offenses will result in a failing grade and immediate notification of the Dean of Visual, Performing and Applied Arts Division and the College Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for further action.

TERM PAPERS:

Requirements for Term Papers:

All papers must be written in clear prose, including complete sentences with correct spelling and punctuation. All papers must be typewritten or printed from a word processing program using a maximum font size of 10 points (or Times New Roman 12 pt.).  Handwritten papers will not be accepted.  Papers must be at least two pages, double-spaced. All papers must be submitted by the beginning of class on the due date or a grade of "F" will be given for the assignment. Spelling and grammatical errors will adversely affect the grade.

(Sample) Subject for Term Papers:

Interview a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or family member who is at least twenty years older than yourself about the music they listened to and preferred when they were eighteen years old.  Using the information gained in the interview, identify the primary musical styles and prominent artists of the style and period.  Discuss the influences on these styles and artists from earlier music, and the ways in which these styles and artists have affected the popular music of today.