Music

Collaborative Piano
This course is designed to provide students with training and experience in collaborating with and accompanying singers and instrumentalists in both private lessons and performances. It will also give students the opportunity to accompany a variety of ensembles both in rehearsals and performances.

Teaching Internship
This course is designed to provide students with “hands-on” training and experience in teaching students piano/voice under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Students will both observe private lessons being taught and will be given opportunity to teach beginning and intermediate students from a variety of age groups. If possible, students will also have the opportunity to work with special needs students.

Piano Pedagogy I
This course is a one-term upper-level music course that uses resources and literature to acquaint music majors with current methods and materials in piano teaching and their practical applications. This course also includes insights on business practices for music teachers, and an introduction to the latest music teaching technology and apps for iPad to enhance piano lessons.

Piano Pedagogy II
This course is a continuation of the work in Piano Pedagogy I and is designed to provide students with the information, tools, and skills to effectively teach piano students from a variety of age groups and in a variety of situations. Topics will include not only teaching the physical act of playing the piano but also mental strategies for successful performances. The business of piano teaching will also be addressed.

Vocal Pedagogy
This course covers the structure and function of the vocal mechanism with application to both performance and the teaching of singing. Topics include exploring the relationship of function to artistry, breathing, coordination of vocal process, historic traditions, vocal health, methods for self-evaluation, performance challenges, teaching skills and studio management.

Vocal Choral Pedagogy
Students learn the science, mechanics, and methodologies available to twenty-first century instructors of voice and lead them to be able to apply these in both private voice lessons and in vocal ensemble rehearsals. In addition to providing the student with proven methods for achieving the best possible sounds from singers, the course helps them determine the most effective ways to practice, develop mental skills, understand performance psychology, and structure learning for the best possible outcome.

Teaching Internship
This course is designed to provide students with “hands-on” training and experience in teaching students piano/voice under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Students will both observe private lessons being taught and will be given opportunity to teach beginning and intermediate students from a variety of age groups. If possible, students will also have the opportunity to work with special needs students.

Conducting I
Choral conducting requires the development of physical coordination and the mental discipline necessary to elicit expressive music making from a choral ensemble. Students learn the physical skills of traditional conducting patterns, entrances, and cutoffs. They develop a philosophical basis for choral conducting and the mental skills involved with score study, analysis, teaching basic vocal technique, how to pronounce words to produce the desired choral sound, and rehearsal preparation and techniques. Students conduct rehearsals of choral music in class.

This course considers the fundamental elements of music theory, including notation, scales, key signatures, modes, intervals, consonance and dissonance, duration, rhythm, meter, triads and their respective inversions, seventh chords and their respective inversions, pop chord symbols, diatonic chord labels, and an introduction to Nashville numbers and popular song form. Elements from classical, popular, and world music are examined.

Lab: This course is devoted to the development of musicianship skills through ear training, sight singing, and functional keyboard instruction. Course content includes the recognition and execution of intervals, diatonic melodic and rhythmic patterns in symmetrical meters, scalar materials, and triads and seventh chords found in folk, pop, and classical music by chanting, singing, playing, and transcription.

This course is designed as a continuation of the work encountered in Music Theory I. Course contents include voice leading and melodic motion, cadences and harmonic progression, secondary chords structures, modal mixture, an introduction to modulation, and modern song forms. Applicable content from classical, popular, and world music is examined.

Lab: This course is a continuation of the work encountered in Music Theory Lab I. Course content includes continued development of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic reading and recognition skills, scalar materials, non-diatonic chords, recognizing modern song forms, basic Nashville numbers, chord chart and lead sheet realization, basic harmonization techniques, harmonic progression, and basic ornamentation and improvisation by chanting, singing, playing and transcription.

This course is designed as a continuation of the work begun in Music Theory I and II. The course covers secondary chord structures; binary and ternary forms; 18^th-century counterpoint; extended and chromatic harmonic materials; an introduction to Classical period forms; and the continued development of part-writing, compositional, and analytical skills as they pertain to all musical materials and forms covered in this course.

Lab: This course is a continuation of the work begun in Music Theory Lab I and II. Course contents include sight-singing of diatonic and basic chromatic music materials, part singing, the use of Kodaly solfege hand signals, melodic and harmonic dictation of diatonic musical materials, rhythmic dictation, and functional piano/keyboard skills that include all one-octave major and minor scales, playing two-voice and simple three-voice parts, realizing basic chord lead sheets, seventh chords, and chord voicings.

This course is designed as a continuation of the work begun in Music Theory III. The course covers fugal, sonata, rondo, and other large forms; characteristics of music from the Romantic period and the 20th century, including extended tonalities and harmonic structures, modal and scalar resources, dissonance, atonality and twelve-tone techniques, and advanced rhythmic elements; an overview of musical elements found in popular music; and the continued development of compositional and analytical skills as they pertain to musical materials and forms covered in this course.

Lab: This course is a continuation of the work begun in Music Theory Lab III. Course contents include diatonic and chromatic sight singing, melodic and harmonic dictation of diatonic and chromatic musical materials, advanced rhythmic dictation, and functional piano/keyboard skills that include multi-octave major and minor scales, playing four-voice parts, realizing advanced chord lead sheets, and additional chord voicings.

This course investigates the development of music in Western civilization. Emphasis is given to the significant role of church music in this history. The hallmarks of musical literature representing major periods of music history are studied in detail. Also, personalities, processes, and contemporary events are discussed, along with specific musical compositions. Music of antiquity through the early Baroque periods is examined. Special consideration is given to the development of polyphony, along with the evolution of certain genres, such as the Mass and the motet.

This course is a continuation of the study begun in Music History and Literature I. In the study of Music History and Literature II, the development of the music of Western civilization will be investigated with emphasis being given to the significant role of church music in that history. The hallmarks of musical literature representing the major periods of history will be studied in detail. Also, composers and performers, processes, and contemporary events will be discussed. During this second term of study, music of the classical period through the 20th century will be covered. Special consideration will be given to the development of particular genres (categorizations or classifications of music), such as the symphony, the sonata, etc.

Students examine economic and fundraising issues related to music and employee entrepreneurial solutions to help in fundraising, financial viability, and marketing of music and music programs. Students examine elements of business plans, financial structures, finance, marketing, management and organizational behavior, and leadership.

This course is designed to provide students with the basic skills and knowledge necessary to read, orchestrate, and arrange music for orchestra, band, and choir. It covers the study of orchestral and band instruments, their playing techniques, and their properties; instrumental transcription; scoring principles for band and orchestra; choral sound; scoring principles for choirs; and arranging techniques for choral music with and without orchestral accompaniment.

The study of popular music from the perspective of practicing its foundational elements as an arranger/planner for musical events.

Band: Concert & Big Band Ensemble
This concert and big band ensemble is open to all students, staff, faculty and community members who know the fundamentals of their instrument. This ensemble performs standard concert and big band repertoire, along with other music for campus, chapel, and select community events. (Offered when warranted.)

University Choir
University Choir is a select ensemble open to any student, faculty, staff, or community member. The choir prepares two concerts annually and sings in campus programs such as the Festival of Christmas Joy, Lessons & Carols, Homecoming, and Commencement. The choir occasionally represents Johnson University at select events, conferences, and local churches. University Choir sings a wide variety of collegiate and sacred music that reflects the diverse musical nature of the ensemble.

Vox Royale
This select, primarily a cappella ensemble is open to any student or community member by audition. The ensemble performs a wide repertoire of music that includes chamber music, church music, modern worship, vocal jazz, and modern a cappella. The ensemble represents Johnson University at select events, retreats, conferences, and worship services on and off campus. Vox Royale members rehearse with the University Choir one day a week and rehearse as a separate ensemble one day a week.

Eight semesters of lessons (two credits each) in either voice or piano.

Four semesters of lessons, one credit each, in one of the remaining instruments.

Candidates for Bachelor of Music degrees are required to present a Junior Recital on their primary instrument (Piano or Voice). This recital will include standard works from either the piano or vocal repertory. The private instructor and student will choose selections for the recital and these selections must be approved by the music faculty of the School of Communication and Creative Arts. A “hearing” of the recital will be presented before the music faculty at least two weeks prior to the scheduled recital performance. The music faculty will then have the opportunity to either approve the performance of the recital or require the student to postpone the recital until further preparation takes place.

Students majoring in music present an hour-length public performance on the principal and secondary instruments. The recital may also include a worship set. Guidelines are provided by the Music Department.