Course Syllabus
Course: MUSC 4140
Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New MediaDepartment: Music
Title: Contemporary Orchestration
Semester Approved: Fall 2019
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2024
End Semester: Summer 2025
Catalog Description: This course includes a study of the characteristics of woodwind, brass, percussion, and string instruments and the process of orchestrating for those instruments and their application to contemporary music. Assignments will focus on the practical application of orchestration for popular and jazz music genres.
Semesters Offered: Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 2; Lecture: 2; Lab: 0
Prerequisites: Music Theory IV (MUSC 3120)
Justification: Orchestration courses are typical required of music composition majors throughout the state of Utah and are a standard part of music major degrees at most colleges and universities accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Courses in contemporary orchestration are also typically found in commercial music programs throughout the US.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to write clear and correct orchestrations for a variety of instruments and instrument combinations, especially those commonly encountered in contemporary music. Students will compose short orchestrations for the orchestra and band that are technically correct, playable by other students in the course and written in a proper range for each instrument in the ensemble.
Using a variety of compositional techniques, students will compose short works that are easily understood and playable for other musicians. Students will compose short orchestration assignments for the orchestra and band that are technically correct, playable by other students in the course and written in a proper range for each instrument in the ensemble.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of instrument transposition as well as musical terms associated with each family of instruments including strings, woodwinds, brass, keyboards, and percussion. Through written exams students will define specific musical terms, transpositions and techniques associated with string, woodwind, brass, keyboard and percussion instruments
Content:
Course topics will include instrument transposition and ranges, bowed string instruments, plucked string instruments, woodwinds, brass, percussion of definite pitch, percussion of indefinite pitch, and keyboard instruments. A focus will also be placed on scoring for both full and string orchestras as well as concert band.
Key Performance Indicators:
Students in this course will be evaluated using the following methods:
Student Compositions 25 to 40%
Orchestration Assignments 25 to 40%
Written Exams 25 to 40%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler. Current Edition.
Pedagogy Statement:
This course will be delivered via direct instruction, student collaboration, modeling, coaching, and demonstration.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Maximum Class Size: 18
Optimum Class Size: 12