Course Syllabus
Syllabus Advanced Chorus
2022-2023
Teacher Mr. Drake
“All in, All one”
Class Overview: In Chorus you will learn how to sing in a group and on your own, while learning about music theory, music literacy, music history.
Rule:
Be respectful of everyone and everything
Let me explain. If the students can be respectful, they will not need any other rules. It covers talking over others or the teacher, respecting other’s personal space, cell phone usage, timeliness, being prepared, following directions, etc. This is why we only need that one rule. Having Good Character is a key part of being successful in the world we live in, we will have a large focus on having quality character in and out of the chorus classroom.
Expectations: You will be expected to participate in classroom activities, behave in an appropriate way, complete assignments as directed, and attend all performances in the correct performance attire. While rehearsing you will always need a pencil, keep it with your notebook and you will be fine. Always bring your school laptop, because you never know what you are going to be doing.
Grading
A – 100-90
B – 89-80
C – 79-70
D – 69-60
F – 59-0
Grading Procedure:
Students grades will come from the following factors
Tests/Performances 60%
Classwork/Homework 40%
What to expect:.
- Rehearsals The rehearsal is a major part of our class time. It is the only way we will be able to improve the quality of our singing. I expect you to have a pencil to make notes and be attentive during rehearsal. Students should work hard on producing the best performance that we can create. They will have to work together, correcting mistakes and encouraging others abilities, to grow in musicianship.
- Tests - there will be different forms of tests that consist of recording yourself, written tests, physical performances, etc.
- Performances - Students are required to attend all performances, they will count as 3 test grades each performance. The performance dates are listed below. Performances could be after school or during school.
- Classwork/Homework - These are assignments to help the student learn so if it is not perfect the first time they will have the opportunity to make corrections, so they can learn from mistakes.
- Make-up work - You will have 4 days from the time you return to school to complete your makeup assignment. From that point, you will lose 10 points per day it is late, if completed and turned in late you can receive up to a 70 percent
Sight reading - I believe that this is a skill needed to make the best musician possible and we will do this almost every day. We will look at a brand new section of music every day, starting easy and progressing to more difficult. We will sing that new section of music by reading the music instead of teaching and singing back to the teacher. We will also be using an online tool called sight reading factory to help us do this.
Theory - Learning why music is written the way it is and how it works. This is a crucial skill to learn while learning to sight read because it helps you know what you are reading. We will practice this on paper and electronically with www.musictheory.net .
Music History - We will not discuss this every day necessarily, but this is also very important. It helps us know where music came from and why it was written the way it was at that time in history. The students will do a couple of projects about composers and time periods throughout the semester.
Music rehearsal - A daily activity that consists of singing. This may be singing as a section, a whole group, or individually. The sight reading will help us get going on learning our music. Instead of plucking out parts to teach the notes to you, we are going to try a few different approaches this year. We will sight read some songs just to practice reading music fluently. We will also be learning some songs as homework, using your school issued computer. Let’s face it this is why we signed up for chorus, to sing and become a better musician, so while we are participating in this section of the class, let’s make it the most fun, energetic part of your day. We may have to repeat a section 30 times in a row to make it perfect, but if that is what it takes to be the best, that is what we have to do.
MPA - MPA (Music Performance Adjudication) is a choral competition that we will be attending 1 day held March 14-16, 2020. For this class you will be required to go. It will take place during the school day and is a required field trip for this class. It will be a performance grade as listed above. The student will also have the opportunity to eat lunch out that day which is covered by you. You will need to wear a formal outfit. For ladies you will be required to wear the black formal dress with pearls (we will be making an order if you do not have one about $70), for guys, you will be wearing a tuxedo with cummerbund (we will be measuring and ordering these about $100) This is an extremely important aspect of being a professional choir.
School performances - You will need to wear the same thing to school performances as you will to MPA, listed above. These concerts will be held on October 13, December 15, March 9, and May 30, all starting at 6:30. The arrival time for students will be 5:45 pm for each of these concerts to warm up and go over last minute reminders. These performances will be a test grade and you will lose points if not dressed appropriately. As of the beginning of the school year we are able to have traditional concerts, this is subject to change. There will be other performances that you can expect, they are still being planned, please pay attention to any announcements sent home or on Social media, follow @PRHS_Vocal_Treasures.
Final Exam - The final exam will have 3 equal parts (33.3% each), a performance, a sight singing, and a written portion. We will be practicing these things all semester long so they can be ready. This will be done at the end of each semester even though this is a year long class.
Graduation - Students will need to perform at graduation again this year, information for that will be provided later.
Tutoring: Tutoring will be offered, by appointment, on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school or before school
Canvas: The majority of assignments not completed on paper will be submitted on our learning platform, Canvas. Assignments can be submitted a variety of ways including, uploading files, typing into text boxes, and sharing Google documents/presentations. Students will be shown how to submit assignments on Canvas as needed. Individual assignments will indicate which method of submission on Canvas is expected. If students need a refresher or have questions, they can access the Canvas Student Guide for specific instructions. It is the student's responsibility to ensure assignments are submitted on time and to contact the instructor if there is a problem. Please note that student activity is logged while in Canvas so instructors will be able to see if the student opened the assignment, if there was any activity including a log of student activities during online tests and quizzes. Students are not allowed to leave the testing window during assessments. Doing so is considered cheating and will be handled as set forth in the Porter Ridge HS handbook. NOTICE: Although many assignments are submitted and graded in our learning platform, Canvas, the "final" grades shown may not be properly weighted and do not contain assignments that were not graded in Canvas. For the student's official grades, please continue to access the parent portal through Powerschool. Login information is usually sent home with the students at the beginning of the year, and should be the same as last year. If you need assistance accessing the parent portal, please contact the school.
Supplies
Students will need the following items daily: chromebook, Pencil, 1 inch 3 ring binder(Black with front cover pocket), respective performance attire (see above).
Most students also need tissues, it becomes a large distraction for students to have to leave class to get a tissue to blow their nose from the bathroom. 1 box would be perfect.
Resources
https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/domain/2917
Canvas Page
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/artsed/scos/new-standards/arts/music/9-12.pdf
If there are any questions please email me. dakota.drake@ucps.k12.nc.us
Course Summary:
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