Given that the exams (since Summer 2013) have been completely online, once you submit an exam, a preliminary grade will automatically display in the Gradebook in Canvas.  I will need to manually check the students' responses in Part 1 (Known Listening) and override Canvas's automatic grading in case there is a simple spelling error, etc., in a fill-in-the-blank answer.  If you cannot see your exam grades (or the quiz-assignment grades), please let me know right away.

Each exam will include questions on the elements/materials of music.  Know the terms related to materials of music as discussed in Part I of the textbook and elsewhere in the readings assigned for the exam and in the instructor's outlines on the materials of music.

The first, and usually biggest, section of each exam involves listening identification.

• You will need to be able to identify -- by listening to an audio excerpt -- what piece is being played.  For Exam 1, these pieces are from Listening List 1.
• Basic identification involves the title of the work (i.e., of the overall work [if any], and the title and/or number of the individual movement or piece, as applicable) and the composer.
  • As an slight aid to memory, at the head of this listening section of the exam will be given an alphabetical list of composers' last names and titles of pieces and of the larger works that they come from (as applicable).
• Additional kinds of questions about the pieces can include background on them, such as the historical era in which the work was composed (for Exam 1 we are dealing with Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque); the year of composition (for Exams 2 and 3), if known or postulated; the genre of the overall work (e.g., chant, madrigal, opera, oratorio, concerto, madrigal, etc.); the language that is sung; the source of a sung text (if known); the overall form; etc.  For information about the pieces, be sure to review your assigned readings (especially the Listening Guides and the paragraphs around them).
  • Be sure to understand the difference between "genre" and "form" (hint:  neither one of them are identical with tempo markings).  In addition, be sure to know the title of an entire single-movement or multi-movement work, and, if it is a multi-movement work, know the movement-number or title of the individual selection that you are studying from that overall work.
  • Note that, usually, if you misidentify a specific piece or overall work, most of the other questions associated with that listening excerpt will likely be incorrect, unless by chance something about the incorrect piece matches a characteristic of the correct (era, composer, etc.).

The remainder of the first (and of each) exam will consist of these things:

• Questions derived to a great degree from the terms related to materials/elements of music.
  • Remember that there are additional materials on Canvas for reinforcing, supplementing, and expanding on concepts in the textbook about the elements of music.
  • Among the terms you might be asked to match to definitions with, here is just a sample of possibilities on any of the three exams:
    • legato, polyphonic, conjunct, dissonance, timbre, meter, motive, range, unison, tempo, syncopation, upbeat, rhythm, polyrhythm, interval, dynamics, tonic, diatonic, andante, mezzo-forte, pedal, canon, inversion, modulation, pianissimo, retrograde, texture, ABA or ternary form, crescendo, adagio, ostinato, allegro, etc.
• Questions on the textbook readings, including possibly more questions about the assigned listening pieces or their composers.
• Extra credit listening:
  • Questions based on audio excerpts of music that you probably have not heard before.
    • These can cover
      • The major parameters of music that are brought up in your textbook (meter, rhythm, harmony, melody, dynamics, performing forces, etc.), or
      • Identification of the historical era to which a piece is related.

The topics of questions on the exams are not limited to those in the quiz-assignments.

For your review, besides your textbook and the various materials for the MUSC101 on Canvas, there are quizzes and additional aural listening excerpts at the digital resources for the textbook at W.W. Norton that you can access to reinforce musical materials and other knowledge.  These do not figure into your grade for the course, but you may want to use them for practice or reinforcement.

Be sure that you know in advance when your testing site makes exams available. 

To reiterate from the syllabus:

• This is very important:  Absolutely NO access to course materials (e.g., textbook; student's notes; web-pages/sites, windows, and browser-windows, applications, materials on Canvas other than the given exam, etc.) is allowed while taking a MUSC101 exam.   With the exception of a alphabetical list of composers and titles of assigned pieces supplied at the top of each exam (for the "known listening" section),  the student must rely on his/her own memory and understanding.  Furthermore, no non-emergency communications or extraneous communication-equipment of any kind is allowed during an exam; only the internet connection with browser to access Canvas, default software to play the listening excerpts, and, when applicable, connection to ProctorU, are allowed.  Notify the proctor of any problem.  If a proctor reports an unauthorized situation to the instructor, the incident may be taken as a sign of cheating and be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. 

Again, take a look at the sample exam on Canvas if you haven't already. If you have any questions, please contact me right away!

lkn
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Lyle K. Neff -- mailto:lneff@udel.edu
http://udel.edu/~lneff