Music Appreciation and Aural Culture

Instructor Information

• Instructor: Dr. Julian Whitlock (Assistant Teaching Professor of Music and Theatre)
• Email: jwhitlock@university.alkimi.ai
• Office: Lovell Hall 172
• Office Hours:
  • Tuesday & Friday: 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (In person, Lovell Hall 172)
  • Wednesday: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (Virtual via Zoom; link posted in Canvas)
  • Also available by appointment.

Course Description

Introduction to the elements of music, active listening, and aural culture, exploring major historical styles, genres, and world musical traditions from Western art music to contemporary global idioms. MUS 110 develops perceptive, critical listening skills and explores the rich tapestry of global musical expression and aural culture. Beginning with the foundational elements of music—melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, texture, and musical form—students trace the evolution of musical genres from medieval plainchant through the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras to 20th-century modernism, American jazz, and diverse non-Western musical traditions. Through guided in-class listening labs, analytical score study, and live concert-attendance experiences across the campus and local arts community, students discover how musical styles reflect broader cultural, technological, and historical shifts.

Prerequisites

None.

Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of MUS 110, students will be able to:

1. Identify Foundational Musical Elements: Identify and describe core musical parameters including pitch, meter, rhythm, harmonic progression, instrumentation, timbre, and formal structure through active listening.
2. Analyze Historical Musical Eras: Distinguish stylistic characteristics, major composers, genres, and performance practices across the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras.
3. Explore Global Musical Traditions: Examine diverse world musical idioms, including West African polyrhythms, Indian classical raga and tala systems, and Indonesian gamelan, within their sociocultural contexts.
4. Evaluate Live Musical Performances: Attend live musical performances and author perceptive, technically grounded concert-attendance reports analyzing musical interpretation, staging, and acoustics.
5. Articulate Music's Cultural Role: Synthesize connections between musical innovations and wider sociopolitical developments, including patronage, technological recording shifts, and cross-cultural hybridity.

Required Course Materials & Approximate Costs

1. Roger Kamien and Anita Kamien. Music: An Appreciation. 13th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2021. Approx. $50 digital rental with streaming audio; $90 print purchase.
2. Alkimi University Concert Pass (provides free student admission to on-campus concerts, faculty recitals, and visiting ensemble performances). Free student access with campus ID card.
3. Total estimated cost: Approx. $50 to $90.

Generative AI Policy (AI Level 1: AI Not Permitted for Graded Work)

In accordance with Alkimi University Academic Policies (Student Handbook §5.8), MUS 110 operates under AI Level 1.

• What is permitted: You may use generative AI tools to look up composer biographies, verify dates of historical periods, or review definitions of musical forms and orchestral instruments.
• What is prohibited: You may not use generative AI to write concert-attendance reports, fabricate live performance observations, generate listening exam responses, or synthesize musical analyses.
• Disclosure: Every submitted concert report and written listening reflection must include a signed certification affirming that the live concert was attended in person and that all descriptive prose and musical analyses are your own original work.

Grading Components and Weights

• Concert-Attendance Report 1: Chamber or Solo Recital: 10% (Due Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Midterm Listening & Concepts Examination: 20% (In class, Thursday, October 15)
• Concert-Attendance Report 2: Large Ensemble or Orchestra: 10% (Due Thursday, November 12 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Concert-Attendance Report 3: Global or Contemporary Idioms: 10% (Due Tuesday, November 24 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Weekly Aural Identification & Reading Quizzes: 15% (Weekly listening identification and reading comprehension quizzes in Canvas submitted Tuesdays at 11:59 p.m.; lowest dropped)
• Listening Lab & Seminar Discussion Engagement: 15% (Active participation in guided listening labs, score tracking exercises, and classroom analytical dialogues)
• Final Comprehensive Listening Examination: 20% (Thursday, December 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.)

Grading Scale (Alkimi University Standard)

• A: 93–100% | A-: 90–92%
• B+: 87–89% | B: 83–86% | B-: 80–82%
• C+: 77–79% | C: 73–76% | C-: 70–72%
• D+: 67–69% | D: 60–66% | F: Below 60%
• Extra credit: No individual extra credit assignments are offered in MUS 110. Your grade is based on listening quizzes, concert reports, examinations, and participation.

Course Schedule (Fall 2026)

Course Policies

Attendance Policy

Aural literacy and listening acuity are built through shared listening experiences, immediate discussion, and live demonstration in class. Regular attendance is required for every lecture. You are permitted two unexcused absences without penalty; each subsequent unexcused absence will lower your final course grade by one third of a letter grade. Missing more than five class sessions will result in a failing grade. Students who miss the first two class meetings without notifying the instructor may be dropped. Students may miss class for religious observance without penalty if they notify the instructor in writing within the first two weeks of the semester (by Wednesday, September 9, 2026). Absences for university-sponsored activities (athletics, performances, conferences) are excused with a letter from the sponsoring office at least one week in advance.

Late Work Policy

Written concert-attendance reports lose 10% per calendar day late and will not be accepted more than three days beyond the due date. Weekly Canvas listening quizzes close at the deadline and cannot be submitted late without prior documentation of an excused illness or university conflict.

Final Exam Policy

The final examination (Thursday, December 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) is scheduled by the University Registrar and can't be moved without the Dean's written approval (Faculty Handbook §5.5). A student with three or more final exams on the same calendar day may reschedule one of them. Requests go to the instructor of the middle exam by the last day of classes. For this term, send the request by Wednesday, December 9, 2026 (Student Handbook §6.4).