Humanities/Fine Arts Division	Staff
Butler Community College	Fall 1997

Course Outline CLASS VOICE IV

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
MU231. Class Voice VI. 1-2 hours credit. Lessons in voice with emphasis on posture, breathing, diction, and basic musicianship. Literature is studied, memorized and selected for performance. A vocal jury is required at the end of the semester. Course requires a minimum of 1 hour of class and 1 hour of practice per week.

TEXT: (REQUIRED)
Lindsley, Charles Edward, Fundamentals of Singing for Voice Class, Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.) 1985.
Also, the instructor will choose from a selection of literature volumes available for the beginning singer, among them:
24 Italian Songs and Arias-G. Schirmer Inc. w/acc. tape
The New Imperial Edition-Boosey and Hawkes
Singer Anthology to Musical Theatre-Shawnee Press, Inc.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The student will become familiar with proper singing techniques appropriate to a variety of musical styles. They will gain firsthand knowledge of vocal literature and basic musicianship. The student will experience self-discipline in training the voice and in monitoring their own practice.

TOPICAL OUTLINE OF UNITS:
At the completion of these units, the student should be able to:

UNIT V: Registration

1. identify the vocal registers of a voice.
2. explain how many vocal registers exist.
3. identify the best vowels for use in crossing the register lines.
4. explain the classification of voices according to the textbook.

UNIT VI: Articulation

1. identify the articulators and points of articulation.
2. memorize the basic vowels used in IPA.
3. identify the three main categories of vowels.
4. identify and give examples of voiced and unvoiced consonants.

UNIT VII: Coordination

1. identify coordination skills learned in singing.
2. explain the value of proper intonation.
3. explain how one might extend pitch and dynamic voice range.
4. demonstrate the vibrato and it's importance in singing.
5. demonstrate and explain the use of legato in singing.

UNIT IX: Interpretation

1. demonstrate the expressiveness in the singing tone.
2. explain the importance of conveying the text.
3. explain musical style.
4. explain the importance of memorization.
5. define how to choose repertoire.

UNIT V: Literature

1. select two songs, in consultation with their instructor, and memorize them to sing at the Final Jury.
2. sing one song in Italian.
3. sing one song in English.

METHODS OF EVALUATION:
Class Voice involves a weekly class singing session, with vocal analysis and methodology given by the instructor to the student. Great care is taken to protect the instruments of the singers, teaching proper care of the voice and personal hygiene in addition to voice techniques and literature. The learning activities include: analysis of tone, analysis of breathing, analysis of posture, instructor example, weekly recitals, analysis of literature, outside concert examples, video viewing where appropriate and available, and listening.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:
Students receive a grade based on:

1. Class attendance 33%
2. Memorized literature 33%
3. Vocal jury 33%

Each Voice Class student will have 15 class sessions during regular semester. Being tardy twice constitutes 1 unexcused absence. After two unexcused absences, the student will be dropped from the class. After two excused absences, the semester grade will be lowered one letter grade. If you need to drop this class, it is expected that you will talk with the instructor before doing so.

DAILY PRACTICE: Each student is expected to vocalize and work on literature a set amount of minutes each week. For one hour of credit, each student should practice a minimum of 30 minutes each day.

TEXTBOOK: Each student is expected to have their own copy of the required text and literature book. For scholarship students these are available at the College Bookstore. Each music scholarship student should receive the Lindsley text, and a copy of the 24 Italian Art Songs with accompaniment tape.

MASTER CLASS: Class Voice Students are encouraged to attend the Vocal Master CLass on Thursdays, at 12:30 p.m. In addition, all Class Voice students are required to attend the Honor's Recital held at the end of each semester.

TAPE RECORDINGS: All students are encouraged to bring their own tapes into the studio and tape record their class sessions.

MID-TERM TAPING SESSIONS: All Voice students are required to perform, from memory, one song at mid-term, and record the performance on video tape to be filed by the music department.

SEMESTER END VOICE JURIES: All Voice students are required to perform one of the memorized songs, selected by the jury panel, as a Final Exam for this class.

Miscellaneous:
Students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills are encouraged and have the responsibility to contact their instructor, in a timely fashion, regarding reasonable accommodation needs.