Beaufort Academy Upper School

MUSIC APPRECIATION PACKET

Welcome! This packet contains important information regarding the Music Appreciation class
Music and the Human Experience. Students and parents need to read carefully, sign and return
the signature page to Mrs. Tunnell by Friday, August 22, 2008.

GOAL OF THE CLASS: To help each student discover an effective, personal “way in” to the
massive discipline of music and begin to explore its many facets without the benefit of having
obtained musicianship skills traditionally considered prerequisite to serious music making.

AREAS OF FOCUS
 Music as an everyday experience: Music from the Inside Out Literacy Curriculum
Monday/Wednesday/Friday “Workshop Days”
o Musical Identity: Identifying, comparing & sharing our musical identities
o Talking about and mapping music: How to hold it in our minds so we can explore it;
mapping music physically to identify where mood or musical idea changes
o What is music? Distinguishing music from noise
o Musical Meaning: What is it? What are the effects of motion and expectation? What
is the role of silence? How important is intention?
o Living the Music: Living musically; How is playing in a musical ensemble similar to
functioning as part of a Democracy? What is your musical future?
 Listening to Music as a Exploration of Music and Culture
Tuesday “Listening Day”
o Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic
o Marsalis on Music with Wynton Marsalis (Lincoln Center Jazz and classical trumpet
player), cellist Yo Yo Ma, and Seiji Ozawa (Conductor, Boston Symphony)
o Breaking the Silence: Music in Afghanistan, a documentary account of the Afghan
people’s reconnection to music after a 25-year Taliban prohibition of music and the
influence those events have had on the lives of the people.
 Music and the Human Brain
Thursday “Neuroscience Day”
o Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain on Music. An integrative exploration of art and
science applied to understanding music through the eyes of Daniel Levitin, a “rocker-
turned-neuroscientist” who integrates current scientific research with personal
experience using a wide variety of musical examples (ranging from Mozart to
Metallica to Schoenberg).

ENSEMBLE BEHAVIOR
Our music class must function as a music team. The actions of one can help or hinder the entire
ensemble. Self-discipline is not optional: It is required.

A system of checks and warnings will be used to promote proper ensemble behavior. Students
will receive a check mark for any infraction in the following areas:
o Class preparation
o In seat exactly on time and in possession of necessary materials, ready to work
o Respect for self and others
o Appropriate participation at all times (cooperative, responsible, motivated)
Each week,
o One check mark ✓ = Verbal warning from teacher
5-point subtraction from quarterly grade;
o ✓✓ = Teacher communication to parent,
10-point subtraction from quarterly grade;
o ✓✓✓ = Teacher communication with Upper School Head,
25-point subtraction from quarterly grade.

GRADING
Grades are earned by assessing student’s knowledge (classroom assignments, journal, quizzes
and exams) and participation. Grades will be assessed on a point system as follows:

 Workshop Participation 5 points per class

 Assignments, Projects and Quizzes 100 points per quarter
 Reflective Journal 100 points per quarter
 Final Exam (unless exempt) 100 points

GRADING SCALE
400-500 points per quarter = A
300-399 points per quarter = B
200-299 points per quarter = C
100-199 points per quarter = D
0-99 points per quarter = F

PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES

• Be on time.
• Listen attentively before speaking.
• Participate in all classroom activities.
• Be prepared! Have your journal, pen and book with you for every class.
• No food, gum, or drinks are allowed, other than plain bottled water.
• For student safety, bathroom and fountain requests will be granted only in emergencies.

NOTE ABOUT STUDENT JOURNAL

Each student should obtain a writing journal (8/12 x 11 inches, lined, may be spiral, may be
“decorative” or “pretty”) and come prepared to class with journal daily.

Student journals are meant to be active learning places that reflect work accomplished on
Workshop Days. Students write and revisit their thoughts and answers to specific questions
raised in class. Journals should reflect personal and collaborative “aha” discoveries,
brainstorming, project notes, in-class and homework assignments. Mrs. Tunnell will provide
age-appropriate guidance, feedback and instruction designed to enhance the quality of students’
work. Parents are invited and encouraged to read the student’s journal and engage in dialogue
about how music relates to the life of the family and to each individual within the family.
Students should record reflective comments regarding these at-home dialogues in their journals.
Journal entries should be neat, orderly and easily readable. Content should reflect student’s
thinking, not simply be lists of notes or verbatim summaries of others. See attached Thinking &
Reflection Journal Assessment.
IMPORTANT!

Read and discuss this entire packet with your student before signing and returning the signature
page.

Please return the completed signature page to Mrs. Tunnell by Friday, August 22, 2008.

I have read the Music Packet and understand the expectations. If I have any questions or
concerns, I will contact Mrs. Tunnell.

Student Name [Printed] _________________________________________

Student Signature _________________________________________

Parent Signature _________________________________________

Parent E-Mail _________________________________________

(This should be an email address appropriate for teacher-parent communications.)