BERKLEE | Ear Training Department Handbook

Berklee College of Music
Ear Training Department Handbook

Allan Chase - Chair
Roberta Radley - Assistant Chair

Dave Vose, Brian Lewis & Scott DeOgburn are the Ear Training Departmental Advisors. They keep office hours at the Ear Training Center to answer questions about course offerings, Departmental activities and general advising regarding Ear Training.

Lisa Roukis -Department Assistant: Ear Training Department

• Go to the ET Department Dictation page.
• Go to the new Realmusic transcription website.
• Go to Bob Patton's ET games and methods page.

General Information

We are proud of our open and caring atmosphere in which faculty and students really do get to know each other. Our professional training is as varied and complete as any Ear Training student could want.

Please read this handbook carefully. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to stop by our office: The Ear Training Center at 899 Boylston Street, 2nd Floor (right above Trader Joe's).

Singing

Singing is required of all students in Ear Training classes. It is a quick and effective means of expressing pitched sound, which we may hear internally or externally. Like hand-eye coordination, which we develop as infants, ear-voice coordination is a skill that many people acquire during early childhood. The process of hearing music, processing the sound in our brains and singing it can be strengthened with vocal exercises and practice.

Musicians use singing to communicate. It is a vehicle for expressing language we all understand, whether it is on the bandstand, in a recording studio or in the classroom. If we can hear musical ideas accurately in our heads (inner hearing) we can then sing them, play them on our instruments, or write them down without an instrument at our side. The ability to sing well also provides instrumentalists with a marketable skill that enhances ones professional profile.

Ear Training Faculty

All of the Ear Training Department faculty offices are located in The Ear Training Center at 899 Boylston Street.

Tom Appleman , tappleman@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8498
Allan Chase, aschase@berklee.edu ,Ext#: 2853
Corinne Sloan Chase, cschase@berklee.edu ,Ext#: 8588
Paul Del Nero, pdelnero@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8403
Scott deOgburn, sdeogburn@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8155
Rick DiMuzio, rdimuzio@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8589
John Funkhouser, jfunkhouser@berklee.edu , Ext#: 2831
Robin Ginenthal, rginenthal@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8191
Rich Greenblatt, rgreenblatt@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8235
Kaye Kelly Hardt , kkelly@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8513
Rosey Lee , rlee@berklee.edu , Ext#: 2847
Brian Lewis, blewis@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8257
Daryl Lowery, dlowery@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8263
Yumiko Matsuoka, ymatsuoka@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8415
Berke McKelvey, bmckelvey@berklee.edu , Ext#: 3041
Giovanni Moltoni, gmoltoni@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8594
Lydia Okumura, lokumura@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8298
Robert Patton, rpatton@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8309
Phil Person, pperson@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8735
Jane Potter, jpotter@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8596
Steve Prosser, sprosser@berklee.edu , Ext#: 2248
Roberta Radley, rradley@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8326
Gilson Schachnick, gschachnick@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8406
Mitch Seidman, mseidman@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8357
Mark Shilansky, mshilansky@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8598
Paul Stiller, pstiller@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8236
Gaye Tolan Hatfield, gtolanhatfield@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8382
David Vose, dvose@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8389
August Watters, awatters@berklee.edu , Ext#: 8686
Darcel Wilson , dwilson@berklee.edu , Ext#: 3048

Core Course Descriptions (Click course name for syllabus)

ET-111 Ear Training 1
Development of basic ear training skills through performance and recognition activities. Study of melodies, intervals and exercises in various major keys. Study of basic rhythmic patterns and introduction to common harmonic progressions. Study of basic conducting patterns and common music notation.

ET-112 Ear Training 2
Continuation of ET 111. Development of basic ear training skills through performance and recognition activities. Study of melodies, intervals, chord qualities and exercises in various major and minor keys. Continued study of basic rhythmic patterns. Continued study of common harmonic progressions. Continued study of conducting patterns and common music notation.

ET-211 Ear Training 3
Continuation of ET 112. Advanced development of ear training skills through performance and recognition activities. Study of melodies, intervals, chord qualities and exercises in various major and minor keys. Introduction of Mixolydian, Lydian, Dorian and Phrygian Modes. Introduction to mixed modality and chromaticism. Study of advanced rhythmic concepts. Continued study of common harmonic progressions. Continued study of conducting patterns and common music notation.

ET-212 Ear Training 4
Continuation of ET 211. Advanced development of ear training skills through performance and recognition activities. Study of melodies, intervals, chord qualities and exercises in various keys and modes. Continued study of chromaticism, modulation and atonal music. Continued study of advanced rhythmic concepts. Continued study of common harmonic progressions. Continued study of conducting patterns and common music notation.

ET-231 Solfege 1
A music literacy course. Development of reading and writing skills using the traditional movable “do” system. Singing exercises in all major keys, in treble, alto, tenor, and bass clefs. Part singing. Rhythm exercises in most traditional meters, with subdivision of the beat. Contrapuntal and harmonic dictations. Intervallic drills.

ET-232 Solfege 2
Continuation of ET231. Singing, dictation, harmony in all minor modes. Rhythm exercises in irregular meters.

Course Descriptions (Click course name for syllabus)

ET-411 Advanced Ear Training 1
Singing and aurally identifying intervals in tonal and non-tonal situations. Intended to bridge the gap between relative pitch and hearing by interval alone. Preparation for singing atonal music.

ET-421 Atonal Solfege 1
A continuation of solfege which will concentrate on atonal music. Sol fa syllables are not used. Please note that this course is recommended for students who have a high potential in non-tonal intervallic solfege.

ET-422 Atonal Solfege 2
Continuation of ET-421, including the choral works of Webern.

ET-351 Fundamentals of Transcription
A course designed to teach the student how to transcribe instrumental and vocal recorded material as found in jazz, pop, and rock. Techniques for transcribing melody, harmony, and bass lines. This course is especially recommended for those students wishing to extend their skills in identifying chord progressions and rhythms.

ET-331 Harmonic Ear Training 1
Identification of chord progressions. Root motion, guide tone resolution, melody/harmony relationship. Acquisition of harmonic dictation skills.

ET-332 Harmonic Ear Training 2
Continuation of ET-331.

ET-451 Jazz Solo Transcription
Transcription of recorded jazz solos from various periods. Classroom analysis and discussion

PFET-376 Performance Ear Training for Bass 1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student’s instrument. Some non-syllabic sight-singing.

PFET-377 Performance Ear Training for Bass 2
Continuation of PFET-376.

PFET-367 Performance Ear Training for Guitar 1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student’s instrument in class. Some dictation. Some non-syllabic sight-singing.

PFET-368 Performance Ear Training for Guitar 2
Continuation of PFET-367.

PFET-364 Performance Ear Training for Keyboards 1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student’s instrument in class. Some dictation. Some non-syllabic sight-singing.

PFET-365 Performance Ear Training for Keyboards 2
Continuation of PFET-364.

PFET-370 Performance Ear Training for Percussion 1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student’s instrument in class. Some dictation. Some non-syllabic sight-singing.

PFET-371 Performance Ear Training for Percussion 2
Continuation of PFET-370.

PFET-373 Performance Ear Training for Voice 1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear. Emphasis on sight-reading. Some dictation. Some non-syllabic sight-reading.

PFET-374 Performance Ear Training for Voice 2
Continuation of PFET-373.

PFET-361 Performance Ear Training for Woodwinds, Brass, Strings and Mallets1
Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student’s instrument in class. Some dictation. Some non-syllabic sight-singing.

PFET-362 Performance Ear Training for Woodwinds, Brass, Strings and Mallets2
Continuation of PFET-361.

ET-441 Popular Song Transcription
Designed to teach the student how to transcribe songs and arrangements in current popular music. Most projects are chosen by the student in his/her area of musical interest. Project presentation in class.

ET-341 Rhythmic Ear Training
Designed to improve the ability to sight-read and notate rhythms. Begins with recognition of simple common rhythmic phrases, and progresses to complete transcription of rhythms in recorded materials (baroque, Latin, disco, jazz).

New!!! ET-321 World Music Ear Training

New!!! ET Proto: Advanced Modal Ear Training

Grading Criteria

• Ear Training Department Standards For Singing Evaluation:

A student’s performance will sometimes rest between one grade or another. That situation calls for the use of the “+” and “-“ system. The application of these grading variations is a matter of teacher discretion, and should be based on the objective evaluation of a student’s performance utilizing the grading criteria explicated below.

A = Excellent

Rhythm:         Time is steady (no slowing down or speeding up; no stopping and starting)
Durations:      Correct in length; notes neither too short, nor too long
Articulations: Precise; neither late nor early; accurately follows all markings
Syllables:       Solfege is correct with no mistakes; notes match syllables
Intonation:     Stays in key with no flat/sharp pitches
Conducting:   Precise as to pattern and tempo
Overall:         Effortless, precise, and musical performance

B = Good

Rhythm:         Time is steady (minimal slowing down and/or speeding up; minimal stopping and starting)
Durations:      Mostly correct in length with minimal note clipping and/or over-extension
Articulations: Mostly precise with very few late or early attacks; mostly follows markings
Syllables:       Solfege is mostly correct with very few mistakes, notes match solfege syllables with few mistakes
Intonation:    Stays in key with only a few flat/sharp pitches
Conducting: Mostly precise as to pattern and tempo
Overall:         Solid, mostly precise and somewhat musical performance

C = Average (Fair)

Rhythm:         Time is fairly steady (slight slowing down and/or speeding up; some stopping and starting
Durations:      Fairly correct in length, some note clipping and/or over-extension
Articulations: Fairly precise, some notes late and/or early and some markings missed
Syllables:       Some solfege mistakes, suggesting key unfamiliarity; notes mostly match solfege syllables
Intonation:     Stays mostly in key with some flat/sharp pitches
Conducting:   Fairly precise as to pattern and temp
Overall:         Somewhat flawed, fairly precise, but somewhat unmusical performance

D = Poor

Rhythm:         Time is unsteady (slowing down and/or speeding up; tends to stop and start)
Durations:      Notes rarely correct in length; note clipping and/or over-extension is common
Articulations: Sloppy; notes are often late and/or early, and markings are often missed
Syllables:    Many solfege mistakes, demonstrating key unfamiliarity; notes often do not match solfege syllables
Intonation:     May lose key center with common flatness and/or sharpness of pitches
Conducting:   Has trouble conducting and singing at the same time; may stop conducting; pattern(s) may be wrong
Overall:         Very flawed, mostly imprecise, and unmusical performance

F = Failing

Rhythm:         Time is very unsteady (a lot of slowing down/speeding up; many stops and starts)
Durations:      Notes mostly incorrect in length; much note clipping and/or over-extension
Articulations: Very sloppy; notes are mostly late and/or early, and markings are mostly missed
Syllables:       Abundance of solfege mistakes; unfamiliar with key; notes mostly do not match solfege syllables
Intonation:      Loses key center with mostly out of tune pitches
Conducting:    Has great trouble conducting and singing at the same time; may stop conducting or not conduct at all
Overall:         Highly flawed, very imprecise, and very unmusical performance

W - Withdrawal (not included in grade point average)
You must request withdrawal by filling out a "Student Initiated Withdrawal from a Class" form at the Counseling Center. (The "W" deadline for each semester is found in the Registration Manual/Course Master Schedule, in the section marked "Academic Calendar" under the heading "Last Day to Request an advance grade of 'W'." This information is available from the Counseling Center.)

I - Incomplete
The grade is given by your teacher (not the department chair) only in extraordinary circumstances. You must be passing the course to receive an "I". A detailed description of the Incomplete Grade Policy can be found in the college bulletin.

Attendance Policies - refer to each individual course syllabus.

Credit By Examination

1. Credit by exam (CBX) is not given for ear training electives.

2. Core Ear Training courses (Ear Training 2, 3 and 4, and Solfege 1 & 2) may be tested. The standard for a passing grade is "B", using the following criteria:

B = Good

Rhythm: Time is steady (minimal slowing down and/or speeding up; minimal stopping and starting)

Durations: Mostly correct in length with minimal note clipping and/or over-extension

Articulations: Mostly precise with very few late or early attacks; mostly follows markings

Syllables: Solfege is mostly correct with very few mistakes, notes match solfege syllables with few mistakes

Intonation: Stays in key with only a few flat/sharp pitches

Conducting: Mostly precise as to pattern and tempo

Overall: Solid, mostly precise and somewhat musical performance

3. The Core CBX will consist of any material from the book being tested plus a singing final test composed of rhythm, melody and harmony.

4. A student who has an incomplete, an IF or an F may not take a CBX for that course.

5. A CBX may only be taken once for a course. If a student fails to pass a CBX, he or she must take that class in order to receive credit.

6. The Core CBX will be given every semester on the last Wednesday of Add/Drop at 1:00 PM in the Ear Training Department office.

Pre-Requisite Waiver Contacts for Ear Training Electives

• Students must seek approval from the following faculty members to receive a pre-requisite waiver:

Course Name	Faculty	Phone Extension

Performance ET Wind/Strings&Mallets	Daryl Lowery	8263
Performance ET. Keyboards	Scott deOgburn	8155
Performance ET Guitar	Mitch Seidman	8357
Performance ET Drums	Marcello Pellitteri	8312
Performance ET Voice	Gaye Tolan-Hatfield	8382
Performance ET Bass	Paul Del Nero	8403
Harmonic ET	Roberta Radley/Jane Potter	8326
Rhythmic ET	Dave Vose	8389
Advanced ET	Steve Prosser	2248
Atonal Solfege	Ed Bedner	8113
Fundamentals of Transcription	Daryl Lowery	8263
Jazz Solo Transcription	Daryl Lowery	8263
Pop Song Transcription	Jane Potter	8596

Last updated August 14, 2008