Course Description

Digital Music Course Description:

How do musicians and music technicians create beats and remake songs? In this course students will learn how to create beats and compose music digitally using Garageband. Students will be introduced to music technology (MIDI, musical instrument digital interface), understand the properties of digital and acoustic sounds, and experiment with various genres of rock, pop, hip-hop, rap, jazz, blues, classical, techno, house, etc. to create their own beats. Students will also gain understanding and appreciation of the operations inside a music studio and experiment hands-on with the complexity and creativity involved in MIDI/synthesizing, recording, sound engineering, multimedia collaborations, podcasting, etc and the significance of music in society today.

 

Grading Policy

Course: Digital Music

Teacher: Ms. Park

Welcome to Digital Music. Below is a description of the grading policy that we will follow in this class. Please read it carefully, share it with your parents/guardian and have them sign it below.

Competencies:

All of your assignments in this class will be graded using Diploma Plus Competencies. Competencies are the skills and habits that good learners use to show that they know the material they have learned in a particular subject. There are Personal and Subject Area Competencies. During this course we will focus on piano technique, music literacy, and making musical connections. The Competencies are graded on a 0-5 scale as is indicated in the chart below. The competencies, along with the personal competencies will be used to grade exams, projects, portfolio assignments, homework, class work and Participation.

75% of your grade is based upon the Subject Area Competencies, which will be used to grade your tests, and major class projects and portfolio assignments. During this course we will focus on the following Music Competencies:

MUI1.	Instrumental Technique: Demonstrate the ability to perform scales, arpeggios, and repertoire with attention to proper posture and position.
MUI3.	Improvisation: Demonstrate the ability to create and play music without prior practice or rehearsal with application to learned musical elements
MUI4.	Musical Literacy: Apply knowledge of music and vocal vocabulary to read, analyze, perform and evaluate written music and performances.
MUI5.	Making Connections: Recognize repertoire’s significance in history and connect it to ideas in other areas across the curriculum
MUI6.	Using Community Resources: Use, analyze and evaluate computer web sites and performances in the community.

25% of your grade is based upon the Personal Competencies. These will be used to grade your homework, class work and participation in class.

P02.	Planning and Responsibility: Demonstrate ability to create and execute effective plan and take responsibility for outcomes.
P05.	Reflection and Evaluation: Assess current knowledge and progress and effectiveness of process and actions.
P06.	Cooperation: Interact with others in ways that are responsive, effective and demonstrate respect for others’ ideas, opinions, and contributions.

Portfolios:

You will have a great opportunity to do your best work in this class. You will work on creative projects, class work and assignments and some of those will be placed in your portfolio. Your portfolio will serve as evidence that you have met all of the competencies at a level 2 or better. At the end of the class, you will have an opportunity to choose some of your best work to present to the class. Upon meeting level 2 or better in each Competency and presenting from your best work, you will earn the credit for this class and can then move to the next class.

***For additional information please refer to the course syllabus***