Instructor
Prof. John R. Howell (who much prefers to be called "John"!)

Office
157 Squires (Ground Floor, Music Wing)

Office Hours
E-mail 24 hours a day: jhowell@vt.edu
In person by appointment; email for appointment

Telephone
Office 231-8411; Department 231-5685; Home 953-1928
(You may call at home, but only if really necessary, please.)

• This is an upper-level undergraduate music literature course that concentrates on the literature and musical styes of the Medieval, Renaissance, and very early Baroque periods. It is designed for undergraduate music majors who have completed the Sophomore HAMS courses successfully, but music minors and other interested students are welcome with the permission of the instructor. The ability to read modern music notation and some experience in analyzing common-practice musical examples are prerequisites. Many examples will be sung in class. (The quality of singing will not be graded!)
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• This course has been designated by the Music Department as a "writing-intensive" course. Please see the separate Writing page for details. Due dates for writing assignments are given in the Course Calendar and on the separate Writing page.
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• This course is taught under the tradition and procedures of the University Honor Code. Cheating and plagiarism are unacceptable, and suspected or proven instances will be turned over to the Student Honor Court for investigation and resolution.
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• Regular, on-time class attendance is required, and will count for 10% of the final grade (one full letter grade). In-Class activities will be very specific, and can not be made up in any way. Missed assignments and quizzes may be turned in in advance, but may not be made up unless absence is excused by the instructor in advance, or unless serious illness or family emergency is documented. Tours by Music Department ensembles and professional personal travel are excused as long as arrangements are made in advance. Contact the instructor in advance in person, by e-mail, or by voicemail (but preferably by e-mail, so there will be a record).
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• Students are required to have an active e-mail account and to provide the instructor with an e-mail address. Since the universtiy requires class emails to be sent through Scholar, they will go to your Tech-assigned email addresses, so check them daily. Communicate directly with the Instructor at the email address above. Always put 3144 and nothing else in the "subject" line so the instructor can identify class posts and deal with them immediately. If you do not have a habit of checking your email daily, now is a good time to start doing it.
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• Students are required to have Internet access. The instructor's homepage can be found at http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html.
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• Students are encouraged to join Internet mailing lists that specialize in Early Music, and the instructor will suggest appropriate lists and perhaps give a few extra credit assignments using the Web.
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• There is no midterm exam. There will be a large number of Scholar Quizzes on the topics listed in the Course Calendar, plus full-period (or possibly take-home) Exams at the end of the Medieval and Renaissance sections of the course. There is no additional Final Exam.
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  Please note that it may become necessary to make further adjustments to the Course Calendar as the course proceeds.
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  Please note that while this is designated as a Writing Intensive course, it is also a Reading Intensive course. (Not in terms of 500 pages per week, like an English Literature course, but there are extensive readings for each class and you must not allow yourself to fall behind.) There will be Quizzes on each selection of readings on Scholar, which will count toward your Final Grade.
• There may be two concerts by the Virginia Tech Early Music Ensemble during the semester, on Sunday, March 3 and Sunday, April 28 in the Recital Salon. Attendance at one of these is required, and a written review of the concert is required for extra credit. Students performing in the Early Music Ensemble are excused from this requirement, but may turn in a paper on an approved topic for extra credit.

Allan W. Atlas. Renaissance Music. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.

Allan W. Atlas. Anthology of Renaissance Muisc. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.

Oliver Strunk, ed. Source Readings in Music History. Rev. ed., James McKinnon, ed. Volume 2: The Early Christian Period and the Latin Middle Ages. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.

Evaluation is based on a total of weighted scores which may be earned during the semester for various assignments, quizzes, and exams, plus class attendance. The weighted scores will be combined to to give a grade percentage (scale given below), with 100% equal to A+. (I will assign an A+ if it has been earned, but the Registrar does not recognize or accept A+ as a grade; go figure!) Opportunities for extra credit points may be available. Grades in this course are not assigned; they are earned. Grades are never curved. Scores are earned as follows:

Exams:

Extra Credit:

Required attendance at and submission of a written review of one or both of the Early Music Ensemble's concerts , each worth up to 5% extra credit (half a letter grade) added directly to the final grade.

Grade Percentage Scale: