Winter Quarter, 2000 MWF 2:40-3:55

Recital Hall/Classroom 110 Light Bldg

Office: Olds-Upton 403-I Phone: x7111 E-mail: tan@kzoo.edu

Office hours: Fridays 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., and by appointment. I recommend making an appointment (even for office hours), so that you do not waste time waiting in line. On Thursdays, I will be out all day on research-related assignments, which are part of my duties at "K" College.

"Let us keep open the connections whereby the human spirit may freely move between the arts and the sciences, and thus make more of each" (Yehudi Menuhin, 1916-1999).

This course is an introduction to the psychology of music, focusing primarily on topics directly relevant to musicians’ lives. I will adopt a broad interdisciplinary view toward the field, covering such topics as: philosophical questions about the nature of music, the physiology of the ear, the physical and perceptual properties of tone, the development of musical skills, performance, music listening, music cognition, exceptional musical abilities and disabilities, music therapy, and a critical look at the recent interest in "the Mozart effect."

Prerequisites: General Psychology plus a familiarity with basic musical terminology (or music major/minor). A short (non-credit) quiz will be administered during the first week, which will help students determine if they have the foundational skills to benefit from the course.

1. Hodges, D. (1996). The handbook of music psychology. San Antonio, TX: IMR Press.

2. Rowell, L. (1984). Thinking about music: An introduction to the philosophy of music. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.

3. Additional readings will be provided.

1. Three Exams: There will be three exams, each consisting of "scaffolded essays." For each essay, you will be given a topic and a list of terms that must be defined and integrated into the essay. Because essay questions may draw from more than one reading, you should be familiar with all the readings and lectures assigned for the exam.

2. Term Project: There will be a quarter-long term project, with an individual and team component. Although team work will count towards your grade, you will be graded mainly on an individual basis (300 out of 400 points). Attendance and participation at team meetings will be gauged through the submission of Minutes for each meeting. See syllabus pages 7 - 8 for details.

3. Reading & Preparation for Discussion: You are expected to complete readings by their due dates. My course calendar includes a list of reading assignments so that you can read ahead when needed. I will often turn to the class or ask individuals for responses to questions based on the readings, for which I will assume you are well prepared. You may be unprepared to participate for one class meeting (except on days when Discussion Preparation assignments are due, or on any presentation, exam or guest lecture days). Simply communicate this to me by hanging a sheet from your desk with the word "Holiday." When I see this, I will not call on you during the lecture or expect you to be familiar with the readings for the day. However, please note that any other assignments due on this day must still be turned in on time.

Five times during the quarter, you will be asked to write short responses (1 - 2 pages, typed) to questions in preparation for discussions. These will be turned in, and will receive either a checkmark (fine) or a - (too sketchy or lacks depth) or a + (exceptionally well done). If you receive 3+s, I will add 5 points to your grade. If you receive 2 -s, 5 points will be deducted. Anything in between will count as satisfactory preparation and will not affect your grade. "Plus papers" (receiving +) are awarded for exceptionally thoughtful, thorough, well-developed responses that show a mastery of the topic. Minus papers will be accompanied by three tips for improvement.

4. Two Course Reflection Papers: Twice during the quarter (5th week and 10th week), you will be asked to turn in short papers (2 pages each) on how the course material is influencing or enriching your musical experience as a performer and/or listener over the course of the quarter. Your paper will be much richer if you keep a running log of ideas and impressions at the back of your notebook as they occur to you during readings/lectures. Although the papers are short, ideas must be organized and fully developed, and topics must be explored in some depth.

5. Involvement with Music: This course will be more meaningful if you are actively involved in musical activities. This requirement can be fulfilled in one of two ways:

a) In-Class Concerts. You are encouraged--but not required--to participate in an informal concert. The class is not expecting to be graced by a budding Mozart, so please feel free to perform at whatever level you have reached, beginning or advanced.

b) Attendance at Music Performance. If you choose not to participate in the class concerts, attend two music performances of your choice. Submit the two programs and attach them to a paper of 2-3 full paragraphs for each performance, explaining how attending the event may have enriched your experience in this course. Please check with me first to confirm that the musical event meets the criteria for this assignment. The events must be formal, live musical concerts (classical or other) of at least 50 minutes in length. Due: Any time before Wednesday 10th week (submit 2 programs and responses to both performances at one time).

Three exams (100 points each) 300

Term project 400

Research proposal (individual grade out of 50)

IRB form (team grade out of 50)

Paper submission to symposium (team grade out of 50)

Team conference presentation (individual grade out of 100)

Manuscript submission to journal (individual grade out of 150)

Two course reflection papers and one project reflection paper (30 + 30 + 40) 100

In-class concert OR 2-page response to musical event: not graded, but must fulfill

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TOTAL 800

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In order to adhere to K College’s high standards for professionalism and academic rigor, and out of fairness to the majority of students who are conscientious and work hard to meet requirements fairly and honestly, the following policies will be strictly enforced:

Academic Dishonesty: The honor code is an integral part of K College life, and academic integrity is upheld as one of the highest callings of students and faculty. Out of respect for the academic reputation of our College, the following actions will be handled as severe infractions of the school-wide code: cheating on exams, quizzes or papers in any form; copying another student’s exams, quizzes or papers with or without the permission of the student; giving untrue reasons for missed exams or late papers; plagiarism; fabricating data or tampering with data.

Plagiarism includes: Copying one or more sentences from the work of another author (printed or unpublished) without appropriately citing the source--therefore presenting it as if in your own words. Note also that following the structure and progression of ideas from another source even when putting them in your own words (i.e., paraphrasing an author’s words but imitating the author’s line of reasoning for several paragraphs) is also plagiarism.

Fabricating data/tampering with data includes: Making up data for your research study or questionnaire report and presenting them as if provided by a participant, or altering data--for example to give you the results you were hoping to find. Although it can be tempting--particularly when you are very close to a significant finding--this is a very serious violation of our professional code. If you are plagued with a string of marginally insignificant findings, you should consult me for help.

Late Assignments: Late work without prior arrangements due to special circumstances will be automatically marked down 10% each day. Any assignment turned in over three days late must be completed at the equivalent of at least a B- passing grade, but will receive no points. Please note that it is your responsibility to make sure team assignments are turned in on time (since the team papers tend to be short, I would recommend that several team members bring copies on the due date). The explanation that "we had it all done, but Joe forgot to bring it" will fail as an excuse! No late work from the quarter will be accepted after 10th week. Papers due during Exam Week will be held strictly to deadlines: late work may not be accepted.

Missed Exams: If you miss an exam, you must provide a doctor’s note or evidence of other circumstances of emergency. Make-up exams will be different from the standard exams and will be given in long-essay form--not "scaffolded essays."

Incomplete Work: You cannot pass this course with any incomplete or missing assignments or exams, even if your final score is within range for a passing grade.

Absentee Policy: Poor attendance (including attendance at team meetings) will affect your grade; continued poor attendance after a warning is issued will be grounds for a failing grade. Perfect attendance (no more than 1 unexcused absence) will raise your final grade if your score lies between grades. Your instructor cares about attendance because it is essential to this course, and pays attention to attendance records as a reflection of your commitment to this class. Good attendance records also stand you in good stead for future recommendation letters for campus jobs, foreign study, graduate school, and beyond!

Grading Scheme: A = 91-100%, B = 81-90%, C = 71-80%, D = 61-70%, F = 60% and below.

(+ and - awarded within ranges at instructor’s discretion; note that I may make adjustments to final grades for excellent or poor participation or attendance in class or team meetings).

The term project for this course is a quarter-long assignment, which will be broken up into parts. You will be asked to form a small team, and to investigate a question of your choice related to the psychology of music by way of a small-scale research study or a 2-3 page questionnaire. Make sure your question is specific, that your goals are very clear, and that the project is feasible in terms of time and expense (no money is available to support projects).

Example of a Research Question: How does volume of music influence estimation of the size of a room? The most important thing will be to make sure your question is specific enough, testable, manageable to do within the period of 8 weeks, and that it is something you can remain enthusiastic about for the whole quarter.

Example of a Topic for a Questionnaire: Why do people stop taking music lessons? (You would also ask many questions surrounding this--e.g., at what age did they stop lessons, what instruments did they play, was there a bad experience that led to the person quitting, etc.) The most important thing will be to make sure the question is specific but also large enough to ask related questions, so that you have enough material for a questionnaire of about 2 - 3 pages. (The questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to complete).

Participants: If you are doing the research project, I recommend that you include a minimum of 10 participants. If you are doing a questionnaire, I recommend that you administer the questionnaire to 40 or more individuals. You are responsible for recruiting your own participants. You may not recruit any member of the class, because they will know too much about your project --which may affect the results. You may recruit someone who is also participating in another team’s study or questionnaire, unless the topic is very close to the one you are studying.

STEP 1: Research Proposal or Questionnaire Proposal: [ 3rd/4th week ]

Present your idea to the "Review Board" (the class) in a presentation of 7 - 10 minutes, to see if we would be willing to "fund" your project. Answer questions. Listen to feedback from the class and from me, and use it to revise and improve your proposal until it is in its best form.

STEP 2: Approval from the Human Ethics Committee: [ 4th/5th week ]

After you have made all neccessary revisions to the procedure, submit 2 copies of the required form to the Internal Review Board of the Human Ethics Committee (me), to get official approval to commence with your project.

STEP 3: Literature Search: [ begin 5th week ]

Search scholarly journals and books for journal articles or book chapters that are relevant to your topic. After you submit your IRB form, I will meet with your team to give you some ideas on key word searches.

STEP 4: Prepare to Run Study or Administer Questionnaire: [ have everything ready by 6th week ]

Make all necessary preparations to run your study or administer your questionaire, and begin reading the materials you gathered for the literature search. When you are ready, your team should schedule a short meeting with me. I will look over your final paperwork for the procedure or your final questionnaire, and also ask you questions on your literature search. You may consult me on up to 3 questions you have before beginning your study.

STEP 5: Run the Study or Conduct the Questionnaire: [ 6th/7th week ]

You will be entirely on your own for this part. [ Important: Keep copies of all paperwork and musical materials for research studies, and all completed questionnaires for questionnaire reports to turn in at the end of the quarter! ]

STEP 6: Analyse the Data: [ 7th/8th week ]

Analyse the data using SPSS 8.0. You will receive support for this part. I will also help explain what the results mean, and suggest ways to formally report the results in your presentation and paper. [ Important: Keep copies of all printouts to turn in at the end of the quarter! ]

STEP 7: Conference Paper Submission: [ end of 8th week ]

Submit an application to present the results of your study or questionnaire at the "15th annual conference for the Kalamazoo Society for Psychology of Music (KSPM)"--note that this is a fictitious society, created by your professor. This consists of an abstract of under 200 words.

STEP 8: Conference Paper Presentation: [ 9th week ]

Give a team presentation of the results of your project (12 minutes plus 5-8 minutes questions).

STEP 9: Brief Report [ DUE: 11th week - Final Exam Week ]

Write your own (individual) written formal report of the project, and submit it with a cover letter to the "Editor" of a prestigious journal (me). I will provide you with a detailed outline of exactly what to include, and how to structure the paper.

Your team should also submit a folder with a copy of all the print-outs for the SPSS analysis PLUS originals or copies of all materials used in your study (for research reports) OR originals or copies of all the questionnaires that were completed (for questionnaire reports). One copy of each of the articles and book chapters you gathered during the literature search should also be included.

I will guide--but not lead--your term project. In other words, my role will be mainly to a) give you a structure and time-line for the course of your projects; b) to approve your work at the designated checkpoints; and c) to serve as a consultant only when advice and support are really needed.

--arbitrate disputes between team members;

--repair procedures that failed after Step 2;

--help you completely overhaul the study/questionnaire after Step 2 if your team suddenly realizes it has launched an over-ambitious project that cannot be completed;

--listen to complaints about being overworked due to procrastination or bad planning;

--answer lots of extraneous questions that you are able to figure out as a team or individually.

--do all I can to promote an atmosphere of team harmony throughout every step of the project;

--do my best to point out practical problems or methodological flaws at Step 1 and Step 2;

--warn you before Step 3 if I believe that your project is too large or unmanageable;

--communicate expectations clearly and give you sufficient guidelines on how to succeed at each step;

--give you brief but specific team or individual feedback after steps 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

--offer you help and support where I know you really need it, such as in the data analysis and when problems arise that require expertise outside your scope of knowledge;

--be genuinely interested and enthusiastic about your project, from beginning to end!

Although I will not get involved in intra-team disputes, here are some tips on keeping the peace:

A: No, sorry. I’m going to stay out of disputes until after 9th week. This is what I’d advise: If someone’s shirking, ask the person as nicely as you can to contribute more. (If you happen to be that person, don’t be defensive but simply take this as a request to be more involved). If the person continues to loaf, turn in poor work, miss meetings, and so on, continue to get the job done--with or without that person. Be civil and respectful; you may not know the reasons for their actions. Don’t worry about loafers benefitting from your work. Your team grade is only worth a small fraction of the entire points for the class. You can be pretty sure that if this person’s loafing, he or she is not paying enough attention to do well on their individual work and will receive a poor grade in the end. Don’t let this pull down your team morale! Life is full of loafers--this will not be the last one you meet, so move on!

A: If someone has been so difficult that your team agrees that it should really be brought to my attention, wait until after the Conference Presentation and send me a confidential note signed by members of the team. Be as specific and as objective as possible--write to describe, not to vent. If your team complains about a member while in the thick of working together, it will confirm in all your minds that this person is "no good," and if the person is offended by your banding together to ask me to address the problem you may have to work with a hostile member for weeks. After ninth week, I’ll either speak with the person privately or take your observations into account when assigning individual grades. Please resort to this only if you feel it’s absolutely necessary!

A: As the quarter continues, you may begin to see more imperfections in your team members. You might start feeling like you’re in a bad episode of "The Real World." You may encounter the Drama Queen/King (someone whose life is always in crisis, so there’s always an excuse for not being focused), the Small-Picture Person (who makes everything slow and complicated by not being able to see past unimportant details), the Slacker (who doesn’t really care about grades or learning, and can’t figure out why you do), the Martyr (who volunteers to do everything, and then complains that he or she is overworked and underappreciated), the Shadow (who shows up but doesn’t add much to the mix), etc. How to deal with this? Be affectionately amused, rather than bothered, by idiosyncrasies. Try to remember that although you don’t know it, you probably fit a "type" too! Don’t we all?

A. There will be teams (many, I hope!) that will actually work harmoniously for nine weeks without any real problems. This is a testimony to your maturity, patience, fairness and character! I’m pretty perceptive and if yours is such a team, I’ll probably have picked it up from the tenor of the Minutes you submit, and will be extremely proud of you. If you are not sure I noticed and want me to know, include a team letter about it in your team folder at the end of the course.