Schedule changes:
A lesson time is a firm appointment. If a student is unable to
come for a lesson, they are required to notify the teacher as early as
possible. For changes of schedule other than emergency:
Teacher contacted before
10 am: lesson may be rescheduled within the next 7 days.
Teacher contacted after
10 am: lesson will not be made up.
Failure to appear for lesson:
lesson will not be made up.
Tardiness and missed lessons
will result in a lowered grade.
Music repertoire will be assigned for each student, which will necessitate the purchase of some music scores. Mrs. Ruth Vos in the Music Department Office (724-847-6660) may be able to order scores for you. Other good places are: Volkwein’s, 138 Industry Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15275, Phone 1-800-553-8742, vocal dept. ext. 601, Email: music@volkweins.com, Website: www.volkweins.com; or Musik Innovations, 9600 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, Phone: 1-800-677-8063, Email: music@musikinn.com, Website: www.musikinn.com.
Materials needed at each Lesson
Each student is required to bring to each lesson: 1) a pencil, 2) Warm-ups & Vocal Exercises, and 3) scores for the music currently being worked on with the teacher. A notebook and folder or binder are strongly recommended. You are also encouraged to bring a tape and tape recorder to your lessons, so you can listen to them later.
In order to make sufficient progress as a student and maintain vocal fitness, Voice students are expected to practice daily, at a rate of one hour of practice per credit hour. Voice students taking MUA221 and higher are expected to practice at least two hours a day, and those taking MUA121-122 are expected to practice at least one hour a day. These may be adjusted for various reasons by the teacher.
Activities counting toward the daily requirement include: singing Warm-ups & Vocal Exercises, learning assigned pieces, memorizing, rehearsal with accompanist, listening to recordings of assigned pieces, translating texts of songs, rendering texts into IPA, writing program notes and other recital planning.
A piano accompanist will be necessary for Boards, performing, and for most of your lessons. You may recruit your own accompanist, or one may be assigned to you by the Music Department.
Boards
All students taking private lessons are required to appear before a committee of the music faculty to perform one or more of the pieces they have studied in the current semester, comparable to a Final Exam. The Board evaluates the student’s progress and provides suggestions for improvement. Students who are neither majors nor minor in music may be excused from Boards at the discretion of the teacher. Boards are held on Reading day at the end of each semester. Please check with your accompanist and sign up in the Music Department Office at least a week in advance****.?
Your Voice grade will be determined by your teacher, based on effort, improvement, and quality of performance at Departmental Recitals and Boards.
Your Studio grade is based on the following:
EffortInterpretation of Studio Grades for Music Majors:
Improvement throughout semester
Talent and Performing ability
Learning your assigned music promptly
Performances required by your teacher
Attendance and promptness at lessons and Masterclasses
A = Exceptional talent, effort, improvement, and attendance**Note: Before your voice grade will be turned in to the Registrar, ALL borrowed materials (CDs, books, scores, journals) must be returned to your teacher.
B = Good effort, improvement, and attendance
C = Fair effort and attendance
D = Inadequate effort and attendance
F = Failing
Voice Masterclasses
Periodic Voice Masterclasses will be offered to provide students more
opportunities for growth as singers and future teachers, including performance
experience, vocal technique and pedagogy, stage deportment, and vocal health.
Voice students will be required to attend, exceptions made only with permission.
Recitals and Concerts
Departmental Recitals are held several times each semester. All students taking private lessons may perform at the discretion of their teacher; all majors in music are required to perform at least once each semester.
All Music Majors and Minors are required to attend ten approved recitals
and concerts each semester, or 2/3 of those presented at Geneva, whichever
is less. Voice recitals, operas, and faculty concerts are particularly
recommended. An updated schedule of Geneva concerts may be found
on the Web at: <http://www.geneva.edu/about_geneva/academic/undergraduate/music/events.html****>.
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