Welcome Letter
Music Appreciation: Rock and Roll MUS 237 Fall 2020 CRN 74979
Instructor: Dr. Michael Walker
Welcome to the Distance Education section of Music Appreciation: Rock and Roll Music. I want to thank all of you for making this course possible and welcome you to an incredible world of Rock history and to the lives and music of some of the most inspiring and influential musicians of all time.
Who Is Your Teacher?
Many moons ago, I was a student at Cuesta College where I took my first music course just after graduating from San Luis Obispo High School. After Cuesta I attended Humboldt State University obtaining a BA in Piano Performance and the University of Oregon where I graduated with a MA and Ph.D in Music Theory with a secondary in Music History. After teaching for 3 years at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, I came back home to SLO and have been teaching at Cuesta College since 2008. During this time, I have been active as a composer, performer, author, and father.
Rock and Roll has always been a strong passion of mine and I look forward to sharing my excitement about the music and musicians we will study this term.
Email: michael_walker1@cuesta.edu
Office: SLO Campus, Room 7167, Performing Arts Building
Office Hours: By appointment only
Contact: Please contact me via email. I will generally
respond to your emails within 24 hours
First Day of Class
On the first day of class, log into Canvas via https://cuesta.instructure.com/, or the links in www.cuesta.eduLinks to an external site. or www.mycuesta.edu. Links to an external site. Use your myCuesta login and password to log into Canvas, the learning management system (LMS) used to deliver course content. The syllabus and first introductory assignment will be posted on Canvas at that time. If you would like to learn about Canvas now, here is a quick start pdf Links to an external site.that explains the basics and a series of videosLinks to an external site. that can aquaint you with the Canvas LMS environment. (To enter Canvas, just click the Canvas link at the top of www.cuesta.eduLinks to an external site. or go to www.cuesta.instructure.com.)
About a week before the first day of class I will send an email to each of you inviting you to familiarize yourselves with the course content, modules, assignments, and syllabus.
Course Overview
This course is designed to inspire passion for popular music from the late 1940s to the present and to understand its musical characteristics and social context through listening, reading from the text, and by watching numerous documentaries about the lives and circumstances of the many great musicians and songwriters who shaped and crafted popular music of the second half of the 20th century. However, we will not, in our shortened class of 9 weeks, be able to cover each of your favorite bands and performers, but I will try to highlight those mentioned in your text as best as I can.
The course is structured having weekly reading assignments, Reading Quizzes, and Listening Quizzes. The reading quizzes follow the outline of the textbook chapters and the listening quizzes are based on the music located in the Modules tab in Canvas. Moreover, this course also requires short responses to various documentaries and/or videos of selected songs.
Required Materials:
We will be using the text: Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development - 7th ed., Prentice Hall by Joe Stuessy and Scott Lipscomb available online or at the Cuesta College bookstore.
Course Requirements
For each chapter, you will be required to read the textbook, watch the videos and documentaries posted, and listen to audio materials that will accessible from the Canvas site. Additionally, it will be required to participate in the discussion forum for various assignments that are particular to each chapter (watching audio/visual presentations, etc.). There will be short multiple-choice quizzes based on each chapter and short listening quizzes in which you will need to identify the performer or the band and title of each music example you hear. The listening examples will be posted on the first day of class so you can enjoy and prepare for the listening quizzes way in advance! More detailed information will be included in the course syllabus.
Is Online Instruction for You?
In an effort to assist the online student, Cuesta College’s Distance Education home page Links to an external site. providing a solid overview to distance education and resources to assist the online student. On that page is a tutorial for students taking online courses for the first time, and technical requirements to check that you can succeed in the course with the computer you are accessing it with. Taking the Self Assessment SurveyLinks to an external site. will help determine if an online course is right for you. Please access these materials before the course begins to prepare for success.
Online Communication
Most of our communication for the online class will be through the written word. Please use the same respect and courtesy you would when speaking to a classmate or instructor in a face-to-face class. You may notice that the written word sometimes comes across harsher and you may be at a loss as to how to communicate a point. A term which may be new to you is netiquette which refers to internet etiquette please visit http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html Links to an external site.for further explanation.
Computer Requirement
Browser requirements/minimum computer specificationshttp://www.cuesta.edu/student/aboutacad/distance/faqs_technical.htmlLinks to an external site.
➢ Internet Service Provider (ISP) offering a DSL, cable or satellite (not dial-up
modem) internet Connection
➢ A myCuesta Gmail address. All students receive this after registration. If you need assistance with your myCuesta.edu account please contact Admissions and Records on the San Luis Obispo campus.
➢ Software: Microsoft Office Professional 2011 (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint) or Google Docs You may purchase the Office software at a discount through the California Community College FoundationLinks to an external site.
➢ Sound Card, speakers or headset.
Cuesta College Policies:
DSPS
If you have a disability and might need accommodations (support services) in this class, please contact Disabled Student Program Services in Building 3300 as soon as possible to ensure that you receive the accommodations you might need in a timely manner. http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/dsps/Links to an external site.
CUESTA POLICIES
Student Academic Policy, Student Code of Conduct, and Student Computer Technology Access Agreement:
http://academic.cuesta.edu/president/2008BP/BP5000/AP%205500_Standards%20of%20Conduct.pdfLinks to an external site.
I look forward to a wonderful term with you all! Please feel free to email me with any questions.
Best regards,
Dr. Michael Walker
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