Welcome Letter for Music Appreciation Professor: Michael Gribbroek Email: gribbroekm@wpunj.edu Department: Music Course No. & Section: Mus120-81; 120-82 Phone: 973-720-3128 Office Hours: Hello and welcome to Music Appreciation! Let me first say, I’m looking forward to working with all of you this semester. Many of you may be thinking that a semester studying “classical” music is going to be painful, boring and pointless. I promise you that whatever it will be, it will not be any of those things. I try to make it an interesting and enjoyable experience that will expand your knowledge of and appreciation of all music. You may also be thinking that music is already a big part of your life. In fact, in our society, music everywhere, even in airports, elevators and department stores. Recordings have made it possible to have music anywhere and any time you want it. And the variety of styles and genres available makes it possible for each person to create a musical universe of their own-- and store it in a device small enough to fit in your pocket. Given all this, one might assume that music is well appreciated in our world. So why do you need to take a course about appreciating it? The answer to that question is what I hope we will discover in the next 16 weeks. What you will be doing this semester is reading, writing, listening and thinking about music. We will be spending a lot of time on European classical music but at the same time we will be considering our own musical culture, the world of jazz, blues, folk and “rock and roll”. The details of course procedures, quizzes and exams, papers an Discussions will be provided in the Syllabus which will be available on the first day if class. Texts The text we will be using is Roger Kamien’s Music: An Appreciation, 7th Brief Edition. It comes with a set of 5CDs. The ISBN number is 007743353X. There are also two web sites that we will be using: Kamien Connect and the Kamien On Line Learning Center. For the Connect site you will need to purchase an access card from McGraw Hill. The Learning Center is free, I believe. Connect on the other hand needs an access card that must be purchased from McGraw Hill. I will have information on getting both when class begins in September. The WP Bookstore is offering a great deal on this text this year. You can rent the text and CD set from them for $68.63 for the semester. Since to buy it new and there are no used copies, this is a new edition that was just released in July cost $152.50 it doesn’t make sense not to rent it. Even when you add in the $30 for the Connect card, you still save quite a bit of money. I highly recommend you take this deal. You will also need a copy of MSWord 2003, 2007 or 2010. All papers must be formatted in one of those versions. How to Access Blackboard: To log on to Bb point your web browser to http://bb.wpunj.edu and click the Login button in the upper left. Then enter your username and password in the spaces provided and click login again -- you'll find your course Bb sites listed on the right. Some things to be aware of as you work with Blackboard: You probably won't find all your courses listed; the only ones that will appear are those that have been activated by the professor teaching the course. Professors who don't use Blackboard will not activate their courses. Your username is comprised of your lastname and firstinitial, usually appended with a numeral. If you don't know your WPUNJ system username password you can use the Username lookup link at http://bb.wpunj.edu, or go to it directly at: http://www.wpunj.edu/username/ If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the first login button. Blackboard documentation can be found in two places: at Bb Home, http://bb.wpunj.edu, before one logs in, and in the Blackboard Support tab after one has logged on. You can always obtain Bb help by using the Problem Report form at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or by going to it directly at: https://liberty.wpunj.edu/bb/support-center/ . WPUNJ Student Email: To access WPUNJ Student Email point your web browser to http://wpconnect.wpunj.edu, enter your username and password, then select the Mail tab. If you are logging on for the first time you'll be asked to set your time zone and language. Blackboard courses will use student email; third-party email addresses will not work on Bb Good luck and have fun in the course! Michael gribbroek
