MUA2203

Keyboard Literature: Genres throughout History

AY2023/2024 | Semester 1

Class sessions: Thursdays, 4pm–6pm, Seminar Room 6, YSTCM

Instructor: Dr Frances Lee

Office Location: YSTCM Academic Staff Room (3rd floor, near lifts)
Office Hours: By appointment (email or see me briefly after class to schedule)
Office Phone: (+65) 6516-7507 (I’ll answer if I’m in my office)
Email (preferred): franceslee@nus.edu.sg (response time typically 1–2 business days)

Module Description

Pianists have a wealth of repertoire available to them, including both works within the musical canon and those
without. This module explores the various genres of keyboard music throughout history, acknowledging the
composers who have gained widespread popularity, while simultaneously delving into the works of those who have
received less attention. Topics covered include variation sets, preludes, fugues, suites, studies, and single-movement
works. Students will think critically about the significance and evolution of each genre over time, and emerge with a
fuller picture of music written for the keyboard and a curiosity to continue discovering and rediscovering this
repertoire.

Grading System

Classroom Participation: 25%

Short Assignments: 20%
Midterm Quiz: 20%
Final Quiz: 20%
Final Project: 15%

Classroom Participation

As a discussion-based course, your active participation as a student is key to your learning. This is a valuable
opportunity for you to interact with others in an academic setting and to practise voicing your thoughts in a cogent
and sensitive way, in a relatively low-stakes environment among your peers (it will not always be this way in the
future!). Passive attendance will not result in a good grade. Factored into this grade is your class preparation: doing
the assigned readings, listenings, and tasks before each class, as directed. The latter may sometimes involve group
work, and you are expected to find time outside the classroom to discuss with your peers, in order to have a
cohesive and well-organised result. Make sure you have ways of communicating with each of your group members
before you leave the classroom. See the section titled “Syllabus” below with regard to reading and listening
assignments as part of class preparation.

Absences without a valid and documented excuse that is approved by the YST administration (e.g., medical reason
with MC, compulsory school event, unavoidable career-related conflict) will automatically result in a participation
grade of zero for that class session, and each unexcused absence will negatively impact your overall Classroom
Participation grade. For an absence to be excused, you are required to provide acceptable documentation via email
for each absence. Lateness and leaving the classroom during the class period will result in deductions from your
grade each class. It is your responsibility to catch up on missed classes through consulting with your classmates. If
you wish to discuss missed class material with me, you are required to first consult with two classmates and bring
substantial notes and specific questions to our meeting.

In addition to being physically present, active participation requires us to be mentally present. This course has a
no-phones policy: unless instructed to do so (e.g., for submitting entries to an online poll or word cloud), please do
not use your phones during class. Unless you are giving a presentation or taking a quiz, please do not use your
computers in class; I have found that laptops put up a kind of barrier that makes seminar-style discussions less
engaging. Tablets are allowed in class only for the purposes of note-taking and reference to class materials, and they
should be laid flat to avoid this feeling of a barrier. Please do not use them for other activities during class, as this is
distracting to both you and your peers. Failure to contribute your focused attention during class will result in

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penalties on your grade. I reserve the right to institute a stricter no-device policy later in the semester if device usage
begins to negatively impact the classroom experience.

Short Assignments

Short assignments are spread out throughout the semester, and are due approximately every one to two weeks.
These will take various forms, such as concise discussion posts via Canvas on works that you independently find, or
brief responses to specific reading and listening assignments. You will be informed of each assignment during class
and/or via email/Canvas announcement. If you miss a class session in which an assignment is discussed, it is your
responsibility to remain informed of the requirements and deadline for the assignment through consulting with your
classmates. If the assignment involves posting in a Canvas discussion thread, please ensure that you are posting in
the correct thread; your post may not be graded otherwise. As with other components of the module, you are
expected to uphold academic integrity, and your overall grade will be subject to the NUS grading scale and curve.

Quizzes

There will be two in-class quizzes during the semester: a midterm quiz in Week 7, and a final quiz in Week 13.
Quizzes will test you on material covered both during class sessions and in your weekly reading and listening
assignments. These are closed-book quizzes and may involve both drop-the-needle tests and short-answer questions
and/or multiple-choice questions. Do not seek help from any materials or anyone else when you are taking this
quiz. Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. As with other components of the module, your overall grade will
be subject to the NUS grading scale and curve. Quizzes will be assigned on paper and/or through Canvas.
Regardless of the format, you must take these quizzes in the classroom during the class session. If you have an
excused absence from a class session in which a quiz takes place, you are permitted to schedule a make-up with me
to take the quiz in my office. This make-up needs to occur before the following class session (i.e., if you miss the
quiz in Week 7, you need to take it before Week 8’s class session). It is your responsibility to take the initiative to
schedule a make-up with me. Otherwise, it will be assumed that you are not interested in making up the quiz, and
subsequently you will receive a score of zero for the missed quiz.

Final Project

Your final project centres upon an independent exploration of a topic that is of particular interest to you. Each of
you will find a keyboard work that is related to one of the topics explored over the course of the semester but not
discussed in detail during class nor listed on any of the assignment sheets. You will conduct your own research and
give a brief in-class presentation in Week 13 (16 Nov 2023) to introduce your classmates to your chosen work.
You will also write a short essay of 300–500 words (not including bibliographic citations and footnotes), due on
Wednesday, 29 Nov 2023, 11.59pm (Wednesday of Exam Week 1), that shares why this work is of interest to you
and displays how the course material gives you new perspectives on the piece.

By Sunday, 29 Oct 2023, 11.59pm, you must submit to me via email your idea for the final project, i.e., the title
and composer of the work that you have chosen, so that I can ensure that it does not overlap with material covered
in class or with other students’ choices (the latter will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, in order of receipt
of email). This will allow us sufficient time to discuss if any changes are required. You are encouraged to submit the
names of two to three different works (in order of preference) to facilitate this process.

Your in-class presentation should last three to four minutes, of which a maximum of 30 seconds should be spent on
musical excerpts. These presentations are primarily intended as a forum for you and your classmates to share your
interests and discoveries. A few additional guidelines:

1. Use a slideshow.
a. The last slide should be your bibliography, following the Notes and Bibliography system of The
Chicago Manual of Style.
b. Make sure that your slideshow is engaging, easy to read, and adds value to your presentation.
c. Apart from the bibliography slide, do not clutter your slideshow with text. Try to have fewer than
ten words per slide, and draw your audience’s attention to only three to five of the most important
words using different font sizes and colours. Use sans serif fonts.
d. Imagine that each slide is a billboard that you pass while driving or walking, and use that as a guide
for whether your slide is attractive enough for your audience: Would they stop to look, and would
they immediately get the point?
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 2. Engage your audience by maintaining eye contact and using body language. Draw them in and connect with
them by projecting a high energy level and being enthusiastic about your material, and using personal
stories and humour where appropriate. Avoid simply reading a script at them.
3. Dress professionally; think about what you would wear if you worked in a typical business office, or a
semi-formal concert. Casual shoes (e.g., flip-flops, sandals, trainers) and attire (e.g., t-shirt, jeans) are not
considered appropriate for the presentation.
4. Come to class early to test your devices/slideshow and avoid technical issues during class.

Your essay must be formatted as a docx file and uploaded via Canvas Assignments under “Final Project Essays.”
Remember to put your name in the document (not just in the document name), and use proper citation and
formatting based on the Notes and Bibliography system of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). You may access the
complete CMOS online through NUS Libraries’ E-Resources. The only deviations allowed from CMOS are the use
of British English instead of American English. Whichever type of English you decide to use in your paper, be
consistent throughout. Use double spacing (except for block quotes, footnotes, and the bibliography), provide page
numbers, and use the font Times New Roman at 12 pt. Strength of ideas, quality of writing, and application of
course material (including the ability to think critically) will factor into your grade. Failure to follow guidelines and
instructions in a timely manner will negatively impact your grade.

I am happy to meet and discuss drafts or ideas up to five business days before the due date for the essay, subject to
availability. Due to the unpredictability of work scheduling, I am unable to guarantee responses to questions and/or
drafts emailed to me after that day. The earlier you prepare material for review, the more feedback you are likely to
receive.

Additional Notes on Grading

Regarding late submissions: Respecting and adhering to deadlines is an important habit to cultivate. To this end, you
will receive a half-grade penalty for submissions that are 1s–1h late, a full-grade penalty for submissions that are
>1h–24h late, and a penalty worth two full grades for submissions that are >24h late. Submissions >48h late will
not be accepted. Begin your uploads early, to leave room for unexpected technical difficulties.

Your grades will be subject to the NUS grading scale and curve. This applies to individual components of the
module, as well as the overall grade. In addition to the guidelines set out above, I reserve the right to take into
account two additional considerations in your final grades:
● Trajectory: your general direction of travel throughout the semester, in terms of the quality of your work;
and
● Consistency: your general pattern of behaviour throughout the semester.

Academic Integrity

It is your responsibility to maintain academic integrity and avoid cheating and plagiarism. The work that you do in
this module, and any others you take over the course of your studies and your career, must be your own.
Disciplinary action will be required if you cheat or plagiarise. Please refer to the websites listed here:
https://www.nus.edu.sg/celc/programmes/plagiarism.html
https://libguides.nus.edu.sg/new2nus/acadintegrity
https://nus.edu.sg/osa/resources/code-of-student-conduct

As always, you must adhere to copyright regulations. More information can be found here:
https://libguides.nus.edu.sg/copyright_essentials_teaching_learning_research

Reading List

Required:

Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”

Ripin, Edwin M., Stewart Pollens, Philip R. Belt, Maribel Meisel, Alfons Huber, Michael Cole, Gert Hecher et al.
“Pianoforte [Piano].” In Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press, 2001.
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.21631.

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 How to find:
1. Go to NUS Libraries’ website (https://nus.edu.sg/nuslibraries).
2. Click “Databases” (under the search bar).
3. Search for “Grove Music Online” and click on the “Grove Music Online” link that comes up.
4. Follow the steps shown on screen to log in with your NUS account, and read and accept the
Appropriate Use Policy.
5. On the Oxford Music Online/Grove Music Online page, type “Pianoforte” into the search box.
6. The article required should be the first entry shown.

Excerpts from:

Little and Jenne, Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach

Little, Meredith, and Natalie Jenne. Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach: Expanded Edition. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 2001.

How to find: The required excerpts can be accessed through Canvas > Course Readings > Ungrouped
readings.
(Required reading for this class is comprised of introductory pages of several chapters: pp. 35–36,
47–48, 62–63, 92–93, 114–115, 129–130, 143–144, 194–195. The remainder of the book will be used as
supplementary reading.)

Rosenblum, Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music

Rosenblum, Sandra P. Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music: Their Principles and Applications. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1991.

How to find: The required excerpt can be accessed through Canvas > Course Readings > Ungrouped
readings.
(Required reading for this class is comprised of the second chapter, “The Fortepiano circa 1780–1820.”
The remainder of the book will be used as supplementary reading.)

Additionally, listening assignments will be supported by recordings and scores, both those that are in the public
domain and available on the Internet without subscription (e.g., through the International Music Score Library
Project [https://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page]), and those that are accessible through NUS Libraries’ E-Resources.

Recommended:

Burge, David. Twentieth-Century Piano Music. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2004.

Citron, Marcia J. “Gender, Professionalism and the Musical Canon.” The Journal of Musicology 8, no. 1 (Winter 1990):
102–117.

Kirby, F. E. Music for the Piano: A Short History. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995.

Newman, Anthony. Bach and the Baroque: European Source Materials from the Baroque and Early Classical Periods with Special
Emphasis on the Music of J. S. Bach. Stuyvesant: Pendragon Press, 1995. (Available in the NUS Music Library’s
Reserve Books and Readings Collection [RBR] for this module)

Additional Reference Materials

Holoman, D. Kern. Writing about Music: A Style Sheet. Oakland: University of California Press, 2014. (Available in the
NUS Music Library’s Reserve Books and Readings Collection [RBR] for this module)

(For quick reference only; log in through NUS Libraries to access the full manual:)
The Chicago Manual of Style Online. “Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations.” Citation Quick Guide. Accessed
December 14, 2020. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html.

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Syllabus (subject to change)

All readings referred to below are taken from the required material for this module, as noted above in the section
titled “Reading List.” Please refer to that section for instructions of where to find these readings. The readings listed
in this current section are part of your preparation for class, i.e., readings listed under Week 2 should be read prior
to the class session in Week 2, and so on.

Additionally, required listening assignments will be posted on the tabs for each week on Canvas. The weeks on
Canvas will follow the official week numbering on NUS’s academic calendar. It is your responsibility to refer to
Canvas and follow the instructions to find the correct recordings and scores. Sometimes, you will need to access
these through NUS Libraries’ E-Resources. I will often give you the name of the work rather than a direct link to
the resource, so that you will gain valuable experience in navigating the E-Resources system, in order to prepare you
for your research both in this module and in the future. The listening assignments listed are also part of your
preparation for class, i.e., music listed under Week 2 should be listened to and looked at prior to the class session in
Week 2, and so on. You are required to complete the appropriate preparations before class each week.

Week 1 (17 Aug 2023)

Topic: Course Introduction; Beginnings of Music Written for Keyboard

Week 2 (24 Aug 2023)

Topic: Chorales for the Keyboard in the Baroque and Beyond
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
1. Introduction
2. Origins to 1750

Week 3 (31 Aug 2023)

Topic: Variations
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
3. Germany and Austria, 1750–1800

Week 4 (7 Sep 2023)

Topic: Transcriptions and Reworkings
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
4. England and France to 1800

Week 5 (14 Sep 2023)

Topic: Preludes
Reading assignment: Rosenblum, Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music, Chapter 2

Week 6 (21 Sep 2023)

Topic: Fugues
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
5. The Viennese piano from 1800

Recess Week

Week 7 (5 Oct 2023)

Topic: Suites and Sets I: Mikrokosmos and Makrokosmos
In class: Midterm Quiz
(No reading assignment for this week, but there is still a listening assignment)

Week 8 (12 Oct 2023)

Topic: Suites and Sets II: Dances
Reading assignment: Little and Jenne, Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach (excerpts)

Week 9 (19 Oct 2023)

Topic: Suites and Sets III: Character Pieces
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
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 6. England and France, 1800–60

Week 10 (26 Oct 2023)

Topic: Studies
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
7. Spain, 1745–1850
8. North America to 1860

-- Sunday, 29 Oct 2023, at 11.59pm: Final project idea due --

Week 11 (2 Nov 2023)

Topic: Single-Movement Works: Narratives, Nocturnes, and Novelties

Week 12 (9 Nov 2023)

Topic: Fantasies
Reading assignment: Ripin et al., “Pianoforte”: I. History of the instrument:
9. 1860–1915
10. From 1915

Week 13 (16 Nov 2023)

Topic: Final Project Presentations and Course Conclusion
In class: Final Quiz and Final Project Presentation
(No reading or listening assignment for this week)

-- Wednesday, 29 Nov 2023, at 11.59pm: Final project essay due --

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