Aug 21 - Week 1 - Meeting 1 / Introduction, Project & Syllabus

 

Title of the Project 

 "How Core Exercises and Dance Movement Enhance the Standing Instrumentalist."

 Schedule

Thursday, 11:00 am to 12:00 noon 

Rationale for the Course

The course provides a type of conditioning for musicians that involves physical exercises and practices.  The planned activities enhance the musician's endurance, strength, flexibility, and overall well-being. Because of repetitive movement, prolonged practice, and physically demanding performances, the musician needs a routine that can be integrated with his/her practice. In general, this routine will include a warm-up, strength training, and flexibility exercises, all of which will prevent injuries and improve performance. 

Objectives

The student will integrate a Warm Up routine with his daily practice.
The student will adopt a Strength Training routine to develop physical resistance.
The student will include Flexibility Exercises before and after practice to prevent injuries.

 Culmination Project

The student will culminate this project by writing a paper where he summarizes his experiences throughout the semester. The summary will derive from the journaling that will take place after every class through which he will think about how he felt somatically, emotionally and psychologically after each class. These anecdotal account of his experiences will become the raw material he will use to come up with a conclusion at the end of his paper.

 

SYLLABUS


 

Special Projects in Vocal Performance or Choral Conducting
(Independent Study)
Spring 2025
Aug 18 – Dec 2
University of Miami
Frost School of Music


COURSE OUTLINE


A. COURSE DESIGNATION:


Department and Number: MVP 793-04 (12864)
Credits: 1
Title: Special Projects in Vocal Performance or Choral Conducting
Meeting Time and Day: Tuesday 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Faculty: Jorge L. Morejón, Ph.D.
Office: TBA
Office phone: (305) 284-2172
Office Hours: Monday 11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon / by appointment
j.morejon@umiami.edu


B. BULETIN DESCRIPTION:


Special Projects in Vocal Performance or Choral Conducting is a new Independent Study course. There is no specific course in the Graduate Program for graduate students other than Embodied Movement Practices. This course is very specific to the development of movement for musicians. The course focuses on helping the standing musician to develop strength, stamina and flexibility


C. PRETEQUISITES: Recommended for graduate students.


D. COURSE OBJECTIVES/CONTENT:


Overall Goal: When students have completed this course, they will know more about
developing a routine that combines the resistance training, stretching techniques and overall postural awareness.



Objectives


After completing DAN 793, the student will be able to:

1. The student will integrate a Warm Up routine with his daily practice.
2. The student will adopt a Strength Training routine to develop physical resistance.
3. The student will include Flexibility Exercises before and after practice to prevent injuries.

4. Executes a special project from inception to completion using a variety of resources
(library, community resources, experts in the field).
5. Evaluates special project experiences.


E. COURSE REQUIREMENTS


1. Activities: Reading and Class Discussions, Internet Explorations, Experiential movement practice, Presentations, Written Assignments.
2. Attendance: This course is about in-class explorations of movement for musicians. Each class
session involves hands-on learning and experiences essential to developing an
understanding of the objectives for this course. Class attendance is your decision and
responsibility as a student; please be present.
3. Religious Observance: In accordance to the University’s new policy, it is the
obligating of students to provide faculty members with notice, in writing, of the dates
they will be absent due to observance of religious holy days, preferably before the
beginning of classes, but no later than the end of the first three class days. Missing a
class day due to travel plans associated with a particular religious will count as an
unexcused absent.
4. Participation: Attendance and punctuality relate directly to participation in class, thus,
the student is expected to participate. Participation means speaking, listening
attentively, being courteous and respectful and generally demonstrating engagement
in class activities.
5. Assignment Submission: On all documents please include your name and the
assignment name in the file name as well as on the document itself.

Evaluation
You will be assessed according to the following:
1. Classroom Experiences (40%)
2. Attendance/Participation (30%)
3. Final Essay (30%)

 

 

 

F. TEXTS (Not required):

Lyonn Lieberman, Julie (1991). You Are Your Instrument: The Definitive Musician’s Guide to Practice and Performance. Julie Lyonn Music

Paull, Barbara and Christine Harrison (1999). The Athletic Musician: A Guide to Playing Without Pain. Scarecrow Press Inc.



DAN 793
CLASS SCHEDULE
Aug 13 – Dec 28


Weeks 1 – 16 Topic/Activity Assigned Reading

WEEK 1
Aug / Tue 19

Introduction
Full Body Workout (Video)

WEEK 2
Aug / Tue 26
You are Your Instrument (Foreword)

WEEK 3
Sep / Tue 2
Listening with the Musicians Ears (Pages 1 & 2)

WEEK 4

Sep / Tue 9
Listening with the Musicians Ears (Pages 3 & 4)

WEEK 4

Listening with the Musicians Ears (Pages 5, 6 & 7)

WEEK 4

The Power of the Mind (Pages 9 & 10)

WEEK 4

Listening with the Musicians Ears (Pages 9 & 10)

WEEK 4

The Power of the Mind (Page 12)

WEEK 5
Sep / Tue 16
Psychological Changes through Conceptualization (Page 12 &13)

WEEK 6
Sep / Tue 23
My Name is Effort (Pages 14,15,16)

WEEK 7
Sep / Tue 30
The Athletic Musician (Foreword)

WEEK 8
Oct / Tue 7

The Athletic Musician (Preface)


SPRING RECESS / Mar 8 – 16

WEEK 9
Oct / Tue 14

The Athletic Musician (Introduction 3,4,5)


WEEK 10
Oct / Tue 21
The Athletic Musician (Chapter 1 / Pages 6 & 7)

WEEK 11
Oct / Tue 28

The Athletic Musician (Chapter 2 / Pages 8, 9, 10)


WEEK 12
Nov / Tue 4

The Athletic Musician (Chapter 3 / Pages 11 & 12)


WEEK 13
Nov/ Tue 11
The Athletic Musician (Stretches / Pages 124 - 126)

WEEK 14
Nov / Tue 18
The Athletic Musician (Stretches / Pages 128 - 129)

WEEK 15
Nov / Tue 25

The Athletic Musician (Stretches / Pages 131 - 133)

WEEK 16
Dec / Tue 28

Last Day of Classes - Final Essay Due

 

ATTENTION


In the event that the University of Miami’s campus closes unexpectedly for an extended period
of time due to a hurricane, pandemic, or other emergency situation that prevents this course from
meeting in person, students should be prepared to continue their learning remotely through
Blackboard and other platforms.

Students are expected to check their UM email account and course Blackboard sites regularly for
communications with me and the rest of the class, and to the extent feasible, continue participating in their courses from their off-campus location by the alternate means determined
by me in coordination and agreement with you.

In the event that no internet or electricity is available, a course pack will be provided to students
to continue working on their own until communication is restored and/or campus life is back to
normal.

 

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