Spring Semester 2010

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. Brian & I area still unpacking and setting up our new house. My music room is in process, but I keep getting distracted by things such as changing our address at a million-and-a-half places, setting up online bill pay for all our new utilities, and trying to figure out school.

Once my music room is set up, though, it's going to be wonderful - it's bigger than the room I had in Mountain View, even if it has no closet (but that's ok because we have a garage for that stuff) - and I'm really looking forward to when it's done & I can start using it!! Unfortunately, I am still going through all my boxes and filing things that need to be filed, organizing things that need to be organized, and throwing out things that really should have been thrown out a long time ago.

As for school, well, it's been interesting. As I wrote before, I had every intention of attending Palomar College. I planned to take Ear Training, Piano, Logic, and Computer Music Composition.

However, I ran into one problem: The Ear Training course has a co-requisite of Theory. That's fine, but really do I have to? I talked to the Professors for both the Level 1 & Level 2 courses, and when I told them what my Theory background was...

1987-1988: 3 semesters of Theory at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (early Baroque through Romantic)
1989-1991: 4 semesters of Theory at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati (early Baroque through 20th century (Serialism & Minimalism)
2008-2009: 3 quarters of Theory at Foothill Community College, SF Bay Area (Baroque through late Romantic (Aug 6th chords) and some Impressionism)
2009: 1 quarter of Musicianship at DeAnza College, SF Bay Area (a combination of Theory & Ear Training, we covered the Partial Series, Maj/Min chords & scales, Modes, & First Species Counterpoint)

... the Professor of the Level 1 class put it to me bluntly:

After seeing your Music Theory background, I'm sure you are going to be bored with Music [Level 1], perhaps even bored with [Level 2] or [Level 4].... I am not convinced that any of academic classes will fit your status. Palomar College is really designed for the student who has just finished high school. If they succeed at this level, then they usually transfer to another higher level of learning. I think that next college is where you should be (UCSD, San Diego State, etc.).

This bluntness made me kind of sit back on my heels and say, "Huh. Maybe he's right. What *are* my options?"

The reason I had been going to a Community College in the first place is because the California State University system doesn't usually admit transfer students unless they're an "Upper Division" student, which means that they've finished their General Education courses. I'm not quite finished with my GE yet (which is another rant -- I currently hold two Associate degrees, but haven't finished my GE?!?), but am very close.

Fortunately, I live very close to CSU San Marcos (less than half a mile away!) and so I went over there to see if I could talk to an academic advisor or at least someone in the Admissions office. The friendly people at the help desk there told me that it is too late to enroll for Spring 2010 (which I expected) and also that it's too late to apply for Fall 2010 (which I did not), but that I could still take classes through something called "Open University". After reading up on it a bit - it's a lot like the "Continuing Education" option at the University of Cincinnati, through which I took a year's worth of Music classes because it was too late to get into the Conservatory by the time I decided I wanted to go there (sound familiar?) - I decided to pursue that option.

There are a couple of drawbacks to going via Open University.

One is that it costs more. OU students pay the equivalent of the out-of-state rate for classes, so it costs about twice as much as a regular enrollment (and almost 3 times as much as Palomar College!).

Another is that you can't actually get a degree via OU, you have to actually enroll in the University. That's what I had planned to do anyway, so no problem, plus up to 24 units of credit can be transferred from OU to the University when I do enroll.

And finally, OU students can't register for classes in advance. We have to attend the first day of classes and get a Permission Code to register. This means that it's very likely that the class that you want will be closed by the time you go to register for it.

I've spent the past few days going through the General Education requirements as interpreted by CSU San Marcos (every school is a little different, even within the CSU system) and know what I still need to take to finish my GE (and what I plan to appeal [1]). I also went through the requirements for the degree I want to get [2] and figured out what I still need to take (of course, some of my previous music classes will fulfill some of the requirements).

So I am now armed with a spreadsheet of classes I might take this semester, provided I can get into them. I have a plan of action with various options depending on which of the classes are closed. If I get into everything on my list, I will be taking 14 units, with descriptions as follows, from the department's web page:

Global Modern Dance (3 units): Introduces students to the body in motion by examining the interaction between creative expression, daily life, and performative representations of cultural identity and difference. A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the body as socially and politically defined with attention to gender, race, class, and national identity. Includes lectures, video and film screenings, live performances, participatory demonstrations, and discussions.

Computers and Music (3 units): Introduction to computers and their use in musical context. Includes an historical over-view of the field and in-depth investigation of the use of computers and synthesizers in creating musical compositions (both printed and recorded). Students will learn the basics of synthesis. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface, the language by which computers and synthesizers can "talk" to each other), sequencing, computer music notation, and random computer-generated compositional process. Computer ethics and word processing will also be covered. Projects will be completed in Microsoft Word (word processing), Vision (sequencing), Finale (notation), and M (random compositional processes).

Oral Communication (3 units): Introduction to the form and content of communication. Includes: the linguistic, psychological, and cultural bases of communication; various types of communication ranging from basic speech acts to forms of persuasion and conflict resolution; the social and political significance of communication; how communication operates within and across a wide range of social contexts. Students become actively acquainted with some of the potential proficiencies that may be brought into various social contexts. Requires active participation in classroom excercises, collaborating on a group research project which is presented orally to the class, and practicing public speaking.

Introduction to Acting (3 units): A studio class centered around the student’s practice of basic acting techniques. Each student will be required to prepare a monologue and a scene to be performed in class. Basic approaches to theatrical movement and voice will be explored.

Vocal Ensemble (3 units): A vocal ensemble specializing in many different musical styles. Performances will include works from jazz, traditional, popular, and classical repertories. Emphasis will be placed on correct vocal and performance techniques and improvement of musical skills.

(I probably won't get into the Computer Music class, as it's currently listed as "Closed". I'll still go to the first class & see.)

Spring Semester "Officially" started yesterday, but it was also a teacher "furlough" day - a non-paid day of leave that is the result of the state budget crisis - so today is actually the first day of classes. However, none of the classes I want meet on Wednesday, so I have nothing today. Tomorrow, I will try to get into the Dance, the Computer Music, and Oral Communication classes. Vocal Ensemble is next Monday & Acting next Tuesday.

If all goes well, I will enroll in the Fall Semester 2011 and graduate after Spring Semester 2012. That will depend entirely on how it goes when my transcripts are finally evaluated and an Official Determination is made as to how the classes from my previous 6 colleges & universities (including CSUSM) all apply to my degree requirements.

Wish me luck!!

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[1] CSUSM's guidelines for the GE Math requirement say that CS 111 fulfills the requirement. CS 111 is a 4 unit class in computer programming in the C language. I have an Associate in Applied Business in Information Systems. Surely *something* from that degree program will count for this requirement (maybe even the Calculus course I had to take!). I can't know for sure until I have my transcripts evaluated, but I'm not planning to take a Math course until I do.

[2] a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts. Doesn't that sound *perfect* for handbells?!? :-)

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