Teaching
Project
As part of my
participation in the Teaching Scholars Program, I plan to develop
a project on the teaching of sightsinging. One of the
objectives of
our sophomore theory class is to develop musical performance
skills. A key
component of these skills is sightsinging, the task of vocalizing
music at
sight. This type of exercise develops the abilities to know
what notated
music should sound like even though it is not actually played, and
to express musical ideas
vocally. Sightsinging drills also improve aural
comprehension, the ability to
know what is being expressed musically even without
necessarily seeing the score. Biography
Ralph Lorenz is
Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Kent State University.
A native of California, he holds a B.Mus. and an M.A. in Music
Composition from California State
University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Music
Theory from Indiana University. Ralph teaches courses in
sixteenth-century counterpoint,
post-tonal theory, Schenkerian Analysis, acoustics
and music technology, analytical techniques, and sophomore theory.
His research interests include theory and practice in sixteenth-
and twentieth-century music, timbre,
tuning, and theory pedagogy. Prior to joining
the faculty at Kent State University, he taught at the University
of Wisconsin- Parkside and in
visiting appointments at the University of Louisville
and Indiana University. Ralph is also active as a church
musician, directing several handbell
and vocal choirs. His hobbies include reading,
travel, guitar, and Taiji.
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