How to Survive
(I mean Succeed)
in Music Theory
Mark well these words and heed the truth;
A student's Holy Grail.
If you perform three simple deeds,
You surely will not fail.
Here are the 3 deeds:
1. Go to class
Go to every class whether you feel like it or not. Treat it like a job in which you wish to succeed. The first rule of ALL plans for success is SHOW UP!!
2. Do your work
Turn in your assignments on time every time and complete. Missing assignments are averaged in as zeroes. Don't let lack of planning send your grade into a black hole. Also, if you allow plenty of time to work on the assignment, you can ask questions (see #3 below) if you don't understand something or run into a problem.
3. Ask for help
If you don't understand something, ask for help that day. Ask me after class. Ask someone who has already taken the class (make sure you ask someone who made a pretty good grade!) Do your homework (see #2 above) in the hall and pop in to my office if you have a question. If you feel that you are getting behind, get a tutor. There are service club members who will tutor you for free. Ask me for a name and phone number. Don't blow it off. Each concept builds on the one before so the work will only become more difficult if you try to skip something.
It's that simple.
I didn't say it was easy.
I said it was simple.
If you feel you did not heed this sage advice soon enough, feel free to push the panic button below to send a distress call.
By the way, if you are sometimes confused, take heart!
Sidney D’Mello, an assistant professor of computer science and psychology at the University of Notre Dame, does research into what teaching strategies induce learning. His research program looked for facial cues that would indicate confusion. After running various scenarios, the researchers found that confusion actually helped some students understand the material better. Confused students learn better!
Confusion can provide a helpful jolt. “That’s what emotions do—they direct attention. They tell you something is wrong with your world.”
Created and Maintained by Vicky V. Johnson