Week 1 — Studio · "Find it on the keyboard"

Course: MUS 156 Music Theory I · Kenosis College
Instructor: Professor Hemsworth
Unit: Learning Unit 1 of 16 (Week 1) · two sessions per week
Objectives: SLO 1 · SLO 7 (the spine: hear it → name it → write it)
Studio 1 · 20 points · Studios group · In session, Week 1's second session · async make-up path below, full credit, submit by the end of Week 1
Format: the course's signature hands-on session — Professor Hemsworth plays, you locate, name, and write the address; you leave owning a grand-staff reference card you'll use all term. Nothing to buy or download; paper maps and card blanks are provided in the room, and your own instrument is welcome.

Every content unit has a the second session studio. It's the week's payoff enacted: this week, the payoff is addressing — "that's F♯4," not "the high one."

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Part 1 — The Big Picture

Session 1 named the system: seven letters, octave numbers that tick over at C, half steps, accidentals, enharmonic twins. Today the system goes into your hands and ears at performance speed. Every round runs in the ear-first direction — sound → find it → name it → write it — because that's the direction you'll use it on a gig: someone plays something, and you catch it in writing before it evaporates.

By the end of the session you'll have built your own grand-staff reference card: the one-page map you'll keep in your case (or phone) for the entire course.

Part 2 — The Task

The guiding question: When you hear a note, how fast can you turn it into an exact, written address — and could another musician act on what you wrote?

No hypothesis to write today — your "prediction instrument" is your ear, and Round 1 warms it up before any naming happens.

Part 3 — Procedure (the four rounds)

You'll work on a paper keyboard map (three octaves, C3–C6) and the studio sheet. Groups of 2–3 at the tables work well; the rounds also run fine solo. If you brought your instrument, keep it out — several rounds invite you to find the notes on your own fretboard or with your own voice as well.

Round 1 — Ears only: higher or lower (≈8 min).
Professor Hemsworth plays six pairs of notes at the piano. For each pair, on your sheet: circle higher or lower for the second note, and put a light pencil dot on your paper keyboard where you guess the second note lives (low region, middle, high — precision not expected yet). No letter names allowed in this round — ears first, on purpose.

Round 2 — Locate and name (≈12 min).
Eight single notes. For each: Professor Hemsworth plays the note and shows it on the room keyboard; you find it on your paper keyboard, touch it, and write its full address (letter + accidental if any + octave number) in Table 1. Check with a neighbor after every second note — disagreements are the useful part; resolve them by touching the keys and counting from middle C.

Round 3 — Relationships (≈12 min).
Six prompts. Professor Hemsworth plays a note and names it; you find and write the related note asked for (a half step up keeping the letter, a whole step down, both spellings of a neighboring black key…). This is the round where the octave boundary and the enharmonic twins earn their keep. Answers go in Table 2.

Round 4 — Build your grand-staff reference card (≈18 min).
On the card blank, in your own hand (drawing it is how it sticks):

1. A grand staff — treble and bass staves joined by a brace.
2. Middle C (C4) on its own ledger line in the gap, labeled.
3. The treble staff's five lines labeled bottom-to-top: E4 · G4 · B4 · D5 · F5.
4. The bass staff's five lines labeled bottom-to-top: G2 · B2 · D3 · F3 · A3.
5. A one-octave keyboard sketch with the black-key groups, C marked left of the two-group, F left of the three-group.
6. The boundary rule, written out: octave numbers change at C — B3 · C4 … B4 · C5.
7. The five accidentals with their typed forms: ♯ # · ♭ b · ♮ · 𝄪 x · 𝄫 bb.
8. Three enharmonic twin pairs of your choice, with octave numbers (e.g., G♯4/A♭4).
9. Your own riff line: 3–5 notes of something you play or sing, written as addresses. This card is yours; put your music on it.

For reference while you draw — the landmark lines, shown and described:

METER: free    CLEF: treble
| E4/w G4/w B4/w D5/w F5/w |

The five treble-staff lines as whole notes, bottom line to top line: E4, G4, B4, D5, F5.

METER: free    CLEF: bass
| G2/w B2/w D3/w F3/w A3/w |

The five bass-staff lines as whole notes, bottom line to top line: G2, B2, D3, F3, A3.

Fallback (no piano hearing needed): if you can't hear the piano well from your seat, or you're doing the make-up path, every round works with a free keyboard app on your phone or your own instrument — the sheet tells you which notes to produce yourself in that case (they're listed in the make-up section below).

Part 4 — The Scaffold (complete during the rounds)

Table 1 captures Round 2 — one full address per note played.

Note played	Your written address
1	______
2	______
3	______
4	______
5	______
6	______
7	______
8	______

Table 2 captures Round 3 — the related note asked for.

Prompt	Starting note (given aloud)	What's asked	Your answer
1	______	half step up, same letter	______
2	______	half step up	______
3	______	whole step up	______
4	______	half step down	______
5	______	whole step down	______
6	______	the neighboring black key, both spellings	______

Part 5 — Analysis Questions (short answers on the sheet, ≈5 min)

1. In Round 1 your ear went first. Which came easier today — hearing the relationships or naming them? One sentence on why.
2. A bandmate writes "B4" for the note just below middle C. In one or two sentences, set them straight.
3. Round 3, prompt 6 gave one key two names. Both are correct spellings — so what do you think decides which one a musician should write? (Honest preview: the full answer arrives in unit 4. Take your best guess from today's work.)
4. Name one moment today when your ear knew the answer before your pencil did. What did that feel like?
5. Look at your card. What's one thing you'd add or change to make it more useful to you — and go ahead and do it.

Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (≈4 min, phones out — or on the projector if the room prefers)

Type three facts from your card into your chatbot and ask it to check them — for example: "Check these: (1) the note below C4 is B3; (2) G#4 and Ab4 are the same piano key but different written notes; (3) E#4 is played on a white key." Then judge its reply against your card. The classic failures to hunt: it calls G♯4 and A♭4 "the same note" (collapse), or it slips the octave boundary. Write 2–3 sentences on your sheet: what it got right, and at least one thing you corrected or verified. The habit all term: the tool drafts, you judge.

Part 7 — What to Submit

Hand in before you leave: the studio sheet (Rounds 1–3 tables + analysis answers + AI-critique sentences) and show your completed card to Professor Hemsworth for the card check — the card itself stays with you; it's equipment now. 20 points, graded on the rubric below.

Async make-up path — full credit, submit by the end of Week 1. Life happens; missing the studio costs you nothing but the room. Do the same tasks alone: (1) using a free keyboard app or your own instrument, play each Round 2 target and Round 3 prompt yourself from the printed make-up list below and complete both tables; (2) do Round 1 by playing each printed pair yourself and confirming higher/lower by ear; (3) build the full card; (4) do the AI-critique step. Submit: phone photos of your completed sheet and card, plus a short recording (a minute is plenty — voice memo or video) of you playing or singing any four Round 2 targets while saying their addresses aloud. Same rubric, same 20 points, no penalty.

Make-up target list (so no hearing partner is needed): Round 1 pairs — C4→G4, E5→A4, B3→C4, F3→F4, D4→C4, G4→A♭4. Round 2 targets — C4, G4, E4, B3, F3, D5, A3, C5. Round 3 starts — G4, E4, B4, C4, D4, F4 (with the same "what's asked" column as Table 2).

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Instructor key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Round 1 pairs (play deliberately; repeat each once):

#	Pair	Key: second note is	Note
1	C4 → G4	higher	wide, obvious opener
2	E5 → A4	lower	descending, still wide
3	B3 → C4	higher	the tiny one — a half step; expect hesitation, praise it
4	F3 → F4	higher	octave leap; some will hear "same letter" — gold, say so
5	D4 → C4	lower	small step down
6	G4 → A♭4	higher	half step; pairs with prompt 6 later

Round 2 targets, in play order: 1 C4 · 2 G4 · 3 E4 · 4 B3 (say nothing; the boundary is the lesson) · 5 F3 · 6 D5 · 7 A3 · 8 C5. Expect B3→"B4" errors — send disputants to count down from middle C on the paper map.

Round 3 prompts and vetted answers:

#	Play & name	Ask for	Vetted answer
1	G4	half step up, same letter	G♯4 (G#4)
2	E4	half step up	F4 (white key — no black key between E and F)
3	B4	whole step up	C♯5 (C#5) — boundary crossed and a black key; the round's summit
4	C4	half step down	B3
5	D4	whole step down	C4
6	F4	neighboring black key, both spellings	F♯4 and G♭4 — both, with octave numbers, or it's half credit on that line

Card check (10 seconds per student): brace + both clefs present; C4 labeled on its own ledger line between staves; treble lines E4-G4-B4-D5-F5 and bass lines G2-B2-D3-F3-A3 labeled; boundary rule written; five accidentals with typed forms; three twin pairs with octave numbers; the personal riff line present (any plausible addresses — this line is graded for presence, not for matching a key).

AI-critique full credit: names a specific claim checked, with either a caught error (most common: the enharmonic "same note" collapse) or a real verification ("it agreed, and I checked its B3 answer against my card's boundary rule"). "The AI said it was all correct" with no checking shown earns the partial band.

Where students collect their own responses (Round 1 guesses, the personal riff), grade the method — honest marks, addresses formatted letter+accidental+number — never agreement with one "right" region.

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The Week-1 diagnostic (the second session's last ~20 minutes · ungraded · separate sheet)

Say this out loud first: "This never touches the gradebook. It exists so I know on day two who already reads music, who reads a little, and who's starting fresh — so the next six weeks meet you where you are. Guess freely; blanks are information too." — It tells Professor Hemsworth who reads already; that's its entire job.

Ten short items, one sheet, collected but never scored into Canvas.

Items 1–4 — pitch reading. "Write each note's letter name — add the octave number if you can."

METER: free    CLEF: treble
| G4/w |

Item 1: a whole note on the second line of the treble staff.

METER: free    CLEF: treble
| C5/w |

Item 2: a whole note in the third space of the treble staff.

METER: free    CLEF: bass
| F3/w |

Item 3: a whole note on the fourth line of the bass staff.

METER: free    CLEF: treble
| C4/w |

Item 4: a whole note on a short added line just below the treble staff.

Items 5–7 — rhythm echo. "I'll clap each pattern twice. Circle the printed option that matches what you heard." (Both options for each item are printed on the sheet; each is described under its staff.)

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/q C4/q C4/h |

Item 5, option A: two short notes then one long note held twice as long.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/h C4/q C4/q |

Item 5, option B: one long note then two short notes.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/e C4/e C4/q C4/h |

Item 6, option A: two quick notes, a medium note, then a long one.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/q C4/e C4/e C4/h |

Item 6, option B: a medium note, two quick notes, then a long one.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/h C4/h |

Item 7, option A: two long, even notes.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| C4/q C4/q C4/q C4/q |

Item 7, option B: four even, walking notes.

Items 8–10 — key-signature recognition. "Name the major key if you know it. If not, just write how many sharps or flats you see — that counts."

KEY: G major    METER: free    CLEF: treble
| G4/w |

Item 8: a treble staff whose signature shows one sharp, with a whole note on the second line.

KEY: F major    METER: free    CLEF: treble
| F4/w |

Item 9: a treble staff whose signature shows one flat, with a whole note in the first space.

KEY: D major    METER: free    CLEF: treble
| D4/w |

Item 10: a treble staff whose signature shows two sharps, with a whole note just below the bottom line.

Diagnostic instructor key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Item	Key	Reading signal
1	G4 (letter G full credit for the signal)	second treble line = fluent landmark
2	C5	space reading
3	F3	bass clef at all = prior reading experience
4	C4	ledger-line middle C — the Week 1 anchor
5	A — clap short-short-long (quarter, quarter, half)
6	B — clap medium-quick-quick-long (quarter, two eighths, half)	any correct circle here = real rhythm reading
7	B — clap four even quarters
8	G major — signature: F♯ (one sharp)	"1 sharp" alone = sees signatures; "G major" = reads them
9	F major — signature: B♭ (one flat)
10	D major — signature: F♯ and C♯ (two sharps)

How to read the pile that night: mostly-blank sheets are the students Week 1–Week 3 is built for — no action needed, that's the design. Sheets with items 1–4 and 8–10 correct flag your fluent readers: hand them the "own riff" extension lines in studios and lean on them as table anchors, never as a separate track. Items 5–7 tell you how much of Week 2–Week 3 will be genuinely new hearing-to-page work versus naming work.

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Grading rubric — 20 points

The rubric below maps the studio's parts to points; bands are full / partial / none. The async make-up path uses the identical rubric.

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Round 1 — ear warm-up completed honestly, all six pairs marked (4)	4	2–3	0–1
Round 2 — addresses: full letter+accidental+octave form, ≥6 of 8 correct (5)	5	3–4 (form right, a few misses; or letters right, octaves shaky)	0–2
Round 3 — relationships: ≥4 of 6 correct incl. an honest attempt at both spellings on prompt 6 (4)	4	2–3	0–1
Reference card: all nine elements present and correct at the card check (5)	5	3–4 (1–2 elements missing/wrong)	0–2
AI-critique: 2–3 sentences with a specific catch or a real verification (2)	2	1	0

Quality gate (self-checked): every Round 2 and Round 3 answer and every diagnostic key entry re-verified against the theory reference (addresses, boundary pairs, enharmonic twins, signatures G=F♯ / F=B♭ / D=F♯+C♯); rhythm options sum correctly to their meter; rubric sums 4+5+4+5+2 = 20; no purchased or downloaded materials; the diagnostic never enters the gradebook. ✓

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 1 Studio — Find it on the keyboard"
assignment_group = "Studios"
points_possible  = 20
grading_type     = points
submission_types = [on_paper]        # in session; async make-up: online_upload (photos + short recording)
due              = in session, Week 1's second session; make-up by the end of Week 1
published        = true

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