Electronic Music @ De Anza College :

Friday, October 23, 2009

A Reminder: Compressed Schedule for Fall Quarter Friday Class
During a typical quarter with no Friday holidays, a De Anza College Friday-only class like Music 51 meets 11 times before the final exam session during week 12.

When a Friday-only class falls on a Friday holiday, this is a big deal - it is like missing a whole week of classes! Unfortunately (as much as we all enjoy the three-day weekend) this quarter there are two Friday holidays... cutting our class meetings from 11 to only 9, the equivalent of two full weeks or nearly 20%!

Making this even more challenging is that fact that the two holidays (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving) both occur in November near the very end of the term. I've mentioned in class quite a few times, I am working to push the Friday-only class ahead of the schedule for the MW section... so that we will be ready to cope with the interruptions that are coming up soon.

It is tremendously important that you work to finish projects as quickly as possible. While we would all like to have a lot more time to work on them, it just won't be available during class hours this quarter. (You are encouraged to use the times available outside of the Friday class time!)

The most important thing is to complete a project and demonstrate your ability to use the required techniques. At this point doing so is a higher priority than producing a really wonderful musical example... as hard as that is to accept. It may help to keep in mind the fact that by staying on schedule now you will have more time to work on your final project.

Keep my motto in mind: Finish it first. Make it better later.

Posted by Dan Mitchell on 10/23/09; 12:31:07 PM. | Discuss

Sep Nov