General Info
I have taught in the Music Department at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, USA since the 1980 winter term, when I began teaching Electronic Music classes - using an old monophonic synth and an open-reel tape recorder. I continued as a part-time faculty member for the next ten years, also teaching Introduction to Music, Fundamentals of Music, and Music Reading. I became a member of the full-time faculty in 1989. My main teaching assignments now include Electronic Music and Introduction to Music classes.
Bio from the Music Department web site
Dan Mitchell has a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from San Jose State University where he studied with Allen Strange. As a student he also worked closely with electronic instrument builder Donald Buchla and performed live electronic music with "Biome" and "The Electric Weasel Ensemble." As a trombonist he performed a wide variety of music ranging from rock to classical.
Mitchell directs the Electronic Music program and teaches Introduction to Music classes. He taught the first web-based course at De Anza College in 1996 when the Distance Learning Program offered an online version of Introduction to Music. He created the De Anza College web site in 1995 and worked for two years as a faculty participant in the "@ONE" Project. He was selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2000. He frequently presents sessions on the use of Internet resources in teaching at regional and national conferences. He was President of the De Anza College Faculty Academic Senate for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 years and District Academic Senate President during the 2005-06 year.
About this web site
I operate this site (and my Introduction to Music and Electronic Music sites) for my students, colleagues, and the community. Except in the case of course materials, this site does not necessarily represent official college or district information or policies. It should not be news to anyone that links from this site may take you to web sites that are completely unrelated to De Anza College and not under its control.
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Winter 2010 Term
Winter 2010 classes begin in January, and registration has already begun. Visit the De Anza College web site to find out more about admissions and registration. My schedule includes: Music 1A: Introduction to Music- MTWTh at 9:30-10:20 in A11
- MTWTh at 10:30-11:20 in A11
Music 51: Introduction to Electronic Music- MW at 12:30-2:15 in A91
- Friday-only at 10:30-2:15 in A91
Music 8: Intermediate Electronic MusicFor more information about courses I teach, visit the web sites for my Intro to Music and Electronic Music classes. Also, be aware that the state budget crisis may force changes in this schedule. Send me email if you have questions - see the Contact Info section lower in the sidebar. I posted an extremely important note about enrollment during a budget crisis last year - it still applies for the upcoming term. Please read it!
Recent Posts From My Other Sites
Music 1
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Music Between Classes. Between classes today I played music by Steve Reich: "Three Pieces: Movement 1: quarter note = 176"
(Note: From time to time when I play music between classes I will list information about the music here in case you are interested.)
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Test 1 Grades Have Been Posted. You may view your test 1 grades and scores by logging in to the web site and then clicking the Online Grades link near the top of the right sidebar.
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Reminder about Policies on Submitting Work, etc.. Don't forget that I'm a "stickler" (to use a nice word...) for sticking to assignment requirements as listed in the green sheet and on the assignments and announced in class. These include things such as requirement to staple pages together, requirement to turn in no later than actual deadline, and so forth.
If you don't follow the guidelines I may not accept your assignment - you will get no credit. To soften this policy a bit, keep in mind that I don't count your lowest quiz, online discussion topic, and homework assignment - e.g. you can miss one of each without penalty or do poorly on one and it won't count.
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| Source: Music 1; Updated: 10:46AM PST. |
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Electronic Music
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Grade Updates. I have posted some updates to your current course grades. After logging in to the web site you should be able to see links to the course grades in the Resources section of the sidebar. Grades are listed according to your student ID codes as obtained from your "My De Anza" page. (Note that grades for the Music 8 class are indicated by a numerical
value where 12=A, 11=A-, 10=B+, 9=B, 8=B-, 7=C+, 6=C, 5=C-, 4=D+, 3=D,
2=D-, 1=F, and 0= no grade recorded.) |
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Upcoming Holidays and the Electronic Music Classes. There is a four-day "Presidents Day" holiday coming up on Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15. This will affect both of the Music 51: Introduction to Electronic Music classes:
- The MW class will not meet on Monday, February 15.
- The Friday class will not meet on Friday, February 12.
The most significant effect will be on the FRIDAY class. Because it is a one-day-per-week class, we will not meet at all between today (February 5) and two weeks from now (February 19). For this reason:
- I have accelerated some work in this section of the class, including the second take-home quiz and assignment 4.
- Test #1 for the Friday class will be on February 19 - the next class meeting and the same day that the quiz is due!
- It will likely be necessary for some students in the Friday to make use of open lab times during the next two weeks. This is especially true for students who might be a bit behind or who need additional lab time.
I'll try to have both classes back on schedule by the week following the holiday weekend.
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Late Arrival and Workstation Availability. A attendance policy for all electronic music classes:
Special note regarding late arrival and
availability of workstations: After the first five minutes of
the period, any unused computers are available for use by students from
other electronic music classes. If you arrive later than this you may
not be able to use your usual computer.
If you arrive late you will have to use whatever computers are still available in the classroom if yours is already taken.
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| Source: Electronic Music; Updated: 2/5/2010. |
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Quotes
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Bertrand Russell "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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H. H. Williams "Furious activity is no substitute for understanding." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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George Orwell "Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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| Source: The Quote File; Updated: 1/10/2010. |
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