MUSC 0205C  Spring 2017:  Papers due April 4 & May 10 (details below)

1. Attendance: missing no more than two rehearsals unless you have a class/official sports conflict. Missing more than two rehearsals will reduce your grade. Perfect attendance is to your credit!

If you're not feeling well, I ask if possible that you attend and listen to rehearsal. Notify Jeff via email (rehbach@middlebury.edu)  or phone (802-989-7355) in advance if you will miss a rehearsal, regardless of the circumstances. 

2. Attention during rehearsal 

   Practice good rehearsal technique: alert and attentive; work to learn your music; ask questions (during rehearsal or individually with me before/after rehearsal); help out if anyone near you needs assistance with finding music, getting seated, setting up and cleaning up, etc.

Note: Both Attendance & Attention count 60% of grade in this course.

3. Meetings with Jeff.  Plan on individual meetings with Jeff as you begin work on each assignment.

4. Written assignments (these count 40% to your grade*)
    Meet with Jeff before starting your assignments;
    Jeff welcomes and encourages questions.
       10% for each of the "Music Essays" {one each term}
       20% for the biography or musical analysis paper {one during the year}

Grades for written assignments depend not only on content but also on the organization of your essays/outlines and the clarity of your writing.

If you need an extension for a paper, please let Jeff know at least one week before the paper is due.

See the following pages for descriptions of the papers and due dates.

Remember to schedule a time to consult with Jeff as you begin your work and as you progress with your research, thinking, and writing for each written assignment.

-          900-1000 words

-          Submit this assignment via email as a Word or PDF document attachment

FIRST SEMESTER ESSAY

-          Compose a well thought-out and written essay on the place of music in the life of two people: yourself and one other person – someone of a different generation or place than your own background. Use active voice in your essay: avoid "there is / there are / there were" and "is / was / were [verb]ing" 

-          Compare and contrast the types and role of music in each person's home environment, school, and community life.

• Describe the types of music that each person encounters both formally and informally, including the role of the person as a participant in making music or as an observer and listener of others making music, including recorded music.
• Consider and describe the role of music in personal and group identity. 

-          Draw conclusions about the individuality and/or the universality of musical experience. However, be careful not to over-generalize! Your conclusions should reflect the personal experiences that you document.

SECOND SEMESTER ESSAY

-          Compose a well thought-out and written essay on the role of members & leaders in performing ensembles, as well as audience members at a performance. Use active voice in your essay (see above). Avoid generalizations you cannot document or substantiate.

-          Base your essay on your personal observations of our chorus and another ensemble, including observations of a group in concert/performance as well as (if possible) performance preparation/rehearsals.

-          Define the expectations, implicit & explicit roles of various participants in the ensembles and audiences.
For example, Jeff has an explicit role as director (what does that involve?); Tim as accompanist (implicit role: he'll learn the piano part; explicit role: he responds to Jeff's direction in rehearsal); and, similarly, members of the chorus.  Also describe audience behaviors/roles (e.g., how they acknowledge performers and performances).

-          The groups do not have to be similar, and, indeed, you may gain more from this essay by comparing and contrasting different types (for example, a choir and rock band; a choir and a dance ensemble).

-          You may interview ensemble participants and audience members. Let them know for what purpose you are talking with them, and obtain their consent to include their comments in your essay. You may interview me, and I encourage that.

-          Draw conclusions about similar or different values of music-making/artistic processes to performers and audience members. What is important to a performer?  to an audience member?  

-           1000-1200 words

-           Submit this assignment via email as a Word document attachment

-          Choose one of the following topics listed below and follow the guidelines for content and research.

-          Select one of the pieces we perform in concert.

-          Comment specifically on different sections of the pieces and how the composer treats the text musically (use of melody; dynamics; short or long phrases; harmonies; parts singing together [homophonic] or in counterpoint [polyphonic]; repetition of texts and/or melodies; etc.)  See resources below for music terminology.

-          Listen for and describe not just your own part, but all the other parts of the chorus, as well as the accompaniment.

-          Meet with Jeff to get started, and then again after you have performed a preliminary analysis to discuss your observations.

-          Your paper should convey ideas of "what to listen for" to a reader who may be listening to the piece for the first time.

-          This paper may be submitted as a detailed outline in lieu of an essay; discuss this option with Jeff.

Musical Analysis Resources

You may wish to glance at a Wikipedia article on the music terminology for introductory background information (but this can quickly lead you to many complex ways of analyzing music that exceed what this paper requires).

The following web sites may provide useful background about classical music, and glossaries of musical terms:

Enjoyment of Music (produced by the publisher W. W. Norton)

Naxos.com musical terminology glossary (From the Naxos record label - a listing of musical terms and definitions)

-           Include biographical information about the composer

   Be careful not to plagiarize your sources! This can be challenging when you write a biographical essay; express the information in your own words. Sources must be cited (frequently) in your essay.

-           Describe societal, cultural, historical influences on the composer. Briefly discuss the era in which a composer works (baroque, classical, romantic, modern, contemporary).

-           Describe why the composer wrote music for chorus – for whom or what events/occasions was choral music written? what types of texts did the composer set to music and why?

-          Include bibliography, identifying at least five different sources for your information, including one of the Oxford Music Online resources, and at least one book and one journal article (see below).

Research Resources

You may wish to glance at a Wikipedia article on the composer for introductory background information, but do notuse Wikipedia as your main source! 

====================

Biographical research online

Use the following link to Oxford University Press resources, including Grove's Music Online, the primary, authoritative resource for basic music history and biographical research:

Oxford Music Online

====================

Books in the library: 

Composer biographies are in the ML410 section…
Look for more recent works (authored since the 1970s) for a better perspective on the place of composers in society and history.

General music history books:

A History of Western Music. ML160 G87 2006 or 2010
Oxford History of Western Music.  ML160 .T18 2005 Multiple volumes based on time period.

Schirmer History of Music.  ML160 .S32 1982

Crocker, Richard L. A History of Musical Style. ML430.5 C76

===================

Journal Articles: 

Search in:
   Summon http://go.middlebury.edu/summon (multiple databases); and, better yet,
   Jstor at http://go.middlebury.edu/jstor.
If you get too many results with simply the composer's name, limit the search by including words such as "choral" or "chorus" or "choir" to focus on that aspect of the composer's life and works.
Additional resources to find journal articles and other music research resources from the library's
  Music Research Guide at  http://guides.middlebury.edu/music

=====================

Liner notes on CDs can contain well-researched information.
Look for choral works by these composers on CDs in the library (search for the composers as "authors" in MIDCAT and limit your search to Music Recordings.

Also, you can often find good program notes on the web from concerts or CDs that include composers' works.