At the event
Be an attentive and engaged listener.
Save your program.
Take a screen shot, picture or download the file if it is a digital program.
It is expected that you are present for the duration of the concert to report on the entire performance.
Writing your report
Write the first draft of your report as soon as you can after the concert, while the experience is fresh.
Edit your first draft.
Edit your second draft.
Have a friend review your work for grammar, sentence structure, and spelling. Can this person understand your report? Is it cogent for a person who didn’t attend the event?
Use the program to remind yourself of what you heard and to help with correct terminology. DO NOT use the program notes as a substitute for your own thinking and personal reactions. It is OK to quote from and cite the program notes if the musical context provided by the program notes directly influences your personal experience of the music and connects with the topics presented in class.
Length
The concert report must be a minimum of 500 words.
The best reports tend to be 600-800 words.
Format
Submit via Canvas only.
Must be in .doc. or .docx format.
Style
Word choice, sentence structure, flow, style, and grammar must be accurate to support a cogent paper.
Cite any sources you use for background research.
When writing about music use the following style guidelines (taken from the Chicago Manual of Style):
Titles of operas, oratorios, motets, tone poems, albums, large scale program music, and other long musical works are italicized. (e.g. Pictures at an Exhibition and Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Titles consisting of generic terms are capitalized but not italicized or put in quotation marks. (e.g. Chopin’s Waltz in C-sharp Minor)
Spell out note names (e.g. A-flat, F-sharp; not Ab or F#)
Movement titles are generally capitalized. Individual movements from larger works take quotation marks. (e.g. “Mars” from The Planets).
Songs or individual pieces by a composer, band, or artist are given quotation marks. (e.g. “Hold Up” by Beyoncé, “The Elf King” by Franz Schubert).
Instrumental and vocal titles in jazz performances are placed in quotes.
If a program is provided, use titles and formatting modeled in the program
More helpful tips for formatting when writing about music hereLinks to an external site..
Content and Points
5 points – Introduction:
Briefly identify the concert. Answer the following prompts:
Who performed?
What pieces were performed? You don’t need to list all pieces. But do list the title and composer for all pieces that you will analyze in your report.
Where was it performed?
Briefly describe the performance space, the physical surroundings, the appearance of the performers and the audience?
15 points – Objective description of the music (focusing on 2-3 pieces – at least one piece from beginning and one piece at the end of the program) accurately using at least five of the bolded terms from our textbook.
Consider elements such as rhythm, pitch, harmony, melody, texture, timbre, articulation, dynamics, and form.
Each of the essential terms you use should be formatted in bold.
You must describe the musical elements in detail. It is not enough to write, “This piece had rhythm,” or “This selection has harmony.”
Describe a specific musical moment – what makes it remarkable?
Think of using one sentence to identify the musical element and one sentence to describe how it was used.
You are encouraged to use more than five essential terms.
10 points – Subjective description of the music (focused specifically on 2-3 pieces).
Questions to answer:
How did the music make you feel? What emotions did it evoke?
Why did you react the way that you did?
Were you emotionally responding to the composition or the performance or both?
What happened in the music to make you feel the emotions that you identified? Be as specific as possible.
5 points – Conclusion
Sum up your experience of the concert.
Questions to answer:
Was the experience new to you?
How was it different from what you expected?
What held your attention?
Was it like or unlike other concerts you may have attended?
Were there any surprises at the concert?
Would you go again if it weren’t a requirement?
How does your experience at the concert connect with the topics studied in MUS 105.
10 points – Word Count
500 word Minimum
5 points – Grammar/Cogency/Style
Pass/Fail – Qualifying Event
If the student’s concert report does not meet the requirements for a qualifying event, they will receive a grade of zero for the assignment.
