This is what I selected
Chopin：Romanticism and Nationalism
Polonaise in A flat major
Composer ：Chopin
Link：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_iI1J0bALE
Choose one piece of music in a genre discussed in this class (Must be approved by me beforehand). The piece cannot be one that is covered anywhere in our textbook, I want you to search elsewhere to find a piece that you enjoy!
I encourage you to take time to search for a piece that you actually enjoy listening to, it will make the paper much more interesting for you to write, and for me to read. I am not going to veto pieces that have been done often, but I have taught this class multiple times, and it is extremely obvious when students search “classical music” and choose one of the first things listed.
A common question is if you can write about movie/video game music. Generally I would prefer you avoid music that was written to accompany a visual medium like movies or video games because the form becomes dependant on things outside the music itself. Exceptions can be made for music that has become known and performed independantly of the visual aspect, such as John Williams’ Imperial March that is one of our final assignments in the textbook.
Your piece selection must be approved by me prior to writing your paper, through submitting it in the other assignment listed.
In your paper, discuss using terms and ideas we have used in class. Make sure to not just list terms, identify and explain how/why the term applies.
Be sure to include the following:
Era in which the piece was composed
Short composer biography (2-3 sentences)
Genre
Instrumentation
Form
Styles used
Textures used
Harmonic elements used
Historical context of the piece
Why you selected this piece
1-2 other interesting things you noticed about the piece.
This paper should be between 3-6 pages depending on the length of the piece you chose. I am much more concerned with the content of your paper than the specific page length. Anything beyond 8 pages will not be read or graded.
