DETAILS:
This does NOT necessarily have to be a formal essay with an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, concluding paragraphs, etc., but it can be. It can also be structured the same way the questions/sub-questions are organized in the prompt itself, which would still mean multiple paragraphs, just a less formal structure.
As with previous Modules, you can also be MORE CREATIVE in how you complete this assignment. As long as you address all the requirements of each option, you can do a more creative/visual assignment IF YOU WANT. For example, you can do a PowerPoint or use a similar tool like Canva to do a more “visual” answer than just a written essay. You can record a video of yourself answering the question incorporating additional visuals/graphics/other video elements, for example. You can do an animated video if you want, using a tool like Powtoon, for example. Write a song! These are just some random ideas…I am open to YOUR creative imagination.
You must still address the main questions of the option, and you should still treat this as an academic assignment, so please don’t be TOO informal in your language or images.
You should still also do your best to cite any sources you use! I LOVE you to do research on your own, especially using the library databases and/or Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) etc.
Therefore, you should have a basic grasp of 1. how to quote and cite your sources within your assignment and 2. include a Works Cited page. If you are anxious about this, that’s totally fine. Do your best with this assignment and remember you will be asked to do this (quoting/citing) in basically ALL your assignments.
If submitting written work, I prefer you to use MLA format for your first page heading, citations, and Works Cited page.
For any option, remember you want to always: describe in detail; connect artwork to the historical eras in which these works were produced, the concepts that define them, and the artists who produced them; analyze in what way the artist makes meaning supporting/reflecting/rebelling against the previous category.
The options for your Music Short Response Assignment begin below. You should refer to the vocabulary shared in the textbook and Module and especially the “How to Write About Music” page to help you!
And remember:
Include one direct quote from Perceiving the Arts with an in-text citation and Work Cited entry
Use specific vocabulary from the textbook and/or the Module
If doing a more traditional written response, aim for 500-750 words total.
OPTIONS (CHOOSE ONE):
OPTION 1: 750+ words
You may do a CULTURAL/CONTEXTUAL analysis of ONE piece of music. Pick a piece of music and discuss its context. This usually requires research, whether on the composer, the original performance, or the historical meaning; in other words, relate the music itself to its moment in time. Reread the “How to Write About Music” page carefully. You can do this option to music from any era! Just apply the example about Mozart on the “How to Write About Music” page to something like Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” Sublime’s song “April 29, 1992 (Miami),” or Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” or something that is from YOUR generation, ha. You may also use one of the “Filthy Fifteen” songs (from the Discussion assignment). Use the reading from the Module, especially the vocabulary and “How to Write About Music” pages. You must do three things:
Describe (neutrally/objectively)—in other words, introduce—the piece of music itself: who, what, where, when, artist(s), instruments, writers/composers, genre of music, etc.
Contextualize the piece itself—how and why is this piece of music specifically relevant to its own era (and is it still relevant today or unique to the era in which it was originally produced?). Write for an audience reading this 150 years from now!
Analyze/interpret the piece itself; how and why is it successful as a piece of music relevant to its era? This should be the heart of your response, so go into depth here!
Note: if you are a musician, please feel free to write about your own music.
And remember:
Include one direct quote from Perceiving the Arts with an in-text citation and Work Cited entry
Use specific vocabulary from the textbook and/or the Module
If doing a more traditional written response, aim for 500-750 words total.
Some guidance is available here: For Options 1 and 2: Examples of Songs to Use and How to Use Them
OPTION 2: 750+ words
You may do a more FORMAL analysis of ONE piece of music. You must explain how the words (lyrics, libretto) and music work together.* You should aim to make an argument about the song in question, using both text and music to support your claims. First examine the TEXT. Is it in a regular poetic form on its own? Does it have some type of pattern or other play with words? What is the meaning of the text? Now look at the text and listen to the MUSIC with it. Does the composer set it in an unusual way for the genre? Does the music seem to fit with the general meaning of the text, or does it seem to be at odds with it? Does the composer bring out certain words or lines of text? Why? Your description of the music functions as evidence in an argument about how the song has two layers of meaning (text and music). Use the reading from the Module, especially the vocabulary and “How to Write About Music” pages. You must do three things: While focusing on how the words and music work together, remember to:
Describe, (who, what, when, where, instruments, writers/composers, genre, etc.), then
Contextualize the aesthetic and/or historic setting in which the piece of music was created. Is the era relevant to the way the words and music are put together?
Analyze how and why the piece of music is a particularly unique or exceptional work of words and music working together (or…in opposition?). This should be the heart of your response, so go into some depth here!
Note: if you are a musician, please feel free to write about your own music!
And remember:
Include one direct quote from Perceiving the Arts with an in-text citation and Work Cited entry
Use specific vocabulary from the textbook and/or the Module
If doing a more traditional written response, aim for 500-750 words total.
Some guidance is available here: For Options 1 and 2: Examples of Songs to Use and How to Use Them
OPTION 3: 750+ words
You may evaluate two different performances of a piece: different stagings of an opera or musical, or different settings of a story (e.g. a stage version of an musical versus its movie adaptation), or an original and a cover version, or, the same piece of music used in two completely different ways/contexts. What is the overall effect of the different performances? Do they interpret the piece differently? If they are not distinct in terms of overall interpretation, how are they different? How are these differences significant to your understanding or experience of the piece? Remember to go beyond simply listing differences and similarities by making an argument about the music and its significance. Use the reading from the Module, especially the vocabulary and “How to Write About Music” pages.
Describe each of the pieces (who, what, when, where, genre, instruments, artists, writers/composers, etc.)
Contextualize each piece in its setting/use/era, whatever way you are comparing these two pieces.
Analyze and interpret each piece—how and why is each an accomplishment by itself as a piece of music and how does it (successfully) connect to the other piece?
Note: if you are a musician, please feel free to write about your own music/experience!
And remember:
Include one direct quote from Perceiving the Arts with an in-text citation and Work Cited entry
Use specific vocabulary from the textbook and/or the Module
If doing a more traditional written response, aim for 750 words total.
