For this Midterm assignment, you will create your own PlayPosit Listening Bulb.
A. To start your Listening Bulb:
Select a song that fits into one of the genres from Ch 3-8 (Folk, Religious, Jazz, Popular, Music of/Beyond the Americas). If you are unsure whether your song fits into one of these genres, feel free to email me for clarification. Nearly all music fits into one of these genres except for European classical music (which we will cover in the second half of the course).
Find a video of the song on YouTube, Vimeo, or another site. Live performances are strongly preferred over still images or lyrics videos. Try to find a video where you can see the performance of music.
B. Once you’ve selected your song and found your video, you can start on your Listening Bulb. Your bulb must include at least 10 questions. In your 10 questions:
at least one question must ask about part of the form (structure) of the song using genre-appropriate form vocabulary like verse, chorus, intro, interlude, or other vocabulary connected to form in that genre
at least one question must require the listener to ID an instrument
at least one question must ask about something related to the history, development, or vocabulary specific to that genre (For example, a question about a jazz song might reference the improvisation.)
at least one question must ask about the timbre of a specific sound source within the song
at least one question must ask about the melody in some way
your remaining 5+ questions can ask about the same musical ideas listed above at different moments in the song, or other musical elements, like dynamics, texture, tempo, harmony, or other elements from Ch 2
at least 9 of your questions must be multiple choice (can be single answer or ‘check all that apply’, but not free response)
at least 9 of your questions must be fact-based (not opinions)
up to one question may reference the lyrics; it is NOT a requirement to discuss the lyrical content of your song
C. In all of your questions, you CANNOT:
ask about visual elements that are unrelated to the music (For example, “the artist filmed the video in the desert because…” this is unrelated to the music)
group all of your questions at the beginning or end of your song. Questions should be relatively spread throughout the song, asking about meaningful musical moments as they occur.
ask questions at random time stamps. When your question pops up, it should connected the music just heard and be meaningful in timing. Even though putting your questions every 20 seconds is ‘purposeful’ and not random, that would still not be meaningful timing as it relates to the music.
The assignment will be graded using the following 100-point breakdown:
10 points: selected song is from a genre covered in Ch 3-8 and is not classical music
20 points: questions address the points in section B, above
10 points: questions are at meaningful, purposeful musical moments, not at random moments
10 points: questions are spread throughout the song, not all clustered at the beginning and/or end
5 points per question: the correct answer is indicated (you select the correct answer choice for your own questions)
Click the Load button at the bottom of the page to start on your assignment.
If you would like guidance on how to use the PlayPosit site to create your Listening Bulb, watch How To Create A PlayPosit Listening Bulb pt 1 and pt 2 the next page in this module for assistance.
