Music 343 Paper
Fall
2008
|
Paper—Two Approaches to Writing about Music
Selecting a Piece
You can choose any piece of music written before 1750. The score
can be taken from NAWM or from any scholarly edition. Research materials
are harder to find for some pieces than for others, and you must do some
preliminary work in the library before you make your final decision. Only
two other restrictions apply: you must choose a piece that interests you,
and you must choose a piece for which you can find both score and recording.
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The Paper—Part I
The paper must include two parts. In Part I, you must thoroughly describe
one of the first performances of the piece you have chosen—but you must
describe it as if you were there! To begin Part I, imagine that
you are a real person at one of the first performances of your piece. You
can be the composer, a performer, or a listener. You could be a medieval monk
at Vespers, a Renaissance lady at court, a merchant attending Mass, a Baroque
musician in the orchestra pit of a Venetian opera house, or whatever you
choose. Once you decide who you want to be, learn all you can about the
appropriate setting for the musical performance:
-
the surroundings—city, building, etc.
-
the type of occasion or service
-
the type of people who might be present
-
customs or behaviors associated with the occasion
-
performance practice
Your research must lead you to a variety of library resources (books,
scholarly journals and periodicals, etc.) about many subjects (history,
architecture, art, etc.)—NOT JUST MUSIC!
When research is done, write a detailed account of your quasi-fictional
experience (à la Barbara Lachman’s Journal of Hildegard
of Bingen) in which you describe:
-
the music you hear, the sounds and the manner of the performance (this
is the most important part!)
-
your reaction to it
-
the setting (place/occasion/people) in which you hear it
-
the performing forces, etc.
Identify who you are, to whom you are writing to, and why. Part I could be a
letter to a distant friend or employer, or it could be an entry in a personal
journal written for your own pleasure and reflection. This is creative writing,
but it must be based on solid research.
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The Paper—Part II
In Part II, write an
analysis of the same
piece (or an excerpt,
if it is a major work,
e.g., concerto, oratorio,
opera, etc.) as if
you were a 21st century
music student (which
you are!). We are not looking
for copious research
in Part II—we
want you to study & listen
to the score and come
up with your own analysis.
Use all the tools you
have learned in theory
and history courses
to describe principal
style features, the
structure (form), the
relation of words and
music
(if applicable), and
so on. Your work in
Part I may illuminate
this study, and vice
versa. Try to go beyond
mere description and
consider such questions
as:
-
What does the piece express? Which elements contribute most to the work’s
overall
effect?
-
What elements create unity and coherence in this piece?
- As best you can tell, how is it representative of its genre, style, or technique?
How is it unique?
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Format
Part I must be at least 3 pages long (word-processed, double-spaced). Document
your sources either with footnotes (see Lachman’s Journal), endnotes,
or by annotating the Part I bibliography (if you feel footnotes would look out
of
place
in an “authentic” account written before 1750!). Part II must be
at least 2 pages long (word-processed, double-spaced).
Summary:
-
Title Page
-
Part I (3 pages)
-
Part II (2 pages)
-
Bibliography
-
The score (only if
not in NAWM and your
instructor
does not own
a
copy)
The bibliography must follow MLA format. For a “B” grade on your
bibliography you must include at least the following
items; for an “A” grade you will need to add a variety of other materials
that deal specifically with your topic.
-
at least one dictionary entry (New Grove strongly recommended)
-
at least one article from a scholarly journal or periodical
-
at least one period history (a general book about music of a single era)
-
at least two book that deals with your topic as specifically as possible
-
at least two non-music (art, history, etc.) sources
-
at least one book on performance practice (Donington good for Baroque, Dart acceptable
for earlier music, but more specific sources are strongly recommended)
-
the score
-
the recording you used (on period instruments, if possible)
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Possible Topic Choices
-
A Du Fay sacred work
at Cambrai Cathedral
-
Chant in a medieval abbey
-
A Renaissance Mass
in the Sistine Chapel
-
A Perotin organum quadruplum
at Notre Dame, Paris
-
A polychoral Gabrieli
motet at St. Mark’s,
Venice
-
A chanson at the Burgundian
Court
-
An opera at the court
of Louis XIV, Versailles
-
A Bach cantata at Thomaskirche,
Leipzig
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Grade
If you follow all of
the steps above and
take the time to do
a decent job on your
paper, any of you can
easily earn an A or
B. In Part I, we want
to see evidence of
careful research and
creativity. In Part
II, we want
to see your own thoughtful
analysis, one that
demonstrates knowledge
of
the music and
its style. Both Parts
should be “ready
for publication”—that
is, the writing should
be clear and purposeful
with no distractions
of grammar,
punctuation,
spelling, or format.
Parts of the paper
will be weighted
as follows when we
assign grades:
| Part I |
40% |
| Part II |
30% |
| Bibliography |
30% |
—10% will
be subtracted from
your grade if you
do not bring a complete
first draft to class
and participate in
the peer review exercise
on Wednesday, December
3.
—Late final drafts will lose one full letter grade.
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Dates
Monday,
August 25—First Day of Class
Start looking at potential paper topics.
Friday,
August 29—Library
Orientation
Class meeting in the library to learn about basic music research
tools and sources relevant to your paper.
Browse through NAWM for possible paper topics.
Friday,
September 19—List
of Paper Topics (with
Encounter 2)
Hand in a list of three possible paper topics.
Begin looking for bibliographic materials in the library. This library
work will help you choose your topic. Submit interlibrary loan orders NOW.
Monday,
October 6—Final
Paper Topic & Short
Bibliography
(with Encounter 3)
Hand in you final paper topic choice.
Hand in a short, preliminary
bibliography (5
entries in MLA
format) that includes:
-
one dictionary entry
(Grove Music Online,
for instance)
- one period history
(a book that deals
comprehensively with
the music of a single
era)
-
one scholarly article
from a music journal
or periodical (no
reviews, please...)
-
one book dealing with your topic as specifically as possible
-
one non-music source
(a book on art, architecture,
political or cultural
history, or some
other discipline
outside of music)
Begin to flesh out your bibliography.
Monday,
October 20—Final
Bibliography
(with Encounter 4)
Hand in the final bibliography (for Parts 1 & 2), typed and
properly formatted. It must follow MLA format and must include
at least the 10 “minimum” items listed under Format above.
Begin
to map out the main points and arguments of your paper.
Monday,
November 3—Paper Outline
(with Encounter 5)
Hand in a one-page outline, flowchart, idea map,
or summary of your paper.
Begin work on the first draft of your paper.
Wednesday,
December 3—Complete
First Draft
Bring complete first draft of your paper to class for a peer
review exercise. Exercise will focus on strength of arguments and clarity
of presentation.
Use written feedback to revise your paper.
Monday,
December 8, 4:00
pm—Final Draft
Final version of paper is due.
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Page created
8/24/08 by Mark
Harbold—last
updated 8/24/08.