THE GENRE IS R&B.
Format: Double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-pt. font, 1-inch margins on all sides. Include your name, the date, and a way for me to access your chosen song.
Step One: Choose your genre. Select a genre of “world music” (any music that exists in the world), and choose one song or piece from this genre as an example. As part of the final assignment I will need to be able to listen to your chosen song, so make sure your song is available either on Spotify or YouTube, or provide me with some other way to access the song. It’s a good idea to run your choice past me before committing to it, so I can help make sure that the genre you choose isn’t too complex for a project this size. If you’ve already completed Journal #2, you’ve already chosen your genre!
Step Two: Outline your article. Figure out the major sections & sub-sections of your paper and how you want to organize them. Write an outline for the paper that will serve as a map for you for the rest of this process. Somewhere in your outline, be sure to address the following items:
Introduction: catch your reader’s attention with an interesting anecdote or some other hook into your topic; introduce your genre; give a brief overview of your paper.
Research write-up: report on your research on the genre, considering historical, social, and stylistic questions.
Song analysis: choose one song from the genre to analyze in-depth, using musical analysis terms we’ve learned in the course.
Concert review: choose a video online of a concert or other live musical event featuring your genre. Describe the general sounds & music of the concert, the setting (when & where) of the concert & what happens visually, and the significance or meaning of the music & concert for participants and/or for yourself (as far as you can tell). Also include your opinion of the concert, supported by specific evidence from the concert.
Conclusion: tie up any loose ends & summarize your paper.
Step Three: Write drafts of each of the three main sections of your paper. These sections are the research write-up, the song analysis, and the concert description. Turn in your drafts by the deadlines below.
Research write-up draft: Conduct some preliminary research on the song and its genre of music (see pages 3-6 of this assignment), considering historical, social, and stylistic questions. Write a brief report of your research, teaching this song and genre to the reader. Assume the reader is another student in this course who has no familiarity with this particular song or genre. Incorporate accurate in-text citations and compile your sources in a bibliography. You must include at least one library source (explained below).
For more on how to do research: see pages 3-5 of this assignment, and “Research Help” folder on Blackboard (under “Large Assignment: Music Article”).
To earn full points on the research draft: show that you’ve done some research with at least one library source, and that you have addressed or will address something about the genre’s history, social aspects, and stylistic aspects. Include any questions you may have.
Submit your research draft by Monday April 4 by 11:59pm. Worth 50 points.
Song analysis draft: Choose one song from your genre and listen to it several times. Each time you listen, identify one musical element in the song and take notes on it, using vocabulary we’ve learned in class. Repeat this process until you’ve analyzed each of the musical elements below. Then, write up your analysis in paragraph form.
1. duration (rhythm, tempo)
2. pitch (pitch range, ornamentation)
3. quality (instrumentation, timbre of each instrument)
4. intensity (dynamics)
5. texture (one of 5 types)
6. form (use section names or letters)
· To earn full points on the song analysis draft: show that you’ve begun analyzing some of these musical elements, and list the elements you haven’t yet analyzed. Include any questions you may have about the process.
· Submit your song analysis draft by Monday April 18 by 11:59pm. Worth 50 points.
Concert review draft: Describe the performance in detail. Return to the notes you took while watching the concert. Rewatch sections of the video or the whole thing and take more detailed notes on the sounds and sights of the concert, using vocabulary you’ve learned in class and from the textbook as much as possible. Describe the music being performed in general, as well as anything going on visually. Consider the setting, how the musicians are arranged in relation to the audience, the dress and demeanor of the musicians, the behavior of the audience during the concert, how the musicians interact with each other and with the audience, etc. Based on all of this, what can you surmise about the significance, meaning or function for this event & this kind of music, for its participants? Then, write & support your opinion of the concert. What about the experience was new or different for you? What were your favorite and least favorite songs or moments during the event, and why? Did the music evoke any particular images or feelings for you? Did you like or dislike the experience overall, and would you recommend this concert to others? Why or why not? Be sure to support your opinion with specific evidence or details from the performance.
To earn full points on the concert review draft: show that you have begun reviewing the concert, and that you have addressed or will address the concert’s sounds, setting, and significance, plus your opinion of the concert. Include any questions you may have.
Submit your concert review draft by Monday May 2 by 11:59pm. Worth 50 points.
Step Four: Compile, finish, & revise your drafts. Once you receive your drafts back from me: make all edits, revisions, and additions that I suggest, as well as any other changes that you feel are needed. Finish any sections that need to be finished. Compile your drafts of the research write-up, song analysis, and concert review into one document. Add an interesting introduction and clear conclusion to the beginning and end of your document. Add clear segues and connections between your sections, so that the entire paper reads as one coherent whole. Check the length of each section against the word count goals (listed in Step Five) and see if there are any sections that need to be substantially lengthened or shortened. Add an interesting title (hint: “Music Article” is not an interesting title). For more help with this step, check out this handout on revising drafts.
Step Five: Check your formatting and submit your final music article!
Required total word count: 2500-3250. To help you reach this total word count, here are some suggested word count goals for each section:
Introduction: 200-300 words
Research write-up: 800-1000 words
Song analysis: 500-700 words
Concert review: 800-1000 words
Conclusion: 150-250 words
Before you write:
Decide what genre you’d like to study and write about for this assignment.
Consider the questions below, and decide on a few guiding questions from each category (from those listed, or of your own devising) that will fuel your research. You must address each of the three categories (historical, social, stylistic).
Consult at least three different “library” sources, focusing your attention on finding answers to your specific research question/s, as well as basic and introductory information about the song or genre. Take notes on the readings, making sure to include references to source material so that you don’t confuse someone else’s words with your own later on. (See below for more on library sources.)
Decide which information you think is important to present in a report. You must include at least one library source in your finished product – more than one is preferable. Review the contents of the folder titled “Research Help” for help with all aspects of doing research for this project.
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