9/27/12
In Class:
Pop quiz: 1) Define 'genre.' 2) Define 'melody.' XC: Draw a treble clef staff.
Collaborative guided writing exercise using syllabic count and end-rhyme.
Instruction and discussion on the nature of performance, performance techniques, and the nature of a 'performer.' Focus on: talent, stage presence, confidence, energy, and notability/memorability, amongst other characteristics.
Research paper outline completion confirmed for credit. First drafts are due Tuesday, October 2nd!
Homework:
Find a video of a LIVE performance (you may use YouTube or another resource). Take notes of characteristics the performer exemplifies or misses.
Complete a first draft of your research paper by Tuesday!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
September 25th, 2012
9/25/12
In Class:
Checked for homework completion.
Pop quiz: define 'genre.' For extra credit, discuss the concept of 'generic imperative.'
Practiced lyrical and melodic composition through guided writing exercises.
Instruction in MLA Format, which will be applied to Part One of each student's final project. Note on the Summative Assessment Rubric that there will be no exceptions for mistakes in format, as instruction was provided in class. This is a common standard for college-level writing. Students are encouraged to ask the instructor to review format before officially submitting the paper; I am happy to help students earn these points toward their respective grades. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab is also a fantastic resource for answering MLA questions.
Sample MLA-formatted essay:
Sample quotation format:
Homework:
If you didn't do the homework for today, do it for Thursday for partial credit.
Outlines for essays due on Thursday! You MUST write an outline, but you can use whatever format you want.
In Class:
Checked for homework completion.
Pop quiz: define 'genre.' For extra credit, discuss the concept of 'generic imperative.'
Practiced lyrical and melodic composition through guided writing exercises.
Instruction in MLA Format, which will be applied to Part One of each student's final project. Note on the Summative Assessment Rubric that there will be no exceptions for mistakes in format, as instruction was provided in class. This is a common standard for college-level writing. Students are encouraged to ask the instructor to review format before officially submitting the paper; I am happy to help students earn these points toward their respective grades. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab is also a fantastic resource for answering MLA questions.
Sample MLA-formatted essay:
Sample quotation format:
Homework:
If you didn't do the homework for today, do it for Thursday for partial credit.
Outlines for essays due on Thursday! You MUST write an outline, but you can use whatever format you want.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
September 20th, 2012
9/20/12
In Class:
Checked for homework completion. Returned pocket notebooks.
Pop quiz: describe "Generic Imperative." For extra credit, discuss the early Baroque notion of categorizing music by emotion rather than style.
Constructed a lyrical line of seven syllables, emphasizing the second and sixth syllable, to correspond to a given melody.
Guided Work Period for final project:
- Complete homework, if not yet finished.
- Identify three genres you'd potentially like to study.
- Look up each of those three genres on Wikipedia. Skim the articles and decide which you would like to learn more about.
- Copy down the 'external links' / 'references' from the Wikipedia page; these may be valuable resources for your research.
- Identify three artists that exemplify your chosen genre.
- Identify three songs that exemplify your chosen genre.
- When the term or label for your genre arise? What does it mean?
- What subgenres or offshoots exist for your genre?
- What musical characteristics (instrumentation, sound, song structure, tempo, etc.) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
- What lyrical characteristics (stylistic, song structure, word choice, figurative language) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
- What affective characteristics (tone, emotional moment) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
Submit the genre you are studying by the end of the class period.
Homework:
Continue research for final project.
Find and copy/print a definition of "perform."
If you end up on Pearl Street this weekend, make note of street performers' styles and techniques.
In Class:
Checked for homework completion. Returned pocket notebooks.
Pop quiz: describe "Generic Imperative." For extra credit, discuss the early Baroque notion of categorizing music by emotion rather than style.
Constructed a lyrical line of seven syllables, emphasizing the second and sixth syllable, to correspond to a given melody.
Guided Work Period for final project:
- Complete homework, if not yet finished.
- Identify three genres you'd potentially like to study.
- Look up each of those three genres on Wikipedia. Skim the articles and decide which you would like to learn more about.
- Copy down the 'external links' / 'references' from the Wikipedia page; these may be valuable resources for your research.
- Identify three artists that exemplify your chosen genre.
- Identify three songs that exemplify your chosen genre.
- When the term or label for your genre arise? What does it mean?
- What subgenres or offshoots exist for your genre?
- What musical characteristics (instrumentation, sound, song structure, tempo, etc.) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
- What lyrical characteristics (stylistic, song structure, word choice, figurative language) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
- What affective characteristics (tone, emotional moment) typically represent your genre? What variations/exceptions are notable?
Submit the genre you are studying by the end of the class period.
Homework:
Continue research for final project.
Find and copy/print a definition of "perform."
If you end up on Pearl Street this weekend, make note of street performers' styles and techniques.
Advanced Songwriting Summative Assessment
Included below are the assignment sheet and corresponding rubrics for the Summative Assessment (final project) for Advanced Songwriting. To see the photos full-size, right-click and download the image.
Note: These point values will likely be weighted such that the final project is cumulatively worth 500 points toward the student's grade.
Note: These point values will likely be weighted such that the final project is cumulatively worth 500 points toward the student's grade.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
September 18th, 2012
9/18/12
In Class:
Collected little notebooks.
Pop quiz: define 'melody' as it pertains to our musical studies in the past week.
Defined and discussed genre. A 'genre' refers to the label we ascribe to a 'kind' or 'style' of music; however, it also encompasses the broader culture surrounding a vein of music.
Additionally, genres are difficult to nail down and can be reductive to the integrity and uniqueness of music. Paradoxically, while genres confine music, they also guide, challenge, and expand it. Oftentimes, it is easier to discuss music through mood, rather than genre, a concept which first arose in the 17th century.
Lecture on "generic imperative"--the notion that artists have certain obligations to fulfill within their genre in order to satisfy the audience and present comprehensible pieces. While generic imperative limits musical potential, it also guides it and indirectly encourages innovation. While genre can define artists, those artists also define their respective genres.
Discussed the idea of "cover songs," particularly as reinterpretations, often in different genres. Listened to and analyzed "Hey Ya" performed by Outkast [original] and by Obadiah Parker [cover].
In Class:
Collected little notebooks.
Pop quiz: define 'melody' as it pertains to our musical studies in the past week.
Defined and discussed genre. A 'genre' refers to the label we ascribe to a 'kind' or 'style' of music; however, it also encompasses the broader culture surrounding a vein of music.
Additionally, genres are difficult to nail down and can be reductive to the integrity and uniqueness of music. Paradoxically, while genres confine music, they also guide, challenge, and expand it. Oftentimes, it is easier to discuss music through mood, rather than genre, a concept which first arose in the 17th century.
Discussed the idea of "cover songs," particularly as reinterpretations, often in different genres. Listened to and analyzed "Hey Ya" performed by Outkast [original] and by Obadiah Parker [cover].
Assigned and discussed Summative Assessment (final project). See post titled "Advanced Songwriting Summative Assessment" for details and rubric.
Homework:
Choose a song and a cover of that song; complete a Venn diagram analyzing the lyrical, musical, and affective similarities and differences between the original and cover, as we did in class today.
September 13th, 2012
9/13/12
In Class:
Pop quiz: define 'melody' as it pertains to our musical studies in the past week.
We continued the group melodic composition exercise and analyzed the resultant melody. Using a rhythmic guide, we constructed another melody as a class and analyzed its characteristics, effects, and affect. Then, each student constructed a lyrical line to correspond with the constructed melody and revised lines to emphasize more important words using melodic techniques.
Homework:
Write a four line stanza using an assigned sentence structure:
Use the subject that corresponds with your birth month (first and second column), a helping verbal phrase from the community bank (middle column), and a verb or verbal phrase that corresponds with your birth day (last two columns).
For example, a July 24th birthday guided stanza could read:
People like me cannot steal hearts,
But people like me have always stolen time.
People like me can steal thunder,
And people like me should not steal anything louder.
In Class:
Pop quiz: define 'melody' as it pertains to our musical studies in the past week.
We continued the group melodic composition exercise and analyzed the resultant melody. Using a rhythmic guide, we constructed another melody as a class and analyzed its characteristics, effects, and affect. Then, each student constructed a lyrical line to correspond with the constructed melody and revised lines to emphasize more important words using melodic techniques.
Homework:
Write a four line stanza using an assigned sentence structure:
Use the subject that corresponds with your birth month (first and second column), a helping verbal phrase from the community bank (middle column), and a verb or verbal phrase that corresponds with your birth day (last two columns).
For example, a July 24th birthday guided stanza could read:
People like me cannot steal hearts,
But people like me have always stolen time.
People like me can steal thunder,
And people like me should not steal anything louder.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
September 11th, 2012
9/11/12
In Class:
Checked homework for bonus points.
Defined the concept of "melody" and explored manifestations and variations in "Little Fugue in G Minor" by J.S. Bach. Discussed melodic composition and integration with lyrics using "Sail" by AWOLNation and "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley.
Students independently researched and analyzed a song of their choice for melodic composition techniques, responding to the following prompts:
- State the title and artist of the song.
- At what times (x:xx) is the melody played?
- Is this particular melody instrumental or vocal? If instrumental, which instrument plays the melody?
- Does the melody sound like it is in a major key, a minor key, or some other tonality?
- How frequently does this exact melody recur?
- At what time(s) (x:xx) do you hear a variation of the melody (change in pitches, rhythms, modulations, phasing, etc.)?
Began group composition of melody--to be continued and concluded on 9/13.
Homework:
Choose any melody and 'borrow' it. Ascribe your own lyrics to it.
Notebooks will be collected again on Tuesday.
In Class:
Checked homework for bonus points.
Defined the concept of "melody" and explored manifestations and variations in "Little Fugue in G Minor" by J.S. Bach. Discussed melodic composition and integration with lyrics using "Sail" by AWOLNation and "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley.
Students independently researched and analyzed a song of their choice for melodic composition techniques, responding to the following prompts:
- State the title and artist of the song.
- At what times (x:xx) is the melody played?
- Is this particular melody instrumental or vocal? If instrumental, which instrument plays the melody?
- Does the melody sound like it is in a major key, a minor key, or some other tonality?
- How frequently does this exact melody recur?
- At what time(s) (x:xx) do you hear a variation of the melody (change in pitches, rhythms, modulations, phasing, etc.)?
Began group composition of melody--to be continued and concluded on 9/13.
Homework:
Choose any melody and 'borrow' it. Ascribe your own lyrics to it.
Notebooks will be collected again on Tuesday.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
September 6th, 2012
9/6/12
In Class
Checked homework for completion and returned pocket notebooks. Reviewed and collected Introduction to Music Theory worksheet.
Introduced and explored the Circle of Fifths and its role in music theory.
Discussed major and relative minor scales and the use of key signatures.
Constructed the melody of "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men.
Introduced chord progressions. A chord progression is essentially the musical analog of a lyrical premise, insofar as it is the basic foundation of a piece. Identified commonly used progressions and discussed analyzing chord progressions as degrees of a major scale.
Homework
Choose a song which uses a strong, repeated melody.
- Provide the title and artist of the song
- At what time (x:xx) is the melody played?
- Is this particular melody instrumental or vocal? What instrument plays the melody?
- Does the melody sound like it is in a major key, a minor key, or some other tonality?
- How frequently does this melody recur?
Bonus: At what time (x:xx) do you hear a variation on the melody?
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
September 4th, 2012
9/4/12
In Class:
Checked for completed homework and collected pocket notebooks for Notebook Check #1.
Condensed Introduction to Music Theory—
Rhythm: pulse, meters, note lengths & phonemic counting, and notation
Pitches and notes: frequencies, dedicated pitches, chromatic scale, grand staff & notation, major scale construction
Dynamics: volume, articulation
Genre: stylistic variation and generic imperative
Distributed grades-in-progress and checked for missing work.
Homework:
Complete Introduction to Music Theory worksheet.
Look up "The Circle of Fifths" online. Print/copy the actual circle, then describe its significance in your own words.Note: Students who were absent today need to determine a time to make up for lost instruction. Today's class was highly lecture-oriented, and missing this lesson will be quite detrimental.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)