There are two assignments, (1) due Thursday February 12, 9pm, and (2) Thursday March 19, 9pm on Avenue to Learn.
Note that you must follow these instructions carefully. Failure to follow instructions properly will likely result in a grade reduction proportional to the significance of the deviations.
Assignment Instructions:
Select one of the pieces of music assigned for this class (see the ). You must ONLY choose a piece on the list found on the , not others on the playlist, or others you find elsewhere. Your discussion should only be about the SPECIFIC RECORDING of your chosen piece available on the course playlist. Many pieces of music will not be discussed in lectures or assigned readings by the time you need to start in earnest on this assignment, so you are encouraged to listen ahead and select a piece that grabs your attention.
For Assignment 1, you must choose one of the pieces from weeks 1-6 (inclusive). Do not use any of the pieces labelled NAWM 14, since they are too short for significant commentary.
For Assignment 2, you must choose one the pieces from weeks 7-12 (inclusive).
Some pieces on the playlist have multiple sections, like NAWM 153, which has two numbers on the assigned list (a and b) In cases like this, you should choose one of the assigned sections only. If you wish to do more than one, do speak to the instructor well in advanced.
Select at least five quotations (you can use more) from the textbook that you think are relevant to this piece of music. These quotations should be roughly one to three sentences in length. At least three of these quotations (it can be more than three of your selected quotes) should not be from the portion(s) of the textbook that discuss(es) your chosen work specifically, but that indicate something more broadly relevant. Note: your quotations should copy the exact wording of the textbook, and be placed within quotation marks.
You may want to start by reading the general sections on the time period from which the piece is taken (such as the introductions to “The Eighteenth Century” (starting on page 301), “The Nineteenth Century: The Age of Romanticism” (starting on page 391), or “The Twentienth Century and Today” (starting on page 503). You could also consult the Prelude and Postlude sections of relevant chapters within the textbook, but you dont need to restrict your selections to these spots. Note that in selecting quotations, you are not restricted to the sections of the textbook assigned on the . You can use quotes from anywhere in the textbook.
In addition, you should discuss at least five momentswithin the recording that are relevant to your discussion. These moments should be accurately identified in your assignment using time stamps from the recording (see below for format). You should indicate clearly somewhere in your paper whether you are using the recordings from the playlist, or the animated listening guides as your reference recordings.
You should give a detailed explanation for the relevance of the quotations and recording locations you have chosen. In some cases this will require more thought than others.
Work to create a cohesive narrative in your writing, avoiding a series of points that seem disconnected from each other. Do not submit a series of bullet points. Your paper should be a be a continuous narrative; the more you can integrate your thoughts in the assignment, the better. The spots you identify in the recording, for example, can exemplify quotations you provide from the textbook.
You can use personal reflection in your writing, but should work to convince your reader that your reflection is interesting and relevant. You are not required to use external sources for this assignment, but if you do, you should cite them in Chicago Author-Date style in the assignment and include those sources in the Reference List. Both opinions and factual information that is borrowed should be cited, whether from the textbook or other sources.
Some Format Specifics:
Length:
Each assignment should be roughly 750-1000 words in length.
Submission:
Assignments should be uploaded to the relevant Assignment folder under Assessments on Avenue to Learn. Your assignment should be a PDF file.
The title of your paper (and the PDF file) should be Music 1AA3 Written Assignment-[title of the composition using NAWM number]. Note that no punctuation is needed in the file title.
For example:
PDF file title: Music 1AA3 Written Assignment 1 NAWM 153 Tristan und Isolde Prelude
Title at the top of the assignment: Music 1AA3: Written Assignment 1: NAWM 153: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude
Quotations and Citations:
The quotations you select must be quoted in the body of your discussion, in quotation marks, with the page reference given in parentheses, in the following format: (Hanning 2019, 103). References to the recording can simply be the time indication, i.e. (4:55) etc.
Moments in the recording should be indicated with time stamps such as (4:55) or (4:55-5:20).
Reference List:
At the end of your assignment include a Reference List, which should include the textbook and the recording in Chicago, Author-Date stye. Information about the recordings can be found for each example on the playlist. Use the following format (example for NAMW 153) as your template:
Textbook:
Hanning, Barbara Russano, ed. 2019. Concise History of Western Music. 5th ed.: Anthology Update. W.W. Norton & Company.
Recording:
Bhm, Karl and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Copyright, n.d. Tristan und Isolde: Prelude. Deutsche Grammaphon. Courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises. Provided as streaming audio for Concise History of Western Music. 5th ed.: Anthology Update. W.W. Norton & Company. .
Academic Integrity Pledge:
In order to submit this assignment you will need to subject your consent to an Academic Integrity Pledge, linked in the assignment folder. If this pledge is not agreed to, your assignment will not be graded.
Grading Considerations:
You will be graded on the appropriateness of your selected quotations and recording moments. They should lend themselves to (and be provided with) interesting commentary. They should not be overly general. You will also be graded on how clearly and convincingly you relate your quotations to the piece of music, and how clearly and convincingly you create a cohesive and engaging narrative throughout your assignment. You should have introductory and concluding paragraphs in addition to the main text of your paper.
Principles of good writing will also be taken into consideration, as will creativity and originality. You are, of course, expected to follow the specific guidelines given in this document; failure to do so may result in reductions in your grade, depending on the significance of your departure from the assignment specifications.
Purposes of This Assignment:
One of the goals of this assignment is to practice both relating ideas (some specific, and some more general) to a particular piece of music and demonstrating the relevance of those ideas to the reader, who you should assume is an academically strong classmate. These ideas will be of different types: for example, some might be descriptive, and some might be broader, perhaps more philosophical or conceptual in nature. Another goal is to practice weaving a series of ideas into a cohesive whole. These skills have broad application, not just for your understanding of music history, and you are encouraged to enjoy the opportunity to further your academic development.