Three Musicians

Pablo Picasso

1921

 

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Fundamentals of Music 

Concert Review Essay Guidelines

 

Choose one event from the Concert Event Calendar to use for your Concert Review Essay.

Any of the other events will qualify for extra credit.

Essays are due on the first class day following one week after the event.

Any concerts other than those listed above must be approved.

No papers will be accepted after April 26

 

Before the Concert:

Ø        If you are unfamiliar with the names of musical instruments, you may want to review them.  The link below shows pictures of each instrument.  Note particularly for this concert, the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, clarinet and percussion.

Instruments

Bring to the Concert:

Ø        Bring along notebook/paper, pen, and the following list of musical parameters to discuss in your paper:

1.        harmony: dissonance (harsh sonorities) or consonance (smooth or stable sonorities) [Note:  dissonance and consonance are nouns.  When describing harmony or sound, "dissonant" and "consonant" are used as adjectives.

2.        texture: homophonic (there’s only one main melody; other instruments are in an accompanimental role), polyphonic (more than one melody is played)            

3.        melody:  character (for example, lyrical, operatic, monotonous, sad, happy, etc.), performed by whom, etc.

4.        dynamics (or volume):  loud, moderate, or soft

5.        rhythm:  steady (even) or syncopated

beat - the regular pulse of music (like the ticking of a clock) When you pat your foot, that is the beat.

rhythm - patterns formed by notes of different lengths (like Beethoven's famous theme, short-short-short-long)

6.        instrumentation:  role of specific instruments (leader, accompanist)

7.        genre (blues, jazz, or musical)

 

At the Concert:

Ø        Make a few notes to remember your "observations". 

Ø        Listen to the pieces and performances objectively and analytically.

Ø        If applicable, think of the message in the title or text and how it is depicted in musical terms. 

Ø        Make a note of your impressions also.  What are the composer and performer trying to put across in the piece?  Why is the piece written and performed the way it is?  Was the composer successful in getting his/her message across?  Was the performer successful in interpreting this message?

   

After the Concert:

Ø        Write your essay as soon as possible after the concert or performance.

Ø        Write about 3 pieces and proceed in chronological order.  If more than one group is performing, do not choose all 3 pieces from the same group.  If the program is a musical, do not choose all 3 selections from the first half.

Ø       Do not take up unnecessary space listing instruments, composers, arrangers, or performers.  I can look on the program.  If you are reviewing a musical, do not tell me the plot.

Ø       In your conclusion, give your general impressions of the concert or performance as a whole and also an assessment of the different performing groups (if more than one group is performing).  In the case of a musical, include a brief comment on the first half of the performance as compared to the second half.  Also include your evaluation: Did you find it worthwhile? Would you recommend that others attend?  Evaluate the music in terms of content and performance.  Relate/compare/contrast it to other types of music with which you are also familiar.  Be as specific as possible.  Take the role of a music critic who will express preferences justified by specifics.

Ø        Turn in your paper as soon as you are finished.  You don’t have to wait until the deadline to submit the essay.  You will need to submit your paper to the Turnitin website.  Go here for instructions.  Your class ID# is 1466322 and the password is Fund87 (case sensitive)

Ø        NOTE:  Late essays will be penalized 10 points for each calendar day past deadline

 Content

The 2 general pitfalls to which one can succumb are:

1.  to write too generally about feelings or impressions; e.g. "The music made me feel . . ", or "It was like . . ." etc.  These assessments can be very valuable, but should accompany, not substitute for more specific analysis.  Indeed, it can be quite perceptive to analyze the music for the elements which cause a feeling or result in an impression, but it is necessary to identify those musical elements in the process.

2.  to narrate the piece like a "play by play"; e.g. "First the trombone . . .", "Next the trumpets . . .", Then the drums . . .".   This would result in strictly an observation, and again not an analysis.

Analyzing music requires some specifics and some generalizations, but most of all requires conclusions.  In other words, notice  the specifics, elaborate on those which are particularly noteworthy and draw relevant conclusions.

What is a relevant conclusion?  Here is a silly example:  you see a zebra among some horses.  You are analyzing the situation.  Your content does not need to mention that the zebra has 4 legs or hooves, because that is not noteworthy in this situation.  All of the animals share these attributes.  The salient fact is that one of these animals is unique because of its stripes. 

Other unnecessary statements:

"the drum kept a steady beat" - unless this is unusual, annoying, unexpected or inconsistent in the piece you are analyzing, it is filler information.

 

Writing Mechanics and Requirements

  •  Description of paper:  500 words, typed, double-spaced, one inch margins, 12 point font, titled, attach program.

  • Do not change verb tenses in the middle of your essay.  Choose one and stick with it.  After writing your paper, read straight through it to check for this consistency.

  • Do not begin every sentence with "This song . . ." or "This piece . . ."  or "The music sounded like . . . "

  •  The title of a whole work (Les Misérables) should be underlined, a movement or part of the work (“Do You Hear the People Sing”) should be put in quotations.

  • Proof-read your paper even if you use spell check and grammar/style tools (Tools-Options-Spelling and Grammar in Word)

  • Use commas!

Although not all commas make such a crucial difference in meaning, here is an illustration of the necessity of the humble comma.  The following sentence is interpreted by means of punctuation in two very different ways.

 

Woman without her man is nothing

 

 

 

1.  Woman; without her, man is nothing.

 

2.  Woman, without her man, is nothing.

Note:  The University Writing Center, located in Humanities 210A, is a free resource for TSU students.  Consultants are available to help you.  They will not revise, proofread, or edit your paper for you, but will help you do a better job doing these things for yourself.  This resource is not just for English classes, but for writing assignments in any class. 

 

This is the form I will use to grade your essays

Concert Review Essay Rubric

 

 

Element

 

 

Criteria

 

Assessment

 Selection 1Selection 2Selection 3

Possible

 Points

Score

Observations

These are facts and objective information

Harmony

Texture

Melody

Dynamics

Rhythm Instrumentation

Genre

 

  30 
Analysis

These are subjective thoughts and opinions

Comparison/contrast

Synthesis

Impression

Opinion

Judgment

   30 

Conclusion

Recommendations of the "music critic5 

Requirements

500 words

Double spaced

1-inch margins

12 point font

Titled

Attendance verified

20 

Writing Mechanics

Spelling

Grammar

Punctuation

Sentence structure

Verb tense

15

 
 Total100 

 

 

 

 

 

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*Pablo Picasso:  Dutch, 1881-1973

Three Musicians is regarded by some as the "climax of cubism".  This is a huge work, six and a half feet high. The musicians would be approximately life size, at least to the extent that such a comparison has meaning in a Cubist painting.

 

 

Created and Maintained by Vicky Boucher