MUSIC REPORT & CRITIQUE GUIDELINES

FINE ARTS 2301, INTRO TO FINE ARTS II

SBS = Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts building

http://www.ualr.edu/mudept/concertlist.html  <http://www.ualr.edu/mudept/concertlist.html> is the list of Music Department concerts. Only concerts before the due date (for the Music papers) are appropriate.

http://www.arkansassymphony.org/calendar/ is the list of Arkansas Symphony-related events. Click on September, October, and November. Appropriate ones include all except Opus XXII Patron Party, Five By Design, and Opus Ball XXII.

Arkansas Chamber Singers, 10/14 and 10/15, 8 PM see http://www.ar-chambersingers.org/

UALR Student Recital, 10/13, 12:15 PM, Stella Boyle Smith/Fine Arts, free

Paper due dates: Reports 10/25, Critiques 11/22

My office hours: MWF 12-1

LEARN about concerts by checking the bulletin board opposite the Music Department Office (Fine Arts building); on that board, there are monthly calendars indicating additional concerts in the Little Rock area.

GUIDELINES FOR PAPER WRITING

1. As you know, for the music component of the class you need to write one one-page paper (report), due the report is due 3/17, and one two-to-four page paper (critique) due 4/25. If you choose to write on music not covered in the class (i.e. non-classical music), you will probably have to do some outside reading (library materials), since the textbook devotes very little space to non-classical musics.
   
   
2. Start each paper by BRIEFLY (a short paragraph) giving the date of the concert you attended, where it was performed, who the performers were, and what pieces they performed. (If there's no program, find out on your own somehow. It might help to look through the textbook.) Also write down (guess if it's not in the program notes) the genre of the piece as a whole (symphony, string quartet, opera, art song etc.), the composer, and if the piece has several movements, the genre of each movement. Attach the program or ticket stub as evidence that you attended the concert.
   
   
3. For each piece, start by attempting to analyze the piece using the technical vocabulary you learned in class last semester (Fine Arts I): Rhythm/meter (duple, triple etc.), tempo (slow, fast), syncopation, major/minor/other tonality, use of consonance or dissonance, melodic contour (ascending, descending), melodic range (high, low), articulation (legato, staccato), dynamics (loud, soft), texture (monophony, chordal homophony, melody and accompaniment, polyphony), timbre (instruments, voices; if it was melody and accompaniment which instrument was the melody and which was the accompaniment; if it was polyphony which instruments had the melodies etc.-also different vocal timbres), form, and extramusical aspects such as words (story, if it's vocal music or programmatic instrumental music). Note that form and the other elements are connected to each other; thus, for instance, in many three-part forms the first part is major, the second is minor, and the third is major again-or else the first is staccato, the second is legato, and the third is staccato etc. Try to figure out the form as much as you can, and then figure out the characteristics of each section (rhythm, tempo, syncopation etc.) Obviously, a comprehensive analysis according to all of the above terms will be impossible. But you should be able to get some of them. Just take thorough notes on each piece during the performance, and then write down what you pick up about each piece. For the report, you can write the whole page on one piece, or on two or even three pieces from the concert (perhaps a paragraph per piece); for the critique, again, write the whole 2-4 pages on one piece, or maybe a page and a half on each of two pieces, or a page each on three pieces etc.
   
   
4. Finally, use the data from #3 above to try to explain how each piece relates to the style period (Medieval, Renaissance etc.; or if you do jazz, Dixieland, swing, bebop etc.) of which it is a part (and if we've studied pieces by the same composer, add that aspect too) and possibly the same genre. Thus, if you hear a Mozart or Haydn 18th century symphony, compare the piece to what you learn in class and through the textbook about 18th century symphonies, Mozart or Haydn, and the Classic period (is the piece typical or atypical of 18th century symphonies?-using class material as a guide to what is typical); if you hear a 19th century piece by a composer you've never heard of, compare it to what you learn in class and the textbook about 19th century music and the Romantic period and the composer. (Thus you may need to listen and read ahead. It might be a good idea to write on earlier music before you write on more recent music, since we'll be covering modern music towards the end of the semester.) You may also need to supplement what you learn in class/the textbook about a genre, historical period, and/or composer by doing research in the library (especially if you are writing about a composer or genre not covered in class or the textbook); good books to start with that are in the library's collection include Grout, The History of Western Music, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. (I will try to put the first of these on reserve.) Or if you choose to write on jazz, pop, etc., consult Kingman, American Music or Campbell, And the Beat Goes On (on American popular music) or Gridley, Jazz Styles (on jazz). (I will try to put all of these on reserve as well.) What you write should be evenly balanced between your analysis of the music (see #3 above) and putting the piece in historical/generic context (#4). Again, #4 does not have to be absolutely comprehensive either-just pick a few important points. One additional point: don't write on pieces that are on the syllabus/in the textbook; and if a composer is covered in class, don't write too much on that composer (say more about the piece itself).
   
   
5. Don't talk about the quality of the performance or the audience reaction. Talk about the pieces/songs themselves. And if you have questions, SEE ME or take advantage of my office hours (MWF 12-1) and/or my email, and/or make an appointment.
   
   
6. GRADING: I am basically looking for three things in a paper:
   1. Rich and accurate analysis of the music. It is at least as important that you understand the terms you use as it is that you get the analysis right; for instance, if you say that a piece is syncopated when it's not, it's not as serious as it would be if you said that the piece was syncopated because the piece had a strong steady beat (i.e. the wrong definition for syncopation). Make sure that you understand all the terms you use.
   2. Rich and accurate historical/generic context, usually backed up with material about the composer/s and/or genre/s and/or style period/s from the textbook and/or outside reading. As regards the latter, you need to produce evidence that you have consulted appropriate sources (cite the sources), and that you are drawing actively on many of them in the paper (i.e. substantiate everything you say with footnotes or intext citations). In particular draw on materials on the style periods and/or genres you are studying, not just the composers. Often the textbook will be enough; but in other cases you may need one of the library reserve materials mentioned above. A caution about web sources: Much material on the web is placed there by people who are not recognized as authorities in their fields, especially in music, so look critically at web sources. (That doesn't mean don't consult the web; just be careful.) And never, ever, cite something on the web that has no author.
   3. Good writing style: good grammar, syntax, varied vocabulary, no false enthusiasm, active as opposed to passive verbs, not too verbose (write concisely), make sure the sentences flow into one another (often with use of conjunctions; I don't like reading strings of simple sentences), enough commas, use of semicolons and colons and dashes when called for, no sentences starting with "And,…" or "But,…", occasional use of substantive footnotes. In addition, paragraphs should have thesis sentences, and the thesis sentence should effectively foreshadow the subject matter of the paragraph as a whole.
   4. I also expect : a) good organization; b) independent thought-don't just copy your sources and of course NEVER NEVER plagiarize, especially off of the internet; show that you've thought about your sources and that you understand them-and c) an appropriate topic.
   5. In GRADING PAPERS I tend to check a), b), and c) to make sure they're OK, then assign a value (0-1) for 1), 2), and 3), and grade very roughly as follows: 2-3 A, 1-2 B, 0-1 C or D. However, paper grading is subjective. You have three additional ways to torpedo yourself gradewise on the paper: 1) not TYPING it; 2) lateness; and 3) not being long enough. As regards #2, no paper will be accepted late. As regards #3, 2 pp. means each page is expected to have about 27 lines, 65 characters per line. If your pages have fewer lines, write more pages; if your lines have more or fewer characters, write fewer (or more, respectively) pages. Longer papers won't in general be rewarded, but shorter papers will be penalized as follows: if you hand in a 1 ½ pp. paper e.g. (instead of 2) I'll give the paper a grade and make that grade 75% of the total (since 1 ½ is ¾ of 2), and the other 25% will be an F.
   6. A FEW FINAL POINTS: after the first reference, refer to performers and composers by their last names. Finally, in general, ask if you're unsure about something.
   7. Some Additional Notes:

      a) DO NOT SAY, in your report or critique, 'Piece one was in duple meter,
      but piece three was in triple meter'. Say something like 'the first
      movement of the Shostakovich was in duple meter, but the first movement of
      the Brahms was in triple meter'. To write a passable report or critique,
      you MUST be aware of exactly what you are listening to at all times--who
      the composer is, what the name of the piece is, which movement you are
      listening to. To figure this out, follow the program throughout the
      concert, and know exactly where you are in the program. A hint: most
      programs contain the name of the piece on the left side, the name of the
      composer with his/her dates (year of birth, year of death) on the right
      side, and the names of the performers below. The name of the piece often
      includes the names of the individual movements below it. Example:

      String Quartet #11, Op.
      95
      Beethoven (1770-1827)
      Allegro
      Adagio
      Scherzo: Allegro Molto
      Presto

      Juilliard String
      Quartet

      This means that the genre of the piece is "string quartet" (a work for two
      violins, viola, and cello); that this piece is the composer's eleventh
      string quartet; that it has four movements, of which the first is called
      "allegro", the second "adagio", the third "scherzo", and the fourth
      "presto"; that the music was composed by Beethoven, and that he was born in
      1770 A.D. and died in 1827 A.D.; and that the performers are the Juilliard
      String Quartet.

      b) The composer is far more important than the performer. I couldn't care
      less how well the piece was performed, or what the performer was wearing or
      whether they behaved in a professional manner. I'm interested in what
      you've learned about the composer's musical style from this concert. The
      dates of the composer are especially important, since they place the
      composer as an Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classic, Romantic,
      or Modern composer. (Ancient= roughly 800 BC to 450 AD; Medieval=450-1450
      AD; Ren. =1450-1600; Baroque=1600-1750; Classic=1750-1820;
      Romantic=1820-1900; Modern classical =1900-present. These are, of course,
      all rough dates; some historians use slightly different dates.) The single
      most common mistake students make in writing these reports and critiques is
      not consulting the textbook; thus, if you hear a piece by Mendelssohn, read
      what the textbook has to say on Mendelssohn. If you hear a concert of
      jazz-rock fusion, read what the textbook has to say on fusion. If you hear
      a concert of African music, read what the textbook has to say on African
      music. If you hear a string quartet, read what the textbook has to say on
      string quartets. If you hear a concert of gospel music, the textbook has
      nothing on gospel music, so you'll have to consult a library source
      (preferably the Kingman book I've put on reserve) on gospel.

      c) You don't have to write on every single piece on the program. Just write
      on enough pieces to get to one full page (report) or to 2-4 pages
      (critique).

      d) A song is something that one sings, usually with instrumental
      accompaniment, usually three to seven minutes long. An opera is not a song,
      because an opera is typically 2 to 5 hours long. An instrumental work is
      not a song, because no one sings. The vast majority of classical music
      pieces are not songs; the vast majority of 20th-21st c. popular music
      pieces are songs.
      

   8. Sample Graded Critique