[ Table of Contents ]
Mus 1013 - Student Guide for Online Course
NOTE: Though online classes are certainly convenient and much more adaptable to a busy schedule (or one that you want to keep flexible), they demand significantly more motivation and effort on the part of the student to internalize the course content. This is particularly true of a music course, when much of the most meaningful learning takes place through the process of listening to music ... learning new ways to listen more analytically than you have likely done in the past and acquiring a new vocabulary to describe the sounds and explain your preferences. I have expended thousands of hours in developing the various listening examples and interactive multimedia that you will find throughout the site. The purpose of these materials is to supplement the reading you will do by providing musical examples that directly relate to that content and interactive listening guides that allow you to navigate through various musical examples. It will, however, take your initiative to utilize these materials to the fullest extent. Though I will remain your guide toward discovery throughout this process, what you get out of the course will be determined primarily by the amount of effort you put into it.
Okay, with that, let's get started ... the purpose of this web page is to provide you with a guide to the supplementary materials upon which you should be focusing as you read each chapter and the assignments that you are required to submit as evidence of your learning.
[pre-course | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | btw 4-5 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12]
Before Course Begins:
- thoroughly review the course syllabus
- order the textbook (make sure you get the specific edition identified in the course syllabus ... this is NOT flexible)
- complete the pre-course online survey, including the following information:
- your musical and technology background
- your favorite rock artists and those you believe to be most influential
- explore the rock history web site at: http://lipscomb.umn.edu/rock/ ... of particular interest are the links you will find under the following headings near the top of the home page: "Introductory Materials" and "Practice Developing Your Music Listening Skills"
- you absolutely must make sure that you have all of the necessary plug-ins for your internet browser ... a link to each of these is available from the "Using this Web Site" page, the rest of which explains clearly the formatting and symbols used across the entire site
- while you are doing this, it would also be a good time to look ahead in the semester to the assignments that will be due toward the end of class, which you can do by reviewing the Schedule of Assignments section of the course syllabus. One assignment that will require advance planning is the Music Performance Report, described in the course syllabus and also in the FAQ. You will need to plan ahead to see a peformance during the period specified in these documents. I have provided a resource on the Moodle site, providing some links to useful online resources for finding musical performacnes in the Twin Cities area (see the links under the heading "Musical Performances in the Twin Cities area"). Please note that you DO NOT have to go to an expensive, ticketed event at one of the major arenas in the region; rather, you can attend a free, outdoor concert or, if you are of appropriate age, you can base your report on music perfomed in a nightclub ... it just has to be music that fits into our broad definition of "rock" (see chapter 1 in the textbook).
- once you have been assigned to a group and Dr. L has provided email addresses, contact your fellow group members to establish preferred (and reliable) means of communication for use as you collaborate on the various group assignments throughout the course
- because group work will constitute a significant portion of the graded work in this class, please carefully review the sections of the syllabus related to the course grade calculation and the "Helping Behavior" score; also, carefully review the Peer Evaluation form, revealing information that all group members will provide at the end of the semester to assess contributions made by every other member of their group; this information will be collected via an online survey, and Dr. L will send each student the web address for that form at the approprite time
- keep this information handy:
- Help Desk support staff at (612) 301-4357 (1-HELP on campus) ... while I am happy to assist you with questions about course content, these individuals will be much more proficient helping you with any technology-related challenges you may face
PLEASE NOTE: There may be some slight variation concerning due dates for some chapters, due to the fact that a holiday (e.g., Memorial Day) occurs during the time of our course. Please use the SYLLABUS, as your main resource concerning the due dates for assignments during your enrollment. Regardless of any such variation, the following information will be helpful to keep you on track toward successful completion of course requirements.
Chapter 1
- explore the Moodle site accessible, directly accessible at:
http://moodle.umn.edu
- make sure you review the complete content of the course Moodle home page ... as the semester progresses more topics and forums will appear
- read Ch. 1 of textbook
- concurrently, peruse the Ch. 1 area of the rock web site for supplementary information about the pre-rock era & musical influences
- the web site also provides links to the required & supplementary listening examples; while reading through Ch. 1 is the ideal time to complete your Listening Journal for this chapter.
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- read Ch. 19 of textbook
- NOTE: the reason I want you to read Ch. 19 at the beginning is because it provides an editorial, so that you gain a better understanding of the perspective provided by the authors ... this is information that is helpful as you read the text, so I don't like it being at the end!
- complete Group Definition assignment (this assignment has both individual and group components)
- instructions for all individual and group assignments (sometimes quite detailed) are provided on the Moodle site; simply click on the assignment to display these instructions
- for all group assignments, I have created a Discussion area in Moodle to which only members of your group have access; just click on the assignment title to access the group area. I encourage you to use this area to share your thoughts with one another as you collaborate on a definition ... this will be your "test drive" of the online system. Be patient as you learn to work collaboratively together toward your mutually shared goals!!
- you will also find a group-specific "chat" area accessible in the Group Assignments area of Moodle, if you prefer synchronous communication ("chat") to asynchonous communication ("discussion forum")
- once you have completed your group assignment, select one member of your group to upload the final consensus submission to the appropriate topic in a separate forum under the Group Assignments area labeled "FINAL Group Assignment Submission Forum"
- this is how all group assignments will be submitted throughout the semester, except for the group presentations, which will be uploaded via the appropriate topic under the Group Presentations area
Chapter 2
NOTE: as you read textbook chapters, you would be well advised to have a copy of the appropriate Study Guide (either for Exam #1 and for Exam #2) handy as you read. These will help you gather information that will undoubtedly be useful to you as you prepare for these tests.
- read Ch. 2 of textbook
- concurrently, peruse the Ch. 2 area of the rock web site for supplementary information and complete the Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- as you review the materials, you will want to complete your Listening Journal entries for Ch. 2
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- after reading the chapter, return to the Musical Close-Up on "The Elements of Music" (pp. 10-16)
- make sure that you understand all of the musical concepts and vocabulary presented in these pages ... if not, visit Dr. L during virtual office hours to ask questions and gain clarity
- while you're at it, take some time to review the Musical Close-Up on "Instrumentation in Rock and Roll;" there is an associated page on the web site to provide examples of the sounds of many of the instruments described
- using Skype, iChat, Facebook, or some other form of video conference or social media, take some time to get to know your fellow group members ... this will make working together much more productive, I assure you!
- make use of your developing friendships to discuss the similarities and differences between the three primary musical styles leading to the emergence of rock and roll: Pop, C&W, and R&B. You should listen to the required musical examples in each category (linked in the preceeding sentence) and use these as a basis for your list of musical elements. Select one of your group members (a different one from the person who submitted the definition yesterday) to submit your group list of similarities and differences to the Group Assignments area
- submit the "Turn Me On" assignment
Chapter 3
- read ch. 3 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- read Wadham (2002); make sure to take advantage of the musical examples provided
- after reading, submit the associated reading reflection to the Individual Assignment area of Moodle ... before submitting the reflection, make sure to carefully review the requirements provided in the dedicated paragraph of the course syllabus. To earn credit, these submissions must be in the two-paragraph format described
- RECOMMENDATION: I strongly recommend that, rather than typing your reflection text directly into the Moodle forum, you type the content into your favorite word processing program (Word, Pages, OpenOffice, GoogleDocs, etc.), then - when complete - save the file to your computer hard drive, then copy-and-paste the content into the Moodle forum; this will minimize the possibility that you will lose your work due to your browser crashing, a computer malfunction, or some other technology-related tragedy [see this document for important information related to pasting information from Microsoft Word]
- while on this topic, it would be difficult to overstate the general importance of backing up your computer files; for this course, I strongly recommend purchasing a 2GB or 4GB flash drive onto which you copy each of your assignments as you complete them (should your computer hard drive freeze) ... for larger projects (e.g., Listening Journal, group presentations, etc.), I would recommend backing them up nightly or at least as you complete a significant portion of the work, like a chapter in the Listening Journal
- learn about, explore, and begin to hear the 12-bar blues form
- review the Musical Close-Up on "The 12-bar Blues" (pp. 24-27)
- listen to the examples provided on The Blues page (you will need to understand how to use the media player that loads when you click the "Listen" graphic; instructions can be found on the "Using This Web Site" page)
- listen specifically to the example labeled "Elvis Presley (one chorus) - Hound Dog" ... and pay close attention to the background vocals sung by the Jordanaires (Elvis's backup vocalists); if you listen carefully, you can hear when the chords change within the 12-bar blues structure when the notes of the voices move ... listen to this 3-5 times (or more) until you have it clearly in your ears, then ...
- listen to the entire "Hound Dog" recording and see if you can follow the 12-bar blues form throughout
- listen to more examples of the 12-bar blues found on this page or access the "12-bar blues" page, where you will find dozens of additional examples with a handy little interactive listening guide ... notice that you can click on any of the chord symbols (I, IV or V) to initiate playback from that point; you can also drag the slider at the bottom of the window to move through the piece
Chapter 4
- read ch. 4 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter.
- you should be able to distinguish between the various categories of rock you have read about: Pop, C&W, R&B, soft rock, rockabilly, and mainstream rock ... another type of item for possible inclusion in the listening portion of the exams
- begin to develop an understanding of musical texture
- re-read the brief introduction to musical texture on pp. 14-15 of the textbook to facilitate your ability to understand the difference between monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic textures
- review the content of the "Examples of Musical Texture" page on the rock web site, especially the set of questions at the top of the page that will assist you in determining which texture is present within a given section of a song
- now, listen carefully to each of the musical examples on this web page to begin to match your academic understanding of the various musical textures with specific aural examples of each
- AABA form
- re-read the brief introduction to musical form on pp. 15-16 of the textbook to facilitate your ability to understand the way that music is organized
- review the Musical Close-Up for this chapter ("Is Soft Rock Really Rock?") ... pay close attention to the sections that discuss the I-vi-IV-V progression (p. 64) and the AABA form (pp. 65-66)
- after reading this, listen to "Earth Angel" by the Penguins and really try to hear the AABA form
- next, review some of the many other examples of AABA form available on the rock web site
- notice that these interactive movies allow you to click on the "A" and "B" sections to start the musical sound at a specific location within the song, allowing an immediate comparison of the various "A" sections to one another and then to the "B" section
Between Ch. 4 & Ch. 5 - Additional listening Skill Development
- begin to develop an understanding of the concepts of "meter" and "beat subdivision"
- review the information about "rhythm" presented in chapter 2 of the textbook (Musical Close-Up: The Elements of Music) and the Musical Close-Up about "Rhythm in Early Rock and Roll," which deals specifically with meter and beat subdivision
- join Dr. L during any of his office hours if you need help in understanding or hearing these aspects of musical sound ... remember, there will be a listening component on each of the exams and you can count on having one or two items that will require you to identify meter & beat subdivision
- access the many listening examples on the "Meter and Beat Subdivisions" page on the rock web site
- begin by listening to the top three examples (Only You, Great Pretender, and Layla) ... notice that the meter is the same for both, but the subdivision is different (the first one for each example has a duple subdivision while the second has a triple subdivision). The intention is to provide clear examples that distinguishes these two primary types of beat subdivision, so you can begin hearing it clearly in all of the music you hear.
- after you have listened to these six examples, click on any of the icons in the extensive list below to hear a variety of musical examples and see animations to assist you in following the musical sound and differentiating between duple & triple meter and duple & triple beat subdivision
- developing further understanding of the representation of musical form
- when considering musical sound, there are three primary things that can happen at the conclusion of a musical idea or section:
- repetition: the same musical idea - or something very similar - can begin again
- remember, in this case we are talking about the music, not the lyrics ... the music can remain essentially the same, even if the lyrics change
- contrast: a different - perhaps new - musical idea can occur
- variation: an idea similar to one that had previously occurred, but with enough about it different, so that it deserves distinction from a mere repetition
- music theorists and musicologists use a highly uncreative way to represent various sections
- for the first musical idea heard, these researchers simply assign a letter ... the first musical idea is labeled "A," the second musical idea is labeled "B," and I bet - even if you have no musical training at all - you can guess what the third musical idea might be labeled (Answer: "C") ... and so on
- as described above, when a new musical idea ("contrast") is encountered, the next unused letter is assigned
- a repetition of any section is assigned the same letter as the initial occurrence of that musical idea
- a variation of any section is assigned the same letter as the initial occurrence of that musical idea but with an apostrophe added: A' or B'
- as we work our way through the textbook, you will find that we can refer to
- macrostructure: larger form elements (like sections of a song or composition: verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) ... labeled using uppercase letters (A, B, C, ...)
- microstructure: small sections within the macrostructure (phrases, subsections, etc.) ... labeled using lowercase letters (a, b, c, ...)
... you'll learn more about this later as we exam musical form further in Chapter 8.
- if you have not already done so, it is time discuss with your group how you will approach your brief group presentation on the topic assigned by Dr. L. Carefully review the instructions provided online and the rubric to be used in evaluating the work (brief | final), both of which are available - along with lots other important information on the Essential Course Materials page
- while you're at it - though not yet due - it is worth considering what topic your group would like to choose for the Final Group Presentation, since these are approved on a first-come, first-served basis; inform Dr. L when you have decided on a group or artist
Chapter 5
- read ch. 5 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter.
- read Garofalo (2002) and submit the reading reflection assignment, carefully following the requirements stated in the syllabus; make sure to take advantage of the musical examples provided
- carry out your independent research for the Brief Group Presentation and submit information you discover to your group via the forum the Group Assignments areas of the Moodle site
- during the brief period between now and the presentation due date, you and your fellow group members will need to review all information submitted by each individual, determine the most significant information, and thoroughly organize the information to be presented. The information - along with photographs, images, and other media - will then need to be incorporated into a presentation file (PowerPoint, Keynote, GoogleDocs, etc.) for submission
NOTE: I strongly recommend that you NOT insert sound files or movies directly into the presentation, because this can (a) make the presentation file incredibly large and difficult to upload and (b) such media files are typically linked to files on your computer rather than being embedded in the presentation (this means that when the instructor or other students attempt to play the files, they will not be found).
Instead, provide links to YouTube or other online sources where the media can be found.
- complete the "Musical Texture in the Music of the Beach Boys" group assignment; VERY IMPORTANT: for this task - and your long-term learning experience - it is important that you use your ears to accomplish this task rather than merely restating what the book might tell you about this song. You will be asked to identify musical textures in the listening portion of the two exams, so you need to develop the ability to discriminate between the various monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic textures
- first listen to the entire song "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys ... the issue of musical texture is relevant throughout all styles and eras of music and the Beach Boys exemplify its use, so they are a perfect band upon which to focus as we develop these skills
- using the interactive QuickTime movie found on this web page (containing the title "Good Vibrations" and different colored "bubbles"), listen to the various sections of the piece ... there are ten sections, each represented by an individual "bubble" (or arch). Make sure to click on the toggle rectangle in the upper right corner labeled "Play clicked section only," so playback will stop at the end of each section.[NOTE: for some weird reason, the setting of this checkbox does not register the first time you click a bubble [this is a "bug" for which I have not yet discovered a solution], so when you click the first time, just click twice.]
- number a piece of paper (or create a word processing document) from 1 to 10, then click on the colored bubbles one at a time from the beginning to end of the piece, reporting your perception of the musical texture within each of these ten sections of the song. NOTE: the texture may change (sometimes numerous times) within a given section
- post your individual perception of the changing textures throughout this song to the group forum for this assignment, then begin a dialogue with your fellow group members about the various interpretations of musical texture within this song, formulating a group consensus for the identification of musical textures
- as with all group assignments, elect one group member to post the group's final consensus report concerning the musical textures present in this amazing song
- now, begin to identify musical textures as they occur in some of your favorite music ... and begin to use your listening journal as an opportunity to test your skill at identifying this aspect of the musical sound
- in fact, by now, you should have begun to consistenly attempt to identify meter, beat subdivision, and musical texture for each entry in your listening journal ... remember, there will be listening examples in the exams you will take!
Chapter 6
- read ch. 6 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter.
- the Musical Close-Up for this chapter is extremely detailed and focused on musical elements; this is important because the Beatles pushed the boundaries on each of these and redefined rock music.
- read along with the text as you listen to many of the musical examples illustrating the points made in the text
- there is a lot to absorb here ... if you feel challenged, I strongly advise you to join me in one of my virtual office hours to seek clarification
- submit Listening Journal for check #1 by the appointed time on the due date
- read Harrison (1997) and submit the reading reflection assignment, carefully following the requirements stated in the syllabus; make sure to take advantage of the musical examples provided
- NOTE: this article uses a lot of musical terminology and gets into some pretty low-level details about the music (including many figures with musical notation) ... don't worry about the minutiae, just get what you can out of the article and report this in your reflection; one thing about which I want you all to be aware is that there is a significant amount of impressive scholarship focused on rock music, as evidenced by this reading and the final one (whether you choose Boone [1997] or Covach [1997])
- submit your Brief Group Presentation by the specified due date; before doing so, go through one last time with all of your fellow group members to ensure that the presentation meets all of the requirements and expectations stated in the Group Presentation Instructions for the brief presentation; no musical analysis is required (this is only for the final presentation).
- it is extremely important that you allow yourselves time to review the final version of your presentation prior to submission to catch any typographical errors, eliminate unnecessary redundancy, and otherwise clean up your presentation for submission
- one of the primary mistakes groups make is to provide one group member a set of separate slides from each group member to compile and submit on the group's behalf ... this is not an effective method, since parceling the work out in this way often results in poorly organized, repetitive presentations. Every group member is responsible for reviewing the final draft prior to submission ... don't forget to review the evaluation rubric to ensure that you earn full credit!
- confirm your understanding of musical texture by carefully reading the Musical Close-Up for this chapter (pp. 79-83); compare with your group's own interpretation of the changing musical textures in "Good Vibrations" (the group assignment previously submitted) and with Dr. L's own interpretation (using the link sent to you via email)
Chapter 7
- read ch. 7 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- after reading the Musical Close-Up (focusing on the musical style of the Rolling Stones), compare their use of musical form and chord progressions (the graphics on pp. 131-135) to that of the Beatles specified in the "Harmony and Tonality" and "Form" sections of the Musical Close-Up for Ch. 6 (pp. 107-116)
- in the representation of these chord progressions, note that an asterisk (*) is used to identify chords that contain notes that are outside the key of the song ("chromatic tones")
- you will find *many* more of these interestingly surprising chords in the music of the Beatles than that of the Rolling Stones
- it is important to understand that "more complex" (an objective evaluation) does not always - or even necessarily - mean "better" (a subjective evaluation) ... but it is one factor we must keep in mind when we consider the music of such a wide array of styles and artists throughout this semester.
- in addition to creating and submitting your own presentation, you are required to evaluate each of the group presentations created by groups other than your own
- presentation files will be made available in both the native format (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) and PDFs, for those who might not have the necessary software installed to view the native version
- files will be posted to: the Essential Course Materials page; just click on the desired file type and the presentation will open (or download to your computer)
- you are required to use the evaluation rubric provided
- submit your evaluations by the specified deadline using the online form linked from the Moodle instructions for this assignment
- a quick note about this assignment ... this evaluation process is not merely "busy work" intended to add yet another graded assignment for you to complete; rather, it is a task that I incorporate for a number of practical reasons:
- you will learn a significant amount about the rock bands/artists as a result of the research carried out by students assigned to other groups in the class
- using the rubric to evaluate work by other groups will help to direct your attention to the specific criteria I use to grade the presentations; since this brief presentation is essentially a "warm-up" for the final presentation (note the percentage counted toward the grade for each in the "Grading" section of the course syllabus), it will assist you and your group members as you begin to research and prepare that final - and much more detailed and high-stakes - presentation
- the process of evaluation requires high level cognitive abilities and critical thinking skills ... a direct application of your learning to the evaluation of work by your peers
- collaborate with your group to complete the Timeline for Final Presentation form (PDF | Word); ways to submit to Moodle:
- based on input from all group members, one representative of your group may complete the form by hand using the PDF, scan the document, then upload to Moodle
- same method as above, but use the Word version and type the information directly into the document, save, then upload to Moodle
Chapter 8
- complete Exam #1 [link to be provided on the day of the exam, accessible via Moodle under the "Course Exams" topic]
- the exam will be available to your for the complete 24-hour period on the date of the exam (from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.)
- once you begin the exam, you will be provided a 2-hour period within which to complete the entire exam, though it should actually take you quite a bit less time than this
- you have only one opportunity to take the exam; if you do not do as well as you like, you will not be able to try a second attempt
- the exam is "open world" (you may use your textbook, the Internet, or any other resources at your disposal), but you must work independently (you may not have another student or friend help you)
- read ch. 8 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- review the important information about musical form contained in the Musical Close-Up for this chapter (pp. 148-152) and make sure that you understand the meaning of "strophic form" and "verse-chorus" form
- play all musical examples on the "Review Musical Forms" page of the rock web site and attempt to hear the musical structure (repetition, contrast, and variation) inherent in each song, focusing on the microstructure elements of the form
- initially, focus specifically on the interactive multimedia (Flash and Shockwave movies) that allow you to follow the microstructure within each strophe as the music plays; after you have internalized this sound, listen to the entire song (available by clicking on the "Listen" icon) to see if you can follow the musical form across strophes within a strophic form (or while following the overall structure in songs with the verse-chorus form)
- locate a current events article on a topic about which you are passionate, then complete the individual part of the Protest Song Lyrics assignment
- work collaboratively with your group to compose lyrics for a Protest song, carefully following the instructions provided under the Group Assignment topic in Moodle
- your song should include 3-4 strophes (stanzas)
- you must identify the musical form (microstructure) within the lyrics, using lowercase letters at the beginning of every line of each stroph
- meet all requirements specified in the instructions
- select one group member to submit the final lyrics on behalf of the group
- make sure you are caught up on your Listening Journal entries ... the due date for the 2nd check is fast approaching
Chapter 9
- though not due until the final day of class, you will want to begin thinking about how to finish & submit the final three individual assignments: Favorite Song, Textbook Discography Critique, and Musical Performance Report, which can be submitted any time between now and the last day of class
- IMPORTANT: the musical performance report must describe a performance seen between now and the end of the semester ... see the FAQ for a clearly stated rationale
- read ch. 9 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- review the Musical Close-Up focused on "Melody and the Soul Singer" while listening to the associated musical examples available on the rock web site
- follow the AABA form of "What a Friend"(pp. 170-171) and listen to the use of blue notes and melisma in Aretha's singing style
- submit Listening Journal for check #2 by the appointed time on the due date
- complete the group assignment comparing Soul & Motown; detailed instructions are provided in the Moodle forum dedicated to this task
- carry out your independent research for the Final Group Presentation and submit information you discover to your group via the forum the Group Assignments areas of the Moodle site
- during the brief period between now and the presentation due date, you and your fellow group members will need to review all information submitted by each individual, determine the most significant information, and thoroughly organize the information to be presented. Read carefully thtrough the group presentation instructions and evaluation rubric, so that all requirements are met ... don't forget that, unlike the previous Brief Presentation, the Final Presentation includes a very important musical analysis component, allowing you to demonstrate your developing musical listening skills.
Chapter 10
- read ch. 10 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- carefully read through the Musical Close-Up on "The Art of Improvisation"
- clarify your understanding of "vertical organization," "horizontal organization," and what is meant by "shaping" an improvised solo
- decide whether you would prefer to read about the music of the Grateful Dead (Boone, 1997) or Yes (Covach, 1997); read the chosen supplementary reading, then submit the reading reflection assignment, carefully following the requirements stated in the syllabus; make sure to take advantage of the musical examples provided (Grateful Dead | Yes)
- NOTE: Like Harrison (1997), the most recent previous reading you reflected upon, this article uses a lot of musical terminology and gets into some pretty low-level details about the music (including many figures with musical notation) ... don't worry about the minutiae, just get what you can out of the article and report this in your reflection; remember that one thing about which I want you all to be aware is that there is a significant amount of impressive scholarship focused on rock music, as evidenced by these readings
Early Rock Music Festivals:
- watch several of the videos from the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969), as these provide true insight into the amazing musical and social experiences such festivals constituted during this period of "flower power" and "free love" (WARNING: you may see some explicit images in these collections of photos and videos)
- to confirm the difference between Woodstock (August 1969) and the tragedy at Altamont (December 1969; described in Ch. 7), watch the following videos:
- Woodstock:
- Altamont
- extended excerpt: Jefferson Airplane plays (things begin to get out of hand), the Dead arrive, and the Stones take the stage
- 2nd excerpt: Stones transition from "Sympathy" to "Under My Thumb" ... during the mayhem, Meredith Hunter is stabbed by members of the Hell's Angels
- once Dr. L has posted the performances of protest songs based on student-composed lyrics, submit your comments via the link provided on Moodle
- make sure you are nearing completion of your Final Group Presentation, since the due date is fast approaching
Chapter 11
- check your progress toward completion of those last three individual assignments due on the last day of class ... don't forget about them!
- read ch. 11 of textbook
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for this chapter
- complete Listening Journal entries for this chapter
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with this chapter
- the Musical Close-Ups for the last two chapters will require significant effort on your part, but I have attempted to provide useful interactive online media that will facilitate this process; for this chapter, you should do the following ...
- using the interactive movies available on the rock web site, listen carefully to both versions of Sympathy/Symphony as you follow along with the lyrics (Rolling Stones) and my commentary (BS&T)
- Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (- listening guide)
- Blood, Sweat & Tears - Sympathy for the Devil/Symphony for the Devil (- listening guide)
- now, re-read the text of the Musical Close-Up (pp. 199-204) as you follow along with the various sections of the interactive listening guide for the Blood, Sweat & Tears version of the composition ... are you beginning to hear some of those things you missed in the blur of reading through the first time?
- submit Final Group Presentation by the specified due date; before doing so, go through one last time with all of your fellow group members to ensure that the presentation meets all of the requirements and expectations stated in the Group Presentation Instructions for the final presentation; remember that the final presentation requires a musical analysis
- don't let careless typos or unnecessary repetition cause your grade on this presentation to be lowered
- make sure you are caught up on your Listening Journal entries ... the due date for the final check is fast approaching
Chapter 12
- read ch. 12 of textbook and re-read Ch. 19
- concurrently peruse the online supplementary material for chapter 12
- complete Listening Journal entries for Ch. 12
- find answers to Study Guide questions associated with these chapters
- as mentioned above, the Musical Close-Up for this chapter too is quite challenging, but truly represents one of the most incredible contributions to the history of rock music up through the period covered by this course, exemplifying the "sixth approach" (as described in the textbook) to combining rock and classical music
- after an initial reading of the Musical Close-Up (pp. 220-226), view the interactive movie below; you will want to get comfortable, but prepare for a focused listening of this truly amazing composition which was conceived in three separate movements (like a classical concerto or symphony). The entire composition is almost 30 minutes in duration, but it is extremely important that you listen carefully from beginning to end while reading the commentary I provide to gain the full benefit of the experience.
Karn Evil 9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- after listening to the entire composition, review the text of the Musical Close-Up to see whether it makes more sense to you now
- like BS&T's "Sympathy for the Devil/Symphony for the Devil" discussed in Ch. 11, this is definitely a piece to which you will need to return for repeated listening to get all there is to absorb from the experience; NOTE: I have heard it close to a hundred times now ... and I still hear something new every time!
- complete Exam #2 [link to be provided on the day of the exam, accessible via Moodle under the "Course Exams" topic]
- the exam will be available to you for the complete 24-hour period on the date of the exam (from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.)
- once you begin the exam, you will be provided a 2 1/2-hour period within which to complete the entire exam, though it should actually take you quite a bit less time than this
- you have only one opportunity to take the exam; if you do not do as well as you like, you will not be able to try a second attempt
- the exam is "open world" (you may use your textbook, the Internet, or any other resources at your disposal), but you must work independently (you may not have another student or friend help you)
- like with the Brief Presentations, you are required to evaluate each of the group presentations created by groups other than your own
- again, the presentation files will be made available to you in both the native format (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) and PDFs, for those who might not have the necessary software installed to view the presentations in their native format
- files will be posted to: the Essential Course Materials page; just click on the desired file type and it should open (or download to your computer)
- you are required to use the evaluation rubric provided
- submit your evaluations by the specified deadline using the online form linked from the Moodle instructions for this assignment
- submit Listening Journal for check #3 by the appointed time on the due date
- if you have not done so already, submit the final three Individual Assignments: Favorite Song, Textbook Discography Critique, and Musical Performance Report
- finally, complete the "Last Day Survey" by clicking on the appropriate link in the Individual Assignments area of the course Moodle site
That's it ... if you have followed these instructions carefully and consistently, you have now completed all course requirements. I hope you have enjoyed th process and, most importantly, I hope that you are listening to music - all types of music - with more active attention and in a more informed way than ever before. Congratulations!!
[pre-course | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | btw 4-5 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12]
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