LISTENING REFLECTION REPORT: Details

profileMILLICENTCONTEH
INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

SPR, 2021 1

MUL2010 Listening Reflection Report: Musical Perceptions and Research Word Count: 1100-1250 words (not including the title page or list of references)

Your Task: See the “LIST of MUSIC WORKS” located on Canvas in the “LISTENING REFLECTION REPORT: Details” page.

Choose one work from Group A and one from Group B.

Your task is to write a report presenting your focused listening reflection for your two chosen musical works. You will present two separate analyses of your chosen works and then write a comparison of the two works at the end of your report. You’ll need to listen to each of your chosen works many times.

• Find the required “List of Musical Works” for this report in the link called “LISTENING REFLECTION REPORT: Details”.

• Listen to and watch the performance of the works to make your choice. Links to YouTube performances are provided with each of the listed works.

• Also, audio recordings of each of the works can be found in the indicated sections of the textbook on CONNECT. o The corresponding textbook sections are identified with the musical examples

in the list.

Follow the writing instructions below.

NOTE: If you choose a song (a work performed by one or more vocalists): 1. Pay attention to both the vocal and instrumental parts as they are performed.

o Think about the two parts as separate musical materials and also, most importantly, how they inter-relate (work together).

2. Pay attention to the words or lyrics, even if the words aren’t in English. o Review the translation of the words in the textbook, or locate the translation

by researching online. o Consider how the words relate to the musical elements. o Present this analysis in the technical discussion in the Musical Plane section.

Writing your Report:

w This assignment will not be in essay format. w For EACH of your chosen works, organize your report using the following headers to

identify each of these sections: First Impression, Musical Plane, Expressive Plane, History and Research.

SPR, 2021 2

o Review the information pertaining to the essay “Copland: The Three Planes of Listening" for more details about the Musical and Expressive Planes.

o This information is located on Canvas in Module 2. w Comparison/Contrast section should be presented at the end of your report, after the

two musical works’ analyses. w Approximate word count percentages are provided to give you an idea of relative

section lengths, but these are only approximations and are somewhat flexible. w Your references list should be presented after the Comparison/Contrast section. Use

MLA style.

Reflection Analysis For __(Choice A)___ (<< Identify the specific work you’ve chosen as a header for the analysis for that work.)

• First Impression: (word count: 5% x 2 = 10%) DO NOT include research here! This discussion should briefly examine the first impressions you had of the music, just as you have a first impression when meeting a person for the first time. Your later opinions of the work could be very different from your immediate first impressions. When you heard the music for the first time, what did you think about it? What did it remind you of? Of the four sections, this one should be shortest.

• Musical Plane: (word count: 10% x 2 = 20%)

DO NOT include research here! This section focuses on the technical features of the musical work and must demonstrate your own listening skills only, not externally sourced ideas that come from someplace else, such as a book, online site, reviews, or other listeners. {I know the research material and can tell when you’re using someone else’s ideas.} Rely on your own listening skills, not someone else’s. Your goal here is to show me that you are listening to the entire work and thinking about the musical elements that you hear.

For this section, focusing on a technical description of the musical work, listen to the music and identify the musical elements you hear. Demonstrate your own listening skills and technical knowledge. You’ll need to listen to the work more than once. Apply the terms you have studied in your textbook, but be sure the terms you apply are appropriate and accurate (Review Textbook: Part 1). Discuss at least three of the following six technical areas (though you can discuss more). You can refer to parts of the work using the recording’s time code or refer to the work’s beginning, middle or end. For more about these topics, review the information in your textbook.

SPR, 2021 3

o Instrumentation: What type of ensemble is performing this work (i.e., orchestra, concert band, chorus, soloist)? Identify the specific instruments/voice types that are used in the work. Where in the work did these instruments appear? Which instruments stood out most in the work as you listened to it?

o Melody or themes/motives: Is there a main melody? Is it a long phrase or is it a short pattern (a motive)? Think about the melodic contour or shape of this melody/motive. Is it conjunct (linear and smooth, with small intervals between the pitches) or is it disjunct (angular, with wider leaps and wide intervals between the pitches) or is it a combination of these? Does the main melodic themes/motives recur? Could you describe the form of the work based on the repeating sections that you hear?

o Harmony/Scale: Does the work focus primarily on major or minor feel or is there a combination (Is it primarily one or the other or do you hear the work shifting between major and minor)?

o Tempo and Meter and Rhythm: Is the work fast, moderate, or slow? Does the tempo change? Where does this happen? Does the work have a clear pulse/beat? Can you tell whether the work is a duple or triple meter? How would you describe the rhythmic aspects of the work: Is it syncopated? To what extent: highly or moderately? Or is the melody not very rhythmic? (“Rhythm” doesn’t refer to whether the work has percussion instruments.)

o Dynamics: Consider the loudness and softness (volume) of the work--Is the work generally one volume (soft, moderately soft or loud) or do the dynamics change? Are there places where the work crescendos and decrescendos? Does the work build up to a climax (an intense/exciting pinnacle) once or several times? Or is the work not overly intense (in other words, it’s low-key, restrained) throughout? Where in the music do these dynamics occur?

o Texture: Would you describe the texture of the music as thick or thin? Based on what musical features? Or does the texture change throughout the work? Is it monophonic, homophonic, heterophonic, or are these different textures used in different parts of the work?

• Expressive Plane: (word count: 10% x 2 = 20%)

DO NOT include research here! This section, presenting an emotional and imaginative description, is more in-depth than the First Impression section. Here, you’ll discuss what you feel and think about as you listen to the music additional times. Address this question: What comes to mind (what do you think of, feel, imagine) as you listen to the music? Identify your own emotional/imaginative experience as the work unfolds. Link your ideas to specific musical features as it proceeds. Also, be comprehensive: think through the entire work of music and make connections between your ideas and what you hear.

SPR, 2021 4

Again, your goal here is to show me that you are listening to the entire work and thinking about the musical features that you hear. Describe your personal experience of the music and provide subjective inferences about the music. Describe how the music makes your feel, or what images you think of while listening. For instance, discuss what you think is the most interesting section, most beautiful, the saddest, the happiest, most inspiring, etc. and why. This can be a tricky discussion, because you’ll need to be able to explain to your reader which sections of the music are affecting you and inspiring you in different ways. Make an effort to explain what it is about the music that resulted in those ideas. You could make links between the technical features of the music (from the previous section) and the effects they have on you. However, the focus of this discussion is making connections between the music you hear and the emotions and ideas that the music creates in you.

• History and Research: (word count: 20% x 2 = 40%)

This is the only section where research is allowed. Conduct relevant research presenting the context for the musical work. I’m less interested in the composer’s biography and more interested in information about the composer’s musical work. Be sure to focus on the genre of music that you have chosen. For instance, if you chose a Mozart Symphony for your Listening Reflection, then your background research should focus more on Mozart’s work as a symphonic composer, rather than his expertise in opera and piano composition. Discuss why the work (or why the composer’s work with this type of music) is important. Referencing Style: Use MLA style.

o For more help, see the Research Citation Resources module under “Assignment” in Canvas.

o In-text citations: For this researched information, you’ll need to cite the sources you use in this section. Don’t just rely on your textbook or on Wikipedia. Use research sourced from the Library to help you with this material. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Any details or information you are using needs to have an indicated source. Phrases that you quote should have quotations marks around them (“ “). Cite your sources correctly in the text of your report and in a Works Cited list of references at the end of the report.

Resources: o Use at least two relevant references.

§ Do not use your textbook. That isn’t research. Your task is to explore and locate relevant information apart from the text.

SPR, 2021 5

§ Do not simply rely on a site such as www.biography.com for this section. This website focuses just on biographical details. I’m interested in seeing your research on the musical information as well!

o An excellent printed resource that provides biographical and musical information is available on the shelf in the FSCJ Library: The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians (ML100 .H36 1999)

o Here's another resource for some in-depth composer biographies: https://www.naxos.com/composerlist.asp?composer_id=A&show= all&composer=Classical%20Composer

Write up the above Reflection Analysis for both of your chosen works. THEN, write this final section about the two works together:

• Comparison/Contrast: (word count: 10%) Finally, this section is a discussion of the similarities and differences between the two works. Consider especially the key findings you presented in your previous discussions (especially the Musical Plane and Historical Research sections) to identify key features of similarity and difference. Consider the following ideas:

o Identify and describe any characteristics that are similar. Identify and describe any characteristics that are different. Explain these similarities and differences. § Identify even the obvious similarities and differences. § Focus on the music. Don’t discuss the composers’ biographies.

o The fact that the two works were written in different eras is not a useful point to identify. The assignment has been set up to establish that difference already.

Answer these questions too: o Did your ideas about the works change after you listened to them more

than once—or perhaps after you did more research about the works or about their composers?

o Which work do you like more? (You must choose.) Why do you like it? What captured your attention and/or emotions in this work? Explain!

For more help with this assignment, see the Student Listening Reflection Report Examples located on Canvas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VOCABULARY NOTES:

• SONG: Use this word correctly! Not every piece of music is a song. (This is iTune’s fault!) When identifying and discussing your chosen musical works, be sure to refer to them and to their sections accurately. Do not use the term “song”

SPR, 2021 6

when discussing a piece of music, unless it actually is a song (a work that is sung). Use other terms: musical work, piece, composition, movement, section, choral work, aria, etc. You can describe an instrument as having a “singing” or “song-like” quality, but be sure to explain what you mean.

• EFFECT vs AFFECT: These are spelled differently because they are different words. Review the different meanings and usage of the words “effect” and “affect”: For instance, music can affect you or it can have an effect on you. Also, just as there are sound effects, there are such things as musical effects (such as wind sounds, produced by violin tremolos, or thunder produced by drums). Try to use these words correctly.

DUE DATE FOR THE REPORT will be 11:59 PM Eastern Time, as noted on the Calendar of Activities (see the information on Canvas).

• Submit your completed report through the submission portal on Canvas. • Do not email the assignment to your instructor. • Keep a copy for yourself just in case your assignment is lost or didn’t go through.

Check your file on Canvas to make sure it uploaded correctly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choose your TWO Musical Works for this report. SEE the LIST of WORKS located on Canvas.