Music

In their article, Hesmondhalgh and Maier discuss a long-standing concern of musicians and music audiences — the efforts of musicians for “autonomy,” “independence” and/or “the alternative.”  They discuss some of the historical context of this struggle for “greater levels of institutional and aesthetic autonomy from corporate commercial aesthetics, and from financialized neo-liberal capitalism” (Hesmondhalgh and Maier, 2015:12). Write at least 600 words and discuss. First, consider and reference how the authors define each of these key words (ie. alternative, autonomy, independent). You will also have to define financialized neo-liberal capitalism. Then consider this dynamic with regard to one set or scene of musicians –ie. how are/were the musicians trying to achieve institutional and aesthetic autonomy? What are the prospects in the current era?

Choose one of the 3 topics given in the assignment file and write a 800-1000 word essay on the topic. Please support your points with scenes from a film

Your topic should be both substantive and defensible. That means that what you are writing about is meaningful and that you can argue a position. As you write, consider the following questions to guide you. Some of these you may need to answer explicitly in your paper, while others may only help you in the pre-writing phase. I am not grading you based on these being explicitly answered in your paper and these should not be a template for your paper’s format. 1.     Why is this question important? Who benefits from this knowledge? 2.     What style(s) of popular music are most impacted by what you are studying? Are certain musicians/fans/people more impacted than others and why? 3.     What is musically important to your discussion? Think about the terms and concepts discussed in class to help answer your research question. 4.     What non-musical concepts are important to your argument? *Your final bibliography MUST ALSO INCLUDE all recordings you mention in your paper. Cite the original album and where you found it (Youtube, Spotify, etc). Many times, musicians record a piece more than once, and I need to know which recording you’re talking about. This deadline only concerns written sources. @Wikipedia is awesome, but it does not belong in your bibliography. Frequently those articles are written by experts and they include a lot of good sources in their bibliography. The sources cited on Wikipedia DO belong in your bibliography! Wikipedia is a great starting point for your research, but it must go farther.  Formatting: Papers should be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with margins a MAXIMUM of 1” and spacing a MAXIMUM of 1.5. There should be no spaces between your paragraphs. Citations can be in any style you choose so long as you are consistent (I suggest Chicago).

Sources must be acknowledged. In this 2500-word paper, you must attempt the following task: Answer the question, ‘‘What produces tension and repose in music?’’ Explain the roles of conditioning and attitude. Identify and discuss the sources of tension and repose, and explain how the sources interrelate. Throughout, make detailed references to recordings in illustration of your discussion. You will need to refer to the Funes textbook frequently. Use his various forms of graphical representation if you find them helpful. There is no need to use other books or recordings. The purpose of this assignment is to give you practice in handling a large group of musical concepts and their interrelationships.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: Both employers and workers frequently misunderstand the difference between an employee and a contract worker. Discuss the differences between an employee and an independent contractor. Consider the legal and ethical considerations in misclassifying the worker.

The dances in the videos below were clearly inspired by the music, and choreographed to match the details of the music. For that reason, the dances are almost like physical, visual versions of the music. Using examples from these videos, discuss this close relationship between music and dance. Be sure to talk about the general mood or feeling of each video, as well as specific details from each performance.   "THE SPIDER" amazing dance by Milena Sidorova (OFFICIAL VIDEO) https://youtu.be/JItkRLVlf-c #Samsung Norway: Official release Samsung Galaxy S5 (live) by Strawhatz https://youtu.be/0KUnXpwmrqQ   NOTE: Dance starts at 1:50 West Side Story – America – Official Dance Scene – 50th Anniversary (HD) https://youtu.be/0HS7qeQvNJU

Wall-E opening (three videos): WALL·E – Put On Your Sunday Clothes (Links to an external site.) https://youtu.be/jL6pGfS6aho   WALL·E – 2805 A.D (Links to an external site.) https://youtu.be/82zngsgHE2o   WALL-E – Home (Links to an external site.) https://youtu.be/IgNOlznn914   How is music helping to tell the story throughout these three clips, in the absence of almost all spoken words? Include discussion of: How visuals and music either sync or “run counter; The ironic use of music and what it communicates to the viewer; Music’s role in defining space within the film (consider the perceived source of the music, if there is one), enhancing mood, commenting on the visuals or action; Anything else about the use of music significant to the storytelling. See Presentation 13 for appropriate vocabulary for film music.

Choose a piece of music under ten minutes in length. This can be a piece of Western classical music (e.g., a movement from a Beethoven symphony), a popular song, an excerpt from a film score, an excerpt from a video game score, or anything else you enjoy listening to. Write a coherent and unified essay (~300-500 words) describing the music in as much detail as possible, using the vocabulary we have cultivated in this class. You must include a discussion of melody, harmony, rhythm/meter, tempo, timbre/orchestration, texture, and form. You may also wish to draw a connection between this piece of music and a historical style or genre we have discussed in class. Post the essay to the Turnitin portal on Blackboard. Be sure to include a link to the song.

For this section, we read Weinstein’s “Heavy Metal Under Attack: Suicide and Aggression,” the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s “Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers,” and Rosen’s “It’s Easy, but Wrong, to Blame the Music.”  In addition, we discussed ethos, pathos, logos, and other rhetorical strategies. Now, it’s your turn to contribute to the debate. Does violent media, music in particular, lead to youth violence?  Your “thesis” should revolve around this debate. Use the essays and at least one more recent outside source to argue either for or against your position, or to concede/refute.  Is it possible that some music could have a negative impact on some who listen?  Should musicians and/or music executives self-police their creations and contributions to society?  Remember, several of these essays were written in response to the Columbine shootings, so they are a bit outdated; however, the controversy remains relevant in light of more recent violent acts, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Parkland, El Paso, etc. Do not try to address all of these questions in this essay; rather, use them as ways to start thinking about your claims or how you feel about this controversy.  Too, this is a controversial topic, and while you may be passionate about the same, remember your audience and curb your tone and diction accordingly. You are required to use at least one scholarly source in addition to one of the scholarly sources provided in class (for a minimum of two cited sources).  We will be using MLA Format, which includes in-text citations as well as a Works Cited page.

An introductory paragraph should include information found in each video’s description about the venue, performers, and concert date. This is required information for your paper. The remainder of the paper should be a description of the pieces performed in the concert as well as an evaluation of the performers. You are free to address these together or in separate paragraphs, however you prefer. Use specific stylistic descriptions: what era does the music originate from? What are some characteristics of that era’s music you hear in the performance? Did the performers or conductor have an especially impactful interpretation of the music (or a particularly bad one)? The concert review should be your review of the concert–not an extended biography of the conductor or composer, or a history of the pieces performed. You are not required to reference outside material for this paper. The paper should primarily be your own description of the music and performance you have watched. If you do reference any outside information, however, you must cite it. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Overture to Hiawatha             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wseRcHM8mH8 Adolphus Hailstork – Nobody Know             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9kVANvvqno             Florence Price – Symphony No. 3             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C0Rgyo_qh0 Necessary info – 10 points Ensemble – 4 points Place – 3 points Date/time – 3 points Discussion of Pieces – 40 points Discussion of Performance – 30 points Writing Quality – 20 points Total: out of 100 Length: -10 points if paper is too short Missing Youtube concerts: -20 for one missing concert, -30 for two missing.