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Talking About Music

150 Listening Report Guide

A crucial part of this course involves listening to music outside class. As part of your class work, you are required to listen to music or watch videos about music for three hours each week.

For each week specified on the Schedule, you are to turn in a list of all you have listened to for the class during that week and a more detailed response to one piece of your choice from your listening.

What music should I choose for listening?

The Class Schedule lists the type of music you should be listening to each week. IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT use pieces from the required CD's for the class for your listening reports; these reports are to be based on other resources.

Appropriate Listening for each week is on the Multimedia Resources page; all of these resources are available on two hour Reserve at the Multi-Media Desk in the Schultz Tech Center, These materials should be used ONLY in the Tech Center; they are not to be checked out.

You may use other sources as well--your own collections of recordings, those of your friends, radio, the Internet or--best of all--live performance. But make certain you listen to music relevant to what we are studying that week. Choose genres, composers or pieces discussed in the text or listed on the Multimedia Resources page; if in doubt, check with me first. You will not receive credit for listening to music not appropriate for that week.

How should I format Listening Responses? Each week's Listening Report should follow the following format.

1

a list of what you listened to that week, with times for each recording. Remember that 3 hours each week are required.

This can be a list of CD's, videos or other recordings; you need not list every piece on the recordings. Note that you can also use live events, Internet listening, radio or TV listening; for these media, be as precise as you can about what you have listend to and their timings

2

factual information about the specific piece of your choice

title, composer if applicable, performer(s) and source (live performance TV, radio, video CD, phono, cassette tape, Internet. If the piece is from the library, specify title of specific piece and its source CD, tape phono or video)

3

your response

CONTENT: the objective description: How would you describe what is going on in the music? (vocal or instrumental? what instruments? what style? what form? melodic? heavy beat? familiar or not?) See the Talking About Music page for thoughts on how to describe what you hear. Be sure you point out whatever you find most striking in the music.

CONTEXT: the functional description: What role did the music serve? Where was it performed? Under what circumstances? Who were the performers? The audience? What was the intended purpose/effect of the music at the time it was created? What musical characteristics made it appropriate for its function? The Talking About Music page will also be useful here.

COMMENTARY: the critical response: What interests you, repels you, attracts you in this music? What does it evoke? Describe in your own words the effect the music has on you. Do you know music from your own experience intended to fulfill a similar function? How is the music you know similar to this music? How does the music you know differ from this music? What characteristics of the music are most important in causing the music to affect you the way that it does? What place does this music have today?

When are Listening Reports due? - Listening Reports are due Thursday of each week, except for exam weeks. No Listening Responses are required the week of an exam. They should be 1-2 typed pages. Use the questions above and the suggestions on the Talking about Music page as a resource for your answers.

How are Listening Responses Graded? How much do they count? - You receive your credit from doing the listening, rather than for the content of your response; therefore, they do not receive letter grades, though they often will receive comments. Listening to the type of music specified on the Schedule of Readings and Listening, using the above format, responding thoughtfully and turning your report in on time will give you full credit.

There are 12 required Listening Reports; each report is worth 2% of your course grade. Listening Responses count for 24% of the grade in this class.