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Music 106

Mus 106: Week 4

For Tuesday:

Read: Theodore C. Levin and Michael E. Edgerton, “The Throat Singers of Tuva,” Scientific American (September 1999): 80-87.  [Note: you can skip section labeled “Forming Formants.”]

Listen: Podcast from NPR about cowboys, both Mongolian and American.

Write: Keep Journal notes on reading and listening, including responses to one or more of the reflection questions that accompany the podcast.

Other: Practice your throat-singing technique, using this triangle from a book by Mark van Tongeren:

For Thursday:

Read: Begin reading Ch. 2 in anticipation of Tuesday’s TBL.  (Chapter 2 is the longest of the chapters.)

Listen:  Wade CD tracks that correspond to Ch. 2:  1-11, 1-13, 1-14, 1-19, 1-21, 1-22, 1-23, 1-29, 1-30, 1-31, 2-1, 2-2, 2-4, keeping descriptive notes in your journal so you learn to recognize the music and connect it with concepts in the text.

Other: Library Sandbox task is due today.

Music 106

Mus 106: Week 3

For Tuesday:

Read: Wade, Preface, Note to Readers, and Chapter 1

Listen: Wade CD 1—1-10 (same as last week) + CD 2-35 (“Artii-Sayir”)

Write: Keep Journal notes on reading and listening.

Other prep: Prepare for TBL assessment on Chapter 1

For Thursday:

Read: Wade, Chapter 7, pp. 195-204 as prep for “fieldwork” related to final project

Listen and write: Prepare for Listening Quiz 1 (LQ 1) [See word bank posted on Canvas]

Other: Sketch out any notes on possible project topics as they occur to you.

Music 106

Music 106: Week 2

For Tuesday:

Read:

Write:  (Journal assignment — bring to class):

For each of the 3 types of listening described in The Avid Listener posts above, identify and briefly describe a musical example from your own experience that relates to it. [OR, if nothing comes to mind, seek out 3 musical examples and experience them according to the 3 types of listening, then reflect about it in writing.]

For Thursday:

Listen:  Wade CD 1—1-10

Write :(Journal assignment — bring to class):

Make descriptive notes for each selection: how do you distinguish one musical example from another? Be sure to note the title of the selection and the “source” (composer, performer, or context) for each.

Use the prompts from Tuesday’s Practice TBL Application for at least a portion of the assigned listening as follows:

  • All team members apply it to the 2d sura and to “Blue Horse Special.”
  • Then divide remaining selections among team members: some apply it to tracks 2-6; some apply it to tracks 7-10.
American Popular Music

Assignments for Week 4

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Listening:

  • Listen and make notes to prep for the listening quiz (LQ2) (for Thursday).

Reading:

  • Complete the readings, making notes in anticipation of a short reading quiz/in-class written exercise.

Writing — due on Tuesday!:

1. Bibliography is due!

2. Expand the following McLuhan quote with at least one additional pairing, and then either expand or comment upon the last two sentences in a 21st-century-perspective-expanding way (however you interpret that!):

“The telephone: speech without walls.

The phonograph: music hall without walls.

The photograph: museum without walls.

The electric light: space without walls.

The movie, radio, and TV: classroom without walls.

Man the food-gatherer reappears incongruously as information-gatherer. In this role, electronic man is no less a nomad than his paleolithic ancestors.”

American Popular Music

Week 2 Assignment: 21st century post

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As described on the course calendar:

Craft a 175-200 word entry on 21st-century listening example (2000-present) and submit it as a “comment” on this post.

Please include a link to the music file (perhaps via YouTube or Spotify).  [NOTE: If your music is an mp3, you may feel free to send it to me — this is an exception to the no-email policy for assignments!]

American Popular Music

Assignments for Week 15: the last hurrah!

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Final class meeting Imagined FAQs:

How do I submit my podcast?

Try uploading it as an attachment for a comment to this blog post.  If that doesn’t work, try emailing it to me.  If that doesn’t work, upload it to some place you can access before class on Thursday (like Google Drive) OR bring it on a thumb drive so you can transfer it to the computer.  In short, we all want to listen to it together in class on Thursday during our podcast showcase extravaganza!

Do I need to resubmit the draft of my script?

Yes.  You can email that to me, or you can bring a hard copy with you on Thursday.  Your updated script should reflect the comments you received back on the draft.  It should include citations for the research you undertook to complete your project.  (Use footnotes, Chicago-style format — if you have never done that, the “insert footnotes” feature on your word processing program does it automatically.  DO allow the program to automatically number them for you — it will save you potential nightmares).  The script need not exactly match the final audio recording, but it IS your master plan and should reflect that.

When did you say our final exam will be?

By popular demand, we decided the final exam will be submitted electronically, via email, to me, by the last day of exams.  You remember!  More information on that will be forthcoming on Thursday.

Are there other assignments due on Thursday?

Yes, there are two short readings posted under “Week 15” on the course website.  We will work with the ideas and issues raised by those in class on Thursday, so you need to read them in order to be prepared.

American Popular Music

Assignments for Week 10

Listening:

  • Listen and make notes to prep for the listening quiz (LQ7). Note that this one is sounds only.

Reading:

  • Choose either 1 long or 2 (or more) short selections from the 1970s section.  We will conduct a kind of “jigsaw exercise,” where you briefly explain/teach to the rest of the class a) the main point(s) of your reading; b) how it fits into the larger context.

Writing:

  • Complete the “idea map” exercise, including choosing at least 1 idea to write about. (Even if the words are rough and not worthy of sharing — they will help you find the share-worthy words).  Bring this to class for us to talk about a bit.
  • Craft an entry for a 21st century music log.  Please submit it electronically.  If you have access to an mp3 of the example, please send that too (otherwise, I will find it).
American Popular Music

Assignments for Week 9

Listening:

  • Listen and make notes to prep for the listening quiz (LQ6).

Reading:

  • Complete the readings in the usual fashion.

Writing:

  • Mini-eval sums?  Given that the readings cover 7 general topics, write a short reaction/pithy observation about each one (1-2 sentences).  One potentially useful approach might be to answer the following question 7 times: what insight does this material give you about the 1960s?   [Note that you are free to include the musical examples into these reflections.]

How’s that draft coming?