Likes and Dislikes

Last quiz was yesterday- five music clips, two questions on each, mostly encompassing questions from the previous five quizzes.  Cumulative in a sense.  Just to give a sense of the diversity of the semester, these were the works:

Lady Antebellum "American Honey" [outline form]

Charles Ives "Central Park in the Dark" [talk about programmatic elements]

2008 Tony Awards performance of 96000 from "In The Heights" [discuss musical function/staging and melodic lines]

Steve Reich "Different Trains," mvt 2 Europe During the War [list avant garde elements]

Stravinsky "Rite of Spring" [what they felt were most important musical elements of work]

I like to think of my class as a workshop, a testing ground for new ideas on teaching "music appreciation."  And therefore, there are a couple of things I do differently than perhaps a well established course.  I constantly change the course calendar throughout the term, depending on their level of engagement and focus.  The other thing is that I ask for feedback.  I did this last semester with minimal results; this semester, again, I had much better answers given.
I coerce them in this final quiz.  10 points bonus if they'll tell me what was their favorite/least favorite work and/or concept discussed this semester.  It gives me instantaneous feedback on what I need to teach better (because I figure if they hated musical textures or meters, it was because they didn't fully understand it or engage with it).  It also lets me know if no one mentioned anything about a certain work/subject, it's very likely that it didn't have that big of an impact and perhaps I could find something else that would be more enlightening.

I got what I expected with the responses- students loved talking about Broadway, how music functions (in movies, theatre, tv, etc), mash-up songs, pop music, American classical works (Copland), Beethoven, and programmaticism.  And they hated opera, the lack of more pop music, and avant garde works.

I spend at least a week late in the semester subjecting them to John Cage, Edgar Varese, Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, Eric Satie, and other "avant garde" composers.  Why?  Because I want to be their George Ives- I want to stretch their ears.  However, apparently 10 out of 27 severely disliked the idea.  They didn't think it was music and didn't see the point.  Is there another way to present this material?  Do I need to even question my methods?  I think all the music is relevant, and I'm not about to do away with the "unit."  I really enjoy playing for them Cage's Water Walk.  They laugh and then you can tell, they think.  Isn't that the goal after all?

Another example, my first video to embed on this site:


This is Ke$ha's "Tik Tok."  On their first quiz, I had them outline the form of this work.  It was the #1 billboard song on the top 100 charts that week, and we had just gotten through talking about verse/chorus forms (Lady Antebellum is #1 on country charts this week- hence the selection for the final quiz).  I, personally, am not a fan of this Ke$ha girl. I'd like to think she has knowledgeably created a satirical exaggerated parody of the Hollywood party girl-types, but I'm pretty sure she's being serious.  In interviews, she says in her slurred speak that the dollar sign in her name is being ironical, and she seems to try for the shock rocker grungy look.  But there's the Haus of Gaga with their trying for dada-esque artistic expressions, and then there's this aesthetic- sending all kinds of self-destructive messages to teenage girls.  "Tik Tok" is laughable- really, doesn't everyone have the "po-po shut us down," wake up, and "brush [their] teeth with a bottle of Jack"??  But, give the girl credit-- it's a crazy catchy tune, and I can't help but groove out to it when I hear it (but then again, I do find myself grooving out/dancing to quite a lot of songs, i.e. Zappa's version of Bolero).

Ironically I had multiple students who said this was their favorite part of the class- hearing this song.  And then I had one student (a very vocal student on what's good and bad in music) state:
"My least favorite part [of the class] was easily Ke$ha.  I hate her.  I hate that song.  Why you ask??  Have you listened to it???  It's complete garbage. [smiley face]"

I think maybe I'm doing my job if I'm eliciting those sorts of responses.  I'm exposing them to music they hate- hey at least they are passionate about what they're hearing.  I told them after playing the Reich piece yesterday (which by the way, almost makes me physically ill every time I hear it) that you have to work through the discomfort because all music is worth hearing in order to understand it.  We shouldn't turn it off just because it's not what we like. It's not about likes or dislikes.  It's about understanding what makes Ke$ha "tik."

Rock On

The main course objective with my little music appreciation/"Music in Western Civilization" course is to teach students a vocabulary, a discourse, a way to articulate what they are hearing in music.  They need to understand the interplay of context/content and apply it to any music they might run across.  I've worked all semester to find a balance in my music apprec course: trying to figure out a way to keep students engaged, interested, but still learning.  I've foregone the idea that we have to teach them the history of classical music, and adopted a diverse amalgamation of pop/classical/broadway musical studies- and then put them into subject areas that they might find most understandable.

This semester I have some ringers-- former band kids that know way too much about music for their own good.  I know the class is mildly "boring" for them, but I do hope they are getting something from sitting in class day after day.  Other students in this class could care less about music, rarely listen to it aside from their car radio, and don't care to learn about anything remotely "classical." So they turn off every time I bring in a large scale work, a work that doesn't have a video, or works that are vaguely odd/foreign sounding.  And then I've got the ones in between that I'm preaching to more than any others.  They are the ones that love music, have eclectic tastes, and just need to get a little bit of basics in them to really "appreciate" what they're listening to.  I can tell they've made lists of new composers/artists/stage shows to look into further, and I'm really pleased about that.

One way I try to keep engagement in music as high as possible is by giving them a large scale project.  Early in the semester, they choose a work.  Any piece of music preferably between 3-10 minutes in duration that can be found on youtube (easy access for all parties involved).  Half way through the semester, they submit a bibliography of 3 sources they've found talking about the band/artist/composer/work.  2/3 of the way through the term, they turn in a background paper.  One-ish pages about historical information on the work.  And then instead of a final, they turn in a listening guide- breaking down the work in a graph of times and musical elements.

This semester, I think the students have "dug" the assignment more so than last semester.  I had some kick ass papers turned in this term.  And I think it's because of the engagement factor-- they chose works they absolutely love and therefore love reading stuff on.  Just to get an idea of the variety of the 25 papers submitted, here's a short list:
Les Miserables
Elliott Smith
Lady Gaga
Surfjan Stevens
Edward Elgar
Syd Barrett (and early Pink Floyd)
Nobuo Uematsu (video game composer)
[and of course the expected, at least 2 papers on Beethoven]

Those were the papers that were the most memorable.  Well crafted works that told a bit about the composer, what was happening when the work was composed, and then a bit on the composition itself.

As much as these students are inarticulate in the classroom, they are even more articulate in their writing.  These essays were prodigious.  They were epic.  Last semester, I had one paper that I felt confident in showing to future students.  I now have at least 4 more that I think are excellent pieces of prose.


All I can say to them is "rock on."  I'm upset I couldn't engage them more between 1 and 2 pm MWF this semester, but this does give me a ton of ideas for class next semester.

Last Minute Polishes (and other Writing things to keep in mind)

Pssst..... hey undergrads..... I've got more writing tips for you.
After a weekend of seemingly non-stop grading, I've compiled a couple more ideas to keep in mind when writing papers to submit for a grade.  Things which I saw first hand knocked students' grades down at least a letter grade.

There's that cliche of "the first impression is the most important."
Think of your essay more as a overall impression of your work as a student scholar.  How can you MAKE the paper look better than it might actually be.   It's like polishing a resume, selling yourself.  What can you do to make things immediately seem better than they might actually be.

Here's a list of easy fixes.  Another list of things that take 30 minutes at most before you click submit at 2 am.  Look over these things to try to ensure you can't be deducted points for these reasons:

• Double check bibliographic citation.  Use an automated bibliography generator if you're OCD, but if that's the case- triple check that it's correct as well.  Make sure all your periods are there, commas, quotations, italics/underlining.  Page numbers!
• Same boat-- double check your footnotes.  Take out the extra spaces.  Include the SPECIFIC page number (really, it's worthless otherwise).
• Ensure your font, heading, margins are correct from the beginning-- don't set yourself up to reach 10 pages at 2 am, realize it was 1.25 margins, and then just give up from exhaustion.
• Go through and check to see if all of the musical works/books cited are italicized in the text.  Standardize your formatting in the paper.  If you capitalize a term, do so throughout.  If you use block quotes, make sure you do it properly, the same way, throughout the paper.
• Visually, images and their placement bother me.  If you don't resize an image and you have 1/3 of a page blank because of a page break- that's a problem for me.  Make it fit. Move around text if you must.  If you are going to discuss a poem extensively- put the whole text in an appendix.  Appendices are your friends.  If you have a TON of score examples that break up the text often, then put it all at the end.
• If instructors tell you a specific format, tell you to bold certain items in the text, to give certain subheadings, DO IT.  I'm all about originality and creativity in writing.  But not when there's 70 some odd papers to read. Follow the formula and let your argument be what stands out.
• If you absolutely have no time to proofread the entire paper, be sure you have a killer first and last paragraph.  Those are the sections we read 20 times.  Maybe not a discussion point found on page 7.  But especially the introduction is our way of re familiarizing ourselves with your argument.  Make it good, make it impact-ful.  Don't pad it with vague niceties-- tell us what you think- what you're arguing-- get to the point.
• One note, though: personally- I could care less if there's a cover page or a ton of fancy images.  Again, make your words stand for themselves straight off. That makes all the difference to me.

I'm reading another set of papers, this time from non-majors.  The same rules apply to 1 page background papers as it does 10 page formal research.  Professors may not have time to read every single word of every single paper (gasp, shock- I know).  But these overall visual things- the initial impressions are what stick with us in the long run.  Make an effort on these last minute polishes- fixing details.

Bonus tip time!!  Make sure you get the text to us in some format.  Many students came into class frantic: "my paper wouldn't submit on blackboard at 1049 am" [due at 1050].  But they didn't bother to email the document.  Or print a hard copy.  In instances such as these, I think professors are okay with being inundated with repetitive emails.  Send it on blackboard, via regular email, bring a hard copy, whatever needs to be done to get it in our hands.  At least that way we know you tried.  Then after the fact, you can submit it in the proper format.

By the way:

I am coming to grips with the fact that public education no longer prepares students for formal writing, and that, as instructors, we cannot fix all of the writing problems that we are faced with.  We do have to look over the colloquialisms and poor sentence structures at times.  However, I think it's unwise to just throw up our hands and give up on all fronts.  Baby steps, I say.  So I'll continue to post stuff here.

Rag-time

The Etude was a huge proponent of the Euro-centric ideals of Western classical music.  It was very afraid of American musics, especially vernacular and popular traditions.  The problems and issues it had with jazz are well documented (one such Etude cover appearing on the cover of a recent reader on jazz studies).  But lesser known are the amazing gems of text discussing that scary new fad of "rag-time."

It rests largely with you young people who are studying now whether this rag-time wave which has swept over us is going to eclipse temporarily all good music or not.  There has always been cheap music, but the very boldness, the effrontery, of this present fad makes it dangerous.  It has entered into the most refined homes.  People have come to consider it in the light of a "good joke," and I know scarcely a girl who does not play it. Girls go on decorously with the study of their fugues, inventions, and sonatas, but they play cake-walks.  Small wonder!  Everyone demands them; the best musical magazines publish them; everyone else plays them, and, so why not? Think a moment.


Which is better: rag-time music or those sweet, secret musical ideals which every girl of you possesses?  If you were asked which you preferred, a poster daub or a Rembrandt, there would be no hesitation in your choice, and if you were asked to make a choice between rag-time music and music done in the old, true music form, I know you would make the higher choice.  
[....]


In a way, you girls are really pioneers of music in this country, for music has only just now become general with us, and a good many of you are the first of your family to receive a thorough musical education, so that you have a pleasant work to do in making good music an intimate and beloved factor in every American home.


from "Five Minute Talks with Girls," by Helena M. Maguire, The Etude, March 1900 pg 94

5 Ways to Improve Your Writing (in 5 Minutes)

After reading 35ish papers from music majors, I saw common factors that apparently students are not taught anymore.  They are glaring examples of lack of proper writing education or just sheer laziness.  But I realized, there are about five things you can do when proof-reading your own writing that immediately makes your words look infinitely better.

1. Eliminate any word and/or sentence structure redundancies.
Students will use the same words over and over again without thinking 'hey I could check a thesaurus for another word that means "similar." '   Same thing happens with certain sentence structures (which are usually idiosyncratic or convoluted on their part.  ex: "rather than...., x composer....."  which then reappears two sentences later with a slightly different intent).

2.  Learn how to use integrated quotes.
My freshman year of high school was spent learning how to integrate quotes into sentences, rather than blocking and pasting entire sentences without any forward or backward matter.  It makes for an easier read if you utilize mostly your prose and insert a few choice words from others.  It also makes it look like you spent more time crafting and editing.

3. Standardize formating
If you're going to italicize a piece of music, do it throughout.  If you are going to capitalize the phenomenon of Impressionism, do so all the time.  If you are going to cite something, use footnotes (properly) in the same fashion.  This is really a proof reading thing that should be self evident.

4.  Standardize tenses
I'm still having trouble with this one.  But start out knowing in what tense you'll be writing, and then stick with it!

5. "Formalize" it
If you would say a phrase to your friends in a text message or on facebook, it probably does not belong in a scholarly piece of writing.  Just make one pass through in proofreading to ensure all colloquial phrases are removed (another thing I struggle with sometimes but am working on it.)


Bonus!!  Learn how to use commas properly.
I saw way too many commas in these papers.  Not saying my sentence structures are always the greatest, but run-ons were rampant with commas thrown in for dramatic effect.


Overall, I think the lesson here is: don't wait until 2 am to finish  your paper and then immediately hit submit.  If that happens, go to bed for a couple of hours, get up a little earlier than you would have liked, and just read through your paper once.  One read through makes all the difference, in my opinion.

Red Wing's children

It is about this time (well usually about 2 weeks ago) in the semester that I see a shiny new research area, go to my esteemed advisor, and ask him if I can change my research topic for whatever class of his I'm enrolled in that particular iteration.  I really didn't have that this semester (perhaps constricted subject areas?)  But I did find a shiny new topic, and knowing that 1) I can post my limited findings here, 2) it can be addressed in the [hopefully] forthcoming dissertation, and 3) I did mention parts of this in my Music Appreciation class today, made it easier to not focus upon for too long (and essentially this helps get it out of my system for the moment).

Recently I've asked myself multiple times a question (I'm sure others ask this): What does it take to make a song become a "traditional" "folk" tune. 

We see Stephen Foster tunes adopted by American roots musicians all the time now (link to my favorite Foster tune, favorite arrangement).  So how long do we have to wait before a tune becomes traditional, so engrained the American musical ear that it is known by all as being from our folk?  I proposed to my class today that Tin Pan Alley tunes are beginning to reach that level of ubiquity that they will soon be categorized as not just those old songs from the 1900s/10s/20s, but the era in which they were written will soon all but disappears.  I have one work to substantiate my claim.

I'm fascinated by the various incarnations of a tune by Kerry Mills entitled "Red Wing," one of the most popular Tin Pan Alley tunes of 1907.  (Go here for: sheet music, wax cylinder from 1907, piano roll- scroll down to bottom of page.)

I have utilized this work as part of my Indianist studies and plan to research it more extensively for my [hopefully] dissertation topic of Native American themes in early 20th century popular musical mediums.  I've always been a fan of the song; it seems to be engrained in my musical memory for as long as I can remember.  And most of the time, when I play the work for people, they immediately know the tune.  Music majors have some familiarity with it, as do undergraduate freshmen (at least 10 out of 25 acknowledged they knew this tune today).  So the question then is why?!   

Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready to head to campus, I heard the chorus of "Red Wing" playing on the local ice cream truck.  I nearly had a coronary because I had no idea it was that common- I've never heard it before in that context.
 

So I have begun a search for the "children" of Red Wing, the next generation of this tune.  Who's playing it, in what style, in what environment.

A youtube search can illuminate countless versions of this song. 

Below, I'm hyperlinking some of the more intriguing "covers" I've uncovered.

I initially found these two versions on my first research pass- original method of delivery and common delivery today.

But here are some of the other more interesting other versions:

a grandmother performing one arrangement

"Concert roller organ"

Chet Atkins

on the Laurence Welk show

Carousel recording (half way down page as "Pretty Red Wing")

Ice Cream truck (click on the title "Melted Drumstick Melancholy"-- not the version though I heard yesterday)

You can find countless more performances on youtube by a wide variety of musicians in tons of combinations of banjo, hammer dulcimer, guitar, piano, etc etc.  I like how many of them state that this is an "old western fiddle tune" from the 1880s-1890s.  They say so matter of factly.  Sorry people.  First copyright (as far as I can tell) is 1907. 

Also, it appears that Woody Guthrie utilized the tune for contrafacta- Red Wing became the Union Maid song (which also explains why many western swing performers have changed her to be a "union maid" and not "indian maid"- I thought it just was to give an air of Civil War nostalgia).

I think there's a lot more "unpacking" to be done.  Many more incarnates to run across.  Anyone heard of other versions they particularly enjoyed?