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.