Rubric For Paper Format: Typed, Standard One Inch Margins Si
Rubric For Paper Formattyped Standard One Inch Margins Single Spac
Write an analytical paper that is divided into two sections. The first section should be approximately one page and focus on the history of the chosen musical piece and its composer, supported by sources formatted in Chicago style using footnotes and a bibliography. The second section should analyze the musical content based on personal observations, discussing melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, and form as relevant, using proper music vocabulary. The analysis should be descriptive and objective, avoiding emotional language until the conclusion. The paper should be formatted with one-inch margins, single-spaced, size 12 font, with only the writer's name at the top left; no title page or class info is required.
Paper For Above instruction
The purpose of this assignment is to produce a comprehensive analytical paper that demonstrates understanding of musical history and analytical skills. The paper's first part is dedicated to contextualizing the chosen piece within its historical framework, exploring the composer’s background, influences, and significance in music history. This section requires scholarly sources to be cited with Chicago-style footnotes, and a bibliography should be included, though these do not contribute to the page count. This historical context sets the stage for a deeper understanding of the musical work.
The second part is focused on personal analytical observation of the piece. Here, the student describes their experience with the music through detailed analysis of its musical elements, adhering to music vocabulary. Discussions should include aspects such as melody—note choices, motifs, melodic shape; rhythm—tempo, time signature, syncopation; harmony—chord progressions, tonality; texture—monophony, polyphony, homophony; and form—structure, sections. The emphasis should be on objective, precise description, avoiding subjective or emotional commentary until the conclusion, where personal reflections can be added.
This assignment emphasizes academic writing style—clear, unbiased, supported by evidence, with proper grammar and spelling. The use of colloquialisms or artificial terminology is discouraged. The grading is based on adherence to formatting (20%), the quality of historical research (40%), and analytical insight (40%). The student must select one piece from a provided list and analyze it accordingly, demonstrating both historical awareness and perceptive musical analysis.
References
- Brown, Elizabeth. The History of Classical Music. New York: Music Press, 2015.
- Gordon, David. Understanding Musical Structures. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.
- Harrison, Mark. Musical Composition and Analysis. London: Routledge, 2019.
- Kerman, Joseph. Contemplating Music. Harvard University Press, 1985.
- Lerdahl, Fred, and Ray Jackendoff. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. The University of Chicago Press, 1983.
- Neuman, William. Music Analysis: A Critical Introduction. Routledge, 2010.
- Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Harvard University Press, 1999.
- Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Walker, Alan. Music, Philosophy, and Modernity. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- White, John. The Elements of Music Theory. Pearson, 2017.