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Monday, June 4, 2012

Final Project

Choir Final Project: 20th Century Music Genres
You are going to create a Museum Box for a 20th century music genre.  Museum Box is a web application that allows you to organize your thoughts and put evidence and artifacts in a box to show your understanding of a topic. You will present your box to the class.

Choose a music genre that we have brainstormed in class. See the list below for ideas.
Your Museum Box will have 4 boxes with the following headings:
1.     Definition/description: Give a definition of this genre. What are its main characteristics? What are the typical elements of music that it uses (for example: does it typically use certain instruments, rhythms, or harmonies?) Share audio or video examples to illustrate your definition.
2.     Timeline:  When/how did this genre start? How has it progressed throughout the years? Show significant events/dates/times for this genre.
3.     Artists: Who are the significant artists for this genre? Talk about them and why they are important. Include audio/video examples.
4.     Fashion/Style: What clothing, hairstyles and accessories are associated with this genre of music? Has it influence any other aspects of our culture?
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

Content of Box (4 parts)                                                 /20                                                     
Quality of Visual Presentation                                      /10                             
Presentation skills                                                            /10
(Eye contact, clarity of voice, preparation)

Total                                                                                      /40


20th Century Genres



Blues                                     Jazz                                       Pop
Country                                Hip Hop                                 Disco
Electronic/Techno                        Folk                                        Gospel
Musical Theatre                Swing (Big Band)              Reggae
Rock  - Punk                        R& B
            - Metal
            - Alternative           

Friday, June 1, 2012

Some Vocal Music Genres...

Please read the following summaries and watch the examples. Then choose one and write a Critical response

Gregorian Chant
·         Gregorian is named after Pope Gregory I, Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604, who is traditionally credited for having ordered the simplification and cataloging of music assigned to specific celebrations in the church calendar.
·         In general, the chants were learned by the viva voce method, that is, by following the given example orally, which took many years of experience.
·         Gregorian chant originated in monastic life.


Mass
·         The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Catholic Church, the
·         Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church) to music. Most Masses are in Latin
·         Masses can be a cappella, for the human voice alone, or they can be accompanied by instruments, up to and including a full orchestra. Many Masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass.


Folk
·         Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Certain types of folk music are also called world music.
·         Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers; another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of oral transmission or performed by custom over a long period of time.
·         Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is sometimes called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms.


Madrigal
·         Originated in Italy in the 1500’s, popular till early 1700’s
·         A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, traditionally unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six.
·         The composer attempted to express the emotion contained in each line, and sometimes individual words, of a celebrated poem.
·         After the 1630s, the madrigal began to merge with the cantata. With the rise of opera in the early 17th century, the aria gradually displaced the madrigal.


Opera
·         16th century to present.
·         Opera  is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting.

Oratorio
·         Most popular in 17th to 18th century
·         An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists.
·         Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece.

Art Song
·         19th century to present.
·         An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment.
·         Although categorizing a piece of vocal music as art song rather than as another type of song (such as a folk song, or an aria) can sometimes be difficult, most art songs are
    • settings of lyric poetry
    • not part of a staged work (such as an opera or a musical)
    • intended for performance as part of a recital or other relatively formal social occasion

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Critical Response #7

Choose a song with lyrics that effect you in an emotional way. They can make you happy or sad or make you think. Post it and write a critical response.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Critical Response #6

Find 2 versions of the same song with different instrumentation. Write a response to each, comparing and contrasting the music elements.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Critical response #4: Rhythm

1) Post an example of music with a 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meter. (3 examples total)
2) Find an example of "world music" and write a critical response about it.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Critical response #3

Write a response to ONE of the songs that appears in "Four Chord Songs" by Axis of Awesome

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Critical Response #2

1) Post an example of 2 of the foms that we discussed in class
2) Write a Critical response to either "Good Life" or "If Love Is a Red Dress"

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Critical Response #1

Write a Critical Response to ONE of the songs that we listened to last week.
  • Ain't No Sunshine
  • Somebody I Used to Know (please post a DIFFERENT version than the one I posted)

Elements of Music!

Last week we discussed the elements that are the building blocks of music. When writing your responses, please try to include some references to these elements and how they are represented in the piece that you are discussing!
  • Form: The structure of a piece of music.
  • Melody: A pleasing succession or arrangement of sounds.
  • Harmony: A pleasing combination of two or more tones played together while a melody is being played.
  • Rhythm: The element of music pertaining to time, played as a grouping of notes into accented or unaccented beats.
  • Meter: The number and type of beats per bar in a piece of music.
  • Tempo: Indicating speed.
  • Dynamics: Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.
  • Timbre: Tone colour, quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.
  • Instrumentation: The instruments or voices that are specified in a piece of music.
  • Lyrics: Words set to music.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Ongoing Assignment: Critical Response Journal



For each lesson, I will ask you to write a critical response on your blog to one or more of the songs that we listened to in class. This response should include:
  • The name of the song and the performing artist.
  • Who wrote it (if different than the performer) and when.
  • A youtube video of the song.
  • A copy of the lyrics
  • Referring to 2 or 3 of the elements of music that we discussed in lesson one (Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, Meter, Tempo, Dynamics, Timbre, Instrumentation) comment on  how they are used in the piece.
  • In your own words, a summary of what the song is about (or what you THINK it’s about) and your thoughts and feelings about the song and what it means to you. This might include:
o   Have you heard this song before? Where/when?
o   Do you like it? Why or why not?
o   Is the song relevant to you and your life (can you relate to it)?

Your Choir Blog!

Your blog will include:

Your profile (with photo and About Me)     

Weekly responses to music that we have studied in class.

Assignments and projects

Instructions for starting your blog:

1. Open a Google account (if you don't already have one):
  • Go to Google on the internet and click on Sign-In
  • Click on sign-up for a new Google account
  • Go to create an account and fill in the information
2. Create a Blog using Blogger:
  • At Google at the top, click more and go to even more.
  • Click Blogger under Communicate, Show and Share.
  • Sign into Blogger with your Google Account
  • Create a blog, choose a template and start blogging.

Welcome!

Hello everyone, welcome to choir!



 Choir takes team work and cooperation, like the musical group above!!!

I look forward to working and  learning with you this year. In class, we will be learning choral music from a variety of genres as well as learning proper vocal techniques, some music theory, sight reading and ear training. The written portion of this course will all be online this year! You will be blogging, creating music videos and using Museum Box. On this blog, I will be sharing a variety of music and posting weekly assgnments. On your blogs,  you will be writing weekly responses to concepts and music that we have studied in class.