Skip to Main Content

MUSI 1306 SE Music Appreciation

This guide organizes all the resources you will need to conduct research for your music appreciation course.

Music Appreciation MUSI 1306 course banner

Research Projects - Click on the Tab for Your Instructor

Music Appreciation Research Project 

Prompt (Pratt, 2024) 

     The Enjoyment of Music: Essential Listening Edition (4th ed.) by Kristine Forney and Andrew
Dell’Antonio includes biographical information and explanations of musical examples by
approximately 40 Western classical composers. While the textbook provides an excellent
overview of the history of Western music, as well as detailed explanations of the foundational
materials of music, it is impossible to include every composer and musician who has historical
significance.
     Choose from the following list of composers whose examples are not included in the 4th edition
of The Enjoyment of Music, and establish an argument for why he or she should be included in
the curriculum. Your argument should demonstrate your understanding of musical terminology,
historical periods, and cultural and political context. You may even consider replacing one of the
composers included in the 4th edition. 

Requirements 

  • At least 600 words 

  • Double-spaced, 12-point font 

  • Works Cited: MLA formatting, including in-text citations and works cited page

  • PDF file must be submitted on Canvas 

  • Your argument should demonstrate your understanding of: 1) musical terminology; 2) historical periods; and 3) cultural and political context.  

  • Keep the following questions in mind as you research and craft your paper:  What’s the point?  Why are we talking about this person?  Why do we play their music?

List of Composers

     Bela Bartok                                   Giacomo Puccini
     Giovanni Gabrieli                         Sergei Rachmaninoff
     Paul Hindemith                             N. Rimsky-Korsakov
     Gustav Holst                                 Arnold Schoenberg
     Charles Ives                                 Clara Schumann
     Gustav Mahler                              Robert Schumann
     Felix Mendelssohn                      Dmitri Shostakovich 
     Modest Mussorgsky                   Jean Sibelius
     Sergei Prokofiev                         R. Vaughan Williams

 

Points Graded Checkpoints (100 Points Total)

Due Date
10 Topic Selection and Thesis Statement TBD
10 Bibliography TBD
30 Rough Draft, including in-text citations TBD
50 Final Draft TBD

 Extra points are given for proof of TCC Learning Commons and/or Librarian Consultation.

MUSI 1306 – Jazz Appreciation

Writing Assignment – Big Bands

The writing assignment will focus on a Big Band from the Swing Era. Each student will select one of the following bands for their paper:

Andy Kirk                                     Benny Goodman                            Cab Calloway
Chick Webb                                 Count Basie                                    Duke Ellington
Fletcher Henderson                    Glenn Miller                                    Tommy Dorsey

The research should focus on:

  1. The origin of the band and the leader’s role, if any, in the band’s formation.
  2. The repertoire and musical focus of the band.
  3. Important band members.
  4. The overall influence, historical impact, and legacy, of the band.
  5. The continuation of the band, if applicable, beyond the demise of the leader.

Papers should be between 3 to 5 pages in length. Anything quoted or used from a book must include the page number in the citation. Any quotes or materials from additional books, periodicals or newspapers must be listed in a bibliography. Bibliographies should contain 3 to 5 sources, only one of which may be a web-site. Wikipedia may not be used as a reference. Any instances of plagiarism or use of A.I. will result in a zero for the paper and may result in a failing grade for the course and reporting of the infraction to the Dean for possible further disciplinary action.

Papers are due Wednesday, November 20 and should be submitted online and as a hard copy.

On the back of Test #2 list the band you will write about and 3 sources you will use in your research. There will be a 10-point reduction of the paper’s grade if you do not provide this.

Thesis Outline Assignment - MUSI 1306 (Dewhirst) 

  1. Pick a music topic of your choice - person, style, band, country, etc. sketch of a drum trap set
  2. Make a thesis statement of your own about the artistic intent or expression of your topic. 
    • Your thesis should not be over a sentence in length - it could function as the title of your paper.
  3. Find four peer-reviewed sources to support your thesis.
  4. Write (Paragraph form): Introduction, Conclusion
  5. Outline: 4 facts (cited from peer-reviewed sources); 1 statement about how that fact supports your thesis.

Use databases for research. You need sources that are peer-reviewed.

Here is an informational link on writing a thesis statement:   https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html