1. Select a piece of music. This should be short, not more than 5 minutes in length.  Please check with me if you have any question about the appropriateness of the piece you have chosen before making a firm decision.
2. Be sure you have good access to your piece of music on CD.
3. Determine what style of music you have.
4. Determine whether you will talk about the performer or the composer.
5. Find at least 4 (2 web-based, 2 paper) sources for your research material. If you cannot find material, choose another piece
1. Note: How to appraise a source:
1. What are the author's credentials? Has the author written other things on the subject?
2. Have we mentioned the source in class? Have you seen the source cited elsewhere?
3. Is the author associated with an institution or organization relevant to the material?
4. When was the source published? (For older pieces of music this is less critical)
5. Don't judge a Web site by its appearance. For scholarly information, flashy may not mean good.
6. Try to find out who's behind the information.
7. Try to understand why the information was posted.
8. Try to verify information from other sources.
6. Submit the piece with title, artist, duration, and bibliiographical source information to Dr. Farahat


Your  will take notes and create paper a which has three sections:

a historical background section,
a biographical section, and
a musical analysis section.

          For the historical background section you should try to answer the following questions:

Where does this music come from? The answer to this question will include both a geographic location and time, and a discussion of the conditions which set the stage for the creation of this kind of music.
What are the cultural antecedents of this music? Here you should try to tell what part of society this music comes from, who was listening to it, in which situations music of this type would have been heard.
What are the musical antecedents of this music? Assuming that the same musical function (e.g. dance music, dramatic music, entertainment, etc.)existed prior to your piece, what did people listen to before your type of music was written? If you can find out, tell how the earlier music evolved into the type you are considering.
How and why did those earlier conditions set the stage for the kind of music you are considering? Note: in most cases the answers here will not be specific for one particular piece, but will apply to a whole group of musical selections.
Use music encyclopedias and specialized reference works (such as the History of Jazz, etc.) to find the answer to these questions. Try the DePaul library on the Lincoln Park Campus, or the Harold Wahsington Library (8th floor).

For the biographical section you should give biographical information about either he composer or the artist you will be presenting.

Try to determine:

1. date of birth, (death),
2. education,
3. musical training,
4. other occupations,
5. details of the person’s life and lifestyle.
6. important world events occurring during the lifetime of your chosen personality,(especially if this information relates in any way to the piece of music you are presenting)

Note:  You will need to listen to your piece quite a few times!

• If your piece has words, make a copy of them, noting any repetitions.
• Gradually decide the following:
1. what instruments and voices are used?,
2. what is the tempo?
3. what is the meter?
4. what is the texture and does it change?
5. who wrote this piece? who is performing it?
6. what is the period and style (e.g. Baroque, Classical, Jazz, Popular, Traditional Irish, etc.),
7. what is the genre (e.g. is it a movement from a symphony, an aria, a song, a jig, a hymn, etc.)
8. what is the form (e.g. ABA or ternary, AB or binary, Sonata-allegro, minuet and trio, song form, call and response, through-composed)
• Make a list of each of your points.
• Locate the timing on your CD where each musical event happens.
New events can include:
enterance of  new instruments or voices
the dynamics changes,
a repeat occurs,
a section is repeatd with a variation, etc.
a new melody or theme
• Correlate these events with the words

Write out a cue description sheet. This should look something like a listening guide in your textbook

 1.  Find a literary source which somehow "goes with" your piece of music. This may be a poem, text or something you write yourself.
 2.  Find picture(s) or graphics which relate to your piece. Again you may use something from the library, the internet or your own composition.

6.  Putting it together. Write a paper telling about your piece.

      Make an outline and write a paper which include the three main sections above :historical, biographical, and musical
Attach  the literary and visual matierial.with a brief explanation as to their significance
Attach copies of the bibliographical material you used (actual photocopies of the articles, with sections used highlighted)
If you have any concerns about your expertise in writing, I suggest you contact the writing center You can mail a copy of your paper to them. They will make suggestions. Find the center at
www.depaul.edu/~writing/mailpaper.html
 

Your class presentation should be about 7 minutes in length.

It should include

1. Title and performers of your piece
2. the basic information you have gathered about the piece listed in the musical analysis
3. the listening guide you have created
4. some abbreviated background information on the piece; for popular music this could include information about the group, the song writer, the song topic, why it is or was relevant when the piece was written, perhaps something about the particular style of this performer
5. How the music relates to the literary work you have chosen or written. Be specific. If you choose, for example, a poem associated with a piece, try to say why it is relevant, how the music complements or expresses the idea of the words
6. How the music is complemented by the visual selection you have chosen
7. Why you  chose this piece and what you like and do not like about it

Transfer all to Power Point. (Note: This is a reccommendation. You may use transparencies or xeroxes if this is easier.)

Try to make the piece understandable to your audience who may have heard it only this one time

Practice your presentation and time it!!

Make your presentation in class.

Turn in the final paper and presentation materials.

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