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Paper #1: Due 2/09

Assignment:A short autobiographical essay exploring your musical experiences, as they relate to your socialand cultural background. For each experience you describe, you will also analyze and reflectupon how it relates to your particular social and cultural background.

Paper guidelines: Typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, printed in black or blue ink, and bound by a single

staple in the upper left corner. Maximum of 2 pages. No title pages, report covers, folders,or any fancy binding.

Make sure your name and SID# appear in the top right corner. CITE YOUR SOURCES if you illustrate a point by referencing a pertinent song lyric, an

insight from someones website, or a statement made by a musician, family member, etc.

Remember: You dont have to be a member of a band or orchestra--or consider yourself amusician or fan--to have a musical experience. Sounds and music are an integral part of

everyday life in the U.S., but the same sounds mean different things to different people. Thisexercise is not meant to be an exhaustive list of past activities. The point of this assignment is foryou to reflect on how certain music experiences have shaped your sense of identity.

Suggestions: It may help you to focus on one or two key [and specific] musical practices in your life. Provide a description of the role of music in your life. This may include childhood

exposure, musical training received, the ways in which you engage[d] with music (e.g.collect CDs/tapes/vinyl, compose/perform, go to dance clubs, sing in the shower, belong toa music ensemble, etc.).

How and why has that particular relationship to music helped define your sense of self in

the context of a group identity? Do you identify with a particular subculture? How doyour musical activities reflect this? How does music interact with other subcultural codes(language, fashion, lifestyle)?

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Paper #2: Due 3/29

Assignment:Attend and report on a music event. This is a short concert report analyzing a live performance ofmusic heard outside of class from the point of view of a participant-observer. Your task is not toact as a music critic--you will not judge how "good" the performance was--nor to write athesis/library research project about a musical practice. Use the criteria for analysis providedbelow. We encourage you to attend a concert of a musical practice completely unfamiliar to you.

Paper guidelines: Typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, printed in black or blue ink, and bound by a single

staple in the upper left corner. Text should be 3 pages maximum. No title pages, reportcovers, folders, or any fancy binding.

Make sure your name and SID# appear in the top right corner. Attach a concert program, brochure, guide or ticket, or some other proof of attendance. Optional: You may also submit up to one (1) additional page with visual aids (e.g., picture

of the band, drawing of the stage layout, transcription of a piece you heard, etc.)

Cite your sources: put quotes around other people's statements and indicate who said it.

Criteria for analyzing the performance:To report and reflect on the experience of hearing a live performance of music, you will need toaddress the following questions:

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What was the event? Where and when did this take place? In what kind of space (physicallocation) was the performance held? How did you hear about the performance?

2. What kind(s) of music did you hear? Briefly describe the musical properties usingterminology you learned in class--how would you describe it to someone who never heardthis music? What was involved in this musical event? [Roles of performers, musicalinstruments, repertoire, accompanying dance/film/poetry/visuals, duration, etc.]

3.

Who were the performers? [Age, gender, ethnicity, professional status, etc.] Did theperformers make any of their identities or multiple subjectivities explicit?4.

Who were the audience members? What backgrounds/identities/subjectivities did theyshare in common? Would you be considered a "typical" audience member? Why or whynot? [HINT: ask 1 or 2 audience members who they are and what brought them there]

5. How did the performers and audience members interact? What was considered anacceptable or desirable audience response at that concert? How did the space affectperformer/audience interaction?

If possible, try to interview at least one audience member and one performer or concert organizer.You may find it helpful to do a little library or web research to familiarize yourself with thepractice before you see the show, but your paper should focus on your firsthand account of the

event, not citing secondary sources.

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Paper #3: Due 4/21

Assignment:Working from a feature-length article that will be provided for you, analyze how an artistconstructs a specific social or cultural identity through his/her music.

Paper format guidelines: Typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, printed in black or blue ink, and bound by a single

staple in the upper left corner. No title pages, report covers, folders, or any fancy binding. Make sure your name and SID# appear in the top right corner. Text should be three (3) pages [maximum] plus one (1) bibliographic reference page. The article can be from any month of the last 2 years. No magazine purchase is required--

you may use an electronic web-based or microfilm version of the periodical for yourresearch.

You must use an academic format for citing sources: put quotes around other people'sstatements and indicate the source of the quote using author-date or footnote citation.

Criteria for analyzing the article:This is not a summary of the article's contents, but an analysis of how artists use social or culturalidentities to position themselves and their work. Aspects of identity or multiple subjectivities amusician can possess can include: age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, classbackground, educational background, musical training, etc.

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Situate the performer(s) in the professional context: What is the associated style(s) of music?Is this performer considered exemplary of the style? Why or why not? When in the careerdid the musician get famous (what "put them on the map")?

2. Describe the occasion for the article: Is it meant to introduce a new artist, or have thereader reevaluate a veteran performer? Is the artist experiencing a major career change?Currently promoting a new album? Starting a new tour? Receiving an award? Under what

conditions did the interview take place?3.

Briefly summarize which aspects of the musician's identity were revealed: What did thejournalist include as basic biographical information? What did the performer make explicitin the interview? Was it in response to a direct question about background/ identity? Toaddress a stereotype or misconception? To provide credibility to the artist?

4. Indicate aspects of the musician's identity found in the music (lyrical content, associatedgenres, referencing traditional musics, etc.) or associated visual imagery (video concepts,album art, pictures accompanying the article)? Does the musician say how she or heconsciously incorporates identity within the musical work (e.g. lyrical content, conceptualapproaches to making music, costumes, stage-show set up, etc.)?

5. How does the information you have learned about the artist affect your understanding ofthe artist? Did it change what you think about the person? Did it change what you think

about the style of music? Why or why not?