Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Video Examples from Today's Lecture

The following is a list of videos shown or mentioned during today's lecture. For the exam, please be ready to identify the difference between early and late 19th century Italian opera. You can identify the examples for the exam by the asterisk* after the title. (To aid you in identifying the time period, I will play the first 10 seconds of the clip and 10 seconds of the second half of the clip during the exam.)

Early 19th Century Italian Opera
Rossini - Il Babiere di Siviglia

Donizetti - Linda di Chamounix*

Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor

Late 19th Century Italian Opera
Puccini - La Boheme*

Giordano - Andrea Chenier

Opera in late 20th/early 21st Century American Music-Culture
British Airways Commercial (Delibes - Lakme)

The Fifth Element (Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor)

Philadelphia (Giordano - Andrea Chenier)

The Muppets Pigoletto with Beverly Sills (Verdi - La Traviata)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Syllabus Reading Change for Thursday, April 1st

Please switch the reading for Thursday, April 1st with Thursday, April 8th (and vice versa). Here is the assigned reading for the next two weeks:

Tuesday, March 30th: Italian Opera
Handouts 1 and 2

Thursday, April 1st: Philip Glass and Akhanten
Listen to the Interview and Read the Transcript

Tuesday, April 6th: American Musicals
JSTOR “Oklahoma!: Ideology and Politics in the Vernacular Tradition of the American Musical” by Paul Filmer, Val Rimmer, and Dave Walsh


Thursday, April 8th: The "Nashville Sound": Chet Atkins
1. Listen to the interview on NPR with Tommy Emmanuel and the recording below of "Tiptoe Through the Bluegrass" featuring both Tommy Emmanuel and Chet Atkins.


2.
As you read the biography of Chet Atkins on All Music and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, listen the recordings of the people mentioned. Need an extra credit blog post? Create a 200-300-word post which summarizes Chet's life with embedded YouTube videos of 1) people who influenced Chet Atkins, 2) Chet Atkins himself, 3) People who were influenced by Chet Atkins. Embed the videos as they are introduced in your biographical summary.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Friday, March 26th Shakespeare in Song

In response to the class vote on Tuesday, I will attend the Friday performance of the Shakespeare in Song concert and will be available afterwards for questions. If you choose to attend this event this weekend for the Performance Report 1, please bring any questions you may have to class on Tuesday, March 30th as I will dedicate the first 15 minutes of class to answering questions for this report.

Note: Shakespeare in Song will take place over three performances:

The following is a list of approved events for Performance Report 1 if you do not wish to attend Shakespeare in Song:
  • Richardson Community Band "Spring Showcase" at the Eisenmann Center (Richardson near Galatyn Pkwy and 75 Central) at 2pm on Sunday, March 28th. Ticket prices are between $5-7.
  • Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival at the Dallas Arboretum at 11:30am on Sunday, March 28th. Event tickets are free but require admission into the Arboretum ($6.50 with UTD Comet Center advance purchase). Parking onsite is $7 (with free offsite parking at the YMCA).
  • Radio UTD Prom Party at the SU 2.602 Galaxy Room on Saturday, March 27th (8 - 11 p.m.)
  • Jazz in the Atrium at the Dallas Museum of Art every Thursday night from 6-8pm
Other events can be approved through the instructor if details are provided.

Required Reading for Tuesday, March 30 and Blog Post 10

Required Reading
Please read the following handouts for our discussion on Western European Opera.

Handout 1

Handout 2
(Skip down to "Later Italian Composers" on page 688)

Blog Post 10
Part 1 (due Tuesday, March 30 by 8am)
Find a YouTube video which shows a clip from one opera by a composer in your reading. Write a 200-300-word post describing both the music (using your music vocabulary from Chapters 2-5) and the performers and embed the video in the post. (Tip: To embed a video, copy the "embed" link on YouTube and paste it to your blog on the "Edit Html" tab in Blogspot.)

Part 2 (due Thursday, April 1 by 8am)
Find another student's blog post 10 video and add a comment with additional music and/or performer description.

Shakespeare in Song Lecture Listening

Although there is no required reading for tomorrow's lecture, please listen to the following sound/video clips.

3 Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6 (Note: You will need to enter your Student ID and last name (lower cases) to access this online database if you are off-campus.)


Friday, March 19, 2010

Change of Plans: No Dallas Symphony Orchestra Tickets

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (unofficial) field trip has been postponed until April, but we have a few options which I will leave to a class vote:

1) Attend the Richardson Community Band "Spring Showcase" at the Eisenmann Center (Richardson near Galatyn Pkwy and 75 Central) at 2pm on Sunday, March 28th. Ticket prices are between $5-7.

2) Attend the Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival at the Dallas Arboretum at 11:30am on Sunday, March 28th. Event tickets are free but require admission into the Arboretum ($6.50 with UTD Comet Center advance purchase). Parking onsite is $7 (with free offsite parking at the YMCA).

3) Attend UTD's Shakespeare in Song in the Jonsson Performance Hall on Friday, March 26th or Saturday, March 27th at 8pm.

4) An event recommendation by the students?

This event is in preparation for the Performance Report 1 due Tuesday, April 6th. Please keep in mind that attending an event as a class is purely optional. You may attend any of the above events (or an instructor-approved event of your choice) on your own for this report. I am only organizing a focal event in case you would like to meet afterwards and ask questions for the report.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

UT-Dallas Scholarships (Deadline March 31st)

Several UT-Dallas scholarships have upcoming application deadlines.

Tip: When asking faculty for a letter of recommendation, it is helpful to request a letter in person (i.e. during office hours or by appointment) with a copy of your transcript and a copy of the personal narrative required for the application. Be sure you are doing well in the professor's course and ideally ensure that the professor remembers you if it has been more than one semester since you took his/her course.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Blog Entry 9 & Change in Course Calendar for Tuesday, March 23rd

Please replace the current topic for Tuesday, March 23rd with the following:
The Music Culture of Avatar
Assigned Reading/Watching: Watch Avatar (if you have not already) and find any information about the music of Avatar for the blog post below and class discussion.

Blog Post 9
Ethnomusicologist Wanda Bryant consulted on Avatar with the goal of identifying a music culture both for the film score (a soundscape of the film if you will) and the culture of the Na'vi. Since her work on the film, she has spoken to many college ethnomusicology classes regarding the process of creating "otherworldly sounds". After watching the film, blog about the two types of music (film score and Na'vi) and comment on the differences between these two types. Can you identify the separation of the film score and the music of the Na'vi? If it has been a while since you watched the movie, try to listen to the soundtrack again.

Musical Ethnography Frequently Asked Questions

Today's class focused on specific questions regarding the ethnography due Thursday. Below is a summary of our discussion with a few links for more information.

Citations and Sources
Everything you consulted (i.e. program notes, people, the event, etc.) to write about this music-culture is considered a source and must be cited. The purpose of citations and a Works Cited page is two-fold:
1) Give credit to the source
2) Provide information the reader needs to locate the source

Since you are writing blog entries, it is understandable that other forms of citation (i.e. hyperlinks) might be more appropriate. If you have a website you wish to cite, you may choose to hyperlink part of a sentence or a quote instead of providing the in-text citation and adding a Works Cited page. You MUST, however, do or or the other.

How do you cite using MLA?
I have included a helpful website with a brief overview of MLA citation as well as sample entries here.

How do you cite the event you attended or program notes (if available)?
Please refer to the information under "Works Cited" in your Performance Report assignment guidelines.

Macro-Level Organization (General Ethnography Organization)
Please make use of heading titles (i.e. bold, underline, or italics) for the major sections (Introduction, Methodology, Aspects of Music Culture, Conclusion) as well as sub-topics (Ideas, Activities, Repertoires, Material Culture). Be sure to break down the aspects of music culture for the majority of your report.

Writing About Music vs. Writing About Music Culture
Some students have struggled with trying to write about the music using the music vocabulary we have discussed this semester. Please keep in mind that this ethnography is about a music culture, not just the music itself. You may choose to focus on a particular musical elements in the "Ideas" section, but keep this limited to the musical elements you feel comfortable explaining. There is considerable flexibility in this assignment. Although you MUST write something about each aspect and address as many questions as possible, put more content in sections about which you are more sure and confident.

Embedding Videos and Adding Photos
Because this assignment is a blogged assignment, there are options in this submission that you do not have in a paper ethnography. Feel free to add hyperlinks to direct the reader to more information, videos (embedded or linked) to show examples of this music culture, or pictures. At the same time, you should comment on any videos, audio clips, or pictures you include and indicate why it was included.

Presentations
Presentations over this ethnography are extra credit and do not require any formal dress or PowerPoint. If you would like to show the ethnography on your blog, you are welcome to use the computer. Most presentations will be about 3-5 minutes depending on the number of students interested. Even if you do not plan to present, come to class. There will be a double participation grade on Thursday.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Extra Credit Blog Posts (Due Tuesday AFTER event)

You may receive credit for up to two blog posts based on the events below. Be sure to address "music culture" blogs using the four aspects of music culture (ideas, activities, repertoires, and material culture).

1. Texas Annual Guitar Competition (March 4-6)
Volunteer for the competition and blog about the music culture of this competition from your volunteer experience.
Visit the Arts & Performance Office (in Visual Arts Building) for remaining volunteer opportunity schedule and details.

2. Indian Classical Music Circle Event "Madhya Laya - A Taal Vadya Ensemble presenting Rhythms and Ragas of India" (Saturday, April 10, 2010)
Attend the event and blog about the music culture based on your understanding of Hindustani music.
http://www.icmcdfw.org/

3. Rodrigo Toscano Poetry Reading (March 10)
Attend the above poetry reading and blog an answer to the following question: Is poetry music? Refer to the lecture regarding our definition of music and support your answer using the textbook, examples for comparison, or other sources you deem as credible. Be sure to explain your reasoning.
http://www.utdallas.edu/ah/events/detail.html?id=1220061271

4. Music event listed on the DFW International Calendar for the month of March (music ranges from Irish festivals to West African Drumming)
Attend one music event from the DFW International Calendar and blog about the music culture. If this is a music culture we have discussed in class, make note of variations from the examples presented in class. If this is not a music culture discussed in class, what can you determine from your attendance regarding this music culture?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Exam 2: Listening Examples

"I Bring What I Love" Youssou N’Dour (Senegal)



"Amal Hayaty" Umm Kulthum (Egyptian Popular)



"Gerye Konam Ya Nakonam" Googoosh


"Nimbooda" Hindi Film Music


"Kanashii Sake" Do-Enka