Jazz Concert Review: Overview

Concert Evaluation Guidelines: MUS 2014: General guidelines to writing the paper. AFTER THE CONCERT Write your paper as soon as possible after the concert while the experience is fresh in your mind. What you include in you Concert Review will depend largely on the concert you attend. FORMAT Typed: double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman, one inch margins Title page: Concert title, performers (do not list performers in larger ensembles), date of concert, course number and section, your name, and date. Length: No more than three pages. Assemble: All concert reports must be stapled, with the concert program stapled behind your paper.

Your name should be on each page, and also on the program. Programs: Attendance at a live performance is required; streaming concerts are not acceptable for this assignment. The concert program must be turned in with your paper; papers submitted without programs will not be accepted. Printed PDF programs and Xerox copies will also not be accepted. Be advised that a well-attended performance may run out of programs; be sure to arrive early to get a program. STYLE Write your paper in the first person. This is about your concert experience and your reactions. Avoid jargon, slang, and wordiness.

Points will be deducted for grammatical and spelling errors. CONTENT What do you include in your paper? The most important goal of the concert-going experience is to enjoy the music. If you are busy taking notes and trying to remember everything that you hear, then you are not listening and reflecting. There is not time to analyze the music in great detail in the context of a concert. The primary goals are to listen, enjoy, reflect, and to later articulate your impressions using musical terminology to the best of your ability through the writing of your Concert Review.

What to include: Your paper should follow a standard format including an introductory paragraph, body (one paragraph on each work), conclusions, and a closing paragraph. Introduction: Include name of ensemble(s) and/or soloists performing and the genre of music being performed (eg. Swing, Latin, BeBop, etc.. ). Body: Dedicate one paragraph to each work of music. In each paragraph give the name of the piece, composer, and performer(s) (if different from one to the next). For concerts with several shorter works, these paragraphs will be brief. You MUST attend the entire performance. For concerts with several works, a minimum of 4 works is required) • If possible, include historical context. Include the time period. Were there musical characteristics from that time period that you were able to recognize? Did the piece sound like other pieces in that time period that you heard in class? • Most importantly, include your overall impressions of each piece. Did you like or dislike the work? What was it that you liked or disliked? Using musical terminology articulate to the best of your ability what you liked. • Can you relate the piece to anything you have listened to in class? Had you heard the piece before?

Conclusions/Closing Paragraph: • Did you enjoy one piece of music more than others? If so, why? • Have you been to a concert of this type before? • How does attending a live concert influence your listening? • What did you think of the quality of the performance? • Given the opportunity, would you go to another concert of this type? Things to Avoid: • Do not give a “play by play” of the pieces. “First the piano… ” “Next the Saxophones… ” then the percussion…. ” • Do not take unnecessary space with long lists of instruments, and performers. • Avoid overused words like upbeat, smooth, entertaining, and cool. Avoid redundancies. For example, if an entire concert of music is from the Swing era, this does not need to be stated in each paragraph. • Do not call a piece of music a “song” unless it has words and someone was singing. • Do not use additional sources without citing them. THE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER The University Writing Center is located on the bottom level of the Belk Library and Information Commons, in Room 008. Consultants will work with you one-on-one and provide assistance with style, organization, content, grammar, and documentation. For more information, visit www. writingcenter. appstate. du; or call 262-3144 to make an appointment. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY As a community of learners atAppalachian State University, we must create an atmosphere of honesty, fairness, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn the trust and respect of each other. Furthermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of anAppalachian degree. Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form and will oppose any instance of academic dishonesty. This course will follow the provisions of the Academic Integrity Code, which can be found on the Office of Student Conduct Web Site: