Concerts Essay Assignment Min. 1000 words Max. 1200 words
Criteria for Concert Review Papers
Your live concert/live YouTube video choice must be one from the pre-approved videos or by emailing the URL of your choice to the instructor for approval. Do not wait until the last minute for instructors approval!
Papers must meet the minimum word count above in order to receive a grade. Otherwise, it is a zero.
Compare and contrast different songs during the performance to support your analysis to the best of your ability.
Respond subjectively to the music but respond wisely! The instructor is interested in your opinions concerning the works, but discuss why you responded as you did justify ideas using your knowledge of musical concepts. A first person point of view is recommended.
Please respond to most (if possible all) works presented in the concert. Do not cram your report full of historical tidbits about each work. The use of outside sources is not required for concert review. If you wish to use outside sources, they need to be approved by your instructor or otherwise you will receive a failing grade. If you do not document information or cite your sources, you will also receive a failing grade.
Introduction (10% of length and value) Identify the concert. Who performed? Where was it performed?
Describe the performance space, physical surroundings, and the appearance of the performers
Indicate the types of instruments/voices, the number of musicians, and whether soloists were used in the performance.
Objective Description of the Music (30% of length and value)
Discuss one or more various musical elements found in the works, including melody, harmony
(consonance/dissonance), texture
(monophony, polyphony, homophony), rhythm (regular/irregular/accents/syncopation), tempo, formal structure (twelve bar blues/AABA), key, and dynamics (piano, forte). Please use musical terms appropriately.
Identify the artist/bands, the work(s) performed, and the historical period to which the music belongs; pay attention to the different backgrounds of the performing artist/bands.
Subjective Reactions to the Music (30% of length and value) Did you like individual pieces? Did you have emotional reactions to any particular piece? Why did you react the way you did? Was it in the composition or the performance or both? What held your
attention? Did your mood change in the course of each concert? Was the concert full of variety or were was all of it more or less the same? Could the performance have been better? How? Could the selection of compositions performed have been more to your taste? Was this a familiar or a new experience? Was there a theatrical dimension to the performance?
Conclusion (10% of length and value)
Did you like or dislike the experience overall?