Music Concert Report

Make sure you look at the files posted!!
You do not have to write three pages worth of work. however, there is a minimal number of orders required which is 500 words.

I. Your report should include the following information:
Introduction (about 10% of paper, worth about 10% of your grade)
 name and type of performer(s); size of ensembles;
 date, time, and place of concert
 type of music: choral, band, orchestra, musical, opera, singer, jazz band, variety, etc.
 Don’t get carried away describing setting, dress, etc.—focus on the music

Body of report (about 80% of paper, worth about 80% of your grade):
This section of the paper should include a brief description of each work performed on the program. For
multimovement works, include some specific description of each movement. NOTE: This should not be
background information about the work or the composer, it should not be description of the plot (for example,
the plot of a musical, or a description of what the text of a song is about) and it should not be a complex
technical analysis. Describe what you hear.
 Title and composer
 What did you hear? Here are some ideas: (all might not apply to every piece)
media? what kinds of singers or instruments were involved?
fast or slow? smooth, bouncy, soothing, harsh, happy, sad, scary, etc.?
loud or soft? steady dynamics or changing? dynamic range?
any solos? long or short? any featured instruments or groups?
any melodies, themes, or sections that are repeated?
was the harmony consonant or dissonant? did the music create any images in your mind
most prominent thing about the piece? your reaction to the piece?
 This is the most important part of your report! Avoid getting stuck describing only tempo and
dynamics. You should describe 4 or 5 different elements for each work. Describe it as you would
describe it to a friend who really wanted to know what the music sounded like.
 You do not need to use any outside sources. However, if you do include any description–from program
notes or any other source–be sure to footnote the source. Using outside sources without documenting
them will result in a grade of zero for the report.

Conclusion (about 10% of paper, worth about 10% of your grade)
Your general reaction to the performance goes here, along with any additional comments you want to make.
This might include some or all of the following:
 What did you like or dislike about the music played?
 Did the performers seem to do a good job?
 Was this different from what you expected? If so, how?
 What information would be helpful to someone going to a similar concert?

II. How to write it:
 Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting will be taken into consideration in grading.
 Use proper footnote citations for anything that isn’t your own thoughts and words. (This includes information
in program notes.)
 Titles of musical works should be properly formatted. (See Citing Musical Works.)
 Double space, black ink
 Times New Roman or Arial font, 12 pt. font size
 Since you will be submitting your report electronically, you will ignore the instructions about “No cover sheet,” “Include the printed program,” and “Staple pages together” found in in “II. How to write it” on the “Writing Your Concert Report” handout.  Include the printed program with your report. (If there is no printed program, include a complete list of
works performed.) Here’s how to do that: Scan the printed program, save as a PDF, and upload it as an
attachment with your report. Most scanners allow you to scan several pages into one multiple page PDF. Be
sure to scan the pages of the program that include the date, time, and place of the event, and the complete list of
works performed. Upload both the report itself and the PDF of the program to Blackboard. Bb allows you to
upload several files to one report submission.
 Reports will be graded based on how well they fulfill the requirements described above, and length may vary
somewhat according to the performance you attend. As a general rule, the minimum required length to
accomplish the assignment is about 500 words, but some reports will be longer

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