1. Music Study Assignment
For this class students write a detailed comparison of any two selections covered by the listening guides in your textbook. At least one of the selections should be a piece of music which is not one of the required listening pieces specified in the syllabus.
The music study should be in 12-point type, 3-4 pages long, and should follow MLA format for the title block (no title page is required), references, text, etc. National University College of Letters and Sciences Writing Standards will apply in grading the music studies.
Each study should be written in full sentences and must cover the following areas:
Identify: (1) the full titles of the pieces; (2) the composers' full names, birth and death dates, and nationalities; (3) the years when the pieces were written and where they fall within the composers' lifetimes.
Compare: Compare the two pieces using these criteria: instrumentation, form, harmony, tempo, meter, texture, style period, text (if any), absolute or programmatic meaning, and sacred or secular orientation. Explain what is similar and different about these pieces and whether or not you think that they relate to each other and how.
Evaluate: Discuss what you perceive to be the strengths or weaknesses in each piece from an aesthetic point of view. This will involve subjective judgment on your part, but please use examples to support your opinions. This section must be well-supported and use information from your textbook.