Essay Instructions: LONG LISTENING ASSIGNMENT FORMAT
For this assignment, you will watch specific videos on YouTube (or on a DVD that is on reserve at the Douglass Room on the 3rd floor of the Knight Library) and report on what you see and hear. These are movies of a jazz concert and utilize many of the techniques of jazz that we have discussed.
For the YouTube URLs, see below for individual songs.
For the DVD at the Douglass Room: Jazz Icons: Dizzy Gillespie VIDEO DVD 01670
?Begin each report with the basics: the full personnel (musicians' names, plus all the instruments they play in the songs you're reporting on), and where and when the concert took place (if you don't know more, at minimum: country and year). Set the scene. I highly recommend that you access this Web site for more information on this performance: http://www.jazzicons.com/ji_gillespie.html
?Then report on what you heard and saw for the four exact songs specified in the assignment. Use terms from class to describe the styles of each song (for example Early Jazz, Swing Era, Bebop, Modern Jazz, Ballad, Afro-Cuban Jazz) and the roles played by each instrument for each song. Do not use "same as above"! Here are some of the instrumental roles that we've discussed so far: ride pattern, comping, walking bass, stride piano, sticks or brushes on the drums. (See your lecture notes, your textbook and its Audio Primer CD, the Basic Jazz Terms (found on Blackboard in Course Documents) and the Jazz Video Demonstrations (Blackboard).
If a musician changes instruments from one song to another, make that clear. If the trumpeter uses a mute, or if there is a vocal, or if a musician does not play on a particular song, make those clear. Make it clear if the drummer is playing with sticks or brushes or mallets or a combination. (See your lecture notes, your textbook, the Basic Jazz Terms, the Modern Jazz Comparison, and Jazz History Overview found on Blackboard (Course Documents).
Present them in the order listed:
1. "Blues After Dark" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jPpYFc4Yo
On DVD: chapter1
For "Blues after Dark," also discuss the performance in greater detail. To the styles of each song and the roles played by each instrument (see above), add the following: a sequence of events from the beginning to the end of the chosen song. These could include: an introduction, melody statements (the "head"), solos (by which instrument, in the correct order), trading between soloists, an ending, and so forth. Then select one solo within your chosen song to describe in more detail. State which solo you've chosen! How did the solo progress from beginning to end? Which soloist(s) heard in class did it remind you of? In your view, was the solo successful? Why or why not? What was your emotional response to it?
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2. "On the Sunny Side of the Street": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UEGmAvWfM
On DVD: chapter 2
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3. "Lover Man": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY9ywcx7-bA
On DVD: chapter 3
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4. "The Blues Walk": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ondhKp0dde8
On DVD: chapter 5
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? End your report with a half page describing your emotional response to the overall performance. Was it pleasing to you? Why or why not? Be specific. Was there anything specific about it that you liked?
A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM: If you choose to view the videos or DVD and brainstorm with a classmate, that's fine. BUT, once you sit down to type out your report, all the writing must be your own. Your data (the name of the group, the names of the songs, the names of the instruments) may be the same as another classmate's data, but the actual writing of sentences must be your own. Students who submit work that involves plagiarism will receive zero on the assignment, and may face stronger discipline. Also, you are responsible for keeping your assignments confidential and not letting others gain access to them. If one student copies from another student's work, both students will get zero on the assignment.
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SAMPLE CHECKLIST (FOR YOUR INFORMATION; THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE PERFECTLY COMPLETE OR TAKE PLACE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS)
Full personnel (musicians' names and instruments)? .
Where and when the concert took place?
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1. Blues after Dark
style(s) of the piece
role(s) of piano
role(s) of bass
role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets)
role(s) of horn players (don't overlook this)
IN GREATER DETAIL:
Sequence of events: complete or incomplete?
FOR YOUR SELECTED SOLO WITHIN THIS SONG (IDENTIFY WHICH SOLO):
How did the solo progress from beginning to end?
Which soloist(s) heard in class did it remind you of?
Was the solo successful? Why or why not?
What was your emotional response to it?
2. On the Sunny Side of the Street (do not use "same as above")
style(s) of the piece
role(s) of piano
role(s) of bass
role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets)
role(s) of horn players (don't overlook this)
3. Lover Man (do not use "same as above")
role(s) of piano
role(s) of bass
role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets)
role(s) of horn players (don't overlook this)
4. Blues Walk (do not use "same as above")
style(s) of the piece
role(s) of piano
role(s) of bass
role(s) of drums (including sticks or brushes or mallets)
role(s) of horn players (don't overlook this)
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CONCLUSION:
Emotional response to the overall performance:
Was it pleasing to you? Why or why not?
Specific?
Half page?
Overall: Checked spelling and grammar?
There are faxes for this order.
