Group Music Making


Event Responses

SSU Concerts

Listening Responses

How to Listen

Multimedia Resources




A crucial part of this course involves listening to music outside class. As part of your class work, you are required to listen to music or watch videos about music for two hours each week, and to write a response to what you have heard and/or seen.



The Class Schedule lists the type of music you should be exploring for each unit of the class. The Music 270 Multimedia Resources guide lists by unit and topic audio and video resources available to you in the library; you may choose any items on this list for your weekly listening/viewing. You may use other sources as well--your own collections of recordings, those of your friends, radio, the Internet. But make certain you choose music and videos relevant to what we are studying that week. If in doubt, check with me first.


List all you have listened to or watched for the class. with timings for each item (List CD titles, not everything on the CD.) Remember that two hours of listening and/or viewing are expected each week. Make sure you include some listening each week, not just watch videos.

As you are doing your listening, select a single focus piece, which particularly stands out to you, for whatever reason. Listen to it several times, identify it (piece, composer, performers, information about the setting of the performance) and write a commentary on it by providing three perspectives on the piece:


objective description: What is going on in the music? What instruments are used? If there are voices, describe the style of singing. How does the sound of this music differ from music you normally listen to? Is melody, harmony or rhythm most prominent to you? What kinds of textures do you hear? How does the piece use repetition? See the How To Listen page for ideas and vocabulary to help you describe the music.

functional description: What roles did the music serve? Where was it performed? Under what circumstances? Who were the performers? The audience? What musical characteristics made it appropriate for its functions? Do you know music from your own experience intended to fulfill similar functions?

critical response: What interests you, repels you, attracts you in this music? What does it evoke? Describe in your own words the effect the music has on you. What characteristics of the music are most important in causing the music to affect you the way that it does? What was the intended purpose/effect of the music at the time it was created?

DUE DATES for each Listening Response are listed on the Class Schedule page.

Your response is to be submitted in an e-mail to mus270s07@aol.com by class time on the date the Response is due.

GRADING Each Response is worth 1% of your course grade; there are 10 Listening Responses, for a total of 10 points.. They are not graded for content, though they often will receive comments. Studying, by listening or viewing, the type of music specified on the Schedule of Readings and Listening, using the above format--a list of what you have listened to and/or watched and a discussion of one particular piece that stood out to you--and sending in your report in on time will give you full credit.