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Music: Sophomore Assessment

Resources

The following online resources will give you entries that can provide information about your composer, time period, style of music, and other essential pieces of information. They are a great place to start. Most entries link citations at the bottom which can help you continue your research.

Use these resources to find streaming audio/video recordings of the piece(s) you are studying. The recordings are usually of pretty good quality. Many recordings that come from albums include liner notes.

Citations

Due to the nature of this presentation, you will probably want to cite your sources in Chicago style. However, other citation forms may be appropriate. Speak to your private instructor if you have questions about this.

Presenting Skills

PowerPoint tips:

  • Only write using bullet points or short, key bits of information. Do not include long paragraphs or sentences.
  • Include photographs, quotes, scans of your score, etc. to make your presentation interesting and visually appealing
  • Use presentation notes! This can be on note cards, a typed outline, or making use of presenter view. Do not read directly off of the PowerPoint.
  • Cite your sources! Just as you would in a formal paper, you must cite your sources. This is best done at the bottom of each slide that needs one or in a bibliography at the end
  • Put the year of the piece on the title slide. This helps your audience to orient themselves to the time period in which it was composed from the moment you start.

Presenting Skills:

  • Make eye contact (fake it by looking at foreheads or just over the shoulders of the panelists)
  • Speak loud enough and clearly
  • Gesture appropriately
  • Take pauses/breaths (write them in and rehearse them if you have to!)
  • Don't be afraid to play/sing what you are referencing. If you are talking about a specific theme or motif, consider playing it on your instrument to contextualize it.
  • Practice, practice, practice!

Citing your sources is just as important in a presentation as in a formal research paper. There are several ways you can do this.

  • Create a bibliography slide at the end of your powerpoint.

You can order your bibliography slide by number (References slide below) and then reference the numbers in your slide (Beethoven slide below)

  • Create a hand-out of your bibliography. Order the bibliography by number as on the references slide above, then reference those numbers in your slide (Beethoven slide above)

  • Use footnote style citations at the bottom of your slides.

View this video to learn how to cite images in your presentation!