your Musical Theme/ Instructions

  Instructions

Make a themed playlist of at least 6 songs that includes music from at least four of the following genres: classical/traditional, rock, jazz, hip hop/rap, country, folk, blues, electronic. The playlist should have some unifying idea or ideas, but will also demonstrate some range. The unifying idea could be something conceptual – like a lyrical/title/subject theme, or it could be sonic or musical in nature, or it could be a mix of both. For instance, suppose you chose the theme of bells. This playlist could show its range by including AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” (rock), LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” (rap), the traditional Christmas song, “Jingle Bells,” and the folk-blues song “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” in which Blind Lemon Jefferson sings the line, “have you ever heard a church bell toll?” and then makes his guitar sound like a chiming bell.

Once you have put together your playlist, be sure and post links to all of your musical examples on your blog. Along with the links, post an introduction describing what your theme is, why you chose it, and what relevance it has to you. Finally, write a short description of each piece of music you’ve included. Each piece’s description should explain the way it ties to the theme, but you should also explain each piece musically, deploying some of the chapter’s technical vocabulary to do so. Describe its melody, tempo, its degree of consonance, and/or dissonance. What is the piece’s structure? Be sure and relate these ideas to the issue of effective content: what emotion does each piece invoke? How does it communicate this emotion? How does a piece’s style contribute to its message and emotional content?

There is an important limitation on this assignment. Since this exercise should entail a certain amount of light research, “love” is not an acceptable theme, on account of its too-common use in all genres. Have fun, and stretch out with this assignment. With the help of Google and Youtube, you should be able to produce an interesting collection of pieces.

Posting should be at least 350 words. This assignment will be assessed on its formal clarity, the quality of the writing and editing, its degree of engagement with its topic, its creativity/inventiveness/originality of ideas, and the sophistication of thought it expresses.

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Rubric

2020 Blog Post/Writing Rubric

2020 Blog Post/Writing Rubric

CriteriaRatingsPts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContent

Ability to incorporate and synthesize learned material into written responses that are accurate and meaningful, and which reflect student’s grasp on, and ability to think independently about the course content.

35 pts

Exceptional

The student shows mastery of the relevant information and ideas and demonstrates deep thinking on the topic. The response demonstrates creativity, synthesis, and/or incisive critical thinking on the issues at hand.

30 pts

Good

The student demonstrates a solid grasp of the material and can convey responses to the material in a clear, accurate, and thoughtful manner. Depth of student knowledge and thinking on the topic seems adequate but not exceptional. The response is solid but may not make new critical leaps, or synthesize information in unexpected ways.

25 pts

Adequate

The student demonstrates basic familiarity with the material and adequately addresses the prompt. Conveys ideas in a coherent, though unremarkable, manner.

20 pts

Unacceptable

Student response lacks clarity, accuracy, or demonstrates a lack of thought and engagement about ideas/material, or an inaccurate grasp of ideas/material.

35 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar/Mechanics

Ability to craft coherent thoughts in standard English, free from errors in diction, spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and edited for flow and clarity.

35 pts

Exceptional

Writing is well-edited and completely free from errors in spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Reads smoothly, clearly, and with careful attention to sentence rhythm, word choice, and thoughtfulness about overall flow.

30 pts

Good

Writing is clear, well-edited, and completely free from errors in spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Shows some awareness of word choice and overall flow.

25 pts

Adequate

Writing is largely free from errors in spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation is largely clear and demonstrates some attention to editing and reader experience.

20 pts

Unacceptable

Writing contains several errors in spelling, grammar, diction, and/or punctuation. Is unclear and shows little to no editing.

35 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStructure

Ability to form a body of ideas on a topic into a coherent whole. Knowledge of how ideas flow together and how transitions connect passages logically to one another.

30 pts

Exceptional

Argument/exposition demonstrates mastery of form and flow and overall awareness of the assignment as a written whole. Demonstrates creative, inventive, or incisive solutions for presenting students’ thoughts and course materials in a novel, meaningful and effective ways.

27 pts

Good

Argument/exposition demonstrates a grasp of form and flow and awareness of the assignment as a written whole.

23 pts

Adequate

Argument/exposition is coherent and complete but shows little to no thought to design. Ideas are presented clearly, but with no compelling logic or order.

20 pts

Unacceptable

Argument/exposition is haphazard and not logically presented.

30 pts