MIDTERM: Album Review Project Overview (MUSC-1236_David Baker) | Julie Swindler

Instead of a midterm exam, you will complete an Album Review Project and submit it in Module 8.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to help you connect elements of jazz history to a contemporary music album (of your choice). Essentially, you will be tracing elements of contemporary music back to the source in jazz history.

Task

1. Find a jazz album that was released in the last twenty years that resonates with you on some level. Perhaps the album features an instrument you enjoy, an artist you are familiar with, or maybe the title spoke to you.

2. Listen to the album to discover the ways the album connects to jazz history.

3. Write a 500-word review of the album.

4. Submit your review to Canvas.

Milestone Assignments

As we move through the course materials to midterm, there will be milestone assignments to help keep you on track. Be sure you complete each one. 

Midterm Milestone 1: Select 3 Jazz Albums

Find three jazz albums, released in the past 20 years, you are considering using for your project. You will use only one for your project, but listing three gives you more options.

Midterm Milestone 2: Structure of a Jazz Performance

1. Choose the album you want to review for your midterm.

2. Select a track from the album you've chosen.

3. Sketch out a timeline of that track that demonstrates the structure of the performance. 

• • Title of the Album, Track, and Release Date
  • Personnel (who is playing what instruments)
  • Chronological Performance Structure with Timestamps
    • Intro (if it exists)
    • Head In (first time through the melody)
    • Solos (in order of appearance, which instrument, notes on what instruments are accompanying)
    • Trading (if it exists)
    • Head Out (last time through the melody)
    • Outro (if it exists)
    • Anything Else (decide how you would best describe what is happening and include that information)

4. Submit your sketch to Canvas as a Word document, a slideshow, an infographic, a timeline, or a video. Use the Format of Choice Guide for details about each option.

Midterm Milestone 3: Critical Listen

Give your selected jazz album a first listen. As you listen, create a Word document with a list of elements you liked and/or disliked. Bullet points are acceptable. Use song names and time stamps when appropriate. You need a minimum of eight bullet points for the record. Be sure to listen to and comment on the full album, rather than listening and responding to only the first few songs.

Midterm Milestone 4: Connect Your Album to New Orleans

Write a 200-word reflection connecting your selected album to New Orleans. Think about the roles of race, identity, opportunity, subversion, and the mixing of musical styles that existed in New Orleans and how your album might relate to these themes. Think metaphorically. For instance, you could explain that the soloist, who is playing aggressively or frenetically against the rhythm section, who is playing more passively, is an example of two different identities working together. Don't shy away from hypothesizing or positing an opinion that may not be explicitly explained by the artist.

Midterm Milestone 5: Submit Album Review

You will submit your Album Review Project in Module 8:

1. Word document
   • Double spaced
   • 12-point Calibri font
2. Properly organized and thoughtfully constructed
3. Include the following content:
   • Album title and artist
   • Information you learned from the Structure, Critical Listen, and Reflection on New Orleans assignments
   • Likes and dislikes
   • How the album relates to what you’ve learned about jazz history so far
   • Musical elements
   • Similar motivations to previous artists
   • Influences on the artist

Criteria

See the rubric for the project attached to Midterm Milestone 5: Submit Album Review.

• 97 to 100 points = A
• 78 to 96 = B
• 45 to 77 = C
• 4 to 44 = D
• 0 to 3 = F