Tom Bergeron's Blog

Embellishing Tones Project

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:32:31 -0800

Here is the template for the Embellishing Tones project.

Click "Continue Reading" for the project description.

Contemporary Readings: Reading List

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 13:08:42 -0800

Greetings MM Students,

Here is the reading list for MUS 685. This is more or less the order that we'll read them in, but feel free, of course, to browse them all and start reading whatever interests you. I'll have a more detailed reading schedule for you at the first class meeting, which will be Tuesday 8 January 4-7 pm.

These books will not be available in the WOU bookstore. You may be able to find used copies of many of them online or at Powell's Books. Please obtain them all before the first meeting.

• Stuart Isacoff: Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization
• Bruno Nettl: Heartland Excursions: Ethnomusicological Reflections on Schools of Music
• Joshua Fineberg: Classical Music, Why Bother?: Hearing the World of Contemporary Culture through a Composer's Ears
• Christopher Small: Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening
• Elijah Wald: Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues
• William Benzon: Beethoven’s Anvil: Music in Mind and Culture
• Chuck Klosterman: Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

Final Exam: Practice Version

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:40:59 -0800

Here is the practice version of the exam. In addition to this portion, remember that you'll be expected to render a comprehensive analysis of one of these five songs:
• Penny Lane 767
• All My Lovin’ 28
• And I Love Her 44
• Got to Get You Into My Life 347
• I Wanna Hold Your Hand 565

You may bring with you the analysis summary I handed out in class, and which is available in the previous post.

Download Practice Exam

Analysis Summary

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:45:37 -0800

The extended entry (click "Continue reading..." below) contains directions for your analysis. Please note that this post contains the corrections discussed in class. You may bring a copy of this outline to the final exam.

Project 1 Comments

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:41:26 -0800

As you work on Project 2, keep the following points in mind:

o Turn off “Enable Chord Playback.”
o Make bass lines less random
• Paperback Writer 762
• Got to Get You Into 347
• I Wanna Hold 565
o Smoother voice-leading in piano part
• Penny Lane
• Fool On the Hill 282
o Make sure chord symbol agrees with written notes
• Key signature
• Accidentals carrying across the measure
• Correct enharmonic spelling
o Only 7ths to use are V7 or 7ths derived form LPs
o Lowest note on a bass = E
o Slash chords: The means that note is actually in the bass
o Arpeggiated 2nd inversion must be metrically weak
o Avoid muddiness in low register
o Melodies must be singable
o +2 is too wide for NT
o Melody needs NCTs: Otherwise = arpeggios
o Label all non-chord tones
o 7th may be treated as a chord tone in melody, not bass
• If 7th=chord-tone in melody, it must resolve down
o Voice-leading: 3rd of V-chord moves up to resolution
o Show the actual line in the music as well as at the chord
o Keep consistent texture in piano (3 notes)
o Show the 3rd beat of the measure
o Insert name as composer and copyright holder
o Must have double-bar at end (set pref to not add measure)
o Write analysis between piano and bass part
o Turn in an analyzed copy

Final Project Description

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:05:36 -0800

Download file

Final Project

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:49:22 -0800

The first theory podcast is up and ready for download. In it, I begin to explain the Final Project. Click on the link above to download a copy of the Word doc describing the project.

Music Theory I Syllabus

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:43:19 -0800

Greetings to all new theory students! Below you'll find the syllabus for MUS 211 for Fall 2006.

Correction for Final Exam

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 15:22:40 -0800

You may have discovered that two links appear to be incorrect. Here's the scoop:

The Robert Cray link is actually correct, but the cut is titled "Because of Me." The lyric of that song contains the album title: "...because I'm such a strong persuader." Sorry about the confusion.

The Salif Keita link is totally wrong. Waraya can be found here:
http://www.rhapsody.com/salifkeita/amen
D'oh!

Listening for Final Exam

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 01:21:38 -0800

Here are the tracks you'll need to be able to identify for the final. The exam will be based entirely on listening. You'll be asked to provide the following information about each track:

1-Title
2-Artist (composer/performer)
3-Date (composed/recorded)
4-Genre (blues/folk/bluegrass/country/jazz/pop) OR (historical period) OR (country of origin)
5-Other relevant information

Listening for Quiz Next Week

Thu, 25 May 2006 22:52:08 -0800

The listening quiz will be next week, Thursday 1 June. The listening selections you'll be tested on are listed in the extended entry below. Here's the information you'll need for each selection:
Title
Composer
Dates of Composer's Life*
Historical Period

* Rather than learning the actual date each piece was composed, I'll ask you the dates of the composer's birth and death (or just birth, in the case of living composers!). You should know the composer's dates within about 10 years.

21st Century Class Notes

Tue, 09 May 2006 21:34:18 -0800

Here are the podcasts I made reference to in class today.

Tango: Maria Volonte and Ned Sublette (GH 4/21 & AW 4/26)
Going Portable with Classical Music (NPRM 5/6/11:20)
So Percussion (NPRM 4/19/18:36)
Ghotface Killah (NPRM 4/26/4:08)
Atlanta embraces hip-hop (NPRM 4/26/8:02)
Congotronics (AW 5/3)

Here are two additional Rhapsody links related to these podcasts:

So Percussion
Listen to "The So-Called Laws of Nature (I)."
Congotronics
Listen to "Wa Muluendu."

In mentioned in class and a previous blog that you'll need to know the title of the album. Scratch that. I've decided that's asking too much detail. You just need to know the artist's name, the title of the track, and the date it was recorded, exactly as in the previous listening quiz. Sorry if I caused you to panic in the meantime.

Midterm Preview

Fri, 05 May 2006 12:18:49 -0800

LISTENING
For the midterm, you'll be responsible for all the listening posted on this blog on these dates:
May 05
May 02
April 25
There will be another post on Tuesday May 09 that will add to these.
Note that you'll need to know the following about these selections:
Name of the Artist
Title of the track (often referred to as the "song")
Title of the album
Date recorded (be wary of Rhapsody dates!)

PODCASTS
The midterm will include questions about some of the basic information and concepts discussed in the podcasts. Click on "Continue Reading" to get a list of podcast segments that I advise you to study in detail.

LECTURES
Review your notes from class lectures. Most of my comments serve the purpose of establishing a context for the musical selections and podcats. A couple lectures have gone deeper into specific topics. I've posted my notes for the Brazil (choro) lecture, but not for the lecture related to the 4/8 NPRM podcast, so you'll have to rely on your own notes and/or memory for that one. As I mention elsewhere on this blog, the film "Down from the Mountain" is available for rental should you wish to review for the test by watching it.

Listening Assignments

Fri, 05 May 2006 11:23:06 -0800

Here are the listening assignments related to yesterday's lecture.

Del McCoury
Read about him at the Del McCoury Band website
Listen to "Dry My Tears and Move On" on Rhapsody.

Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares
Read about the Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic.
Listen to "Houbava Milka" on Rhapsody.

Ani
Listen to "Ummah Wake Up" on Rhapsody.

Neil Young
Listen to "Looking for a Leader" on Rhapsody
You can watch the lyrics at Neil Young's website.

Bruce Springsteen
Listen to "We Shall Overcome" on Rhapsody.

Pete Seeger
Listen to "Which Side Are You On?" on Rhapsody.

Tom Ze
Listen to "Estupido Rapaz" on Rhapsody.

Down from the Mountain

Tue, 02 May 2006 22:12:24 -0800

Today we watched excerpts from the film "Down from the Mountain." It's out in video, of course, so you can rent it and watch the whole thing. Listed below are links to Rhapsody pages from which you can listen to the artists I covered in class. You will be responsible for being able to identify the tracks in this list on the midterm, which, as I mentioned just as you all were leaving, will be Thursday 11 May. Remember that the midterm will include more than just a listening component. This Thursday I'll give you a list of podcast segments that you'll be expected to have studied.

Fairfield Four
Fairfield Four
•My God Called

Alison Kraus
http://www.rhapsody.com/alisonkrauss/lonelyrunsbothways
•Unionhouse Branch

Emmylou Harris
http://www.rhapsody.com/emmylouharris/duets
•Love Hurts (duet with Gram Parsons)

The Cox Family
http://www.rhapsody.com/thecoxfamily/beyondthecity
•Another Lonesome Morning

Gillian Welch/David Rawlings
http://www.rhapsody.com/gillianwelch/timetherevelator?pageid=rotw.searchalbum&pageregion=A1
•Dear Someone
•I Want to Sing that Rock and Roll
These two cuts have been assigned before, so check them out again.

Ralph Stanley
http://www.rhapsody.com/ralphstanley/manofconstantsorrow
•Man of Constant Sorrow

There's lots more great bluegrass I'd like to play for you, but we've spent about enough time on country & bluegrass. I'll just add one more on Thursday, so if you'd like to check it out before class, here's the link:

Del McCoury
Intrnational Bluegrass Music Association "Entertainer of the Year" eight times since 1994.
Winner of the 2005 Grammy for "Best Bluegrass Album"
http://www.rhapsody.com/album?albumId=288782