MUS 110CL Concert Critique After either attending a live concert or watching a full length concert online, write a critique of the performance following the format below.

MUS 110CL Concert Critique Guidelines and Rubric After either attending a live concert or watching a full length concert online, write a critique of the performance following the format below. Here are a few examples of full length concerts you can find online (by conducting a web search using the criteria below) that could be used for this assignment:

 Coldplay Live In Boston 2012 (Full Concert DVD)

 Sting: If on a winters night-Live from Durham Cathedral 2009 (watch all 14 songs on concert)

 Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Jan Hammer, Charlie

 Duke Ellington The Great Paris Concert

 Richard Galliano/Winton Marsalis – Billie Holiday meets Edith PIAF

 Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra @ The BBC Proms 2004

 Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson, Amazing stuff!

 Loretta Lynn — You're Looking At Country – Legends In Concert You may choose a different concert video to watch, but be sure you include the URL of the concert you chose in your critique, or scan the program of the live concert you attended and attach it. The musical style of the concert should include at least one of the genres studied in this course. The Concert Critique should be 2.5 pages long, double spaced. It should contain five paragraphs that describe the following aspects of the concert you attended:

1. Who are the performers? Give the title of the concert and write something about the performers. Is it an orchestra? A choir? An ensemble? Solo artists? Why did you choose to attend this particular performance? Tell as much as you know about the musicians that performed – are they professionals? Students? Teachers? How long have they been performing? Etc.

2. Describe the music that was performed on the concert. Use the musical characteristics that we have been learning in class. What genre is the music (opera aria? Jazz song? Standard tune? Solo instrument piece? Symphony?)

3. What style period was the music written in? What was the tempo, dynamics, texture, etc.? Sometimes the music in a concert will be only one genre. Sometimes there will be several genres performed. Attach the program to your critique, and then refer to the titles in the program. For example: “Autumn Leaves” was performed by a small instrumental ensemble (guitar, bass, and percussion). It is a standard contemporary tune. The tempo was a moderately slow ballad. It had a very mellow sound…

4. Tell how well you think the performers interpreted the music that was on the concert. Were the singers in tune? Did the piano player play musically and rhythmically? Do you think the performers communicated the music as it was meant to be communicated by the composer?

5. Tell which pieces or part of the concert was most moving or enjoyable for you. If you didn’t enjoy the concert very much, tell why you didn’t enjoy it. What could have been better? Be as specific as you can when expressing your opinion of the performance – don’t just write generalities like “It was nice” or “it made me feel like dancing”. Tell why the music made you feel like dancing. Write about why you particularly enjoyed that part of the concert.

6. Conclude your critique by summing up the performance and telling us if you would go to hear these performers again – or would invite your friends or family to hear this performance/performers.

Submit the Concert Critique to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 5. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Grading Rubric:

Describes the Performers and their background. (10 points possible)

Does not describe the performers or their background at all. 0

Gives only vague description of performers with little or no background. 10

Lists performers’ names and gives some experience and background. 16

Gives a complete description of the performers and their backgrounds. 20

Describes the music that was performed using music terms. (10 points possible)

Does not describe the music that was performed at all. 0

Includes a partial list of the music, or only gives titles with no description. 10

Lists the music and gives some description of it that uses musical terms. 16

Gives a complete description of the music including genre, style, tempo, instruments. 20

Critiques the performance and gives reasonable explanation. (10 points possible)

Gives no objective critique. 0

Gives little objective critique and doesn’t back up opinions. 10

Gives reasonable critique and states musical reasons for opinions. 16

Critiques the music in depth using musical terms and reasoning. 20

Gives personal opinions/preferences. (10 points possible)

Includes no personal opinions or preferences. 0

Includes only vague comments about whether or not the writer likes the music. 10

Describes their favorite and least favorite moments in the concert and states why. 16

Gives in depth personal descriptions of why the music either does or does not appeal to the student. 20

Concludes with appropriate comments. (5 points possible)

Ends the critique with no concluding statements. 0

Ends the critique with only a brief concluding sentence. 4

Ends the critique with an adequate summary and recommendations. 8

Ends the critique with a summary and recommendation for future listening or improvement. 10

Uses good grammar and appropriate sentence structure. (5 points possible)

Grammar has obvious glaring errors and/or an inappropriately casual tone. 0

Student used proper grammar, overall, but did not proofread and included many errors. 4

Student used good sentence structure and overall grammar, but still had some errors. 8

Grammar and spelling has no errors, and the paper is logical and well-structured. 10

Total points (out of 100) __