MUSIC M502: MONTEVERDI

Indiana University School of Music

Fall 1999

M502 Homepage | Schedule | Listening List | Reserves | Journal | Project

The Journal

Guidelines | Listening | Reading | Questions and thoughts | Evaluation

The journal

The journal is designed to be an informal place for you to do your own thinking. It is not a place to take notes from the readings or from class. It should serve as a place for you to think about the music you are listening to and the articles you are reading before we discuss them in class. We will frequently use it as a starting point for discussion, and it will be collected and graded at intervals.

During the first part of the semester, you will probably spend 2-3 hours a week, spread out into smaller segments of time, writing in your journal in response to the listening and reading assignments. Later in the semester, you may write in it less often, or may use it as a place to write down your thoughts related to your group work and your individual project.

Some guidelines

Use a BOUND COMPOSITION BOOK, which is more durable and less tempting to use for other things than a spiral notebook. Do NOT use looseleaf notebook paper, do NOT type, and do NOT use a computer. I want you to have a hand-written, bound, completely portable journal.
Bring your journal to class with you EVERY DAY and keep it with you whenever you study for this class.
Write directly in your journal--do not write out an entry elsewhere and transcribe it into your journal, as this wastes your time and makes it harder for me to follow your thinking as it develops. This is not final-draft writing; this is first-thoughts, messy writing. For the same reason, do not rip out pages; if you don't like something you have written, say so and write a new version, correction, or response.
Please LEAVE MARGINS wide enough for me to write comments and responses. (An inch on the outside is plenty.)
DATE ALL YOUR ENTRIES by the day you enter them. What I do is to write continuously, not starting each entry on a new page. I mark the first entry for a day with a double diagonal line in the margin and then enter the date, while I give later entries that same day only a single line. You can work out any system you like, as long as the day you write each entry is clear.
Do not leave blanks for pieces or readings you have skipped and plan to go back to later. The entries should appear in the order you write them, NOT the order in which listening assignments and readings appear on the syllabus.
Neatness does not count. Just be sure I can read what you write. If you use heavy ink that bleeds through, please do not write on both sides of the paper.

Write in your journal about each piece or group of pieces on the listening list (including the videos of opera performances) and each reading before the class session for which they are assigned. You will occasionally be asked to write on assigned topics. You may also find the journal a good place to write down your thinking as it develops, about Monteverdi in general, about your team's subject area, or about the topic of your presentation and paper.

Listening assignments

When you listen to a piece on the listening list, write a brief description of it in your journal and explain what is distinctive about it.

The description may include statements about some or all of these aspects of the work: its genre, style, and form; its use of rhythm, melody, or harmony; its representation of events, words, emotions, or characters; or its treatment of voices and instruments.

Given this description, you should go on to say what you find most interesting and individual about this piece, including what distinguishes it from other works by the same or other composers and what the composer seems to be most interested in in this piece. It may be particularly helpful to compare the various works of Monteverdi you will be studying to each other.

Reading assignments

Your reading notes should go in your course notebook, not in the journal. The journal is for brief summaries of the readings and your reactions to them.

Some readings have a main point, whereas others are primarily informational. When the writer is trying to convince you of something, write a paragraph that states the main point of the reading and summarizes the argument, including the most important supporting points and pieces of evidence. For readings that focus on offering information, write a paragraph or short outline that summarizes what you think is the most important information in the reading. This summary should be brief, no more than half a page.

If you have a comment about or reaction to the reading, write that down next. The summary should always precede your reaction.

Finally, write down one or more questions you would like to explore further, questions raised for you by the reading. These may serve as a stimulus for discussion in class or for further thinking about the topic.

Questions and thoughts

When you have a question, or a new thought, or a gripe to get off your chest, or you want to contrast what one author says with what another says, or you have anything else to say, write it down. As you read around in the literature in your team's subject area or on your paper topic, write down responses to what you are reading. Every few weeks, write down what you have been learning. Summarize your experience in the course as if you were summarizing a reading, including reactions, comments, and further questions you want to explore. The journal is a particularly good way to share your thinking with me or your future self, or to try out half-baked ideas in a fairly private space.

Evaluating the journal

You will occasionally share what you have written in class. I will also collect and read the journals from time to time (see due dates in the course schedule), using these criteria:

consistency: are you doing the work consistently and on time?
command of the material: are your descriptions of the music accurate and clear? do your summaries and responses show an understanding of the readings? are you applying what we cover in class to the music you hear?
originality: are you thinking for yourself? do you have fresh and interesting things to say and interesting questions to ask about the music and readings?

Since there are no formal examinations, it is in the journal and in class discussion that you will demonstrate your command of the material we cover as a class.