There has been a discussion on the AMS mailing list about student reading and writing competency and habits. The whole things started from this article. I responded a member who was giving an example of three students he had. I've added a hair of emphasis for this posting that was not in the original.
Music post to come soon, possibly this weekend or early next week.
I would like to submit a student's perspective on the issue.
Your complaint (and the general gist of the thread) runs both ways. Over the course of my studies, I've been marked wrong by my teachers many times because I answered a question as asked rather than as the teacher meant to ask it. I've seen tests where the instructor's directions ran the gamut from nonsense to gibberish to contradictory. My personal experience is that half of my the directions I get from my professors will be about as textually clear as a Mahler symphony (if you'll pardon the bad pun).
If I had to make a sum judgement on the issue I would say that students have gotten so used to their professors' inability to communicate that they just assume what the professor wants. Many students feel that the whole thing is a game, and that the point is to just guess at what a particular professor wants because many instructors are ambiguous. I just took a final where we -- as a class -- had to ask for clarification on every question.
It is really annoying when a student gets a teacher for a class who goes on the whole spelling/grammar/proper-form rant, and then proceeds to violate every rule of the English language in class handouts. I get marked off because I use "specialise" rather than "specialize", but nothing is wrong when the syllabus for the class starts with: "The goals of this class is...".
So, yes, some students have problems writing and following directions; however, their teachers are no better. I'd be willing to wager that in terms of percentages, students are every bit as bad at reading and writing as their teachers are. It just seems more apparent on the student side because there are more students than teachers.
I've never had a class that used turnitin (or that I was aware of). I do think that the concept of originality is somewhat overrated. I use a high amount of quotes and citations in my writing and I'm constantly being told that I need to put stuff into my own words; however it seems silly to reinvent the wheel just to say what someone else has already adequately said.
To answer your question about the students: I think that if you have been using the Blackboard dropbox all semester and then switched to turnitin for this one project (or just switched mid-term), then you should give them a warning (habits and reflex are occasionally hard to overcome). Otherwise, I'd say make them resubmit it properly and count it late. There is not a student alive who doesn't think that making a mistake of any sort will not be reflected in their grade; they just figure that if they lean hard enough on a professor they can get the mistake overlooked "just this one time".
Try to remember that every professor a student has does things differently, and some professors are inconsistent even within their own methods. It can be a real nightmare to keep track of. Sure, you can say "that's how it is in the 'real' world" however, remember that the more time a student spends looking up policy and procedure is less time said student spends studying and doing research. Also remember that the "I had had to put up with it, so you can too" sentiment (oft-stated as "that's just how it is" or "that's just how the game is played") is actually both unmotivating to the student and hurtful to the community. Many inefficiencies in the "real" world stem from that sentiment. Think of how much better things could be if we could remake the system (whatever system is in question) with modern standards instead of always fighting (and losing to) the "this is the (horribly inefficient and out-dated) way that we've always done it" crowd.
My apologies for the rant, this whole issue is something that has plagued my entire career as a student. We (students) get blamed for things that our accusers are often guilty of themselves. I was listening to the local NPR station last term and heard some big-wig in the education department make the statement, "we need to ensure that our children does well in school", and that about sums up the debate for me.
My apologies for the prolonged absence. I hope to return to my usual, semi-regular musical ramblings over the next few weeks.
The following was my reply to a discussion on the negligibility of accompaniment.
One of the defining characteristics of Western music over the centuries has been its use of harmony to accompany its melodies. Whether the harmony is supplied by a fixed or movable drone, contrapuntal voices, or a functional bass; the presence of such an accompaniment has been ubiquitous in Western art music since time immemorial.
Heinrich Schenker postulated in the early 1900's that music was a journey from instability to stability. He derived from this theory the idea that tonal music is composed of a fundamental line (Urline) and a harmonic prototype (Bassbrechung), and he developed a reductive method of musical analysis by which one can find the resulting fundamental structure of a composition (Ursatz). The most basic form of this fundamental structure is characterized by a ^3-^2-^1 melodic line over a ^1-^5-^1 harmonic foundation. According to Schenker, all of tonal music was derived from this Ursatz; leading to his motto: "Always the same, never the same way." While pre-tonal music does not adhere to Schenker's model of the Ursatz, the theoretical underpinnings behind are are no less valid to musical forms before 1750 (as evidenced by the research of Schenker's student, Felix Salzer).
Working from the fundamental structure, a piece of music can be understood to be comprised of various elaborations and prolongations of the notes of the fundamental structure. It is also understood that the fundamental structure works on multiple levels (both in terms of overall form and within each musical phrase). Any piece of music bound by the rules of tonality can be reduced to simple note-against-note counterpoint and that contrapuntal motion can be shown to be related to one of the Ursatz models.
The underlying thought to Western music is that of a journey from instability and tension to that of stability. A musical thought will work towards a concerted "goal" harmony, and may only be considered to end "conclusively" if the melody and the lowest supporting harmony both conclude on the tonic or final of the key or mode. This idea of unison between the melodic line and the harmony brings us to the ultimate point of rest and closure, nothing is more stable than the unison; and any other harmonic interval does not convey the same sense of stillness.
Emerging from this stillness, music is concerned with two types of tension: harmonic tension resulting through the use of controlled dissonance of one voice against another, and melodic tension resulting through the exploitation of tendency tones, leaps, skips, and deceptive motion. With few exceptions, a melody will always have harmonic implications; and some music theorist will argue that any consonant leap within a melodic line constitutes a compound melody.
When we hear a melody, and we perceive tension in the melody, we know that the tension is there because of its relation to the final of the scale upon which the melody is built; even if that final is not sounding. The "ear" hears the dissonance and tension against this because our brain subconsciously remembers the pitch of the final and is measuring the "distance" from the note it hears against the note it remembers. Even without actually "hearing" a harmony, our ear creates one, and that subconscious harmony is how our ear keeps track of the shape and flow of the melody. As such, a melody is inseparable from its harmony, and in the absence of a sounding harmony our ear will attempt to create one even without one being present. However, when such a harmony is not present to guide our ear and to put the melody into its structural context we perceive this as a "hollowness" or the sense that "something is missing" from the overall effect.
This effect is particularly pronounced as the idea of harmony becomes more complex and the harmonic support of a melody becomes more integral and deliberate heading towards the 17th century. As the modal system begins to break down with the advent of contrapuntal writing and the rise of the "Contenance Angloise" served to muddy the modal system, the harmonic aspects of music become more prominent and begin to become considered obligatory.
Solo, unaccompanied music is rare in Western literature; and much of the unaccompanied literature makes use of compound melodic technique to supply the harmonic foundation for the melody. The performance of the "melody" of a piece of music can be considered complete unless its proper harmonic support is also supplied. A performance of a period work that did not use the accompaniment would not only be going against period performance practice, but would also be going against proper musical form. The harmonic structure of a work is every bit as integral as its melodic content.
My apologies for the long delay, it has been a long semester; but I have some wonderful music for you this week (and hopefully time to update more often).
This concert will feature an "On-line" vocal ensemble called "Stella Voci."
Stella Voci is comprised of 14 ladies from all over the world; its founder, Kate Covington, acts as both musical arranger and the director of the ensemble and the members collaborate via the internet. Parts are sent to the various members of the ensemble and each member records her part and sends it back to the director who then mixes them together digitally to form the final work. The music is then set to a video (typically clips from anime or a video game) which provide a nice backdrop to the music.
Stella Voci has published two works: An arrangement of the English song "Scarborough Faire," and a vocal arrangment of Pachabel's "Cannon in D."
The first video I have is "Scarborough Faire."
The mixing of this is wonderfully done and is much better than many professional recording jobs I've heard, and the ensemble sound is magnificent; though you can (in a few place) hear where the ladies don't blend on certain vowel sounds (but it isn't that noticeable and probably counts as nitpicking). The instruments are mixed in just right: they don't distract from the vocals, however they are present enough to add that "something more."
The tempo was set just right for this arrangement, I don't feel like it is rushed, and no one sounds like they are lagging behind. On the other hand, I do miss more dynamic subtleties. The bridge between the 2nd and 3rd voices was a nice break and well done; however the work felt like it relied almost entirely on changing tone and timbre between sections, leaving on the hairpins: long notes felt "flat" and lacked any sense of push or pull, phrases didn't really swell or ebb, and the various sections were all sung at the same dynamic level with little variance (though texture changed).
Again... I feel like most of my complaints are nitpicking, and nothing I can say will take away the awesomeness of this song and these singers. The ease and expression they give to the work is marvelous, and the fact that they can produce such a tightly knit sound with their voices across such a distance is amazing. This really is an ensemble to watch.
The other song they have released is an arrangement (a transcription really) of Pachabel's "Cannon in D."
It takes a certain amount of risk to do something unique with a work this familiar; but Stella Voci delivers.
The ladies' voices in this work just float and glide through the notes, and it is easy to get lost in the sound. The feeling of ensemble they had in their first work has done nothing but grow in their second; and the expression and fluidity of their singing is matched by the focus and warmth of sound.
... and YES, apparently five members of Stella Voci can hit that high D (and the high note is a high d--two octaves and a tone above middle c) o.O
I think my only complaint about this recording is that the mixing quality was not as well done as the other one. It is easy to get the feeling that the song is supposed to be about the harp with the voices accompanying, rather than the other way around. I also think that some of the lines get lost at times (which is a shame)...
All that being said, the singing (and the instrumental playing) is magnificent. Stella Voci delivers a production of a famous work that belongs on everyone's short list of GOOD music.
For the last section of this concert, I would like to feature the individual work of the members of Stella Voci.
Kate the Great employs the multi-track recording technique she uses with Stella Voci to record her own arrangements of music (typically music from anime and video games). She also does all of her own instrumentals, displaying a baffling level of versatility and musical accomplishment mixed with a fine amount of techno-savvy.
This is her song "Rose of May," which is based on a musical theme from FF9 called "The Rose General." The song is about General Beatrix, and Kate states that she uses the term "rose of May" as a metaphor for innocence.
Next we have Reem, a Stella Voci member from Egypt. As a shout out to the Harry Potter fans I know, I am posting her version of the Harry Potter theme from the movies. This beautiful and haunting melody is brought to a gorgeous realization by Reem.
This effortless performance gives a dark grace to the song and I love it...
Our next song is by "Paperblossom" (real name not listed) from Germany. This is a cover by "Sora," with Paperblossom singing the vocals.
Our final work is "Veronica's Song," an original work by Audry in Finland.
I hope you have enjoyed the music here by these amazing ladies, and I urge you to take a look at the Stella Voci youtube page and to go through the ladies individual accounts as well. There is a whole mess of music available by these ladies, and it was hard to pick just a few to show for this concert.
My parting number for this entry is Yuki, from China, singing her original song "Flower Burial." I have no idea what she is singing, but the music alone is moving nonetheless.
"For here I protest the Trinitie of Musicke, parts, Passion and Division, to be as gracefully united in the Gambo Violl, as in the most received Instrument that is, which here with a Souldiers Resolution, I give up to the acceptance of at noble dispositions." Captain Tobias Hume
Hello! I have finally gotten around to posting my next weekly concert. This week I will be presenting the wonderful music of Tobias Hume.
Captain Tobias Hume was both a soldier and a musician; a contemporary (as well as rival) of the more famous John Dowland. Hume wrote several books of music, mostly devoted to the lyra-gamba; of which he was an accomplished player. Hume insisted that the gamba was the greatest of all instruments, and wrote many works to showcase the instrument. Despite his unfortunate obscurity, his theories and publications earned him a rebuttal from Dowland himself, who insisted that the lute was superior to the gamba.
Where we have works for solo lute and the lute songs by Dowland; we also have works for the lyra-gamba and songs to be accompanied by the lyra-gamba by Hume. Unfortunatly, Hume's compositional style was not as well recieved as Dowland's, and Hume's fame was not as entrenched due to his lack of a wealthy patron.
The "lyra-gamba" or "gamba played lyra-ways" is a style of playing the viola da gamba where the player treats the instrument more as a bowed guitar than a cello. In the lyra works of Hume we see a myraid of techniques such as drumming on the strings with the back of the bow or thumping the fingers of the left hand down to create a quasi-pizzacato effect. Retuning the strings (scordatura) is also quite common in the lyra-gamba style and there are quite a few different documented tunings known.
I would like to start the concert off with a "tour de force" of Hume's music. This is the wonderful Jordi Savall and a set of works that I have featured before. I am not sure of the name of the first work he plays, however the second one (starting at about 2:50) is "Hark Hark" and the third one (starting around 5:00, when he says the title) is "A Soldier's Resolution."
Next up I have a couple of wonderful recordings of some more music from the same collection of works. First off, we have what may amount to my favorite work by Hume: "The Spirit of Gambo." This melencholic and haunting work is performed by John Dornenburg.
Next up we have "Captain Hume's Pauin [Pavan?]." While I am not really sure this work is actually intended to be a danced pavan as the title seems to imply, it is a wonderful work. Music of a more "melancholic" temperament was in vogue in England during the time of Hume and Dowland and so you will notice that much of both of their music tends towards a darker tone with contrasts in texture and idea.
This next work is "The Spirit of Gambo." I think that this is one of my favourite works for the lyra-gamba. I hope you enjoy it.
Next up we have Ernesto Stolz playing Hume's "A Question."
I don't know who this is, but I love his playing. This it "The Duke of Holstones Almain." The birds in the background are a very nice addition to the music.
Lastly, I offer one of Hume's vocal works. This is "Tobacco" for lyra-gamba and voice.
I hope that you enjoyed this week's concert. I have something really cool coming up after this weekend; so I hope that you keep an eye on this space. I apologize for the odd schedule when it comes to updating this blog, real life keeps catching up with me; and I recently came down with the flu (again).
See everyone soon!
"I robbe no others inventions, I take no Italian Note to an English dittie, or filch fragments of Songs to stuffe out my volumes. These are mine own Phancies expressed by my proper Genius, which if thou dost dislike, let me see thine." -Tobias Hume
Yes, I am sure that you have a pretty voice. It is graceful and fluid and has a full, sweet tone to it.
However, if I just wanted to hear pretty, dulcet sounds, I would have gone to a flute concert. If I cannot understand the text of what you are singing (especially when I comprehend the language you are singing in, and doubly so if I know the song you are singing); then you are not worth my time to listen to.
Don't get mad when I walk out of your concert; it's your own fault...really. Try actually saying something and not just producing cute sounds. What is the point of singing if you don't actually communicate something? What makes your overly vibrato-laden voice more special than a flute or clarinet?
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