Resonances

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ISBN: 978-1-940771-31-1

Produced by: University System of Georgia

Published by: University of North Georgia Press Dahlonega, Georgia

Cover Design and Layout Design: Corey Parson

Cover Image: “Music” by Flickr User “JULIE” CC BY 2.0

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Contributions and Acknowledgments

The textbook and accompanying materials were produced by a team of faculty collaborators at the University of North Georgia, each of whom contributed as follows:

Esther M. Morgan-Ellis developed the concept, managed the project, wrote the text (unless otherwise attributed), produced the listening guides (unless otherwise attributed), edited contributions from collaborators, selected/captioned the images, and created the accompanying PowerPoint slides.

Rebecca R. Johnston wrote the Chapter 1 sections entitled “The Power of Music” and “Music and Human Development, Learning, and Wellness” and produced the test bank questions in collaboration with Marie Graham.

Louis Hajosy wrote the Chapter 8 section entitled “The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the passage concerning Hendrix’s performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that appears in the Chapter 7 section entitled “1969: An Aquarian Exposition.” He also contributed to the Chapter 9 discussion of “The Star Spangled Banner,” produced the “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” listening guide, and created Appendix B, in addition to providing valuable feedback on the text.

David R. Peoples contributed to the Chapter 13 sections entitled “1965: The Duke Ellington controversy” and “1997: Wynton Marsalis, Blood on the Fields.” He also typeset all of the listening guides and examples and produced all of the graphics, in addition to providing valuable feedback on the text.

Arielle P. Crumley wrote the Chapter 5 sections entitled “Beyoncé, Lemonade” and “Ancient Greece: The Iliad” and provided feedback on the remainder of the text.

Alexandra Dunbar wrote the Chapter 4 section entitled “Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton” and produced the accompanying listening guides. She also provided feedback on the remainder of the text.

Philip Snyder created the notation-based videos in Chapter 2, contributed some images, and provided valuable feedback on the entire text.

Lisa Prodan created the teaching videos in Chapter 2.

Bart Walters contributed to Appendix A, provided valuable feedback on the text, and corrected the initial proof. He also created the YouTube channel that accompanies this book, uploaded videos as necessary, and built playlists in collaboration with Serena Scibelli.

In addition, Jura Pintar formatted listening examples for the typesetting process and Noël Hahn selected some of the images used in Chapter 1. These contributors were not compensated and we appreciate their support.

This text was piloted with the 2019 Honors Music Appreciation class at the University of North Georgia, the members of which provided edits and feedback. Participants included Bailey Bullard, Abigail Cartwright, Zoe Conoly, Camille Cowherd, Morgan Dow, Olivia Forrest, Sarah Graddy, Isabelle Pobanz, Julia Pownall, and Jessica Wood.

The development and publication of this textbook was funded by a Large-Scale Textbook Transformation Grant from Affordable Learning Georgia (Jeff Gallant, Program Director). Our work was also supported by a Presidential Innovation Incentive Award and a Presidential Semester Incentive Award from the University of North Georgia (Bonita Jacobs, President) and by the UNG Music Department (Benjamin Schoening, Department Head). We are very grateful to these institutions and individuals for making this project possible.

How to Use This Book

Our Vision

Welcome to Resonances: Engaging Music in Its Cultural Context! Although this book is intended primarily for use in the college music appreciation classroom, it was designed with consideration for independent learners, advanced high school students, and experienced musicians. That is to say, it includes enough detail that expert guidance is not required and is written using broadly-accessible language. At the same time, it addresses advanced topics and positions music as a serious object of study.

Unlike most music appreciation textbooks, this volume is organized thematically according to the many ways that music is and has been used in human societies. It brings together examples from classical, folk, and popular traditions from around the world. The text offers a thorough grounding in the cultural and historical context of each work and a close examination of its characteristics. While the book can certainly be read from beginning to end, one can also move freely between chapters and examples without missing crucial information.

This textbook is in no sense comprehensive. There are lots of important and influential works that are not discussed in its pages, many vital musical concepts that are not addressed, and countless ideas that are left unexplored. However, this is a feature, not a bug. The authors of this book reject the idea that a comprehensive overview of “important” music is either desirable or possible. Instead, our approach values diversity and depth. Each chapter includes wildly dissimilar examples from various times and places, each of which is uncovered as both a sonic object and a cultural artifact. The result, we hope, will be renewed interest in the music one hears every day, broadened taste for music that was once unfamiliar, and expanded awareness of the music that is still waiting to be discovered.

In short, this book does not offer a definitive curriculum. What it offers is a new approach to thinking about and engaging music—an approach that we have already piloted with a variety of student audiences and know to be successful. Whether you are reading this book on your own or using it as part of a course, we hope you will find that it is full of new ideas and sounds that change the way you listen to and think about music.

Notes to the Instructor

This text is meant to be highly adaptable to your desired curricular and learning objectives, and you are welcome to use it in any way you see fit. It is accompanied by a complete set of teaching materials, including PowerPoint slides, test banks, and videos. These can be accessed through the UNG Press website and the UNG Music Department YouTube channel.

What follows are some guidelines and suggestions for using this text:

1. By our estimation, this textbook contains enough material for four semester-length music appreciation courses. This allows the instructor to select the desired chapters and/or examples and also to change the curriculum from semester to semester. We strongly advise that you do not attempt to teach this entire text in a single semester. You will find that the outcome is much more satisfactory if you lead students to engage deeply with a limited number of examples.

2. This textbook is designed to be modular. Any subset of chapters can be assigned in any order, and individual examples can be skipped. Although we advise that you teach one chapter at a time, choosing which examples to use and which to omit, it is also possible to reorganize this volume at the level of the musical example. For instance, one might choose to teach only works from the Western classical tradition, and to do so in chronological order. While this is not ideal, the fact that each example is self-contained means that it can be done. (You might also find that individual entries are of use in other music courses.)

3. In addition to being a textbook, this volume proposes a new approach to organizing the music appreciation curriculum. The examples reflect the expertise of the authors, but they are by no means exhaustive. It goes without saying that many important and interesting musical works are not included. As such, you are invited not only to chart your own path through the examples but to add your own. Please feel free to integrate additional material under the appropriate chapter headings!

4. Although the musical examples linked in this book are primarily audio only, we recommend videos of live performances for pedagogical use, and have included our recommendations in the chapter playlists on the UNG Music Department YouTube channel. Live performances are also linked in the PowerPoint slides. We chose to link to audio recordings supplied to YouTube by record labels with the hope that they will remain accessible for the life of this text, which in turn means that the listening guides will remain relevant and useful. We have found, however, that students respond much more positively when they are able to watch a performance.

5. You will find that some of the musical examples are accompanied by listening guides, but that many are not. There are several reasons for this. To begin with, the authors felt that only certain examples would benefit greatly from listening guides. Although guides can be helpful, we don’t want them to limit students’ engagement with the examples. Finally, we thought that the creation of listening guides for the remaining examples would make a good assignment for your students to complete.

6. This textbook is only a tool in support of a great music appreciation course, the most important elements of which are listening, discussion, and reflection. The focal point of any course, whether in person or online, should be direct engagement with the musical objects under consideration. This means focused and repeated listening/watching, accompanied by guided observation. It is up to you to change the way your students perceive and understand musical objects. Happy teaching!

Help Make This Book Better!

The authors intend to issue at least one revised edition of this book, which was developed on an abbreviated timeline and does not contain everything we could have wished. We want our revisions to reflect the needs and interests of those who use the text. Is it missing examples that you would like to teach? Is there an additional unit or chapter that could be integrated? Can information be added to a discussion? Could the text package incorporate additional teaching tools? Did you find an error? If you are interested in helping us to improve this book, please contact Esther Morgan-Ellis with your feedback and ideas.