MUSIC 343/344—
SAMPLE EXTRA CREDIT LISTENING REPORT

Extra Credit Listening

The best way to earn extra credit for this course is to listen to more music (similar to music from Encounter listening lists) and write a report on it. Be sure to document your listening using the format below, including complete information on the recordings you use and the total length of the works you listen to. Since there will be no specific questions to guide your extra credit listening, you can focus on larger questions of musical style. The sample below provides questions to help you focus on the music's style features, and the suggestions at the bottom of this page clarify aspects of each style feature in turn.

Extra Credit Listening Report

Total of Listening Timings: 1 hour extra credit

Historical Anthology of Music, Vol. 1; Buehler Library; M12 H933.2 [Recording Title, Location, & Call number]
Anonymous, Mass for Easter Sunday    [Composer & Overall Title]

Introit      [1st Section of Mass]

While you listen, write a few sentences here that describe features of the Introit. Any elements of the piece are fair game for description:  melody, texture, rhythm, color, harmony, dynamics, or form (see below)

Some questions to consider as you listen and write are:

• What is the overall mood of this piece?
• Which elements are used to create that mood?
• Which elements are most striking?
• What does this piece add to your understanding of this musical style?
• Try to describe it so that I can imagine what it sounds like!

Kyrie      [2nd Section of same Mass as above—so you don’t need to write title recording info again]

While you listen, write a few sentences here that describe style features of the Kyrie.

[The next entry comes from an old recorded anthology that accompanies the textbook—since we use this anthology so frequently, you can abbreviate its name as shown here!]

DWMA I, Buehler Library      [Recording Title & Location]

Hildegard von Bingen, Kyrie [Composer & Title]

While you listen Hildegard, write a few sentences that describe style features of Hildegard’s Kyrie.

Anonymous, Ut queant laxis [Composer & Title]

While you listen, write a few sentences here that describe style features of Ut queant laxis.

etc. ...

Suggestions for Listening Report Notes:

Here are some features you can listen for in each category—

• Melody—high or low? moves by step or leap? wide or narrow range? regular or uneven phrase lengths?
• Texture—thick or thin? active or static? monophonic? polyphonic (with imitation?)? homophonic (homorhythmic or melody & accompaniment?)?
• Rhythm—clear beat or not? meter? tempo? rhythmic patterns? syncopation? how does time pass?
• Color—specific instrumental colors? register? bright or dark? light or heavy?
• Harmony—diatonic or chromatic? scale type? stable or unstable? simple (triads) or complex chords? consonant or dissonant?
• Dynamics—loud or soft? accents? sudden or gradual changes?
• Form—repetition? contrast? return? variation? overall shape? specific forms?