Unit 6 – Electronica – Music as a Cultural Artifact – Guided Listening Assignment

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Unit 6 – Electronica – Music as a Cultural Artifact – Guided Listening Assignment

MUS 121 – Rhythm Blues and Hip Hop

Due Date: 11:59 pm EST Sunday of Unit 6
Points: 100
Overview:
For each week in our course, you will consider music as a cultural artifact and be
assigned either a piece of music or a specific musical artist to explore and analyze for
the week. This week, you will be listening to music that is considered “electronica.” As
you have read this week, technology moved at a fast pace from the 70s all the way
through to the present day. For our guided listening this week, we will be exploring
these new technologies. Be sure to read through the entire page, as this particular
assignment is formatted slightly different compared to our previous guided listening
assignments.
In addition to your etextbook, you should expect to complete some research online to
respond to these questions. Be sure to use vetted resources—if you aren’t sure what a
reliable source is, remember, you can use the CRAP test to determine if your source is
reliable!
Resources that might help you:
• What is electronica music?. (2019). worldatlas.
Instructions:
Part 1: Electronica
• Answer the following question:
o Define Electronica.
Part 2: Chance Music
• On the internet or your phone, listen to ONE the following examples of
antecedents of electronica. Those composers used totally electronic sounds,
taped small segments of sounds and wrote music in fragments. They would often
leave the order of performance up to the performer, and this would change from
performance to performance. This is known as chance music.
o Karlheniz Stockhausen, “Mikrophonie”
o Milton Babbitt, “Ensembles for Synthesizer”
o John Cage, “Imaginary Landscape No. 1”
o Edgar Varese, “Poeme electronique”
• After listening to your selection, answer the following questions in a word
document:
o Define the musical term: Chance Music.
MUS 121 – Rhythm Blues and Hip Hop
Unit 6 – Electronica – Music as a Cultural Artifact – Guided Listening Assignment o Share a brief biography of the composer that you chose.
o What is the date that the original music was written? What is the date that
this original recording was made/released ?
o Are sequencers and loops used in these recordings? If so, how?
o What was your favorite thing about the performances/recordings?
o What emotions did the performances/recordings make you feel when you
heard it?
Part 3: Ambient Music
• Ambient music goes back to the 1970s, is considered “atmospheric music.” On
the internet or your phone, listen to ONE of these artists:
o Brian Eno, “Music for Airports”
o Pink Floyd, “Astronomy Domine”
o Kraftwerk, “Roberter”
o Tangerine Dream, “Stratosfear”
• After listening to your selection, answer the following questions in a word
document:
o Define the musical term: Ambient.
o Share a brief biography of the artist/ensemble that you chose.
o What is the date that the original music was written? What is the date that
this original recording was made/released ?
o Are sequencers and loops used in these recordings? If so, how?
o What was your favorite thing about the performances/recordings?
o What emotions did the performances/recordings make you feel when you
heard it?
Part 4: More Mainstream Electronica
• By the mid-1990s, electronica began to “chart” and electronic elements began to
merge with tock, tap and other pop elements to create a new fusion. On the
internet or your phone, listen to ONE of these artists:
o Nine Inch Nails, “Ghosts IV”
o Moby, “South Side”
o Bjork, “Bachelorette”
o Chemical Brothers, “Block Rockin’ Beats”
o Trent Reznor
• After listening to your selection, answer the following questions in a word
document:
o Share a brief biography of the artist you chose.
o What is the date that the original music was written? What is the date that
this original recording was made/released ?
o Are sequencers and loops used in these recordings? If so, how?
o What was your favorite thing about the performances/recordings?
o What emotions did the performances/recordings make you feel when you
heard it?