Music when your ideas fail, turn to Rant Central

Sara Kate · 03-12-2013, 01:30 PM

Every now and then I come browse RC's Music section just to see what's been posted. I noticed some time ago one of the members posted an antiquity/classical music thread, which speaks to me personally bc I am currently studying music at Troy. Which brings me to my point- I'm writing a research paper for Music History on any topic of my choice, as long as the theme is from the Enlightenment to Contemporary music. Choosing the topic is the hardest part for me. I've had some ideas, but I just keep tossing them back and forth. I thought about .... writing on the Kuchka or "Mighty Handful", the outburst of Nationalism in Music in the late Romantic Era, or maybe the history of the musical canon (specifically why certain composers and pieces made it in, while others were ignored).
There are just so many topics that I could choose from, I don't really know where to begin. Any of you particularly interested in "art" music, as it is sometimes referred to, please let me in on your thoughts.

(This post was last modified: 03-12-2013, 01:38 PM by Sara Kate.)

sporkium · 03-13-2013, 01:31 PM

nationalism represented in music would be interesting as you can tie in the psychology of group thought, advertising, fashion and egotism.

Sara Kate · 03-16-2013, 03:44 PM

If I do nationalism represented in music, which nations should I focus on? France, Germany, Russia, England, Italy? Your typical Western European countries?...

sporkium · 03-16-2013, 04:28 PM

you could focus on all of them... as for a large period of time, most of them were all run by one large incestuous family.

i'd say pick the weaker, more daintier countries... like france or italy.

Sara Kate · 03-24-2013, 03:51 PM

I changed my mind. I'm gonna write about the evolution of atonal music. The reason is this: I don't particularly care for atonality, I'd much rather listen to something that has a practical harmonic structure to it. But, I feel like I'm missing the bigger picture of this compositional style, and maybe if I research a bit on it maybe I can appreciate it more.

Sara Kate · 04-24-2013, 03:37 PM

I got an F on that motherfucker. Dodgy

(This post was last modified: 04-24-2013, 03:37 PM by Sara Kate.)

wildcard · 04-24-2013, 03:40 PM

Poor Sara . . .

Don't get down. You'll get 'em next time Wink

Sara Kate · 04-24-2013, 03:55 PM

psh. He wrote a NOVEL on the back of my paper. "...Especially if you hope to teach others about music in the future, it behooves you to discover the source of your disinterest and be able to evaluate it; otherwise you run the risk of communicating this tired bitterness to your students"...
I'm sorry, but atonal music makes me want to stab my eardrums.

hmmm.... new thread idea

(This post was last modified: 04-24-2013, 03:56 PM by Sara Kate.)

System Folder · 04-24-2013, 05:18 PM

I probably would've chosen something I enjoyed and knew about.

Mark Twain Wrote:Write what you know.

Being an American, I would've gone with the nationalism idea and chose to write about how American patriotic music has evolved over the past years. From Francis Scott Key's The Star Spangled Banner written in 1814 to Kid Rock's Warrior written in 2008, that's a lot of material to cover.

Oh well, too late now. Maybe he'll let you re-do the paper for extra credit.