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OK...actually, to a point, I totally agree with you. The purpose is to make YOU do research, learn the techniques of research in musicology, and to learn that specific subject. Unless it's a DMA/PhD book, you're not really expected to make any fascinating discoveries, rather to simply digest all the crap that's been written already and regurgitate it in your own, unique voice.

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I was late for a master's level analysis class, specifically Romantic era. The only topic still available by the time I arrived was "Compare and contrast Mendelssohn's Elijah and the Faure' Requiem".

um....WHAT???

Analysis was easy, but compare and contrast meant nothing to me. It still doesn't. I even emailed the prof a couple of years ago (20 years later!) and asked him what the paper should have said. He wouldn't give me an answer!

Anyone have an idea? Bueller? Bueller??

eupher61 wrote: Anyone have an idea? Bueller? Bueller??

Would that be Ferris? Ferris Bueller? I believe it's his day off.

TexTuba wrote:It would seem to me that every idea about every music subject, at least the ones they make you write in skool, have been done MANY times over. And the kick is that they say do not plagiarize!

What it means is that you should have a NEW IDEA (gasp!). Researching is like ditch digging, but the point of digging a new ditch is to put water somewhere it isn't already.

If you have no new ideas, you can always do basic research on a more recent, less studied subject. Or pick any one of the million minor baroque/classic period figures.

New perspectives are where it's at... combine the same old research in a new way (and thus you have all the heavy lifting done for you!)

"Compare and contrast Mendelssohn's Elijah and the Faure' Requiem"

Compare: Both use orchestra, chorus, and soloists.

Contrast: One is by Mendelssohn, the other is by Faure.

Compare: both undeniably kick ***.

Contrast: the Elijah libretto is pretty close to scripture verbatim; while the Requiem is more liturgical(?)



Doug "this still seems strange"

Generally, at the school level, plagerism is when you present something someone else wrote as your own, without quoting and crediting the real source. Your writing needs to be your writing, and not semi-verbatim regurgitation of someone else's writing.

MA

I think somebody needs to write a paper on why Dvorak bothered with that pathetic excuse for a tuba part in the 'New World' Symphony.

OldsRecording wrote:I think somebody needs to write a paper on why Dvorak bothered with that pathetic excuse for a tuba part in the 'New World' Symphony.

New York, stong tuba player's union. Every symphony newly written required to include at least one (1) movement using tuba, said use must exceed 10 seconds in duration.

Hey- He could have moved to Italy instead of the US, and then the entire orchestra might STILL be on strike...

TexTuba wrote:But honestly, how many papers can be done on the works of Bach?

Mostly it is an academic exercise designed to provide you with a valuable learning experience.

I would like to add this thought:

How many times have all the musical notes and rhythms been used? They have all been used so many times that there could not be anything new that could possibly be said with them. So, why compose any new music?

TexTuba wrote:But honestly, how many papers can be done on the works of Bach?

This is why I wrote my final music history paper on "Suite for Toy Piano".