12-point font

Double Spaced

Citation page at the end of the paper (not included in the body page count)

Proper grammar, spelling, punctuation are minimum requirements

The required content is underlined and may be presented in any order

The student will select a scene from a film/movie that incorporates music. There are no restrictions on the song/piece you select (era, language, etc.)

Include a biographical profile of your artist/composer/performer.

From before biblical times to the present, people have realized that creative works are always based on something that was made previously. An important portion of the research paper is about tracing the origins of the music you have selected to write about.  

Your task is to identify 4 (four) generations of “influencers” on the person or persons responsible for the music you are researching. The influencers can be individuals or groups. This is a sort of exercise in “time travel” – you will be talking about musicians related to your artist(s) that were active at least 40 years ago.

A generation can be considered a period that spans 15-20 years (Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, Gen Y, and so on…) For this task, a unit of a decade/10 years is sufficient as there is an observable acceleration of shortened style periods, especially in the arts. Use the interval of 10 – 20 years to qualify an influencer as being of a previous generation. The farther back you can trace influence, the better – historical context matters. 

When you have identified an influencer, write a paragraph (or more if you like), and include biographical information about that person/those people and their works/career.

The influencers may not all be musicians/songwriters/composers – you may find that an author, a visual artist, or some person that is involved in some creative field is cited as being an inspiration. If that “non-musician” is clearly an important influencer, follow that path of discovery, provide the biographical information, and talk about their works. For example, a popular band of the late 70s and early 80s, considered to be “cutting edge/avant-garde,” took a great deal of inspiration from a film made in 1932 called, “The Island of Lost Souls” which was based on a novel written by H.G. Wells. The novel was written in 1896 and was titled “The Island of Dr. Moreau” – the band was DEVO. 

Another example: 

These are the names only – you must include the paragraph(s) of additional information.

Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) was influenced by

Outkast influenced by (90s)

Parliament-Funkadelic influenced by (the late 60s – 70s) influenced by

James Brown (60s)

Analyze your music selection and discuss:

Rhythm

Melody

Harmony

Form

Lyrics (text if present)

Instrumentation/Orchestration

 

Explain why or how you selected your topic.

Grading: 

If you do not include the required information (underlined), then the paper is automatically a “below average” effort.  

The letter grade that represents below average is “D”

If you skip or leave out the required information, your best grade will be “D”

Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are minimum requirements.