Develop an argument that supports or challenges
Ralph Ellison's evaluation of Charlie Parker's music based on your
analysis of one
selection from the album Now’s the Time.
Your paper should be about 4 to 5 pages long.
Goals of this
essay:
Ø To perform a close reading
and listening, in support of a clear thesis.
You’re making observations in order to use them as evidence in support
of your thesis, not simply for their own sake.
Ø To structure your essay
around your argument. Your structure
should serve your thesis, and should build from one idea to the next. What is the most effective way to lead your
reader through your argument? Which of
your observations (such as those you made in HW 1) best supports your thesis? Organize your paper based on these concepts,
rather than on the order of narrative in the Ellison essay.
Ø To incorporate outside
sources and document them properly. You
may find that your thesis will be strengthened by incorporating some observations
about other musical excerpts, and/or by referring to a few of the readings, all
of which require proper citation.
HW1: Active listening and discovering interesting
issues
Pick one tune from the album “Now’s the Time,” and
listen to it closely, with Gridley’s description of instrument roles in mind.
Next,
ask five questions about the piece of music. Choose moments in which the music
or instrumental roles are unclear to you, or displeasing to you, or interesting
to you in some way. Here are three of
my own: What about Charlie Parker’s
playing in the tune “Now’s the Time” seems humorous, and why? How can I tell
that the drummer is reacting to him during his solo? Can I dance to this, or is
it purely intellectual?
Pre-draft 1: Reacting to Ellison, going with and against
the grain.
Write
one page in support of Ellison’s view of Charlie Parker, and one page against
it.
HW2: Understanding Ellison’s context; comparing
music he liked to Charlie Parker.
Listen to Louis Armstrong’s West End Blues carefully,
keeping in mind Ellison’s comments, comparing and contrasting it to the Charlie
Parker selection. Devise ten criteria for describing a piece of music (e.g.,
danceability, easy-to-hum melody), and briefly state how the 2 recordings
fulfill/don’t fulfill each.
Draft instructions:
Please
include a cover letter, addressed to your readers. It should be about a page long.
In it, include your comments on the following: What is the
problem/puzzle I’m addressing in this essay (motive)? What was the hardest
thing about writing this draft?
(Finding a thesis? Structuring
the essay? Getting started?) What
aspect of this essay do you feel is the most successful? On what aspects of this essay would you most
like to receive feedback?
Revision instructions:
Submit
your revision via the Blackboard Dropbox.
Include a cover letter, addressed to me, focusing on at least some of these questions: How successful do you feel you were at revising your paper into something more effective? Was it harder to draft, or to revise? We focused a good deal on thesis, motive, and structure in unit one; how well do you feel you handled these elements in your paper? What is your thesis? What do you like best about your paper?