1) Find a song or video that you feel has the following characteristics:

• a) Contains music that explores “chance elements” similar in some way to the concepts discussed in class and in your textbook reading. AND b) Something that challenges traditional concepts of what “improvisation” is in music – especially in jazz.

Also,

• c) Carefully consider what those concepts are (or might be), and why the artist (performer, band, etc) is using them.

2) Give the brief “facts” of your work: Title, Composer(s), Performers (artists or band name), Length of song, Record label, year of first release by this artist, etc…

3) Then give a detailed analysis of the song, in your own words, describing how your song is a good match for the assignment requirements. This can be a very tough assignment; be certain that you think about this and ask people you know for ideas on “chance” and “improvisation” – how do they relate to one another and what is the difference between spontaneous improvisation vs. music that is designed to incorporate chance happenings (aleatoric music). Remember, basic research on the style of music you are submitting, its origins, relationships to other music (and the important features of assigned songs), and important information should be included. Also, you must demonstrate that you’ve researched details, related to your reading and listening assignments, in your writings in order to get full credit for your work. (Cite your sources.)

4) And finally, include a URL to the location of the work so that the professor can watch/listen to the music for grading

Grading Rubric for this assignment:

• Timely submission – 2 points (late submission loses these points – after 2 weeks you can no longer submit the assignment or get credit for it)
• Song “facts” – 2 points (requirement 2 above lists these)
• Song description (analysis) – 5 points (requirements 1 & 3 above list these)
• Including a working URL link – 1 point (requirement 4 above lists this, make sure the link works)