[Smt-talk] Advice re: analytical literature précis

[Jeffrey Perry]

To the collective wisdom--
    I'm hoping that some of you may have pedagogic advice (or even language that I could plunder outright). I want to require students in a graduate course entitled "The Analysis of Tonal Music" to submit a meaningful summary or précis (longer than a RILM abstract but shorter than the article itself) of one or more articles or essays from relevant analytical literature, the article itself to be selected by mutual agreement between instructor and student.
    Prior attempts to describe what I mean by "meaningful summary" in the past have often led to mutual frustration. Has anyone found a way of framing such an assignment that elicits thoughtful, engaged, critical (in the best sense) results? The students are a very heterogeneous group of M.M. and doctoral students, mostly performers, with some conductors and even a few theory majors in the mix.
Many thanks,
jp
Jeff Perry
Professor of Music Theory
275 Music and Dramatic Arts
School of Music, College of Music & Dramatic Arts
Louisiana State University
jperry at lsu.edu / (225) 578-3556 (voice) / (225) 578-2562 (fax)
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