Research web sites to find information about the voice/instrument you chose. Although you may begin your research by reading the lectures at our C4Elink course site, please do not list the C4Elink web site as one of your research web sites.

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  • Choose one voice range or instrument we have studied in detail in this course. A few examples of acceptable voice ranges & instruments are the violin, the oboe, the mezzo-soprano voice, the trombone. A few examples of instruments not studied in detail in this course are electric guitar, electric bass, ukulele, banjo, bagpipes, and harmonica. You may not write about electric guitar, electric bass, electric piano, drums, drum set, ukulele, banjo, harmonica, bagpipes or accordion. Special note: If you choose to write about the saxophone, the acoustic guitar, or any of the instruments of the percussion section (xylophone, timpani, triangle, etc.), you must include information about the classicalsaxophone, classical acoustic guitar, and the use of the entire percussion section in the symphony orchestra (history, performers, composers and repertoire).
  • Research web sites to find information about the voice/instrument you chose. Although you may begin your research by reading the lectures at our C4Elink course site, please do not list the C4Elink web site as one of your research web sites. A reliable web site to begin with is metmuseum.org. Although you may find wonderful recordings of your favorite instrument or voice to listen to on YouTube, YouTube is not to be used as a reliable research website.
  • Please DO NOT use APA style when listing websites. The website listings should take the following format: http://www.steinway.com/about. I must be able to view the exact pages you used for your research.
  • Find 2 web sites for each of the categories listed below:
    1. History and Manufacturers: Find 2 web sites that give information about the instrument’s history and well-known makers. Write a summary about BOTH the instrument’s history AND well-known instrument makers of today.
    2. Famous Performers: Find 2 web sites that tell about people who are famous for performing on the voice/instrument you chose. At least one of the performers must be a classical artist.    Write brief summaries about 2 famous performers.
    3. Famous composers: Find 2 web sites that tell about famous composers who wrote music specifically intended for the voice/instrument you chose. Select composers who wrote solo pieces for the voice/instrument alone, works for the voice/instrument with piano accompaniment, or works for the voice/instrument with orchestral accompaniment.  Write brief summaries about the 2 famous composers who wrote music for your instrument/voice. Use our C4Elink course site and www.naxos.com to begin your search. Please note: You may not list our C4Elink course site as one of your two research web sites.
    4. Repertoire: Find 2 web sites that tell about famous pieces written specifically for the voice/instrument you chose. Submit a list of five famous pieces, by different composers, written for your voice/instrument, listing both title and composer. You may include in your list solo pieces for the voice/instrument alone, works for the voice/instrument with piano accompaniment, and/or works for the voice/instrument with orchestral accompaniment.  Do not list pieces arranged for your voice/instrument, as ‘arranged’ means that the piece was originally written for another instrument/voice. Do not list symphonies, operas or ballets, since these are works for large groups, not soloists. Again, our C4Elink course site and www.naxos.com are excellent places to begin your research.  Please note: You may not list our C4Elink course site as one of your two research web sites.
    5. Famous Orchestras: For this part of the assignment, research the web sites of 2 traditional symphony orchestras, like the one we studied in the Orchestral Timbres lecture. Summarize what you learn about the entire orchestra. Do not write your summary only on your specific instrument. Remember that your instrument may not be part of a traditional symphony orchestra.  For example, you may have chosen to write about acoustic guitar or soprano voice, even though there are no guitars or singers in a traditional symphony orchestra.  The symphony orchestras you select should be full time organizations that give at least 200 concerts per year. Some suggestions: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, National Radio Orchestra of Romania, Vienna Philharmonic. Be sure to research traditional symphony orchestras, not flute orchestras, mandolin orchestras, guitar orchestras, ukulele orchestras, jazz orchestras, pop groups that use the word ‘symphony’ or ‘orchestra’ in their title (New Orleans Jazz Symphony, Alive Music Orchestra, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Symphony X, Thai Elephant Orchestra, etc.).
  • Write a 5-7 paragraph essay, using complete sentences. Be sure to use paragraphs in essay form. Do not use a numbered or bulleted list. Write one paragraph for each category, summarizing the content of the web sites AND explaining why you chose these web sites. At the end of each paragraph, list the 2 web sites you chose for each category. Please use the complete web site address for the specific page you used, not just the homepage for the site. Do NOT use APA style when listing websites. The website listings should take the following format: http://www.steinway.com/about. I must be able to view the exact pages you used for your research.
  • Your essay should be about 750-1000 words in length.