Complete ONE of the following prompts by Saturday January 29th 11:59pm. 6 points possible – A minimum of 200 words + link to recording for full credit.

1. If your birthday falls between January and June, answer the following prompt about Chapter 1:

All of the musical elements discussed in Chapter 1 are essential building blocks that performers utilize in order to create satisfying and meaningful musical performances. Write one paragraph telling us which element of music you think is the most important (if any) and why – timbre, instruments, meter, polyrhythm, swing/time feel, melody, harmony, or texture. Then post a recording below your paragraph that is meaningful to you (does not have to be jazz) – a youtube video link or spotify link – do your best to identify the instrumentation, and note what stands out to you – timbre, meter, polythryhm, time feel, melody, harmony, etc. 

2. If your birthday falls between July and December, answer the following prompt about Chapter 2:

Song form and improvisation are major elements in music discussed in Chapter 2. Write one paragraph telling us what you learned about blues or AABA song form, how jazz musicians improvise over it, and how it varies in use between big bands and small groups. Below your paragraph, post a recording that is meaningful to you (does not have to be jazz) – a youtube video link or spotify link – and see if you can identify the song form (is it blues, AABA, or something totally different), and if there are moments of improvisation tell us where (minute/second mark). 

Then, reply to two of your peers by Monday January 31st 11:59pm (2 points per reply). A minimum of 20 words per reply for full credit. Agree and offer more information, respectfully disagree and offer a different perspective, or ask a question that takes the discussion in a new but related direction. One reply must be to someone who responded to the opposite prompt as you.