Final Group Podcast: General Assignment Instructions
General Information
For your final project, you and your group will identify a new kind of musical element in the style of Ratliff. You will brainstorm with your group during organized group activities, construct a rough outline/script, and then compose a short podcast together via Soundtrap’s collaborative tool. To show your work, you will upload most tasks to your Canvas group.
Formatting and Submission Guidelines
Your podcast should run around 15-20 minutes in total and include your discussion of your new element that uses pointed musical clips and analyses to exemplify your arguments. (You should keep your music clips short and applicable. Since this podcast will not be published and is used for educational purposes, the song clips fall under fair use. That said, you should be very judicious in the length of your clips!) Your script will likely run around 3 pages and should give a broad outline to your element’s definition, nuanced aspects, and the musical examples associated with each aspect of the element you have created. You should include an additional “playlist” page that gives detailed information on each musical example, as Ratliff does at the end of each chapter (Artist, Album Track, Album, Year). Each member can collaborate via Soundtrap’s podcast features. (You can also find information on Soundtrap in the Course Overview Module in Canvas.)
Here’s an article that describes fair use in classroom podcasts.
Required Content for Podcast
Introductory Matter: This section gives a broad overview to your element. You should include personal anecdotes (like Ratliff) along with several philosophical/aesthetic questions. Why you chose your element, and why this element matters should be apparent.
Element as Applied to Diverse Musical Examples: This section discusses the element as applied to several unique musical examples. How does your element manifest in music? Why does it matter? What additional questions do these musical examples raise? How do these elements influence you and your group personally? How does this element ask you to listen in a new way? Why and how?
Final Thoughts: This section should wrap up your big questions and leave your reader with a few more “big questions” and musical ideas to consider. Your ending should be pointed and powerful.
Playlist: You must include at least 5-10 songs/albums that exemplify your element. This playlist should be curated via Spotify. Each example you include should have been referenced explicitly in your podcast. You should have AT LEAST five unique genres represented and one MUST be classical/art music. If you don’t know how to create and share Spotify playlists, here’s a tutorial.
Grading Rubric
Final Podcasts are graded using the following rubric.
Final Group Podcast: Assignment Steps
The following images show how the assignment is constructed in an online format. I also use similar approaches to group work in traditional classes, breaking down each step of the process and providing detailed feedback.
Final Group Assessment
At the conclusion of the group project, students assess their contributions and the contributions of each member. This survey is administered via Canvas and can be previewed below.
