Conduct some field research:
take a pen and paper with you.
listen for at least 10 minutes to the soundscape around you and take notes.
write down any sound–a motorcycle roaring by, a cluster of people laughing, sounds of nature, the whirring of an elevator’s approach, the selection on the radio of a massing motorist, the music you choose to play.
Some of the sounds you hear must be what you would automatically call “music.”
Articulate how you distinguish between what is and what is not music.
Use the definition of “what is music” to help you explain your ideas (page 6 in Wade).
For the written assignment, include:
a description of your soundscape (at least a paragraph description)
an explanation of what was “music” and what was “not music” in your soundscape.
use examples of sound from your soundscape to make your discussion of music/non music less abstract and more concrete.
