Fundamentals of Music for the Non-Music Major/HWK 8: Musical Explorations
Go to Naxos Streaming Music Library, Spotify*, YouTube*, iTunes, or the UTSA CD collection in the library and listen to a recording of a piece of “classical” music.
*Note: you may use Spotify or YouTube only if the audio or video recording provides biographical information about the performers, the full title of the work, and the
name of the composer. If in doubt, seek another recording.
Write about what you listened to in a paragraph summary. Type your response to turn in; please do not turn in a hand written document. Address these questions:
1. What resource did you use to access your recording?
2. What is the title of the piece you listened to?
3. Who is the composer of the piece? When did he/she live?
4. What type of piece was this? (Was it a symphony? Cantata? Concerto? Sonata? String quartet? Choral work? Wind trio? etc.)
5. Who were the performers? Was there a symphony orchestra? A soloist or soloists featured? Who?
6. What musical era does this piece come from? Remember the general dates are:
400-1450 Medieval
1450-1600 Renaissance
1600-1750 Baroque
1750-1825 Classical
1820-1900 Romantic
1900-present 20th Century/Contemporary
7. What instruments/voice parts were featured?
8. Was a tempo marking given for each movement? Could you sense the mood of the piece or each movement of the piece given the tempo? Could you determine if the
piece was in major?
9. What did you like about this piece? Why?
Naxos Music Library: https://webapp.lib.utsa.edu/Databases/index.php?ername=Naxos
Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/us/
UTSA Music Collection: Available at the JPL, 2nd Floor Multimedia Center, just beyond the Circulation/Info desk. Undergraduate students can borrow up to 4 CDs at a
time for a period of 7 days. You can search for titles here: https://ucat.lib.utsa.edu/vwebv/searchBasic and select “Limit to: Musical Recordings”
