Theory IV

Final Project Guidelines

The culminating project for this course focuses on exploring extended techniques for your
instrument/area. You will apply any relevant analytical tools covered in this class to execute and
communicate a focused analysis of an excerpt of music that incorporates extended techniques.

By completing this project you will:

- Build the beginnings of a personal database of pieces and resources about extended
techniques
- Explore composers and pieces not covered in this class with an analytical eye
- Engage more closely with extended techniques and notation
- Communicate meaningful observations and analysis.

Components to be submitted via Canvas:

- Each of the following Checkpoints
- A copy of the score (excerpt) used for analysis
- A 12-pt font, single-spaced short analytical paper

The music: Find a solo piece for your primary instrument/area that incorporates extended
techniques. You'll need to have access to the score. I encourage you to ask your applied teacher,
friends who also play your instrument, and search the internet/library catalogue. You may need
to put in an OhioLink request for the score. Do this NOW and have a backup piece in mind in
case it takes a while for your music to arrive. Waiting on music to arrive will not serve as an
excuse for incomplete work.

Ultimately, we are looking at engaging more closely with extended techniques, looking at
notation and notational issues that may arise (and composers' strategies for dealing with this),
how the extended technique is incorporated into the piece (what function does it serve), and
bringing all this information and observations together to attempt concise and focused analysis of
a select excerpt of this work using the tools and resources we've learned about over the course of
the semester.

Schedule of Checkpoints:

Checkpoint #1: 30pts – Due Friday, April 9

Checkpoint #2: 30pts – Due Friday, April 16
Checkpoint #3: 20pts – Due Monday, April 19

Any necessary revisions of the above checkpoints and a short analytical paper are due by the end
of the scheduled final exam time: 10:30am, Tuesday, April 27

The checkpoints and final submission are worth 15% of your final grade.
Checkpoint #1: 30pts – Due Friday, April 9

Make a short bibliography of works (10 pieces minimum) with extended techniques for your
instrument, including composer, title, year of composition, type of extended techniques (if info
readily available), performer who premiered the work (if info readily available).

Create a short bibliography of resources for extended techniques for your instrument/area: books,
articles, blogs, videos, tutorials (aim for at least 5). Non-academic work available on the internet
is great, but be sure to look for and include academic sources as well. This does not have to be in
any particular citation style, but be sure to provide the basics: author, title, (extra info if
published in a periodical like issue/volume, etc), year, publisher. For online content: website
name, author, URL, date accessed.

• 10 pieces minimum
• 5 solid resources, at least two must be academic (i.e., published article, book, dissertation,
etc). multiple videos by a single person/source count as ONE resource

Checkpoint #2: 30pts – Due Friday, April 16

Select the piece for your analysis. Identify the extended techniques used, try them out on your
instrument! Tell me if you've done these techniques before, if not, how did you go about doing
it? Were instructions included in the score or did you need to consult one of your resources from
your bibliography to figure out what to do? How did it go?

Minimum 150-word response.

Checkpoint #3: 20pts – Due Monday, April 19

Hone in on a particular section for analysis. Turn in this excerpt and describe what analytical
approaches you will take and any observations you can already make. Use any
techniques/terminology from the course as relevant to the style/construction of the piece. This
will serve as something like a paper proposal and help you focus your analysis. If the excerpt you
choose is too short you'll have very little content for analysis. If it's too long you're going to
overwhelm yourself. The amount will vary greatly depending on the piece you choose.

Analytical Paper: 100pts – Due 10:30am, Tuesday, April 27

Do the proposed analysis from Checkpoint #3, taking copious notes as you go. Group your
findings into logical topics and turn these into cohesive paragraphs pointing to specific spots in
the score as support. Minimum 500 words. This can be accomplished in something like four
solid paragraphs, a little over 1 page of double-spaced 12-pt font. Frame your analysis with a
brief introduction (do not try to incorporate any outside sources or research) and wrap up your
writing with a conclusion. The intro and conclusion do not count towards the minimum 500
words.