During the Thursday lecture of Week 1, I discussed street processions that take place during funerals in Accra (Ghana) and New Orleans (USA), during which musicians play music and walk along city streets and when people march and dance alongside the musicians.
Continuing with the theme of musical street processions, for this first writing assignment, you will describe the music and analyze the social interactions of…
This parade took place in Bloomington, IN, as part of the 2015 Lotus Festival, and this video features the French-North African brass band Fanfaraï.
In your essay, you should briefly address these two questions:
Describe the scene: when and where does this seem to be taking place, and what does the social environment feel like?
How do the people leading the parade attempt to engage people along the parade route?
Then, spend some more time addressing these questions, which deal more specifically with the band Fanfaraï and their interactions with people along the parade route:
How do bandmembers use physical gestures, their instrumental music, and their singing to engage their audience?
How do people along the parade route respond to the band and the other people in the parade?
What characteristics of the music stand out to you? Be specific as you can when describing the musical characteristics, and try to use some of the musical terms discussed in the first Jeff Todd Titon reading. You can discuss the instrumentation, melodies, rhythms, tempo, instruments’ timbres, and more.
Why is this music fitting for a street parade, and why do you think this music is engaging for the audience?
The bulk of your essay should analyze the video by addressing the above questions, but include some background information on the band Fanfaraï. The band’s website provides some information about the band: https://tournsol.net/fanfarai-en/
In addition to covering the topics and questions outlined above, make sure to pay attention to aspects of effective writing: find an engaging way to introduce the topic, structure your thoughts into paragraphs that have main ideas, write transitions between paragraphs so the ideas flow smoothly, wrap things up with a conclusion, and write with correct grammar and spelling.
Your essay should be 2 to 3 pages in length, double spaced, Times New Roman 12-Point Font.
Grading Rubric
35 Points: Analyze musical characteristics
30 Points: Describe of the parade scene/environment
35 Points: Discuss why the music is fitting for a procession/parade
40 Points: Analyze how band members engage the audience
35 Points: Describe how people respond to the band
20 Points: Briefly Discuss background information about the band Fanfaraï
38 Points: Attend to issues of effective writing, such as organization, grammar, spelling, etc.
Total: 233 Points
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