Choose 1 of 3 artists to ponder further. Listen to some of the music of your artist on YouTube. Visit the website of your artist linked below. Think about the artist for an hour. THEN – Compose a reflection. Your reflection should be centered around the artist’s challenges you suspect they probably had, the public image of the artist, how their sound was innovative from others of the time, the commercialization of their career – how was it done, and finally, compare them to a modern musical artist. Justify your comparison with commonalities. Your grade will reflect the amount of though evident in your posting. If you compose a 2 page reflection then you’re probably on the right track. The goal is to THINK about the artist, their music, and career. I do NOT want a biography of the artist. The artists are:
(Links open in a new tab. To close the tab with your keyboard press Ctrl+w, or Ctrl+F4)
- White mainstream – Irving Berlin http://www.parlorsongs.com/bios/berlin/iberlin.php
- Black tradition – Louis Jordan https://wwhttps://www.jimmierodgers.com/
- Country & Western – Jimmie Rodgers https://www.jimmierodgers.com/
Scoring rubric:
- A written reflection equivalent to 2 typed pages (2 pts.)
- Evidence that the student listened to the artist’s music (2 pts.)
- Evidence that the student read something about the artist’s life, be it ever so humble (2 pts.)
- Evidence that the student thought outside just the facts – imaging the life of the artist in some way (2 pts.)
- Compares the artist to a current artist (2 pts.)
