This blog is never meant to replace a classroom or your textbook, but simply to help you find the information you need more quickly, already organized into a study-like guide. But how do you know what parts of the site are important? This is where your notes come into play. While this blog is dedicated to music history, I think these tips are useful for any student in any degree.
Every professor has a different focus in her or his class and each history class will highlight different musical concepts, composers, and historical events. If you do not know what’s going on in your class you will probably have a hard time knowing what to study. The best way you can do that is learn to take better notes.
Here are some quick and dirty tips on how to take better notes.
1. Show up to class
The first tip may seem obvious but let me say it anyway. You need to show up to class. I know you are no longer in high school which means no one will call your mom and tell her you didn’t show up, but you still need to go. Beyond the fact that you are probably paying good money (now or when you pay off those loans) for the privilege to attend class, it will ultimately help you do better in the course. It doesn’t matter if your professor is a very dull lecturer and only covers the reading, hearing the material again will store the information in your mind again. Not only will you have read it, you will have heard it, and have taken notes to review later. BUT you simply cannot review notes if you were not there to take them. Go to class.
2. Do the reading
Before you show up for class you need to do the reading. Don’t simply skim it while you are waiting for class to start or when you are on the bus to campus. Sit down the night before with a pencil and a piece of paper. While reading the chapter, write down any important names, concepts, or composers so that you will be able to participate (and get those sweet participation points!) during class. Also make sure you write down anything that might be unclear. Most professors begin class by asking if there are any questions. This is not rhetorical and their hearts sink when no hands raise. No hands does not mean everyone is a genius who understood the reading the first time through. It means no one did the reading.
A good game to play while you are reading is to try and guess which parts the professor is going to highlight during class. Then you can check it against the lecture the next day. If you have a set of notes from the night before you can then highlight the parts covered in class so you know what was most important.
3. Get key points
Often a lecture is trying to highlight a few main points. I generally try to include three or four main points in a 50 minute lecture. As you listen try to note if your prof says something is especially important or there is a hierarchy in the powerpoint. Then write down as many details as you can. This is a good time to develop a shorthand. It’s also smart to give yourself notes on what to look up later. Example: if your teacher mentions covers Felix Mendelssohn in class and mentions that his sister, Fanny was also a composer, you may want to check and see if the Harmonious Historian has profiles on either of the composers (hint: she will soon).
4. Eliminate distractions
I know this may sound extreme but I recommend taking notes on paper. This way you will not only build a kinesthetic relationship to your notes, but you also won’t be tempted by facebook, twitter, g-chat, etc. Even when I use my computer in class or during a meeting I can’t help but click on the little envelope if I notice I have an email. It’s best just to take away the option. Plus, you have a great opportunity to reinforce what you learned when you get home. Before you read for the next day pull out your notes and type them up. You’ll learn quickly what worked in the note taking process and what didn’t. Plus it’s much easier to decipher a poorly written note the same day than four weeks later when it’s time to study. After this step you’ve reviewed the information four times: reading the chapter, listening to the lecture, reading your notes, and typing up your notes.
5. Beware the powerpoint trap
Profs often use powerpoints because students ask for them. Students ask for them so that they won’t have to stress about writing down the right information. In the long run what happens is students stop listening to the professor because they are busy scribbling down what was on the powerpoint and then scream “Wait!” when the slide changes. The professor finally relents and puts the powerpoint online. Then students stop taking notes altogether and start g-chatting again.
Powerpoints are ok as a guide but it is really easy to be distracted by a powerpoint, especially one with too much text. This is where the prep notes from the night before can help. You won’t need to write down every composer’s name and dates, you can simply check, star, or highlight it in your reading notes so you’ll remember to go over it that night. Then you can supplement that information with whatever additional points the professor shares with you. Honestly, that’s usually where the magic happens anyway.
6. Show your notes to your professor
You know those things called office hours? Those things you show up to when you have a paper due the next day? Well, they happen every week for a reason. During the first three weeks try to stop by your professor’s office hour twice and show her/him your notes. It may be unconventional but it is a great way to make sure you are taking notes on the right stuff. Ask her or him to read your notes and ask whether you got the main points (at this point you’ll be glad you typed it up after class). More than likely your professor will be grateful because they will get a glimpse of whether their communicating their main points effectively.
What about you? What are your favorite ways to take notes?
I, for one, am very excited about this. Streep has proved she can master historical roles (think Julia Child and Margaret Thatcher) and I’m sure she’ll do Callas justice. In the mean time, let’s all just enjoy some beautiful singing today.
For more on the upcoming film: http://pagesix.com/2014/06/17/meryl-streep-to-play-opera-legend-maria-callas-in-upcoming-film/
What do you think about the Streep casting? What is your favorite Callas performance?
On every first day of class, a student raises her or his hand and asks, “Why do we have to take this class? I know how to play music, why do I have to know the history?” Often people scoff at this question and say, “Silly undergrads! Why are you so lazy?!” But really, this is a good question. If you have a natural gift for playing music and you have honed your skills on your specialty up to this point, why bother with history? As someone who has dedicated the better part of her life studying music history, I have a few thoughts on the matter.
1. It is part of a liberal arts education.
Unless you are studying music at a conservatory, more than likely you are seeking a liberal arts education. This includes getting a well-rounded education in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Think about all of those core classes you have to put off until your senior year because you’re busy taking theory but everyone else takes while they’re freshman. Those help assure you are a well-rounded student by the time you graduate. There are many benefits to a liberal arts education, including gaining the ability to learn HOW to learn, the ability to see the world from someone else’s point of view, and it improves critical thinking skills by challenging students beyond their comfort zones. To the student who asks, “Why can’t I just play my horn?” the answer is you can. There is no requirement to have a degree to play your horn, but if you want to have a degree in music, you have to pass classes like music history.
2. You learn to talk about music.
“There is so much talk about music, and yet so little is said. For my part, I believe that words do not suffice for such a purpose…People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me it is exactly the reverse, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words. These, too, seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music…the thoughts that are expressed to me by music that I love are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite…the same words never mean the same things to different people” Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), translation by Leo Treitler, Reflections on Musical Meaning and its Representation
It may seem impossible at times for you to put something so obvious to you as music into words, but you have to learn how to express your thoughts about music. You may need to write program notes for a concert, liner notes for a CD, or even teach a masterclass. Communicating about music to other musicians and non-musicians is an essential skill, and one you practice during music history through class discussion and writing assignments.
While most music history class’s focus on his Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Felix Mendelssohn composed orchestral music, chamber music, keyboard music, choral music, oratorios, operas, and leider.
3. Musicians throughout history have found benefits of studying the music of others.
Even though the revival of historical music was not a popular phenomenon until Mendelssohn revived Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion in 1829, throughout history composers and performers have been inspired by music different than their own. Györgi Ligeti (1923-2006) often cited medieval poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377) as an influence. Sometimes this difference is not defined by time but by place or style. I like to remind my jazz students that Charlie Parker studied Stravinsky. No matter your specialty or skill-level, understanding the music of others will only make you a better musician.
Charlie Parker’s Koko
Igor Stavinsky’s “Firebird” Suite
Legend says that once Stravinsky heard Bird perform Koko in a nightclub, where he integrated a quote from the “Firebird” into a solo.
4. It’s fun, I promise!
Every person who makes it into a music history class loves music. It they did not, they would not be spending their valuable time and money earning a degree in music (see point 1). As an exercise on the first day of class I like to have every student write down why they love music and share it with the class. It’s a little ooey-gooey, but it’s a good exercise for all anyone who has dedicated their life to this art form. The fact of the matter is music is hard. It consumes your life, demands the health of your entire body, and crushes your heart and spirit from criticism. On the flip side, music is an all-consuming, world-wide phenomenon, which unites cultures and gives glimpses into higher plains of understanding. Music can divide as fast as it unites us. Music is power. When you stop for a moment and remember why you love music, Music History seems like the greatest class you can take. For an hour, three times a week, you get to experience music from distant times and places, hear the stories of musicians just like you, and emerse yourself in different musical cultures. It’s all about perspective. Just pretend like each time your enter music history class or sit down to study, the Doctor is inviting you into the Tardis and you are begging to go hear Du Fay’s Nuper Rosarum Flores at the dedication of the Cathedral in Florence.
BTW- Doctor Who’s theme song is actually an important part of music history, too.
This post will probably grow as time goes on. Why do you think it is important to study music history?
Are you about to start your first music history class?
Are you terrified of memorizing tons of facts, dates, and obscure composers?
Does the thought of a drop-the-needle listening test keep you up at night?
As an instructor of music history, getting my doctorate in musicology, I know many students struggle with these expectations when entering a music history classroom. In my experience music majors are often frightened by music history simply because the format of the class is different than what they’re used to. Music majors are some of the hardest working students you will ever meet. Walk up to any music major and she or he will be able rattle off an insane schedule which includes rehearsal commitments, performances, lessons, and hours in the practice room. While obviously work ethic is not the problem, many college music majors lack the necessary study skills when approaching a humanities-style course like music history. The class requires higher level thinking, fact memorization, and good writing, where many other music classes are often skill- and ability-based.
Never fear!
Just consider this blog to be your own personal music history tutor! While it may seem empty now, over the next few months I will fill the blog with timelines, period overviews, composer profiles, style characteristics, and study tips! These posts will help you understand the concepts and study more efficiently.
Let me know in the comments what types of content you would like to see on this blog!
-Harmonious Historian