WRC Handout

2.10.2
(941) 359-4506
A Brief Guide to Writing About Music
http://theory.music.indiana.edu/t251h/writingaboutmusic.htm

T251H, Fall 2000

Andrew Davis

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Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.

Frank Zappa

**Portions of the following are adapted from Richard Wingell, Writing About Music: An Introductory Guide
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990); Mark Butler, Comments on writing about music (T251H course
materials, Fall 1999); and Mark Reed, Guidelines for assignments (T251H course materials, Fall 1999).

Understanding the music:

Writing about music must focus, above all, on the music. The first step to writing effectively about a musical work
(or several works, of course) is to understand that work on its own terms and see where that work fits within the
broader picture of its style and genre. You can come to this kind of understanding by listening to the work a number
of times, with the score, and by studying the score with an eye for elements such as the formal and harmonic
organization of the piece (how many large parts are there? what differentiates each part from the others? what are
the primary key areas of each part?). To write well about a particular work, you cannot know that work too well:
you should be able to talk through the piece to a friend or colleague, without using the score, highlighting major
changes and formal divisions as you go, singing major themes or playing them at the piano, and mentioning other
points of interest in the piece.

Taking an angle:

After gaining an intimate familiarity with the work, take a position, or an angle, on what you think is important
about the music; this is commonly referred to as the thesis. You can come to this position in a number of ways:

why do you like the piece?

why do you not like the piece?
what one or two stylistic elements of the piece have really stood out to you as you have become more and more
familiar with it?
what one or two aspects of the piece do you think are the most interesting or most important?
if you had to single out one or two important aspects of the piece and communicate them to a friend or colleague,
what would they be?

Gathering supporting information:

Once you have narrowed down an angle to take on the work about which you are writing, make a list of the more
detailed facets of the piece that will allow you to make your point, or your argument. Say, for example, that the
aspect of the piece that stands out to you the most is how each of the three formal sections differ so much from each
other, at least right at the moments of transitions, that a strong sense of stylistic juxtaposition is felt by the listener.
To make this point effectively, you would need a list of all the characteristics of each of the three formal sections as
well as a list of the specific musical events that happen right at the moments of transitions between each of these
sections.

Organizing your information:

 WRC Handout
2.10.2
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After youve taken your position and made a list of supporting points, organize your information so that you can
communicate it in prose. How can you most logically group your information so that your point comes across most
clearly? Be creative, but strive for the utmost clarity. And keep in mind that the best organization is not always
chronological: for the hypothetical topic above, you might organize by first writing about those transitions in which
the sharpest possible stylistic juxtaposition is evident to the listener, then move on to those juxtapositions that are
less distinct. Or you might group each formal section into a stylistic category: 2 of the formal sections might have an
exotic style, while the other might have a military style. Write about the stylistic characteristics of each section
first, then describe the transitions between the exotic and military styles beginning with the transition that exhibits
the sharpest and most distinct contrast.

Always keep in mind that any claims you make about the music must be supported with concrete musical examples:
make specific references to the score using measure numbers or include a copy of the relevant sections of the score
and refer to this in your paper.

In sum:

Of course, there are many other ways to go about organizing and making such an argument. Be creative, but be
clear. Go beyond merely listing the musical events of a piece; such arguments are rarely interesting and almost never
compelling. Take a position, state your opinions, and take the risk that some readers will disagree with you. If your
argument is compelling, unanimous agreement among readers of your work is not important.

Stylistic and grammatical issues:

1. The following abbreviations are standard:

m. (measure)
mm. (measures)
op. (Opus)
no. (number)
nos. (numbers)

2. Capitalize names of pitches, and write accidentals using # and b: A, Gb, F#, etc. You may write naturals as
B-natural, etc. Groups of pitches are hyphenated: A-Gb-F#, etc. [Alternative musical fonts such as Petrucci often
facilitate the notation of musical symbols in the midst of prose writing; you may use these, but it is not necessary.]

3. Do not abbreviate or capitalize musical terms such as exposition, development, recapitulation, perfect
authentic cadence, half-cadence, etc.

4. Write measure numbers using Arabic numerals, not words: in mm. 25-35, not in measures twenty-five through
thirty-five.

5. Write out rhythmic patterns by hand (insert them into the document after printing) or insert them using music
notation software.

6. Chord symbols are written as Roman numerals: I, IV, bVI, etc. They also may be written using words: tonic,
subdominant, half-diminished seventh, etc.

7. Foreign terms should be abbreviated (be sure to include all appropriate accents write them in by hand after
printing, if necessary): andante, style bris, etc.

8. Capitalize the names of movements: in the Andante movement, etc. But do not capitalize if referring to them by
numbers: in the first movement, etc.
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9. Capitalize and italicize the titles of pieces: Mozarts Don Giovanni, etc. Capitalize generic titles only when they
are part of the name of a piece: the quintet is a fine example of Beethovens early style, but Beethovens Quintet
in Eb Major, Op. 16 (1796) is a fine example of his early style (do not italicize these generic titles).

10. When referring to keys, capitalize the pitch name as usual, but do not capitalize the mode: A major, G
minor, etc.

Commonly misspelled musical terms:

rhythm
parallel
imitation
appoggiatura
bass (as in bass line, not base line)
Neapolitan

Also remember:
its (=possessive), but its (= it is)

Use of the first person:

It is generally accepted in academic writing that the use of the first person is avoided. It is assumed that you are
stating your own opinions and arguments, and it is not necessary that you qualify your statements with I think
or I find that. The only common exceptions to this general rule occur when you are stepping out of the context
of your argument for a moment and speaking as the author of the paper. This usually occurs in introductions and
conclusions: In this essay, I will explore the relationship between, etc.

Gender-biased language:

Gender-biased language is also avoided in academic writing. There are a number of solutions to the problem: you
may use one in place of he or she, you may alternate the use of he and she (though this can be particularly
annoying to he reader), or you may rephrase the sentence so that the use of the pronoun is not necessary (this is often
the best solution).

Some particularly poor examples of writing about music:

The overly precious: The violas insist on interrupting with their own little theme, but the woodwinds are not
impressed, and continue chattering among themselves. Finally, the brasses put a stop to the argument by drowning
out everyone else and restoring order.
The fanciful: The introduction is non-thematic, but provides a delightful aperitif to the movement proper.
The play-by-play (a list of events): The first 16 measures of the development section are based on the first theme,
and gradually reduce the musical idea to the opening flourish, which then moves through the keys of Bb minor, Eb
major, Ab major, and Db major. Then there is a half-cadence, after which a dominant pedal prepares for the
recapitulation.
The overly colloquial: The Phrygian cadence in m. 32 is totally cool. I like it a lot.