First day activity in which students are challenged to answer the question “what is music?”. Helps students identify their assumptions about what music is, and challenges those assumptions by providing counter-examples. Leads to discussion about “music” as contextual, ambiguous, and subjective concept. By the end of the activity, students have both a working definition of “music” to use for the course, and an understanding that that definition is fluid, imperfect, and always up for debate. Also begins to build listening skills by challenging students to identify as many different sounds as possible in their current soundscape.
Instructor: Miranda Fedock
Course: Introduction to World Music (MUS 102)