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For this assignment, you will write an essay about an unidentified piece (“Mystery Piece”). In writing this
essay, you will incorporate elements from the previous “Mystery Piece” assignments (Outline and Program).
ESSAY QUESTION:
The mystery piece piece features a dialogue between the pianist and the orchestra. In this essay, you will try
to describe the piece in two ways: (1) in purely musical terms (Analysis); (2) in narrative terms, by describing a
story that could be related to the music (Program)see below a description of these two approaches. In a short
conclusion, you should explain which of the two approaches you prefer, if any, and why.
GUIDELINES:
PART I Analysis:
Describe, in musical terms (dynamics, texture, register, rhythm, mood, ), how the dialogue between the
pianist and the orchestra unfolds in the piece, using your “Mystery Piece” Outline as a guidebe sure to
reference specific passages of the piece in your writing, using precise timings (for example: at 00:53, or
from 1:34 to 1:45).
PART II – Program:
Write a short “Program” for the Mystery Piece, based on your previous “Mystery Piece” Program assignment.
Make sure to tie your program to what you said about the piece in the Analysis part: here again, use specific timings
to indicate particular moments in the piece that are relevant to your story.
FORMAT:
Your paper should be in essay format: Introduction, Body, Conclusion.
3 pages minimum. Shorter papers will not be accepted.
Typed using Times or Times New Roman 12 pitch font and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
Spell-checked and with the pages stapled. Make sure your name is at the top!
GRADING:
1. Content/Substance (60%): An “A” paper gives a thoughtful description of the music, accompanied with specific
examples/timings.
3. Organization (20%): An “A” paper has an introduction, main body and a conclusion. It groups related ideas
into paragraphs. Each paragraph contains at least three sentences.
4. Clarity of language (20%): In an “A” paper, words are spelled correctly and capitalized where necessary; each
sentence has a subject and a verb that agree with one another; there are no run-on
sentences; and necessary punctuation marks are in the right places.
