Music

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Honors Project Course Information

MUSIC:498—Senior Honors Project: Music (1–3 credits; may be repeated for a total of six credits)

Individually designed project demonstrating scholarship, analysis, advanced musicianship, research and/or creativity according to student interest. Restricted to University honors music student.

Course Description

Senior Honors Projects for music majors must include a scholarly written document at least eight pages long. As instructed by the Honors College, these papers must represent a scholarly standard worthy of publication. Topics must have a strong connection to the discipline of music when they are collaborative or interdisciplinary in nature.

Many honors projects completed by music majors cover a wide range of topics related to musicology, comparative educational systems, or literature used by various composers, and many projects have also provided material for senior recital program notes. These are all topics requiring traditional research. On occasion honors projects concerned with educational or pedagogical practice have included surveys or interviews in addition to library research.

Other honors projects have involved creating a musical composition, such as etude books for young students, performance art projects, or band or small ensemble arrangements for particular public school levels. Other projects have involved shadowing a musical production from start to finish, observing the creation of a symphony orchestra season, or solving problems related to the commercial music business. Many projects similar to these have been completed by honors students majoring in music. However, this type project must include a scholarly document describing the project, its goals and parameters, rationale for choosing materials (in the case of compositions, arrangements, or pedagogical etudes), analysis of one’s own compositional structure when musical composition is involved, and some research into precedents for the project.

All scholarly documents, including those in support of a compositional or performance related project must include a bibliography. A program, score, CD, DVD or other evidence documenting the project are included in an appendix to the paper. Projects involving foreign language texts, poetry, or quotes of any kind must include both the original text and the student’s own translation.

Honors Project Committee

The honors project committee consists of three faculty members

1. one will serve as the sponsor, the person who will direct your project and help prepare the written document
2. one will be a someone willing to read the document after it has been prepared to the satisfaction of the sponsor
3. one will be the honors preceptor who will double as the second reader.

A third reader is optional, but students are cautioned that the more people that are involved in the project the more time it will take for completion. THE SPONSOR OF THE PROJECT MUST BE A SCHOOL OF MUSIC FACULTY MEMBER, but a reader may be selected from another department in the case of an interdisciplinary project. STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO RESPECTFULLY MAKE ALL REVISIONS AND INCLUDE ALL MATERIALS REQUESTED BY THEIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

Proposal

The honors project proposal may be brief, consisting of four paragraphs describing

1. the nature of the project
2. how it will be researched or prepared
3. how it will be presented
4. and, per Honors College requirements, how it will benefit others.

Take care to avoid first person and subjunctive in both the proposal and final document. For example, instead of saying “I am going to arrange five piano pieces for middle school band”, say, “This project will create arrangements of five piano pieces for middle school band”. Instead of saying, “These arrangements should be a positive contribution to the repertoire”, say “These arrangements will be a positive contribution to the repertoire”. No more than four paragraphs are necessary.

When describing how the project will be presented, the proposal MUST STATE THAT THE MAIN PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT WILL BE IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN, SCHOLARLY DOCUMENT. Also state that other material that enhances the written document—program notes, CDs, DVDs, scores, etc—will be presented in the appendices of the paper. A short bibliography indicating that some research has already been considered, or will be considered in regard to the project is expected. Attach this to the proposal before circulating it among your committee for approval signatures.

Once your committee is selected and faculty members have agreed to work with you, you may circulate your proposal among them, making any revisions or including any details requested. Once you have completed everyone’s revisions, circulate the proposal with the signature page (see the Honors College web link to the senior honors project) and submit this to the Honors College when complete. THE SENIOR HONORS PROJECT PROPOSAL IS DUE A FULL YEAR PRIOR TO GRADUATION, OR, IN THE CASE OF MUSIC EDUCATION MAJORS, A FULL YEAR PRIOR TO STUDENT TEACHING.

Senior Honors Project Papers

Students may select a writing format compatible with their discipline, particularly where publications for a discipline require a specific format such as MLA or Turabian. For example, music educators use APA for all scholarly documents and publications. When there is no particular custom, students may select a format with which they are comfortable. Whatever format is selected, it is important to use the same format consistently throughout the paper. HOWEVER, BE SURE TO CONSULT YOUR SPONSOR AND READERS TO VERIFY WHETHER THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR YOUR DISCIPLINE.

As in the proposal, first person and subjunctive are to be avoided. Students may select to use citations with an annotated bibliography OR to use footnotes with a comprehensive bibliography, whatever is most appropriate to the project. Discuss this with the sponsor and/or the honors preceptor. Information that is paraphrased and represents “common knowledge”—the same information appears in all sources about the subject—does not require a citation. Information peculiar to a particular source or that is directly quoted must be cited using either footnotes or a citation and annotated bibliography. Again, CONSULT YOUR SPONSOR TO SEE IF THERE IS A REQUIREMENT IN YOUR DISCIPLINE.

Begin by creating an outline of your topic and findings, then organize the paper into subsections, making sure to include an introduction and a conclusion. Include a separate title page in addition to the signature page. Scores, diaries, actual program notes, programs, etc. are placed in appendices as needed, as stated in the proposal. There are dozens of examples of completed papers in the advising office for reference—please feel free to request to see examples.

Many students’ degree programs require two credits of Independent Study. It is advisable to enroll in Independent Study to complete the background research or other tasks needed to create the project the semester prior to enrolling in Senior Honors Project. Ideally, the student will be in a position to simply write their paper and submit completed documents the following term, when they are enrolled in Senior Honors Project. Normally, students enroll for two credits, but it is allowable to enroll for up to six credits of Senior Honors Project as needed. Discuss this with the preceptor.

Be sure to allow your sponsor and readers sufficient time to look at your work before going on to the next step—at least two weeks. Many students find it useful to have a standing appointment with their sponsor to use throughout the process of developing the project and writing their paper. If the project meets the sponsor’s satisfaction by the midterm, it bodes well for having enough time for the first reader to see the outcome, make suggestions, and then for students to incorporate those suggestions. The honors preceptor is the last person to look at your work, unless you request comments earlier in the process. It is recommended your finished project be delivered to the preceptor three to four weeks prior to graduation, or of the term prior to student teaching for music education majors.

When your project and written document are completed to the satisfaction of your sponsor, begin circulating this draft to your readers. As with the proposal, once you have made all the amendments requested by your sponsor and readers, it is time to produce the final copy and circulate it with the signature page (see the Honors College web link for the template). As a courtesy to your sponsor and readers, be prepared to give them a copy of your paper and supporting documents for their records. After your sponsor and readers have signed off on the project, make an appointment to see the director of the School of Music for that signature. Finally, the completed and approved Honors Project should be submitted according to the deadlines and procedures of the Honors College.

Behaving Honorably

Keep in mind that part of being an Honors Student is behaving in an honorable manner. Be considerate of the faculty who have agreed to work with you and respectful of their guidance—they are not compensated for these activities and are helping you purely out of interest in your professional development. Be considerate of their time as well as interacting professionally in response to suggestions and in the language used in e-mails or personal conversations. Have the courtesy to invite all members of your committee and the honors preceptor to any performances related to your honors project. Keep your sponsor informed about your progress, particularly if you fall behind, are delayed by illness or unexpected emergencies, or simply become over-extended with other coursework during this process. Work with your sponsor throughout these kinds of difficulties. If you do fall behind IT IS NEITHER HONORABLE NOR CONSIDERATE TO EXPECT SPONSORS OR READERS TO BE AVAILABLE DURING BREAKS, HOLIDAYS, OR OVER THE SUMMER to help you catch up or finish on a schedule outside of the academic calendar. Again, they are not being compensated for these activities. Behave honorably and with consideration in all of these situations even if it means delaying student teaching or graduation.

General Guidelines

• You must receive a grade of "B" or higher on your Honors Research Project to graduate as an Honors Scholar. If you do not achieve this grade you may still meet the requirements to graduate as an undergraduate student in your major. Please contact your Honors Advisor for more information.
• When there are multiple students involved in an Honors Research Project, each student should be included as authors on the final report, even if they are not part of the Williams Honors College. Every student should receive the proper recognition for thier contributions.
• Every committee must be composed of a Sponsor and two Readers. More information on these roles is available here.
• Students expecting to work on an honors project involving the use of human subjects should be aware that such projects may need to be evaluated by the University of Akron Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all proposals for research involving human participants to insure appropriate ethical and safety standards are observed. Depending on the nature of the proposed research, IRB review and approval may be required prior to moving forward with your study. In the same way, any research involving live animals will require review by the University of Akron Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). Please communicate with your project sponsor regarding the need for IRB or ACUC consideration as it relates to your specific project. Information concerning research applications and review procedures can be obtained via the University of Akron Office of Research Administration (ORA).