Tuesday 21 May 2013

Listening Assignment No. 10 (LAST ONE!)

This will be your last listening assignment.  This week we're listening to the legendary Stevie Wonder.

Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and was a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.  Wonder has won 22 Grammy's including three Best Album awards for Innervisions (1974), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1975) and Songs in the Key of Life (1977).

This week we will be listening to Superstition from Stevie Wonder's 1972 album Talking Book.

Click here to listen to Stevie Wonder's Superstition

1. Name the artist and the song name.
2. List the instruments you hear.
3. Is it a solo, duet, small group or large group?
4. What does this song remind you of? (Sights, sounds, smells, etc.)
5a) Do you like this song?
5b) Please give a musical reason why or why not?

Monday 22 April 2013

Listening Assignment No. 9

This is your ninth listening assignment.  This week we'll be listening to another band that came out of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones.

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the "British Invasion" of English bands that became popular in the U.S. in the mid-sixties. They have released twenty-four studio albums, eleven live albums and numerous compilations. Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. Their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

This week we're listening to 19th Nervous Breakdown by the Rolling Stones.

Click Here To Listen To 19th Nervous Breakdown

Please listen to the track and answer the following questions. You can answer these questions by posting in the comments section of the post, by e-mailing me at aguilmette@wsd1.org or by writing them down and giving me your responses in class.

1. Name the artist and the song name.
2. List the instruments you hear.
3. Is it a solo, duet, small group or large group?
4. What does this song remind you of? (Sights, sounds, smells, etc.)
5a) Do you like this song?
5b) Please give a musical reason why or why not?

Monday 1 April 2013

Listening Assignment No. 8

Here is your eighth Listening Assignment.  This week we're looking at The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Mr. Please, Please, Soul Brother Number 1, The Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite: JAMES BROWN!!  James Brown was one of the pioneers of Soul music and the inventor of Funk.  This week we will be listening to one of the first Funk songs: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag by James Brown.  Let's get FUNKY!!
Click Here To Listen To Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Please listen to the track and answer the following questions. You can answer these questions by posting in the comments section of the post, by e-mailing me at aguilmette@wsd1.org or by writing them down and giving me your responses in class.

1. Name the artist and the song name.
2. List the instruments you hear.
3. Is it a solo, duet, small group or large group?
4. What does this song remind you of? (Sights, sounds, smells, etc.)
5a) Do you like this song?
5b) Please give a musical reason why or why not?

Monday 11 March 2013

Listening Assignment No. 7

Welcome to a new term of Listening Assignments!  This week we're looking at the legendary British rock band, the Beatles.  They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts of all time.  This week we are listening to Twist and Shout.  This song was actually a cover for the Beatles.  It was released on their first album Please, Please Me and went up to number 2 on the US Pop Chart.  It never reached number 1 as it was released during at time when the top 5 positions on the chart were all Beatles songs.


Please listen to the track and answer the following questions. You can answer these questions by posting in the comments section of the post, by e-mailing me at aguilmette@wsd1.org or by writing them down and giving me your responses in class.

1. Name the artist and the song name.
2. List the instruments you hear.
3. Is it a solo, duet, small group or large group?
4. What does this song remind you of? (Sights, sounds, smells, etc.)
5a) Do you like this song?
5b) Please give a musical reason why or why not?