Select a piece: Choose a piece from any genre, style, or time period as long as a recording is
readily available on YouTube. Please choose a song that you feel has a strong connection to
space. You are allowed to choose any one of the songs from the textbook. If you do, be sure
to analyze the song in much greater detail than what is in the book.
• Complete the worksheet:
1. Background information: On the first page of your worksheet, you will provide
background information about the piece.
2. Identify, describe, and discuss significant events in the piece: On the second
page of your worksheet, you will identify at least 10 significant events in the
piece by their timestamps, each of which you will describe and discuss in full
sentences. Timestamps are written in minutes and seconds such as 3:42 or 0:35.
Please write in complete sentences for each of your entries in this section.
▪ These events may be changes in tempo or meter, changes in instrumentation
and/or texture, mood shifts, such as a change from major to minor mode (from“light” to “dark”), the entrance of a soloist, appearance or recurrence of a
particular motive, or special effect, and so on.
3. Written Section: Write an essay (1,200 word minimum) about the work (see
questions below).
WRITTEN SECTION: (minimum 1,200 words)
On the following pages write a short essay that describes this
music and explain why you feel it is related to space. Be sure to
structure this in a basic essay format with an introduction, a
thesis (why this is related to space), discussion, and conclusion.
In your essay, you may consider the following questions:
What kinds of instruments are played and are they played in a
certain way to create a feeling of outer space?
Are there lyrics that suggest outer space?
Do the vocals use any special effects or are they sung in a way
that suggests space?
Does the piece tell a science-fiction-like story, perhaps to make
a social or political commentary about earthly life?
Is the song a metaphor for love, loneliness, alienation, or any
other aspect of our life on earth?
Address all aspects that suggest outer space and describe the
overall mood or atmosphere of the music (for example, does it
give you a feeling of floating or being in a distant part of the
galaxy?) and how exactly does the music create that mood?
Finally, how does this music compare to some of the other music
that we have studied in this class? Can you hear similarities or
new ways in which music is used to depict space?