Transcript: Donnie

In high school, we were taught to do research in a very formulaic way. Even in college, the sources we use are articles, academic journals, books, and other traditional forms of media. However, as a music education major, I use an overwhelming amount of video and audio sources in my classes. We analyze recordings, which are primary sources, and rarely consult articles or writings on music by other authors because they are typically very opinion-based. It was definitely an adjustment for me to shift from using textual, often quantitative sources to researching and citing recordings for projects and research. For example, I recently took a musicology course on European music traditions which required me to write a paper about a piece of music. I had to source good, citable, and reputable recordings of my chosen song online and then cite them in the paper. There was also an added element of making sure the recordings I chose represented my perceived meaning and intention of the piece itself.