There’s a connection between the growing acceptance of non-mainstream methodologies/repertoires and the growing number of marginalized people that have found success within our discipline.
My SMT 2018 Activities
A study in timbre narratives and instrumentation in 1980s pop / The Dynamics of the Job Interview / Pop Music Interest Group meeting: small-group breakout sessions / Webmasterly duties
Using scheduling software for better boundaries in office hours
I started using scheduling software to avoid a lot of the back-and-forth of scheduling.
Sonic the Hedgehog analysis: article preview
I just uploaded two transcriptions I did of music from Sonic the Hedgehog 3: “Ice Cap Zone” and “Marble Garden Zone.”
Academic mixtapes
S. Alexander Reed puts a little playlist together at the end of each of his chapters in his book Assimilate.
Modular music theory
We are dedicating an entire course to pop and jazz music, thoroughly integrating theory and performance, and de-sequencing the curriculum.
I just won a grant for grant from my university to re-develop the music theory curriculum. In our grant proposal, we emphasized two major developments: a more thorough integration between theory and performance, and a modular design that gives students flexibility and choice.
Planning for 2018–2019
My ’18-’19 goals: Making course journals, optimizing student meetings, and starting a singing club!
Goals for Summer 2018
I’m going to write and work on my courses, but I’m going to prioritize relaxing also.
First year on the job
Three life lessons I’ve learned in my first year in a tenure-track job.
My last post was Jan 5, 2018, which was during the winter break between the Fall and Spring semesters. Now almost five months later, I’ve finished the Spring semester and thus my first year in my tenure-track job at George Mason. As my decreased posting frequency should tell you, I’ve been extremely busy this year getting oriented to my 3/3 teaching load (3 courses in each semester, Fall and Spring) and my new environs.
These next three days, I’m participating in a lovely Faculty Writing Retreat that Mason has put on. After each day concludes at 5pm, I’ll write up a short blog post with my observations reflecting on the 2017–2018 school year (today’s topic), my goals for Summer 2018, and my goals for the next year. Which brings us to my current topic: how I’ve grown in my first year on the job. They’re all interrelated, and I think they all come from the kind of inevitable boost in maturity and confidence that your first big-time job can sometimes slap into you.
Using Scrivener to write your music dissertation or book
I have three practical tips for how Scrivener can make your life easier when you write your long document.
I am a huge, huge fan of Scrivener. (No, I am not a paid shill!) Scrivener is like a digital trapper keeper or scrapbook, with tons of options to organize, visualize, and move stuff around. Scrivener also has an iPhone app that syncs with your desktop app so you can write from your phone. Game changer.
I cannot overstate how much Scrivener helped me to write my first long document (my dissertation). By default, I think most people open up Microsoft Word or the equivalent when it’s time to write, and Word works fine for many years of one’s academic career. But long-form documents are a different beast, and a more flexible tool like Scrivener offers many advantages.
I’ll let you look up arguments for Scrivener on your own, as there are many (1, 2, 3). I’m going to focus instead on three practical tips for how Scrivener can make your life easier when you write your dissertation, thesis, or book: