Post #15

I feel like I have really improved on my grammar skills and detail when it comes to describing specific ideas or topics. At the beginning of the year, I had a lot of trouble with these two specific concepts. As a result of this class, I have a better understanding of proper English structure, and I feel these improvements show in my writing. Also, I am a lot better at organizing my ideas and putting them in a proper order as a result of this class. I used to have no idea where to put specific ideas in a paper. Now, I have a better idea as to where specific things should go in a paper as a result of Professor DiSarro's teaching.

There are a few things I still struggle with in my writing process. First, I still have trouble with repeating myself. Every time I write a paper, I always end up repeating something I already said earlier in the paper, giving the paper no variety and making it very repetitive. Also, I have trouble staying on track when it comes to writing a draft or paper. I always end up procrastinating and doing it at the last minute, which makes it very hard to write a paper. I feel like I write a better paper under pressure, but it is still very stressful. In addition to repetition and writing papers at the last minute, I also struggle with the way I conduct research. It is very hard for me to summarize what I have found in my research. I still have a tendency of writing too little or too much about what I've found in my research. As a result, some of my papers if not all of them lose depth that they could've had.

After having this class for 15 weeks, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding as to how this class is taught. Some of the things I like about this class is the teacher is very open to questions, answers your questions very well, always answers your e-mails, and gives really good feedback and advice on drafts and final papers. 

Some of the things I would change, however, is I would have more conferences for the students. This way the students can talk to the teacher more one on one than via e-mail. Also, I feel like the mini-ethnography could be a little more specific in the sense of what exactly to put in it because some people get confused by reading the directions. I would explain the ethnography more in class and give a few examples to show the class as to what I would be looking for in a mini-ethnography exactly. Other than that, I thought the class was a very effective class. The teacher was always well prepared for class, answered all questions asked by the students, and gave great advice on the drafts and final papers to help the students with their writing process.

Post #14

My favorite piece of data that I have used so far in my research would have to be my interviews. The interviews I have done for my mini-ethnography have been very helpful towards proving the points I am trying to make in my mini-ethnography. For example, I went and interviewed my former choir teacher yesterday. The answers I got for my questions were very helpful. I asked him why choir was important to him, and he said "Choir is important to me because it is what I love to teach." It is my life and my passion and because of choir, I wouldn't be where I am today." I asked my brother, who used to be in choir,  the same question and he gave a very similar answer. Roger, my brother, told me "Choir has helped get me to where I am today." "But, in addition to helping me get on the right path, choir is also an important aspect of my life because it gives me a way of expressing myself without using words." "Choir is a way to express emotion and also relaxes your nerves, at least with me it does." 

These are just a few examples why the interviews I have done are my favorite piece of data. Through my interviews, I've got a better feel for how important choir really is and how it is viewed in society today. As a result, my mini-ethnography will be much more effective because I will be able to back up the research questions I have through real life examples, making the paper more effective and credible.

Cut-up

I went to watch the Varieties Show that all the musical choirs at my school were doing together. I remember the atmosphere being very dark and eerie, the air being very cold, and to top it all off, all the people in the choirs slowly coming onto the stage in a march, clapping slowly with the rhythm of the music. Anyway, as I sat there in the audience, observing the show the choirs were putting on, I began to see why I was in choir in the first place. It gave me a sense of purpose and belonging, as it did the Japanese captors in Sumatra I've found in my research.being very dark and eerie, the air being very cold, and to top it all off, all the people in the choirs slowly coming onto the stage in a march, clapping slowly with the rhythm of the music. Anyway, as I sat there in the audience, observing the show the choirs were putting on, I began to see why I was in choir in the first place. It gave me a sense of purpose and belonging, as it did the Japanese captors in Sumatra I've found in my research.

Potential Titles for my Mini-Ethnography

Singing it Loud

Choir: and its Benefits to Society- focuses on what the theme of my paper is going to be about, which is the benefits choir provides to our entire culture as a whole

Making Music

Music Education Redefined

The Importance of Musical Choir All Across the Globe- focuses on what my paper is all about, which is why choir is important to have in society. In other words, how would it benefit society and if it is a benefit to society, why is it important.

I'm a Nerd, and I'm Pretty Proud of it

Post #13

I remember a few weeks ago when I visited my field site. I went to watch the Varieties Show that all the musical choirs at my school were doing together. I remember the atmosphere being very dark and eerie, the air being very cold, and to top it all off, all the people in the choirs slowly coming onto the stage in a march, clapping slowly with the rhythm of the music. Anyway, as I sat there in the audience, observing the show the choirs were putting on, I began to see why I was in choir in the first place. It gave me a sense of purpose and belonging, as it did the Japanese captors in Sumatra I've found in my research. It made me want to be in choir again, and it also showed me how important choir is to our society today. It gives audiences entertainment, as David Patrick Stearns talks about in his article titled "Donald Nally, and a choir with intelligence,"a heart-warming message, and shows the audience why choir gives people a sense of belonging and purpose, an example being the Japanese prisoners in Sumatra that I stated earlier. 

After the show, I talked to some of the people involved in the show and asked them how they thought the show went. One of the people involved in the show, Zach Dockrey, told me "I thought the show went really well." "I had a lot of fun, especially when I was dancing by myself on stage looking like a complete idiot." One other person, Derek Horvath, who is a member of show choir and a friend of mine, told me "I thought the show went great." "We have a lot of very talented people in choir, and hopefully the audience saw that." In addition to this particular question, I asked him some questions pertaining to my research. I asked him why he enjoyed choir and how does it benefit society. The answer I got from him was not surprising. He said, "I like being in choir because it gives me a sense of purpose, belonging, and a way to make new friends without being judged." "As for how it benefits society, I believe it gives society entertainment, sends them a wonderful message, and shows them exactly why choir is so much fun to be in." The statements Derek told me reminded me of my research and how choir gave the Japanese captors of Sumatra a sense of purpose and belonging and how David Patrick Stearns felt after seeing the musical choir the Crossing, and how excited and amazed he was with the choir's excellent blend and intonation of voices.

After I talked to some of the people involved in the show, I helped the cast tear down the set. Some of the things I had to tear down and load up included monitors, which were very heavy, curtains, which were heavy, long, and a pain in the butt if you didn't fold it right, and lights, which were of all colors and sizes. It was a pain in the butt to do, but I'm a nice guy. 

All in all, the experience was very entertaining and beneficial to my mini-ethnography. I feel the concert gave me a very good example as to why choir is important to have in society, it showed me how it gives people a sense of purpose and belonging, and it showed me why choir is a fun thing to do. I think the experience gives me a very good example I can talk about in my mini-ethnography, and as a result of the experience I had at the field site, I have an urge to be in choir again.

6-word memoir

About me: Lots of friends, bundles of fun

About subculture: Hard work, determination, brothers and sisters

Posting #12

My understanding of the word rhetoric is using language effectively through persuasion. It can be true or exaggerated, but most people who use rhetoric exaggerate what they say so they can have an effective speech or sound smarter. 

In my opinion, I feel like what constitutes rhetoric is the things we say as well as the way we act. If we say stupid things to people all the time, we are going to try to use rhetoric to try to sound smarter than what we really are. When we want to get a good job, we need to be able to use good rhetoric so we sound smarter and more convincing so that we can get a better chance of getting hired by an employer. In our society today, rhetoric is mainly used to sound more convincing and rhetoric is usually constituted by the way people act or talk in a society.

I hear the word rhetoric all the time from the media on TV stations such as CNN, NBC, and C-SPAN. Also, I've heard the word rhetoric being used as well as talked about at some of the speakers I've seen this year at Ball State. Plus, Comm 210 teaches you how to use rhetoric properly. The reason you hear about about rhetoric all the time as well as hear rhetoric in general is because rhetoric is a big part of our society. Presidential candidates use rhetoric to try to convince us to vote for them. News stations use rhetoric to make points about specific topics and candidates. The media tries to get you to do what they want you to do through the use of rhetoric. Rhetoric can be seen all over our society, and without rhetoric, candidates wouldn't be as convincing and public speakers wouldn't sound as good. This important aspect of our culture is what makes our news and speakers effective.

Rhetoric in our society is used in both a positive and negative way. It depends on what subject or idea the person is talking about or presenting. For example, when Barack Obama was trying to convince voters to vote for him, he would use rhetoric in both a positive and negative way. He would use rhetoric to explain why McCain should not be elected president, and he would use positive rhetoric to explain why he is the perfect candidate for President of the United States. Also, on news stations such as CNN and NBC, reporters use rhetoric in both a positive and negative way, depending on the topic. If they support a Republican candidate, obviously they are gonna use rhetoric in a positive way to support that candidate and negative rhetoric against the opposing candidate so they can make their candidate look better. Overall, rhetoric is used in both a positive and negative way. It just depends on the beliefs of the person and what they are trying to persuade to their audience.

I think there is some rhetoric in my subculture. Teachers use it all the time to try to convince people to join choir. They will tell them they will enjoy choir because everyone respects each other, you meet new people, do a lot of fun activities, etc. Also, students use rhetoric all the time so they can try to persuade their friends to join choir so they can have a friend in the class. So, to answer the question, rhetoric is used in the musical choir subculture all the time to convince students to join choir as well as try to show other people why choir is so beneficial and fun to society.

I could use rhetoric to persuade my audience to respect musical choir and maybe convince some of them to join choir as a result of my research. I need to try not to exagerate too much, but I can use rhetoric to convince my audience the points I am trying to get across to them in my mini-ethnography. As for my final portfolio, I can use rhetoric to make my essays more effective and meaningful. I can use more examples as to why musical choir is beneficial to society, exaggerating some of the points a little to give it more effect and meaning. I can describe my sources more in depth, making them more effective. In other words, I can use rhetoric to make my writings more effective and meaningful as well as more persuasive when it comes to trying to persuade my audience with the points I am trying to make in my mini-ethnography.

The quote that best describes my writing process is if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. I like this particular quote because it is so true. Most people don't like to write and they tend to be lazy and wait until the last minute to write their paper. But, the thing about writing is if you tell yourself you can do it, then you can, like any other thing. This is why this particular quote is meaningful to me. It is very true and fits me well when it comes to how I write.

Post #11

I think because of this class, my writing process has changed drastically. I used to just do a little research and write a paper over what I found. Now, I get more in depth with each essay I do. I write rough drafts of each paper I do. I research from many different sources besides the Internet. I check over my writing when I'm done, making sure I didn't make any mistakes. These are just a few things I do now in my writing process that I used to never do, and it is all as a result of English 104. English 104 has made me a much better writer and thinker, and I am thankful I've had this class.

The annotated bibliography was a little bit of a struggle for me to write. The reason being not only did you have to summarize the source, but tell why it's a valuable source to use in your mini-ethnography. It wasn't the explaining of why the source is valuable, but summarizing the sources. When it comes to summarizing sources, I am terrible at summarizing. I usually put most of what's in the story in my summary. I use too much of the source when it comes to summarizing. I have a problem of condensing things down to the main points because most sources have a lot of good points, and because of this problem I have, I struggled writing the annotated bibliography.

I really don't like to write, but when I do write, it helps me learn better and helps me get things off my chest. Also, writing helps you with other subjects, such as history and science. All these things are the reasons I like to write. Writing is a great way to voice your opinion without speaking. It gives you a way to make your point with factual evidence from other sources you might've not known about until you started researching and reading different articles. The main thing I like about writing is it helps get things off your chest and helps you remember ideas you might want to use later on. For example, if you have a bad memory that bothers you, you can write about it in a journal and feel ten times better because you got all of your emotions off of your chest. As for the past mistakes, blogs would be a good example of learning from past mistakes. Let's say you write a blog about sports and you talk about why it is important in our society. You want to make an argument to someone about why sports is important, but you have no evidence to back it up. With having a blog, you can look and see what support you have to support your claim and make your point. In other words, writing is a great way of remembering things you might forget about.

I think writing will play a very important role in my future. I want to be a sports caster on ESPN or somewhere in the world, but in order to be an effective sportscaster, I have to be able to take great notes over big sports stories of the day as well as write columns and articles about specific sports stories of each and every day. Writing will make my job much easier and enjoyable. Without writing, I will have to remember specific details by memory, and that is not an easy thing to do. So writing will be a very useful tool for my career.

Family History

I don't really know of any one famous in my family, but I do know of a few people my family talks about all the time. One of the people my family talks about all the time is my grandpa Ward. Every time my dad wants to get a point across or talks about his past history, he always brings up grandpa Ward, his father. Dad always says grandpa was a fine man and would do anything for anyone, no matter who it was. According to dad, grandpa was a great fisherman, but would always give his fish away, worked in a factory, which is probably where he got the cancer he had, and always helped people even though he didn't have to and even though he didn't have much to give. Grandpa Ward is always brought up in any kind of conversation I have with my dad. Whether it's about life in general or doing what's right, grandpa is always tied in with what's going on in my life. 

I find this to be very interesting because dad doesn't bring anyone up as much as grandpa, which shows me grandpa was a huge part of my dad's life and probably the reason my dad is where he is today. By dad talking about grandpa Ward all the time, he shows that what he says about grandpa is true because if it wasn't true, he wouldn't talk about it all the time. It also tells me about how much my family and my dad value family and how important it is to always be there for your family no matter what, even through the good times and the bad times. Through this one influential person in my life and my family's life, you can get a lot of information about my family's background, values, and hobbies.

Post #10

I'm not exactly sure how I want to structure my mini-ethnography, but I do know I want to talk about the stereotyping when it comes to people in musical choir. Also, I want to make sure I cover how these people act in their environment compared to how they act in other environments. Last, I want to talk about how music has affected people in their lives. I want to interview a bunch of people from the musical choir culture and ask each of them how music has affected them and how it makes them feel. I feel like if I can have these main points in my mini-ethnography, people will get a better understanding when it comes to this particular culture and why people like to be in choir.

I will talk about my interest in the subculture and my experience in the culture. This way, people will understand how I know so much about the culture and it gives them a perspective from a former insider.

The best way to write my mini-ethnography is to have some kind of order. I can first talk briefly about the history of music, giving them a brief outline of musical choir history. Then, I can talk about some of the sensory details of the choir room to give the reader a feel for the culture. Next, I can put in interviews from people in the culture and ask them questions as to why they enjoy choir, when they have practice, etc. This way the audience can understand the effects choir has on a society and how it gives them a sense of belonging and purpose.  I feel if I can set my mini-ethnography up in an order like this, the ethnography will have a good flow and the audience will understand it more and have each of their questions answered.

I could conclude the piece by talking about the effects musical choir has on a society and why it is important in our society today. This would give a good ending to the ethnography because it summarizes what has already been said and then gets into more detail why these concepts talked about in the ethnography are important, making an effective ending to the ethnography with a good summary of the concepts and a good closer talking about the why choir is important.

I think this particular structure might be the best to go with because it gives the reader a feel for what the culture looks like, giving them a visual of the site, then talking about what goes on in the culture, giving the reader a way of seeing what goes on in the culture, why people like choir, giving the reader a reason why so many people like choir, and then ending with why choir is so important in our society, summarizing the main points of the mini-ethnography and stating the importance of choir in society, giving the reader a better understanding of the culture and why it's important. I feel that by doing it in this particular order, I won't lose the reader. The reader can read the ethnography and have each question they have answered step by step as they go. I feel like this is the best way to order my paper and it gives my audience the best understanding of the musical choir subculture without leaving out any details.

Glossary

Intonation- In tune with the music being played

Rhythm- How slow or fast the music is being played

Dynamics- How loud or soft the music is suppose to be sung

Harmony- When all of the singing groups blend together

Soprano- High voice of a woman (highest part in music)

Alto- Low singing voice of a woman (second highest)

Tenor- High singing voice for a guy

Bass- Low singing voice for a guy

Baton- stick directors use to direct their choir (help them with rhythm)

Timbre- color of music

Note- musical term for music you see on a piece of paper when you look at how the music moves up and down. The things you see that do this on a music sheet

Scale- Different notes on a piano or any type of music. It has an up and down motion, making it a scale because of the different notes.

Geeks- People that most people like to call choir people. People who don't fit in, tend to be really smart, and dress weird compared to other people.

Sight-Reading- Reading music without listening to the music. Reading the music for what it is without any assistance.

A Cappella- Singing a particular piece of music without a piano or any accompaniment.

Clips from the documentary American Tongues

1. The research project was done in 1986. If you were to re-do this project today, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, what might a researcher do differently? What would you do the same?-  What I would do differently is interview more people from around the U.S. so I can get an even better understanding as to why they talk the way they do. I would ask questions as to why they talk the way they do, where did they get their accent from, what kind of things they had growing up compared to other groups, etc. I would get more involved in the study and ask questions and interview more people on a broader scale. What I would do the same is have people's opinions of other parts of the U.S., such as the South, Boston, New York, etc. I would have each group tell me what they thought of the other group, like they did in the clips.

2. What are some of the flaws with the study? Are there any groups that are under-represented? Over-represented? How might you make the study more appealing to an audience?- Some of the flaws in the study seem to be some groups are over-represented, such as southerners and New Yorkers. The study interviews more people from these particular parts of the U.S. as compared to other groups, like Bostonians. The thing that would make this study much better is to interview more people and get more opinions from people concerning other regions of the U.S. If the study added this quality, the study would be much more appealing and give a better depiction of what people really think about each other.

3. In your opinion (and based on some of the things discussed in the clips), how important is language in terms of how we perceive others? What is revealed (or others think is revealed) about us when we talk?- Language is very important in terms of how we perceive others. When people from Indiana talk to people from the South, their first impression is are they dumb and why have they never been taught proper grammar and English? This is one thing that people look at when it comes to looking at other groups. People tend to judge other people based on how they talk. Also, how a person talks tells a person what kind of a person they are. For example, if you hear someone with a Southern accent, you expect that person to be very nice and have southern hospitality like other southerners. When we talk, we reveal our attitude as well as what we believe and how we feel about certain things because certain parts of the U.S. have characteristics that go with their particular culture, an example being southern hospitality.

p. 306

1. What is the context, and where are you in this scene? What is the nature of the relationship between you and your informant?- When doing my field research, I notice that I'm not really considered an insider anymore. I'm more of an outsider looking in on what the musical choir culture is doing. But, I still talk to the informants, still give them advice, interact with them in other words. So, I guess in my particular field site, I would be in the middle. I'm not exactly an insider in the subculture, but I'm not exactly an outsider either. I'm right in the middle of both of them. The relationship I have with my informants is simple. I talk to them, I'm friends with them, give them advice about choir since I used to be in it for so long, etc. My relationship with my informants is mostly at a friendly level, nothing more and nothing less.

2. The meaning behind the recorded words is to get stuff down about your particular culture that you might not remember. This way, if there is something you want to include into your mini-ethnography, you have it written down and you can add it to your field research. The things that influence my fixed positions is the fact I used to be a part of the culture and have a bunch of friends in the culture, therefore my fixed positions as well as my subjective will be biased because I used to be a part of the culture and have friends in the subculture. In other words, I won't say anything bad about the culture because I used to be a part of it. The relationship between me and my informants is very strong. Most of my informants are some of my best friends and people that have helped shaped not only the singer I am today but the person I am as well.

3. What I've noticed about some of the informants is some of the younger informants really don't have much of an opinion when it comes to choir other than they like it and it's a lot of fun. When you talk to older people, such as a teacher for example, you notice a different view on music, at least in my field site. The teacher I am interviewing has a wide array of facts and opinions as to why he enjoys music, what effect it has on a society, why it is so important, why he chose to teach music, etc. So, to answer the next question, there are some major gaps between older people and the younger people of the subculture. The reason being the older people have had more experience in the field and have more of an understanding as to the importance and reasonings behind choir, whereas younger people are just getting started out in the subculture.

Posting #9

The hardest thing to find research over is the atmosphere of a musical choir. This particular topic can only be answered when I go to my field site this week and do my observations. There are sources online and at the library that talk about this particular thing, but briefly.  I want this particular idea to be very detailed in my mini-ethnography, and to do that I need to go to my field site. 

The easiest thing to research about my particular subculture is why music is beneficial to society and how it can give strength, hope, and a sense of purpose to many people in our society today. For example, in one of the articles I found online, that happens to be from the New York Times, it talks about a Japanese prison camp and how joining together to form a choir gave the prisoners a sense of strength as well as a symbol of defiance of their captors. This is just one of many examples I've found online as to why music is beneficial to society and how it gives people a place where they fit in, and because of the many resources I've found online about these topics, research has been really easy when it comes to these topics.

If I could start over, I would've done my research earlier than I did so I could get more resources and information. Also, I would've done my interviews already so that I could have all my sensory details and my interviews out of the way, making the mini-ethnography less work and easier to do. Other than that, I would keep everything else the same. I would still find my sources online and on the library's website. I would still skim read them to get a better understanding of the sources and so I could figure out how to use the sources in my mini-ethnography.

Keeping a blog has helped a lot when it comes to keeping track of my research progress. The reason being if I ever forget something or where I'm at in my research process, all I can do is look at my blog because all the blogs we do relate to the research process we are working on each and every week. The blog helps me out a lot. I know if I didn't have it, I wouldn't know how my research is coming along as well as remember key points I want in my mini-ethnography.

The blog will help each and every student with their mini-ethnography. It gives you an understanding of the research process, where you're at when it comes to your research process, and helps you remember key points you might've forgotten that you might want to include in your mini-ethnography.

In-Class Research Questions

1. My readers will care about my issue because it is an important part of our culture today. Everywhere you look you see a form of music, and more and more people are wanting to be in choir because of how many forms of music we have in our society. It interests them, and it gives people a sense of purpose and belonging. These are just a few of the reasons people care about how I am going to talk about the musical choir subculture.

2. Some things outsiders will want to know about my specific culture are things such as: Why is music important, What are some of the qualities of a musical choir, How is music taught to members of a choir, How do they prepare for shows and other musical events, etc. These are just a few questions outsiders will want answered when it comes to knowing about the musical choir subculture. With these questions, outsiders can get a basic understanding of the subculture and why the subculture is the way it is.

3. Some of the things readers already know about musical choir is it is a group of boys and girls singing in unison, they know the choir is conducted by a director, and that most choirs not only have to sing, but dance as well. People also know a little bit about how music is taught and how students perform, but most people don't enough about that to bother. 

4. I want my readers to know about how music affects a group of people and the importance of musical choir in our society today. People don't realize how much music affects our society. It gives us a sense of belonging, purpose, and has the power to warm the heart and soul. It is a very powerful thing and people need to know why it is so important and powerful, and I hope to show this in my field research.

5. Some of the things I want to show my readers will be hard to persuade them. So, on some of the concepts I want to show in my mini-ethnography, such as the importance of musical choir in society today, I need to make sure I have a lot of examples as to how choir is important, how it has affected people, how it's given them a sense of belonging, etc. So, to answer the question, the readers will not be persuaded easily, but they can be persuaded as long as I have plenty of details and examples.

6. When my mini-ethnography is done, and people have read what research I have done over the musical choir subculture, readers will realize how important musical choir is in our society today as well as what it does for people outside the culture and through my research, readers can show other people the research I have done and get them to realize just how important musical choir is in our society today. Plus, through my research, some readers might become interested in my subculture and decide to research it themselves, and then they can use my research as a reference to their own research. 

Posting #8

The main theme I see through my research so far is music affects people in many different ways, usually in a positive way rather than a negative way, and most people in our society love to listen to music because it sends a message and gives people in the musical culture a sense of purpose in our society. 

Some of the people I've talked to feel the same way when it comes to music and how it affects them. Some of my friends in the musical choir culture have told me the reason they like choir is it gives them a place where they fit in and they like to sing. My former teacher, Mr. Fleck, told me he likes teaching music cause he loves music and the message it sends to the public. He told me it has a way of healing old wounds and warming the heart of a person. Plus, like his students told me, it gives him a sense of belonging in the society we live in today.

My place in the subculture is kind've in between an outsider and an insider. I am more of an outsider now because I am out of the culture now, but I am still involved in choir events at my school and I still talk to some of my friends that are in choir. So, as of right now, I would be in between the two.

It is similar to where I was eight weeks ago, but it is slightly different because I've been looking at the culture from the outside rather than on the inside. I've been observing the culture rather than being in the culture. When I've went to my field site, I would take notes on what I saw from the students, how the teacher taught the class, what the class looked like now compared to when I was in the culture, what the class smelled like, etc. I've observed and taken notes on all these things in my particular field site, and because I did this at my field site, this would make me more of an outsider over an insider because I'm looking at the culture as a whole rather than from one perspective.

The things that have changed have been the way I look at my culture. When I was in the culture, I looked at choir as an easy A that was a lot of fun and a way to make new friends. Now I look at it as more than that. I look at it as a place for people to fit in. I look at it as an art form and a way of entertaining the public. I see choir as a way of expressing yourself through music rather than expressing yourself through talking. All of these things I've noticed when I've went to my field site, and these are the things that have changed the way I look at my former culture as a whole.

Box #19

My informant wears a water proof ring. It is made entirely of plastic, with the center plate being made of metal. The watch can be easily broken because of its plastic covering. By looking at the watch, I begin to think the informant doesn't have a lot of money and tries to save as much money as possible. Also, I wonder if the informant like to swim or do something of that nature since the watch is water proof. The texture of the watch is very smooth and the shape is in an octagonal shape. 

Step 2: When I look at the watch, I begin to think what does the informant like to do for fun. Does he like to swim since his watch is water proof? Does the informant leave his watch in his pants all the time and forgets about it when his pants are being washed? Also, when I look at the watch, I wonder what kind of income he gets or his family gets. I ask myself these questions: What income does the informant receive? How does the informant look at people who are wealthy? What kind of background does the informant come from? How does the informant feel about plastic? How does he feel about his family? Does his family help him with college and other money issues?

Step 3:

Who got you the watch?- his uncle from Minnesota. It was a graduation gift.

Where did it come from?- Minnesota

How much did it cost?- 80 bucks

What does it mean to you?- He considers it important because his uncle got it for him and he can't go up there very often and it's nice to know his uncle was thinking about him.

If it were to be stolen or lost, how would you feel?- He would feel devastated because it represents his uncle he doesn't see very often.

Step 5:

The artifact means a lot to my informant. Even though it looks like a cheap watch you can buy anywhere, the watch is actually more expensive than I thought, around 80 dollars or so. Also, even though some people might look at the watch as a cheap watch with no meaning whatsoever, the watch means a lot to my informant. My informant got it from his uncle who lives in Minnesota. He doesn't get to see him very often and this gift that his uncle got him means a lot to him in the sense it represents not only his uncle, but the love his uncle has for him and the fact he was thinking of his nephew even though he is hundreds of miles away.

Post #7

I feel that by doing my field study on the musical choir subculture I was once a part of, I can give back to my former culture by giving people on the outside more information about the culture and a better understanding of what they do everyday in their culture. This way people don't judge people in musical choir and they have an understanding as to why they do the things they do. I can let people know through my field research how singing and being in choir can actually benefit you in other subjects of school, such as English and Math. I can let people know about how music actually helps you remember things better and give them examples and reasons as to how that is possible. All of these things I plan on talking about in my mini-ethnography, and all of these things give back to the culture I was once apart of in many different ways. The main reason it gives back to people in the culture is it gives people a better feel and understanding about the culture, which would result in less judgment and more understanding of the musical culture as a whole and not just what you see.

By doing my field study over musical choir, I am giving people in my class and in my community a better feel for the culture as well as a better understanding of their environment, actions, and work ethic in their culture. I am giving valuable information to my fellow classmates that they can use when it comes to looking at a choir. Instead of judging them by how they look, people will judge them by how they act. Instead of making fun of people who are in choir, people will appreciate their efforts and see the benefits of being in a musical choir. These are the things I want to accomplish when I do my mini-ethnography, and I feel these things will not only benefit people who are not familiar with the culture, but help the choir members as well because less people will stereotype them because they will have a better understanding of the culture. So, through my research, I will benefit the community because they will understand more and have a better understanding as to why people like to be in choir. It will also benefit people in the culture because people will have a better understanding of the culture and see how being in choir is beneficial in more than one way, which will result in less stereotyping and people in choir getting made fun of.

Survey

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=ctcxyvqbca3pwm9550039

Groundwork Activity

I don't remember a lot of my first impressions when I got into musical choir, but I remember a few of my impressions I had when I first joined choir in 5th grade. I thought choir was really dumb. Only losers and people with no lives did choir. I thought choir was for gay people. I thought the scenery of their environment was a little girlish, with their musical notes and bright colors covering the entire room. But, as I got into the culture, I realized most if not all of these first impressions were totally false. Choir wasn't for gay people, it was for all ages. Their environment was shaped the way it was shaped because it is choir. It's suppose to have musical notes and a few bright colors in their environment.

Even though most of my first impressions are different now, I still have a few unanswered questions. For example, I would like to know why all choir rooms have musical notes up all the time? Why do the have to be up? Also, why can't students take their music home and study it? Why do they have an older piano and not a newer one? Why do they have a couch in the back room for no particular reason? These are just a few questions I have when I go and do my fieldnotes.

2.I feel different in the new space I have today. I've been used to being in choir for so long that not being in choir seems out of the norm for me. I have a sad feeling every now and then when it comes to choir. I miss it a lot. I miss singing solos and hanging out with friends. I miss performing for a bunch of people and dancing the night away during a certain song. I miss the plays in the auditorium, where I got to be a different character each year and was able to reinvent myself as not only a singer but an actor as well. These things are just a few of the things I miss when it comes to being in the musical choir subculture.

3. I know I am an outsider when I go to a choir room and I not singing my voice part. Or when I go to a choir room and it's like I'm not even there. Or when people ask me for advice when it comes to singing rather than me singing with them. Or when I critique voice parts rather than just sing my voice part. Also, when I go back to my old subculture, I am not looked at as a former choir member. People look at me as Steven Ward, a friend and a person who knows a lot when it comes to musical blend and music in general. These things make me an outsider in the musical choir subculture today.

Post #6

Durrant, Colin. "The Genesis of Musical Behaviour: Implications for Adolescent Music Education." International Journal of Education & the Arts. Volume 2, Number 5. 21 November 2001. 1-6. 18 Feb 2009. <http://www.ijea.org/v2n5/index.html>.


This article is about some of the concerns that music education has in secondary schools that are in England and how the people in music education plan on fixing this problem. It talks about some solutions to this problem that England faces in their secondary schools, such as having secondary schools who have music education be less isolated from other cultural contexts. The reason being studies show a decline in attitude towards music and positive gains in maturity and the valuing of music when they are around more musicians and less isolated from the culture. The article also talks about some of the music behaviour and the secondary music curriculum in England and how they plan on changing the behaviour in secondary schools so they can get more people involved in musical education.


I plan on using this source in my mini-ethnography so I can show the effects musical education has on people as a whole. I want to show outsiders through this source how music can be interpreted and taught in many different cultures, such as England, and show how this is similar or different to our musical choir culture over here in the states. I also want to compare the different attitudes and problems England's music education has compared to ours to show outsiders how similar the cultures are even though they are a part of two different countries and how musical education problems are similar no matter where you go.




Stearns, David Patrick. "Donald Nally, and a choir with intelligence ." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 25 December 2006. 1-2. 18 Feb 2009. <http://crossingchoir.com/review_XMass1.pdf>.


This article talks about Donald Nally and the wonderful performance his musical choir, The Crossing, put on during Christmas. Stearns talks about each aspect of the performance that he liked. From the intelligence of the choir to the wonderful crescendoing to the excellent blend and intonation of their singing voices, Stearns talks about each and every thing he found wonderful about the choir and why people should go see them sometime if they ever get the chance.


I am going to use this in my mini-ethnography to show how people in musical choir can affect a person both physically and emotionally. I want to use this as an example of what music can do to a person and how different people view musical choirs as a whole. I feel like this article gives a very good description of certain aspects to look for when it comes to a good musical choir and it gives in very vivid detail how a good musical choir can affect an audience. This article will help me in explaining the effects musical choir can have on an audience and how people have many different perspectives when it comes to musical choirs and arrangements of music.

Box #18

The focal point of my fieldsite where I am doing my field notes is the choir room. To some people, the choir room is just a room full of chairs and pieces of music. But to the people that are in choir, the choir room is more than that. It is a room where they can get away from the outside world and be in an environment where they are not judged by the color of their skin or the way they act or dress. It's a place where they feel like they fit in and they can what they love to do without being criticized, sing. Some people might not understand why so many people love to sing and be in choir, and they never will understand until they are in that culture for a long period of time.

Some of my perspectives are affected because of the fact I was in choir for eight years, but some of my perspectives have remained the same. For example, I still look in a choir room and see the same old setting. The piano, chairs, music, props, etc. But to some people, like choir members, for example, the choir room is more than that. It's their way of life. It's a place they can go to when they are having a bad day or want to get away from the outside world. I didn't realize all of these things until a few weeks ago, when I went to my old choir room and observed all of the people in the room as well as the environment around them.

The choir room is the main focal point when it comes to studying the musical choir subculture. In order to understand the musical choir subculture better, you first have to understand the members of choir and their environment, their environment being the choir room. You must observe how they sing, what they do for fun, how they warm up, where they put their music, what their environment smells like, how the teacher teaches them the music, etc. All of these things you can find out if you go and observe the main focal point of their culture, and that is the choir room, which is their enironment.

In Class Writing

I remember when I went to Detroit, Michigan I was way out of my comfort zone. There were African Americans everywhere roaming the streets. Run down homes and buildings everywhere you went. Cops on every street corner. People being hijacked or robbed at gunpoint. All these things scared me to death and made me want to leave this place immediately.

Also, I remember an experience I had with my family driving thru Detroit to get to the Canadian border. We were driving through a particular neighborhood, all run down and full of African Americans, when suddenly we hit a stoplight. When we stopped at this stoplight, three African American people started to walk towards my parents car. I started to freak out. My dad was getting his gun ready to shoot these people. Well, luckily, there was a cop on the street corner cause if he wasn't there, me, my dad, and mom would've been robbed. Because of this experience, I think of Detroit as this run down, dangerous, and crappy looking place full of African American criminals and air pollution because of all the cars going in and out of the town.

Some of the other things I remember was the number of white people I saw in town. When you go to Detroit, you don't expect to see a lot of white people. But, when we got deeper into the town, more and more white people began to turn up. The inner part of town was a lot better looking than the outer part of town. The inner part still had its slums and crime, but not like the outer part. The inner part was full of stores, less crime, and an equal amount of whites and blacks.

Post #5

I have decided to go interview some of my past music teachers and friends that are in the musical choir culture today. My plan is to get all of my interviews done within the next week or so, do some research over my particular subculture from online sources and other sources, such as magazine articles and newspaper clippings, and then, after I have all the research I need, slowly piece all of the information I find together into a mini-ethnography.

I feel like I need to look more into how music is taught in choir compared to when I was in choir last year. I need to look at what is the same and what is different. Plus, I need to look at how the musical choir industry is being affected. Is there more people joining choir or less, and if so why? What are some of the differences between certain choirs? These are just a few things I need to look into more when I am doing my field research.

I need to spend a little more time in my fieldsite, but not a whole lot more. I was in the subculture for eight years, so I have a pretty good feel of what to expect in the culture. But, like I said before, I do need to look at what has changed and how choir is today in terms of number of people and the types of choirs.

I plan on finishing this assignment with good research and field notes. I will do my field research very carefully and slowly so I can get all the sensory details and descriptions that I possibly can. I will research my topic very thoroughly so I can get as much background on my subculture as possible. Then, when I am done doing all my field research and web research, I will do a draft of my mini-ethnography and see how it sounds. Then, after I find out what I need to fix, I will fix my mistakes and make it into a wonderful ethnography. The key to making my mini-ethnography good is time, lots of research, and lots of drafts.

Some questions I will probably have pertaining to upcoming assignments will probably be what do we have to have in this particular paper? What is the page length of this particular assignment? How many sources do we have to have? How detailed do we have to be when describing our subcultures? How is this paper different from the last? What activities will we do to help us prepare for these assignments? How will these activities benefit us when we write our papers? These would be the kinds of questions I would ask Dr. Disarro when it comes to the class and the upcoming writing assignments.

Revised Box #15

I think of the ground, full of water and grass
Snakes all over wanting to bite my ass
Trees all rotting and covered in dew
The owl at night making its little coo
The roads all curvy, which made it hard to drive
Some people just trying to stay alive
The sun in the morning as bright as can be
Would always fill my heart with happiness and glee
The beauty of the clouds all fluffy and blue
Made you want to start your life anew
I love this place with every ounce of me
And hopefully one day it can fill your heart with glee

Box #15

I remember my second home down in Shirley, Arkansas. I remember the long drive down there, making anyone want to fall asleep. I remember the roads being very long and curvy and country folk everywhere you go. I think of how the people of Shirley treat you, with kindness and respect.

Also, when I think of Shirley, I think of my aunt, uncle, and cousin. I remember the driveway to their home, so rough and old. The scenery in Shirley is beyond anything I have ever seen in my entire life. I remember the clouds being as fluffy and blue as any I have ever seen. The trees covered in dew and some about to fall down because of how rotten and old they were. The ground covered in grass and dirt. The wilderness so beautiful, with its numerous animals and beautiful blue rivers and lakes flowing throughout the wilderness.

As for the interior of my aunt's house, I remember a bunch of things. I remember the large tv in the front room, with its numerous channels and gigantic screen. I remember the feel of my aunt and uncle's couch and recliner, so soft and comfortable, making you want to fall aslepp because of how soft and cozy it is. I remember the kitchen, full of numerous drinks and food. The bedrooms I remember were very small, but had enough room for you to sleep in. The blankets that came with the beds were quilted blankets and were very warm and soft and full of color.

The main thing I remember about Shirley is the smell of my aunt's cooking in the morning. The smell was so mind boggling and irresistible that it would appeal to any eater in this world, vegetarian or not. I remember the eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, and sausage my aunt would make. The eggs would be cooked to perfection, just the way you like them. The biscuits and gravy would have a little bit of butter on them, but not too much, making a delicious meal with some warm, soft, and runny white gravy. As for the bacon, the texture of it was very greasy and soft, but was delicious in its own right. These kind of memories makes me want to go back soon, and eventually that will happen. But for now, all I have is the memories and sensory details to reflect upon.

Dog-town and Z Boys

Surf shop created a new type of surfboard, with a new attitude and a new design to the typical surfbord

Jeff Ho and company created a surf team and changed their look from the typical Hawaiian, beachy look

The POP closed in 1967

It was a place on the ocean where you could ride rides, eat carnival food, and be by the ocean and the beach

In 1965, skateboarding crashed as it was becoming popular

Larry Burdleman redefined a new way to ride waves, by touching the waves as he rode them

All of the skateboarders during this time watched this video and would do everything they could to copy what Larry Burdleman did on water

Style was the most important thing when it came to skateboarding and surfing

All the surfers and skateboarders were unique because they all had their own style and this is what made all of them come together on the zephyr teams, each one of them was unique in their own way

Because of the California drought of the 1970s, skateboarders began to skate in empty swimming pools that resulted from the drought, developing vertical skateboarding

The urothene wheel was created to help skateboarders with their skating and not break their wheels or wipe out as easy with the clay wheels skateboarders were accustomed to


I feel like the piece is entertainment and an ethnography. It looks at the surfing and skateboarding culture in dogtown as a whole and not a little part of the cultures. The movie gives you details about the culture, such as the smell of the town, where they surfed and skated, when they surfed and skated, etc. The movie gave you an in depth look at these particular cultures.

The people that are interviewed are people that were part of the cultures during that time frame. They gave you an in depth look at how skateboarding was when they were in the culture, what the atmosphere was like, where you'd go to surf or skate, etc. The interviewers gave you a better understanding of the culture and made you feel like you were a part of their culture with how descriptive they were with their details.

The attitudes of these subcultures were they didn't care what people thought. They were their own group and you were either with them or against them. They were people who broke the rules and did whatever they could to surf or skate and if you didn't like it, then get the hell out of their way. Some of the artifacts of the subcultures were the urothene wheel they made to improve skateboarding, the graffiti on the boards, which made them unique from any other boards of the time period, etc.

Some of the stereotypes I held about skatboarders was they were smelly, did drugs, broke the law, wear worn down clothes, partied all the time, etc. From watching the movie, I still hold a lot of these stereotypes. From the movie, you could see people drinking, breaking the law, partying a lot, didn't wear the greatest clothes, etc. So the movie didn't really change my stereotyping, but actually made it stronger because of its details and visuals.

I trust what the creator was telling me. The information was factual because of who was interviewed. The movie had interviews from people that lived in the subculture, thus making the information true. I had an average response to the movie. I kind've expected to see drinking, partying, lawbreaking, and the grimy clothes, and this movie strengthened my emotions towards skateboarders. Because of this movie, I still believe a lot of skateboarders are punks and need to lay off the drugs. The piece was constructed in a chronological order. Each scene talked about a development in their subcultures through the years. For example, the skateboards went from clay wheels to urothene wheels, the drought led to the skating of empty swimming pools, the falling down of the POP resulted in more surfing around the area, etc. All of these things were talked about in an order in which they happened to let you know what was going on in both subcultures over a certain time period and what stayed the same and what changed in these cultures over time.

Privileges

White, American-born male
Live in a country that gives you equal rights
Born into a family that makes a good living
Right to go in and out of the country as I please
Going to a good college because of my hardwork in high school
Given a monthly check because of my dad's efforts in Vietnam
Have the right to practice whatever religion I want
Speak out against my government under the Constitution
Male
Get to go to college for free because of the fact my dad is a disabled veteran and I'm his son

When I go to my subculture, a lot of my privileges will affect how I do my fieldnotes and how they view me as person. For example, all Americans have equal rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to come and go as they please, which means the participants I will interview and look at for my subculture will be on the same playing field as me. They will understand more about why I am the way I am and I will understand why they are the way they are because I am on the same playing field as them and understand where they are coming from. But, at the same time, I have benefits that a lot of people don't have. When I go to do my field notes, some people will be able to go to college for free because of scholarships and hard work. I, on the other hand, go for free no matter what scholarships I get because of the fact my dad is a disabled veteran. So that difference might affect how I look at different people in my particular subculture when it comes to why they work so hard in their field and things of that nature.

Overall, I believe my privileges won't have that much of an effect on my field reserach because of the fact most of the people in my choir subculture have the same privileges as me. The only differences between me and the culture I am looking at is my college benefits and my social class.

Posting #4

As of right now, I can conclude that my subculture has a lot of the same features as when I was in it before. Teachers still have students sight read music, students still put their music in music folders, students still wear uniforms for performances, and they still have the costumes and props room in the back. I think all of these things will stay the same for a long time, even it if was in a different city or state.

All over the country, I believe choirs would have their music folders, uniforms, and their own costumes and props. Some of the differences between different music classrooms all across the globe would include the smell of the room, how the room is decorated, how the chairs are aligned, how the teacher teaches his students, etc. For example, at my school, the chairs are aligned by rows and the teacher teaches each part separately. At another environment, the subculture might be the same, but the environment would be different. The chairs could be aligned by voice part, not by rows, and the teacher might teach all of the parts together without slowing down. Also, my choir had a febreeze smell and some days a candle smell depending on what the candle was. In another school, the smell could be terrible or have a vanilla smell, depending on the kind of school it is.

As for other countries, I feel like music is taught by playing and hearing the music rather than singing and reading. In Mexico, Spain, Germany, etc, I bet most of them learn music by ear and learned how to play an instrument by teaching themselves or had someone teach them, which is where our music subculture is similar to other cultures of music. We all have the same instruments, same music, same rhythm. The only difference is how we play and how we teach the music.

Music is affected by what is going on in that particular culture. For example, when 9/11 happened, you noticed a lot of our music related to soldiers and 9/11. When Vietnam was going on, most of our music talked about the war. Music is affected by what is going on in that culture. All over the world, music is portrayed by what is going on in the world. Which is how music comes back and relates to one another. Each subculture of music has its own unique way to get its point across and most music relates to something that is going on either in the world or that country's environment.

I believe the culture I was in would be a little different if it was in another country or state, but I do believe the music would be taught the same way. I would still have to be able to learn to sight read music. I would still have to be able to hear the different voice parts and know when my part comes in. I would still have to get lessons from someone if I wanted to get good at playing an instrument. Even though music is different depending on where you're at, how it's taught will never change no matter where you are.

Posting #3

I haven't done a whole lot of research on this project yet. But, since I used to be a part of the music culture/subculture, I have a lot of insight on this particular culture.

I have not interviewed any informants in my subculture, but I will interview some within the next few weeks. Some of the questions I will ask them will be about things such as how music has changed over the years, why do typical music teachers have their students watch musicals, how is music distributed across the world, how do they think music is changing today, etc. These are just a few of the questions I want to ask my informants about how the music culture/subculture is portrayed today.

I plan on going to my cultural site within the next week or two, hopefully Friday or Saturday if possible. After some of the in-class discussions and exercises we have done, I have a bunch of expectations and questions about my culture/ subculture. I expect the choir room to be full of music, a piano in the corner of the room, a tv and vcr for when they watch musicals, costumes and props in the back room, the air smelling like febreeze, room decorated with things involving musical notes or music in general, music stand in front of the room, the music to have a sort of old and used up feeling to it because it's been used so much. These are just a few of the sensory details I expect to see and feel when I go back into the music culture/subculture.

I haven't really attempted any academic research as of yet. All I've really done is think about what culture I want to study and focus on what I want to learn about my particular culture since I know so much about it already from being an insider for so many years of my life.

I consider there to be a difference between academic and non-academic research. Academic research would be when you are doing research that relates to your assignment and benefits your learning, such as internet research, fieldnotes, magazine articles, interviews, etc. Non-academic research would be research that has nothing to do with the assignment and does not benefit your learning experience at all. Examples of this would be having someone interview for you, take fieldnotes and do internet research for you, read articles to you, etc. These types of things you can still learn things from, but you don't get the full experience and it is not considered academic because it is not benefiting you as a student because you're not the one doing the assignment or the work.

Questioning Your Fieldnotes

1. What surprised me?- Some of the things that surprised me was how torn up the magazine was. From a distance, it looked to be in pretty good shape. But as you got closer to the object, you could see how torn up it really was. Also, I was surprised to see a random book in there with other objects relating to music.I don't really know what that is suppose to mean, but I found that a little bit surprising.

2. What intrigued me?- Some of the things that intrigued me would probably be the strap, guitar pick, and the cd. This made think to myself. Is this particular person a fan of music in general or does the person also play music along with listening to music? What kind of music does this person like? Little things like that made me wonder. Also, the random book in the artifacts made me wonder if this particular culture or person is a fan of reading or just the arts in general? Also, the journal intrigued me a little bit. It made me think if this person was a writer along with being a musician or does this culture/person just like to write for fun?

3. What disturbed me?- One thing that disturbed me was the fact the cd was by John Mayer. I assumed by seeing the strap and pick that maybe this particular culture or person is a fan of heavier music rather than John Mayer. Also, the burnt cd disturbed me a little bit. It made me wonder what was on the cd. In addition, the magazine disturbed me a little bit. I wondered how the magazine got in that bad of shape when it's not real old.

Posting 2

My culture/subculture is going to be the music industry and I plan on going to places such as choir rooms, record studios, and band rooms to get a feel of the music world as it it portrayed today.

As for some of the sensory details, I can remember a lot of them from being in choir for eight years. The room was always covered with musical notes and stars. There was music and musical books all over the room. The room had this great smell to it, like it was spring or something. I remember the wooden piano that might as well be broken because it is such crappy condition. Besides that, all I can remember is chairs lined up in rows and a couch in the very back of the room.

By going to these particular field sites, I hope to learn about how music has changed today from when I was in school. I want to see how the music is taught, how the music is portrayed, how do the people behind the scenes handle music today, what it takes to prepare a music show, etc. I just want to be the outsider this time instead of the insider and look at how all of these things have either changed or stayed the same and why they have changed or stayed the same. I expect to learn the same stuff I have already as an insider, but I also want to learn things I didn't notice as an insider, such as how much time it takes a music teacher to prepare his lesson plans, how each song is suppose to be portrayed, how people in the business handle music copyrights and how they record music as compared to twenty or thirty years ago. I expect to learn a lot of the same stuff and a lot of new things as I prepare to do my field study on the music culture/subculture.

Jan 20 Box 11

The subculture I want to choose is the music industry and how different parts of music are taught and portrayed. The reasons I choose this subculture is because I was in the subculture for eight years and I want to take a look at the culture as an outsider instead of an insider. I want to look at certain things people do in the industry, how certain music is taught, how people portray different types of music, how music students act in the culture, what they tend to wear, and what they tend to like. Some fixed positions that might affect my view on the culture could be my age, my ethnicity, my education, etc. The fact I know a lot about the culture already and how it is taught could affect how I look at the subculture as an outsider. The fact I have a lot more education in music than a lot of people I would be interviewing could affect what types of questions I ask since I have lots of experience in the field. Some of my personal experiences, such as warming up, practicing after school, singing in concerts, doing plays every year, wearing choir outfits, and watching musicals all the time are just a few of the subjective positions I have going into looking at the music culture as an outsider instead of the insider I've been accustomed to for eight years.

Subculture

1. The culture/subculture I want to examine as of right now is the music industry. I will get my information through research on the web about certain industries in music, interview people that are in the music department, such as teachers and singers and people that are in the business today, books pertaining to music and different music cultures, etc.

2. Some methods that would be beneficial for my field study would be interviewing people that are in music today, such as teachers, record producers, singers, radio personalities, and owners of music businesses. Also, I would make up a survey and have people around me answer the questions to the best of their capabilities. The questions would pertain to the music industry. That way I could get a better opinion of how people feel about music.

3. I expect to find all sorts of things. I expect people to be busy all the time because they are too busy to talk to me because they are too busy making music. The people I will be interviewing will either be teaching music, making music deals,

My Daily Routine

I have a very simple daily routine. I get up, I take a shower, brush my teeth, get my clothes on, and go to class. Then, when I have free time from my next class, I either go down and get me some food at lafollette or I go straight to my dorm room and watch whatever is on ESPN. A lot of people might consider this habit to be a strange habit, but it is a habit I have. I am a person who loves sports and I feel like I need to keep myself updated on what is going on in sports on that particular. A lot of people might look at me as being crazy or I watch too much tv and love sports too much, but that is just my daily habit. I have to watch ESPN every day or else I feel like my life is not complete for the day because I don't know what is going on in the sports world. I usually go get food before I watch ESPN, but a lot of the time I just come straight to my dorm and watch ESPN right after class. It is a crazy habit of mine, but it is a habit I enjoy. People on the outside looking in see it as being obsessed with sports and having no life, but I just see it as keeping up to date with my sports knoweldge. It is a habit of mine and I don't plan on changing it any time soon.

Looking at Subcultures Box 1

Subcultures
Hoosier-live in Indiana
American-live in the U.S.
Spanish Club-take Spanish class, usually like Mexican food, events usually at night, members have to bring food for parties
Show Choir-great singers, love to learn music, watch lots of musicals, go to concerts all over, dress however they want, some can sight read music very well, most of the time practice in class and at nights if necessary
Basketball team-very athletic, good shooters, cocky, some think they're better than everyone else, usually wear letterman jackets, practice after school around 3

The main subculture I was apart of was the Show Choir subculture. I love to sing and act and show choir is a great way to show your talents. There are many things you would do when it comes to show choir. Obviously you have to be a good singer to begin. Most of the time people in show choir have to have some kind of dancing ability. They can't be terrible at it. Members of show choir have to have a general understanding of how harmony and tempo works and have to be able to sight read music fairly well. In addition to all of these characteristics, most members of show choir watch musicals all the time. It gets to the point to where a lot of members will watch every musical that comes out in theatres just to see if it's any good. Also, members of show choir always practice singing during class and if necessary hae evening practices so they can be the best they can be. One of the main things about members of show choir is they don't care how they dress or how they look. They are individuals and don't care what people think about them. They do their own thing and let other people do theirs.

My Past Writing

I remember when I wrote my ad essay for English 103 a few months ago. I was in my dorm room looking up research for my paper while listening to Staind, Three Days Grace, and Seether. I remember I was up all night writing my paper the night before it was due. I was also eating chips and drinking some vanilla coke to add to my music listening. Luckily for me, it was the final draft and not the whole paper, so I didn't have to work on the paper as much. Even though I stayed up all night working on the paper, I did get it done. I ended up doing good because of it too.

The type of paper I did was an ad essay. I was suppose to look at Mac PC ads and tell the meaning behind the ads. It was a very hard essay for me to do, but I did get it done. It took a lot of research and hard work for me to get it done, but I did get it done. The main thing that helped me with the essay was doing numerous drafts. I did a rough draft, a revised draft, and a final draft. I hated revising over and over again, but I feel like it was worth it. I ended up writing a better paper and I got a better grade on my paper because I wrote numerous drafts.

I feel like the difference between editing and revising is editing is more fixing a paper and making it better and revising is fixing all mistakes and making the paper a final product. When you edit a paper, you just try to make it better. You're not necessarily making it a perfect paper. You're just making it better than the last draft of your paper. When you revise a paper, however, you're trying to fix all mistakes in a paper. You read over each draft and you fix each mistake that is made in a given paper. This is how revising is different from editing. Revising is when you fix the paper to make it the best it can possibly be and editing is making a paper better but not necessarily a final product.