Quiz 7. Progress 2.1 through 2.6

17. Based on the information in the discussion, indicate whether each phrase below describes prehistoric people or jazz musicians.

• Prehistoric people: Improvised music for work, play, and war: In the beginning, music was largely improvisational, supplied on the spur of the moment by prehistoric people who “made” music for work, play, war….
• Jazz musicians: Combined their own music with stock melodies: …the early jazz musicians were very similar to the ancient Greeks in the ways they were making a music that was partly their own and partly derived from the stock melodies….
• Prehistoric people: Used music as a force to show relationships: …music was a force that communicated the relationship of people to nature, and people to each other.
• Jazz musicians: Improvised on the music of other bands: …African–American jazz musicians improvised on the European melodies they heard popular white bands playing.

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a professor.

W: Hey, Professor Woodson, do you have a minute?

M: Sure, Brooke. What’s on your mind?

W: Well, I have a question about the group project.

M: Okay.

W: I’m…uh…I wanted to ask you if it has to be with a group. I mean, can we do it alone instead?

M: Well, the assignment is to form into teams, and design and carry out a project together.

W: Yeah, I know that’s what you said, but I’d rather do mine solo.

M: Oh? … Why?

W: Well … actually, I don’t feel good about it being a group grade. Um … I … to be honest, it doesn’t seem like a good idea. I mean, some people work harder than others. There’s always someone who just goes along for the ride—

M: Hmm.

W: —and they end up with the same grade as the people who have all the ideas and do most of the work. That just doesn’t seem fair.

M: Well, I understand your concerns. It’s not unreasonable to feel the way you do. But I believe it’s possible for everyone to benefit from an arrangement like this. In life, in the workplace—whatever your job is—you will have to work in a team. This is true in business, technology, government, human services, education, research—whatever you end up doing, you’ll have to work on projects with other people. So this assignment is experience for life.

W: Yeah, I know what you’re saying, but I can’t say that I like it. There are also times when you’re on our own, and it’s sink or swim. That’s been my experience, anyway.

M: Hmm. Well, this is an opportunity to form another experience.

W: Ugh … I thought you might say something like that.

M: Why don’t you talk to a few of your classmates? Find out what kind of project they’re thinking about. You might be surprised. They might be way ahead of you on this, but you’ll never know unless you ask.

W: I’ve already started thinking about what I want to do. It’s field research in something that interests me— systems design—and I’ve already talked to a guy who can help me set up some observations with his company.

M: That’s good. But you still need to set up something with a project partner. Someone might have ideas that would combine with yours in an interesting way. You don’t have to do exactly the same thing as your partner. Maybe you approach systems design in a different way, or maybe your partner is interested in a different kind of system.

W: Yeah … I don’t know.

M: In fact, instead of having a lecture tomorrow, it’s free time for project planning. I recommend you meet with some classmates in the coffee shop. You can email me if you have questions.

W: Well, maybe … okay. I like the idea of a free day for planning.

1. Why does the student speak to the professor?

2. What does the student mean when she says this:

“Yeah, I know that’s what you said, but I’d rather do mine solo.”

3. What reason does the professor give for doing the project as assigned?

4. What does the professor suggest the student do?

5. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

“Someone might have ideas that would combine with yours in an interesting way. You don’t have to do exactly the same thing as your partner. Maybe you approach systems design in a different way, or maybe your partner is interested in a different kind of system.”

“Yeah … I don’t know.”

Why does the student say this:

“Yeah … I don’t know.”

A professor of education is giving a lecture about child development. Listen to part of the lecture.

In some ways, mental development is related to social development in school–aged children. Between the ages of six and twelve, children move from being able to think only on a concrete level—that is, about real objects they can touch—to being capable of abstract thought. In their social development, children gradually acquire interpersonal reasoning skills. They learn to understand the feelings of other people, and also learn that a person’s actions or words don’t always reflect their inner feelings.

When children first start school, at around four to six years old, they can focus on only one thought at a time. Socially, they can understand only their own perspective, and don’t yet understand that other people may see the same event differently from the way they see it. They don’t reflect on the thoughts of others. What I mean is, children at this age are self–centered, and for this reason it’s known as the egocentric stage of social development.

Children six to ten years old solve problems by sort of generalizing from their own experiences. What I mean is, they can understand only what they’ve experienced for themselves. They can’t think theoretically or abstractly. They have to handle real objects in order to solve problems. But socially, children are learning to distinguish between the way they understand social interactions and how other people interpret them.

From ten to twelve years old, children’s mental processes are still sort of tied to direct experience. But on a social level, children can now understand actions as an outsider might see them. This permits children to understand the expectations people have of them in a variety of situations. Children can now manage various social roles—for example, son or daughter, older or younger brother or sister, fifth grader, classmate, friend, teammate, and so on. Because they can play multiple roles, this stage is known as the multiple role–taking stage.

Beginning around age twelve, children can start dealing with abstractions. What I mean is, they can form hypotheses, solve problems systematically, and not have to handle real objects. And the social perspective is also expanding, because in this stage children can now take a more analytical view of their own behavior, as well as the behavior of other people. Sometime between twelve and fifteen years old, a societal perspective begins to develop. I mean, the young teenager is now able to judge actions by how they might influence all individuals, not just the people who are immediately concerned.

6. What is the main idea of the lecture?

7. At what age is a child least able to recognize the thoughts of other people?

8. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.

“Children six to ten years old solve problems by sort of generalizing from their own experiences. What I mean is, they can understand only what they’ve experienced for themselves. They can’t think theoretically or abstractly. They have to handle real objects in order to solve problems.”

Why does the professor say this:

“They have to handle real objects in order to solve problems.”

9. What can be inferred about children in the multiple role– taking stage?

10. According to the professor, which of the following statements describe stages in the social development of children?

11. With which statement would the professor most likely agree?

Listen to a discussion in a music history class.

M1: Every jazz player knows what he or she means by improvisation. And all writers know what they mean by improvisation. The result, of course, is a lot of confusion and disagreement about what improvisation really is. We hear about the different types of improvisation—free improvisation and controlled improvisation and collective improvisation. What does it all mean? Yes, Mary?

W: My dictionary says improvise means “to compose or recite without preparation.”

M1: That’s true, but it tells us only part of the story. As we know, musicians learn how to play their instruments before they can improvise. So they do have some preparation.

M2: Maybe a better definition is “composing and performing at the same time.”

M1: That tells us another part of the story. Let’s try to understand it more by looking at history. Improvisation is as old as music itself. In the beginning, music was largely improvisational, supplied on the spur of the moment by prehistoric people who “made” music for work, play, war, love, worship, and so on. Music was not separate from everyday life. Rather, music was a force that communicated the relationship of people to nature, and people to each other. Two thousand years ago, the practice of improvisation was widespread among the ancient Greeks. The Greeks based their improvisations on what we might call stock melodies—a collection of tunes known by all musicians. In sixteenth–century Italy, organists had contests for improvising. The ability to improvise in a fugal style—several melodies going at the same time—was a standard requirement for all appointments to organ positions. So, these “cutting” contests were like job interviews.

M2: Did some of the early jazz musicians also have that kind of contest?

M1: Yes, some of them did. With jazz, improvisation has always been important. Actually, the early jazz musicians were very similar to the ancient Greeks in the ways they were making a music that was partly their own and partly derived from the stock melodies in their environment. In most cases, African– American jazz musicians improvised on the European melodies they heard popular white bands playing.

W: Were they really just creating music, without any preparation except hearing other musicians?

M1: I’m glad you asked that. There were a number of jazz musicians who had played in army bands, and they had training of one kind or another. It was these trained military bandsmen who were responsible for the rise of jazz improvisation.

12. What is the discussion mainly about?

13. According to the discussion, why is improvisation difficult to define?

14. How does the professor develop the topic of improvisation?

15. Why does the professor say this:

“The Greeks based their improvisations on what we might call stock melodies—a collection of tunes known by all musicians. In sixteenth–century Italy, organists had contests for improvising.”

16. Based on the information in the discussion, indicate whether each phrase below describes prehistoric people or jazz musicians.

17. What point does the professor make about early jazz improvisation?