In grading student papers, there are two words that baffle me.

One is "feel."  Somehow, students think that anything about music's temporal structure can be described as its "feel."  For example, there are pieces with a "triple feel" or a "compound feel," or with a "fast feel."  Of course, what they mean is "triple meter," or "compound meter," or "fast tempo."  To me, "feel" in this case sounds like you're saying, "I listened to it once or twice, and it kinda felt this way," rather than, "I looked at the score and thought about the way the meter is articulated, and it's this."  But usually the students have analyzed the piece pretty well, so I don't know why they choose the non-technical term that I've never used in class over the technical one that we use all the time.

The other is "stagnant."  For some reason, anything in music that has no sense of motion is "stagnant."  To me, stagnant music not only doesn't move, but it's slightly rancid and probably a little smelly.  But for some reason, students pass over the perfectly fine word "static," or perhaps even a subtler, clearer description, to use "stagnant," even when they mean it in a good way.  Thus we get "stagnant harmonies," "stagnant rhythms," "stagnant melodies," etc., in music that (as far as I can tell) doesn't even have mold growing on it yet.

What's really baffling to me is the extent to which these words are used.  I think I've seen both of them every single time I've graded a group of papers over the past couple of years, both at Indiana and at UMass.  It makes me wonder if there's some cultural source for one of these words.  I can come up with one for "feel," which might just come out of a general culture where the ultimate compliment is to be called "totally laid back" rather than "knowledgable," but stagnant still doesn't make sense.

I've decided to stop even marking these words unless I've specifically said something about them in class before the paper is due.  If I want them to avoid these words in the future, I'll take the responsibility myself!

Dad and Mom, have you ever run up against these words in student work?  Claire, do you use these words to describe music?  Nate and Heather, are there odd words that students use in your fields?

It's getting to the point in the semester where the annoying parts of classes start wearing on you.  I'm really ready to start next semester!  (Well, actually I'm ready for break, and *then* next semester.)

Part of this is wanting to start over myself--I feel there are mistakes I've made in my own teaching, and that a clean start will help me to address them (or not have to deal with them anymore).  Most of these are problems related to teaching each class for the first time, and I'm pretty sure they'll be better the next time through.

But some of it is also looking forward to dealing with new students!  I'm kind of shocked how much of my time currently is spent dealing with students who have failed to do something, usually come to class (on time, or at all) or, especially, turn an assignment in on time.  Each individual exception or grading-late-with-a-penalty is no big deal, but as a group they really consume a person!  Honestly, the attitude towards attendance seems a lot better here than at IU (at least in aural skills), but the attitude towards late work is much worse.  I'm ready to start over, and try new policies discouraging late work...

And finally, it'll be fun to teach new things!

This is the passage that sticks out to me when I am reading Vicentino's 1555 Ancient Music Adapted to Modern Practice and shortly after teaching 20th century music:

"All the same, I notice that nowadays some singers and musicians, who believe themselves knowledgeable, show their amazement to everyone whenever they encounter a novelty in musical signs that has been introduced for the sake of some sort of consonance.  Straightway they begin by saying, 'It is not good, it is not easy to sing,' and conclude that 'it will not endure,' citing the example of past composers to prove that if the practice in question were good those composers would have used it.  Thus do these singers and musicians betray to all that they have forgotten how to study their profession."
(Maniates translation, 37)