Reflective Account 2

REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT

First, I’d like to reflect and comment on my tutor’s formative feedback, which I felt was very helpful and which highlighted areas I find difficult.

There were a few references missing from my essay, which I have since tried to rectify. I also had some instances of images which did not correspond to the text and statements which were contradictory in nature such as a ‘unison horn theme’ being dissonant. This is obviously a very illogical and confusing statement. I have deleted assertions which I could not back up sufficiently and I have also endeavoured to clarify some of the points I was trying to make with better explanations and clearer logic.

Overall it is imperative that I find an organised way to work in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed by information, forgetting things and making these types of mistakes. The online access to huge amounts of resource material can result in overload and become an organisational nightmare.

My tutor also pointed out several instances of non-academic language. I will definitively take this onboard. I am still learning how to write in a more academic tone. I didn’t go to school here and my English is self-taught, mainly conversational and sometimes inappropriate for an essay. I also struggle with sentence construction. The way you structure a sentence in English differs to Swedish which is my first language. It results in me writing much too convoluted and confusing sentences. I am trying to improve but it will be an ongoing process.

Lastly, I’d like to say that I greatly enjoyed this particular Assignment. I enjoyed the subject and I enjoyed looking at it in great detail. It really opened my eyes to the nuances of orchestration. I also read Strauss’ edition of Berlioz’ treatise on orchestration when preparing the Assignment. It was very illuminating and instructive, and Strauss’ composition and orchestration is truly inspiring.

REVISIONS/ SPECIFIC AMENDMENTS TO THE ASSIGNMENT

I attempted to re-write any non-academic language and tried shortening my sentences to be more to the point and sound less like hyperbole.

I could not find the quote by Max Steiner, so instead I reworded the passage and referenced a film music critic who claims that Steiner was influenced by Richard Strauss. I included a JPEG extract from a book where it is discussed. Similarly, I could not find the quote about gender stereotyping, so I re-worded this passage also.

I also tried to clarify the parallels I hear between Strauss’ orchestration in the Carnivalesque scene and the use of glockenspiel in horror film music and added a couple of references to this section of the essay.

I deleted any illogical references to ‘unison’ horns since this was clearly a mistake. The horns are neither in unison nor particularly dissonant.