Music

Music Production courses often require independent research, analysis (writing), and creative application of theoretical and technical knowledge. There are many academic ethical guidelines to consider in the completion of music specific coursework that extends into one’s career and professional practice. The following actions are considered to be instances of explicit plagiarism:

• Failing to quote text that is not the student’s own words

• Failing to appropriately cite quoted material or paraphrase language

• Submitting music or audio that was not composed, recorded, and/or produced by the student in response to course discussions or course assignments, unless otherwise explicitly permitted through the assignment instructions

• Turning in the same assignment or creative work for multiple assignments, either in the same course or across different courses

The following actions are considered to be instances of academic dishonesty and misconduct:

• Sampling of audio sources in creative projects without attribution and appropriate citation

• Violating the terms, limitations, and academic integrity of applied technical or creative work by using unsanctioned automated software tools or services. For example, the following (non-exhaustive list of) behaviors are considered a violation of academic integrity, unless explicitly permitted by the instructor in writing:

  • Using MIDI chord packs to generate harmonic progressions

  • Transcribing melodies using DAW-based machine listening functions or plug-ins

  • Uploading pre-master mixes to cloud-based mastering services

  • Using commercially available sound libraries to complete creative assignments in situations where studio-recording or field-recording is mandated.

CMS is used in classes like Art History and Humanities, and it’s characterized by two main features:

1. Footnotes are included in the body of the paper to cite outside sources. You’ll use a superscript number at the end of a sentence and include publication information for the source you’re citing at the bottom of the page. In Microsoft Word, when you want to insert a footnote, click "insert" and then "footnote." Make sure sure the superscript number is outside any punctuation.

2. A bibliography appears at the very end of the paper and includes all of the sources used in footnotes. You’ll order the entries by the author’s last name and use a hanging indent for each. To create a hanging indent in Microsoft Word, highlight your bibliography entries, click "format" then "paragraph." Under "indentation," select "hanging" next to "special."

For more information on CMS, check out our Tip Sheets. Also, download the Liberal Arts Writing Guide on the left of this page under "Need More Citation Help?"—it contains most of the information you'll need for writing in CMS at RMCAD. And be sure to take a look at the Citation Comparison Chart below.

Most of these are available through the EbscoHost database.