(Revised March 6, 2016)
SENIOR SEMINAR: MUSIC AND ETHICS
THESIS STATEMENTS
A thesis statement is a single-sentence declaration of the central claim of an academic
argument. The purpose of the statement is to “stake a claim”, to clearly state an unproven
assertion which the paper will then argue for.
Provisional Thesis
Most writing projects begin with a provisional thesis, a single-sentence statement that is
open to revision as the project moves forward. The provisional thesis serves as a research
focus for the project, and indicates the position that the author is taking based on
knowledge they already have. A provisional thesis is usually stated broadly, and is then
refined to become more specific as the research moves forward.
The provisional thesis should stake a claim that is controversial and unproven. A strong
thesis is one where a reasonable person could make an argument against the central
claim. If there is no reasonable argument against the central claim of the paper, then the
paper is a research summary rather than an academic argument.
“Live performers should not use technology to enhance their musical abilities.”
This statement is a strong provisional thesis; it gives a clear focal point for the author’s
research, and it stakes a claim that can be reasonably argued against.
Scope of Argument
One important purpose of the thesis statement is to define the scope of the argument. The
claim asserted by the thesis needs to be defended by the argument in the paper; the
broader the thesis statement, the bigger the territory that the argument must defend. In our
example provisional thesis statement, the scope of the claim is very broadly stated; it
covers all technology and all live performers, which is a much bigger claim than the
author intends to actually defend in their argument.
“Live performers should not use deceptive technology to enhance their musical
abilities.”
The author doesn’t really intend to argue against all technology, including microphones
and reverb. Instead, they’re interested in tools like Autotune that give the audience a false
impression of the performer’s ability. By narrowing the scope of the thesis, the author has
more clearly defined what they actually intend to argue for.
Revision
As research refines or redefines the author’s understanding of their topic, the thesis
statement will undergo multiple revisions. These revisions may narrow the scope of the
thesis further, may introduce clauses to qualify terms, or even complete reverse the
central claim of the paper. These are all evidence of good research and strong thinking;
very few thesis statements remain intact from beginning to end of a writing project.
“Live performers should not use technology to give a false impression of their musical
abilities in genres of music and in performance venues where audiences expect to hear a
performer’s actual musical ability.”
In the course of their research, the author has discovered that the test for “deception”
includes the listener’s reasonable expectations given the context. In this case, the author
may conclude that different genres of music have different expectations for the
authenticity of live performances. Furthermore, the author may realize that audiences
have different expectations for performance authenticity based on the venue. The
expectations at a Super Bowl half-time show might be different than the expectations in a
concert hall.
Technical Terms
As the thesis statement continues to be refined, it may become unwieldy with qualifying
clauses. In these cases, it is often useful to replace complex phrases with technical terms.
These are words or phrases that have complex, specific and defined meaning within the
paper. They may be terms that are already defined within the field of research, or they
may be terms that the author decides to define and use only within this paper. In either
case, if technical terms are used in the thesis or in the argument, they must be clearly and
specifically defined by the author.
“Live performers should not use technology to give a false impression of their musical
abilities in musical contexts where audiences reasonably expect performance
authenticity.”
The author is using “musical context” to mean both genre and performance venue, and is
using “performance authenticity” to mean a specific kind of integrity between the actions
of the performer and the perceptions of the listener. These are useful technical terms both
in the thesis statement and in the ensuing argument, but they will need to be explicitly
defined early in the paper, so that the reader understands exactly what the author means
by those terms.
Conclusion
The thesis statement functions as both the beginning and the end of a writing project.
After the last page has been written, the author should reread the thesis statement to see if
the paper has actually addressed the thesis claim. A strong paper should give a coherent,
cohesive argument for the thesis statement, where every part of the argument relates back
to the initial claim.
Examples of Previous Thesis Statements
Film Composers should use utilitarian ethics to determine their moral responsibility for
participating in a particular project.
The church has an obligation to promote and finance the creation of art music.
The goals of music education in the public schools should be general music appreciation
and basic performance skills; programs resources should be directed toward these goals.
A composer’s intent is the primary interpretive standard of a performance, and all
questions of performance practice should be measured by that standard.
Choral ensembles have a moral obligation to accommodate visually impaired musicians,
even if that accommodation alters the rehearsal methods and performance capabilities of
the ensemble.
The ability of copyright holders to limit reuse of their recordings as samples unfairly
limits the creation of new works, and should therefore be managed by a statutory license
similar to the license that controls cover songs.
Church leaders have an obligation to be informed about the spiritual lives of the
musicians who are hired to perform for worship services, and to ensure integrity between
the faith claims of the church and the professing faith of the musicians.
Casting directors for musicals and operas should consider a performer’s race only in
cases where the race of the performer is both observable by the audience, and has
significance to the story.
Studio musicians should not participate in recording projects that promote lifestyles
choices that are harmful to the individual or to society at large.
The actions of the RIAA in enforcing copyright claims do not represent an proportional
response to the infraction, and are therefore unjustified.