Music and song obviously play an important role in this eclogue. I thought I'd take it apart by first addressing the most basic: the explicit references to music/song in the poem (i.e. words that explicitly signify music/song). The following words are the ones I noticed (I don't think I missed any):
cantando (3.21), mea...fistula (3.22), and carminibus (3.22) are the first explicit words that I found. They are Damoetas's and are in defense against Menalcas's accusation that Damoetas stole Damon's goat. Damoetas explains that he won it fair and square in a contest against Damon. Here, cantando and carminibus must refer to the musical noise of the pipe itself, and not singing vocally.
Menalcas repeats Damoetas's words with cantando (3.25), fistula (3.25), and carmen (3.27) in his retort, mocking him for his supposed inability to carry a tune. He adds the phrase stridenti...stipula (3.27) as a seemingly added insult. stridens suggests a grating, whizzing, buzzing sound, obviously not delightful to the ears, and stipula is either a piece of straw, a blade, or a stalk of some kind. I couldn't help but recall doing something similar in my childhood with a blade of grass between my two thumbs. It is not really a pleasant sound, beyond the initial thrill of making such a jarring noise from seemingly nothing.
The next, perhaps less explicit reference to music is Orpheaque and the following silvasque sequentis (3.46). Orpheus, of course, is a renowned musician and poet, who not only charmed the whole underworld to retrieve his beloved, Eurydice, but also charmed all manner of plants and animals (even inanimate objects), hence the silvasque sequentis.
The next that I see is audiat (3.50) and voce (3.51). These are more generic, however, and more or less nondescript. voce does, however, confirm that this will be a singing contest, not a piping contest as was potentially the case based on their previous conversation.
The last explicit words, before the actual contest, would seem to be alternis and alterna, "in turns." Williams addresses it as the amoebaean style, which is to say that one person starts, and the other person follows with the same verse, and a similar topic. This is obviously significant for the structure of the rest of the poem.
Next, I wanted to look at the poetic structure through the lens of music/song, focusing on the sing-off between Damoetas and Menalcas.
Round 1 (60-63): Damoetas claims Jupiter is fond of his carmina, and Menalcas claims Phoebus Apollo, god of music and poetry (among other things), as his patron.
Round 2 (64-67): Damoetas sings about Galatea, a girl who likes him, but is apparently shy, while Menalcas caps him in a sense, by describing Amyntas, a boy who is all too willing to show his affection (mihi sese offert ultro).
Round 3 (68-71): Damoetas plans on giving wood pidgeons he has found; Menalcas has already given 10 apples, and will send another 10 tomorrow.
Round 4 (72-75): Damoetas returns to Galatea, and her divine-worthy words to him; Menalcas does not one-up Damoetas this time, but does return to Amyntas, who is not useful (for Menalcas's purposes, at least) if he is chasing after boars.
Round 5 (76-79): Damoetas asks Iollas to send another girl, Phyllis, as it is his birthday. Regarding Menalcas's retort, the first option in Williams's notes did not make sense to me, so I went with the idea that Menalcas is taking up the person of Iollas. In this case, and perhaps this is a stretch, Menalcas is implying that, ironically, Damoetas is sending Iollas to fetch her, when it is Iollas who has Phyllis's affection (i.e. Jollas is having fun with his friend's girl on the side). Perhaps we can discuss this in class.
Round 6 (80-83): Damoetas, through a series of pastoral analogies, implies Amaryllis's anger is not something for which he wishes. Menalcas lines up his own analogies in direct symmetry with Damoetas (almost mockingly so), but flips it on its head. While Damoetas uses triste, and mentions yet a third girl, Amaryllis, Menalcas employs dulce and remains with his Amyntas.
Round 7 (84-7): Damoetas points out that Pollio, a poet more well-known for his political background, likes Damoetas's poetry and suggests sacrificing a young (female) cow. Menalcas addresses Pollio's ability as a poet himself (facit nova carmina), and suggests sacrificing a bull.
Round 8 (88-91): Damoetas offers a prayer for Pollio, Menalcas offers a rather amusing curse for Bavius, Maevius, and anyone who likes them as poets.
Round 9 (92-95): Abrupt change in topic on Damoetas's part- to flowers and strawberries and cold snakes in the grass. Menalcas warns his sheep not to get too close to the river bank.
Round 10 (96-99): As Williams mentions, Damoetas, for the first time, seems to respond to Menalcas's previous idea of round 9, warning Tityrus to keep the goats back from the river. Menalcas continues the theme, suggesting that the sheep be milked before the heat dries them all out.
Round 11 (100-103): Damoetas sings of his bull, and how both of them must be emaciated from the love-bug. Menalcas caps Damoetas again, brushing amorem aside, and suggesting that the evil eye is to blame for his gaunt lambs.
Round 12 (104-107): Both give a riddle- Damoetas potentially refers to one's perception of the sky (one article suggested that the three elbows were a triangle, which is 180 degrees, and therefore the image of the sky on the horizon), and Menalcas seems to refer to the ai ai of the ancient-day hyacinth.
Needless to say, the contest is inconclusive. However, the structure of the sing-off comes out nicely in this format. For the most part, Damoetas, as the person who went first, seems to have been able to change to any topic he wished, and Menalcas, as the follower, would more or less always respond in some way to Damoetas's couplet. The only time Menalcas does not seem to try to match or cap Damoetas is Round 9, when the topic of singing has changed abruptly (even in Round 4, Menalcas at least continues the topic of lovers). The only time Damoetas seems to take inspiration from Menalcas is the entrance to Round 10.
It is difficult to address the melody of either singer or any possibility of instrumental accompaniment, as there are no references to such in the competition itself. They are both singing in the same meter, however, so they would have the same rhythm to their music. Perhaps we can do a rendition in class.
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