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Master in Contemporary Studio Performance Masters Performance Forum This is a performance workshop in which students learn interdisciplinary approaches to music-making. Students also explore various concepts of aesthetics, with a focus on developing their own aesthetic philosophy. Students will learn to critique each other as they present their own musical projects to the class for feedback and advice. Joining this discussion with students will be guest lecturers and artists-in-residence from a variety of diverse backgrounds: performers, composers, scholars in liberal arts, music educators, music therapists, artists working with Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute, American Roots Music Program, Africana Studies Program, and more. Performing Musicians in the Global Economy This course prepares musicians for a career in the global marketplace. Students explore three stages of engagement: before, during, and after the music is played and performed. Students will learn to form music companies, procure intellectual property rights, promote concerts, and gauge long-term collections. Students will also explore diverse readings and case studies regarding the role and function of performing musicians in the 21 century global economy. By the end of the course, students will have developed a proposal for their thesis project. st Contemporary Harmony This course is a study of the pervasive harmonic language and techniques of popular American song. The goal of this course is to foster an understanding of the harmonic ideas that have carried American music through the latter half of the last century, and to discover harmonic alternatives to the traditional tonal systems that pervade American popular music of this time. Students come to understand the contextual relationship between melody and harmony through observation of different song forms from different styles of popular music, including show tunes, jazz standards, blues, rock/pop/r&b, and through-composed works in the jazz idiom. Harmonic options, both diatonic and otherwise, will be observed through study of the scale(s) that relate to the chord/tonality of the moment. Advanced Ear Training In this course, students will strengthen their command of rhythm and tonal, modal, and chromatic melody and harmony through singing, movement, recognition, dictation, and transcription. They will survey and experience a variety of ear training techniques and practices drawn from a variety of traditions, including Western classical music, jazz and blues, and West African and Indian musical cultures. Students will explore applications of ear training skills to vocal and instrumental performance including improvisation, interpretation, ensemble rehearsal, and music teaching. Each week’s classes will include singing and dictation practice, rhythmic performance and movement, guided dictation and recognition activities, and discussion of methods, problems and solutions. Notated and recorded music examples used in class will come from a variety of styles, genres, cultures, and eras. Students complete ten singing and rhythm performance practice assignments, ten online and CD dictation and recognition practice assignments, two transcription projects, and two multi-track home recording projects. Production Concepts for the Contemporary Performer This course explores the studio recording and production process. Through readings, audio/visual examples, and hands-on exercises, students learn the terms, concepts, protocols, and procedures that lead to successful productions. Students will explore the differences between the home and professional studio, as they learn to make informed decisions for success in both settings. Students will also explore the ways that recording process can best serve their own professional and artistic goals. Contemporary Arranging In this course, students explore the musical concepts of melody, rhythm, harmony and form as applied to the principles and techniques of writing and arranging for the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, basic percussion) and a lead-line in a solo instrument, two horns (trumpet, alto or tenor sax) or voice. Students learn about the conceptualization process of combining individual components to create a musically satisfying arrangement. Students also learn various contemporary musical styles and the musical concepts that comprise them, including writing from the "bottom up" (groove-driven) and "top down" (working with a melody in a lead instrument or voice). Students will complete writing assignments that incorporate combinations of acoustic, electronic and/or MIDI instruments. Online and Social Media Management This course provides a comprehensive analysis of online and social media options available for the promotion of entertainment products and services. Students review the plethora of online tools for marketing, including online advertising, social media campaigns, social media etiquette, and games and contests. Student learn to create a total branding plan for an entertainment asset. The capstone of the course requires students to create an integrated online media plan for the promotion of a new entertainment product or services. Stage Performance Workshop In this workshop, vocalists and instrumentalists develop and perfect the skills necessary for live performance. They explore the concept that good performances involve not only excellent musicianship but also a high-level of stage presence and audience interaction. Students explore the different kinds of stage performance techniques that are appropriate in different settings. They investigate concepts of musical and artistic interaction with the audience, and explore different kinds of audiences. They also explore performance as communication. They evaluate strategies to communicate musically through their music and their body. Additionally, students synthesize concepts of acting and persona creation that are part of every performance. In-class performances will be recorded and critiqued for effectiveness in movement, presentation, and overall performance. Students learn skills and strategies for microphone and rehearsal techniques, lead sheet preparation, stage presence, programming, audience interaction, persona development, and more. Students also learn strategies for effective auditioning. Students will give special consideration to the technical aspects of performance (e.g. acoustics, achieving an appropriate mix for the venue, and recording live performances). At the end of the semester, the class will hold a recital. Private Instruction/Recording Projects The private lesson fosters close collaboration between student and instructor. Together, the student and private teacher develop a plan for enhancing the student’s musical vocabulary and deepening his/her understanding of a particular genre of music (e.g. Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, bluegrass). Under the guidance of his/her private teacher, the student will complete a variety of assignments that will hone his/her interpretative skills. Students will be asked to: -Play standard repertoire for his/her instrument or voice -Transcribe and analyze recordings by acknowledged masters of the style -Memorize and perform complex melodic and rhythmic patterns -Improvise over a variety of style-specific chord progressions -Arrange songs for small ensembles -Experiment with tuning systems Assignments are tailored to the needs of the contemporary musician, with particular emphasis on interpretation in the recording studio. Additionally, with guidance from their private instructor, students will complete a recording project. Contemporary Studio Ensemble This course enables students to enhance their ensemble-playing skills, deepen their knowledge of a particular style and its associated repertory, and develop their individual performance identities. Students develop their ability to create and perform music in a particular style. Working under the direction of a senior faculty member, students complete exercises that enhance their intonation, articulation, and improvisational skills in an ensemble context. Students learn to maintain stylistic integrity by developing their awareness of the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic practices associated with a particular repertory. Culminating Experience: Music Performance Production Plan Working in close consultation with their advisor, students develop a music performance, production, and marketing plan for a recording of their own music. They also complete a promotional package, to consist of a recording of their recording and supporting materials. Those supporting materials may take a variety of forms: a student might build a website to promote a recording, for example, or draft a grant proposal for a public performance of his/her music, using a recording project to supplement the grant proposal application. Students are expected to meet with their advisors on a weekly basis to assess their progress. The final package must be defended before a faculty committee, chaired by the student’s advisor.