Course Syllabus

Course Description:

The aim of this class is to expand your creative abilities and approaches to musical performance by introducing a broad and diverse set of performing techniques. These include historical methods of improvisation, the uses of digital technology, recent innovations in notation and in playing/singing techniques, and the incorporation of acting methods in musical performance. Thirteen different instructors, each drawing on a different field of expertise, will lead the course in brief modules devoted to a specific performance topic. Throughout, the focus of this seminar will be on the practical application of the ideas introduced, so that each module will include graded performance projects that showcase a featured technique.

DMC Support:

The DMC offered a two part crash course in various essential aspects of digital media literacy for the practicing musician. The students learned how to create a WordPress website, create a basic promotional flyer in Powerpoint, basic video and audio editing techniques with Adobe Premiere, and the basics of portrait photography. DMC staff demonstrated these various techniques primarily via in-class sessions (in this case, via Zoom), with an optional out of class in-person (socially distanced) session for demonstrating portrait photography, in which DMC staff took headshots for those who participated. Additionally, students checked out video cameras and audio recorders from the DMC to self-record their performances.