Roger Bourland
writes about music and life

Crosby, Still, Nash and Young perform a Stephen Stills song from their first album “You don’t have to Cry” on the Tom Jones Show (London 1970).

The amount of music an educated musician these days “should” know has become rather staggering. That being said, it is shocking how little music literature young music students know these days. It is far more likely that they will know Danny Elfman, James Horner or John Williams film scores before they know a Beethoven, Mozart, […]

In their third quarter of music theory, my students have been working on their midterm. This time, instead of an exam, they were assigned to arrange or compose three duets (one had to have a transposing instrument). The combinations were: flute and oboe; clarinet and alto sax; trumpet and trombone (or euphonium); violin, viola, or […]

Last night I met, face-to-face, the brilliant and multi-talented PK, of Loose Poodle fame. We overlapped one year at the New England Conservatory from 1976-1977 and thought we knew each other. We’ve corresponded via emaiil and blogs for the past year, and knew each other that way, but when we sat and looked at each […]

I sat at an undergraduate composers concert last night. There were a handful of my current Freshmen students up there on the stage, playing new music by their classmates. And then there were the “seasoned” Seniors playing music by their classmates. The freshmen were squeaky clean, young and perky, and a little geeky. The seniors […]

On Monday night I emailed my class alerting them that we would be having an improvisation session in the morning. They were instructed to bring little percussion instruments (nothing pitched), and if they didn’t have one, they were to make one. The students showed up the next morning with a whole array of instruments, ranging […]

Yesterday I brought my questions about improvisation to my music theory class. I asked “Do you think that 18 and 19 year olds are too old to learn improvisation?” The class growled in disagreement. I asked for their thoughts and ideas and was delighted at what I heard.
I’ve always wanted to learn but never have […]

I must admit that in the light of the student massacres at Virginia Tech, I have had moments of fear in my career as a teacher. Having to deny a student who wished to go on to the Ph.D., knowing that his parents might disown him upon his return home (his worry); every year we […]

Our Dean is hot on us including improvisation as an integral part of our students’ education. The question is: how do you do it? Is it a course by itself? Is it part of theory class? Is it a weekly endeavor? or one of 2 or 3 term projects done outside of class?
I wonder whether […]

Those of you who teach music theory have likely been through the following dilemma: do you offer it where all the components are taught and coordinated in one “super class” or do you break it down into modules? The module approach will offer a class or two in harmony, one or two in counterpoint, a […]

FZ: I really got into studying IONISATION. I have found so much more than I ever did. I’ve typed up my analysis for you to check.
EV: Hmmml… This is amazing. I never knew the piece had this symmetry but your argument is convincing. Yes, yes, YES! Frank, you got it!
ANALYSIS
by Francesco Zappa

99% of my class made it on time today with the time change and a cranky letter from me.
On the way home I heard a segment on the radio that told of a group called the “B society” in Denmark who have decided to fight back against the early-riser hold on their society. “‘Why should […]