Excerpts from final projects for M87. © UC Regents
[audio:https://rogerbourland.com/blog/assets/M87miX.mp3]Our experimental class, Music History, Culture and Creativity, is now over. I’ve graded all 91 final projects. Their assignment was to write a composition in any style, for any instrumentation, using elements we discussed in class this term and most importantly that it be in ABA’ form. (For readers who don’t know what that means, it means you write a chunk of music, like a verse [A], then write a contrasting section [B], like a chorus, and at the end, bring back the opening, but shorter, a little different, and make it sound like an end.)
I was amazed at the huge range in diversity, I can only give you a taste of it here, and I apologize to my class that I can’t put everyone’s project up, but I’ve put excerpts of some of them. I find this SOOO much more gratifying for all involved than having them all write bad Bach chorales. They can try that later in the year.
What a hoot to teach a class of 91 students from a wide range of backgrounds, composition lessons like this. See what you think!
[Note: although the photo isn’t my class, it might as well be, as this is what it looks like to me from the stage. Our class has been using computers to “take notes” but as we learned that many were on Facebook the entire time and barely listening, we will be curtailing computer use next term.]
{ 1 comment }
Comments on this entry are closed.