Performance & Music

This class is an invitation to explore writing for theater, film, and television by creating ten scripts over the 10-week term. Edward Albee told Andrea that a play is as long as it is. To that end, like a short story, the short form allows for the creation of numerous stories, testing of form and structure, experimentation, failure, and success. Scripts can range from 1 page to 10 pages or longer if need be. This writing workshop will be fast-paced and inquiry-driven. We will use class time to do writing exercises, ask and answer questions, discuss the craft of scriptwriting, and share and critique our own and one another’s work. Students will be expected to create ten scripts, re-draft 5 of those scripts, and select their favorite script to further refine and finalize as their final project.

Evaluation is based on the quality of written work and participation in class discussions. Work will be evaluated for quality, engagement, effectiveness, on-time delivery, and commitment to the workshop collective. Students are expected to bring in new plays each week and to contribute their best work to an end-of-class public reading.

This winter, students will collaboratively research and build a hybrid performance installation performed for the public at the end of the term. The project will be drawn from work previously created and staged, by faculty member and artist Dru Colbert. That work was a trilogy of original performance installation events conceived of by Dru, focused on the landscape, history and folklore of Mt. Desert Island, Maine, and sited specifically in various locations on the island at different times of the year. The work explores human activity and memory associated with the surrounding landscape, and is intended to conjure “hidden” histories of human occupation and experience on the island that are not covered in the guidebooks or National Park brochures. The project of the monster course this winter will be to reconsider one of these works within the current historical and cultural context with new collaborators and new elements. The project will be researched, built and performed by participants in the course in collaboration with select local organizations and community members. Areas of research and documentation include: natural and historical events (through community interviews and historical record/found footage/home movies), scientific processes, things that crossover time(s), spirits emerging from the past, predictions and imaginings of the future, and entities from adjacent worlds.

Students selected for the course will engage collaboratively and individually in a wide range of art making activities including dramaturgical research and planning of large and small scale visual, spatial and performance elements, scriptwriting, object making, choreography, light, sound and music, ensemble/crew management, promotion, and documentation. Evaluation will be based on demonstrated engagement with all course elements and materials as well as successful navigation of and contribution to the shared production process.

Students with visual art, craft, sewing, carpentry, construction, tech, performance art, sound and puppetry experience are especially encouraged to apply. Previous coursework in these areas is not required but will be most useful.

To be considered for the course, students must complete the questionnaire provided via email by week 3, Fall term. Instructors may also request interviews. This large scale intensive process will result in a run of 4 site specific performances at the end of the Winter term. The course counts for 3 full credits and requires a considerable time commitment. The default grading option for this course is credit/no credit.

This course is geared toward students with or without performance experience. Together we will establish a common language to define the most important tools for an actor. Through a series of games and exercises, students develop new skills and practice making bolder, clearer choices within improvised, devised or established scenes. The goals are to create confidence in any sort of performance situation and to find ways of applying acting skills to other academic and outside experiences. Evaluation is based on participation in class activities and discussion, successful completion of all performance projects, including productive rehearsal time and an organized portfolio of written responses. There will be at least one field trip. Default grading option for this course is CR/NC.

This interactive course will focus on the theory of Western European art music with additional content on jazz, popular music, and selected non-Western music theories. Topics will include advanced rhythms/meters, scales, intervals, chords, and diatonic harmony. Learning activities will include analysis, sight-singing, ear training, dictation, and applications to active music making. This course will be useful to musicians interested in applying common musical elements and structures to their practice as a performer, improviser, songwriter, and/or composer in order to enhance their overall artistry. It will also provide students with a common vocabulary to communicate and collaborate with other musicians across styles and genres. Students enrolling in the course should have a working knowledge of standard Western notation, including proficiency in reading rhythm and pitch in at least one clef. Basic competency in at least one instrument or voice is also recommended.

Assessment of student work will include weekly written (notation-based) assignments, sight-singing recordings, dictations, a mid-term exam, and a final exam.

In Advanced Samba Percussion Ensemble, we will focus on developing a repertoire of percussion music based in two Brazilian music traditions: Samba Reggae from the city of Salvador de Bahia and Samba Batucada, an instrumental substyle of Samba music originating in Rio de Janeiro. This class builds on the work undertaken in Samba Percussion Ensemble by exploring additional styles, developing more complex arrangements, and building a wider repertoire. Along the way, students will cultivate skills in percussion performance, physical coordination, formal memorization, functional notation strategies, and rhythmic awareness. At the same time, we will learn about the social history of Samba music through reading, screening, listening, and discussion. These twin endeavors are mutually enriching and are designed to contribute towards a more robust and holistic model of cross-cultural musical learning.

This term, we will be joined on campus by guest artist Caique Vidal, a percussionist born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, for a series of workshops and a final performance at the end of the term.

Advances Samba Percussion Ensemble is open to students who have taken Samba Percussion Ensemble or by special permission. Please contact Jonathan if you have not taken the intro class but want to be considered for the advanced class. The first class session of the week will typically be split between rehearsal and listening/discussion/instruction. The second class session of the week will be reserved just for rehearsal. Students will be assessed based on their participation in class learning and discussion, practice outside of class time, and the completion of assignments.

Students read plays and study a variety of artists that have used theater as a viable force for change over the last century. Together we will explore the mechanics and dynamics of specific plays and performances as well as the social and political context in which they were conceived. We will investigate significant periods in U.S. history (twentieth century) including the New Deal, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Civil Rights Movement, the emergence of the AIDS crisis, the rise of neoliberalism, 9/11 and beyond, exploring their impacts on this form. The study will include Josephine Baker, Hallie Flanagan and The Federal Theatre Project, Susan Glaspell, Clifford Odetts, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Lillian Hellman, The Open Theatre, Adrienne Kennedy, Anna Deavere-Smith, Tony Kushner, Young Jean Lee, Taylor Mac, Annie Baker, Jeremy O.Harris and others. Students are required to attend a weekly series of evening screenings/performances. There will be at least one field trip. Evaluation is based on full participation in class discussion, successful completion of all short projects and assignments, and a final project/paper.

This will be a “soup to nuts” course in audio journalism geared towards the beginner. In this class we will detail: how to record and edit audio; interviewing techniques; writing for broadcast; how to voice a script—all leading to the creation of an NPR style piece. This is very much a journalism class. Through a series of ever more challenging assignments – both individual and with a partner; in class and out – students will not only acquire the expertise to produce a compelling radio piece, but come to understand the ethics of audio journalism. The format for the course will be a hands-on workshop with a heavy workload of reporting assignments that we will critique together in review sessions. A significant amount of a student’s time outside of class will be dedicated to reporting stories, editing audio and writing scripts followed by individual edit sessions with the instructor. We will also be hearing from a number of noted journalists who will Zoom into the class on a broad range of topics. Students will be evaluated on their timely completion of assignments, overall improvement, their constructive engagement with group critique sessions and Zoom guest speakers, and their follow-up on edit suggestions from the instructor. This class is open to all students interested in journalism and audio production. There are no prerequisites, though prior experience in journalism, narrative writing or audio recording and production is helpful.

In 1979, the music producer Brian Eno argued that the recording studio is a “compositional tool,” upending the idea that the recording studio exists to document pre-existing musical compositions. His assertion came on the back of pivotal albums such as The Beatles’ “Revolver” and The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” (1966), which demonstrated the creative possibilities of composing in the studio. We might call this type of approach to music composition “playing the studio.” In this course, students learn how music production makes use of editing, mixing, and effect processing to maximize its impact. Through readings, film screenings, and audio listening sessions, students learn about past and present studio techniques and use these techniques during audio projects and exercises. Students learn to use virtual instruments, effect processors, microphones, and COA’s recording studio to strengthen their technical audio recording, editing, and mixing skills. Students will be evaluated based on their participation in class discussions, their fluency in the use of recording equipment and software, the process they use to approach each assignment, and the completion of assigned projects. No prerequisites or sound/music experience is required.

How do you use sound and story to build tension and hold attention? In this course, students will explore longform narrative storytelling using sound as their medium. Through reading and listening assignments, students will develop skills to identify narrative devices, critique story structure, and gain inspiration about the possibilities of sound as a narrative tool. Students can expect to complete short exercises and prompts at the beginning of term, aimed at developing story outlines and experimenting with story structure. We will discuss how to develop a longform story from an idea to a fully-realized production; whether working in fiction or non-fiction, students will hone research skills and draw from multiple sources of inspiration for their work. This course will focus heavily on writing and scripting, and integrating sound design with storytelling. Students will produce one longform audio story by the end of term, this story can be a work of fiction, non-fiction, or it can blur the lines between the two. This class is an opportunity for students to stretch audio and storytelling muscles and to experiment with form to create a polished 20-minute audio story. Students can expect a highly collaborative and supportive class atmosphere; we will use class time for workshopping, critique, and collaboration as well as class discussion.

Students will be evaluated based on their participation in class discussions, their preparedness with assigned materials, and their commitment and completion of exercises and a longform narrative audio story. This class will require independent work; students should be prepared to record, write, and edit audio outside of class time.

In this introductory level course, we’ll work to develop a movement practice that centers both self care and togetherness. This class will draw on a variety of contemporary practitioners and methods, relying on somatosensory feedback to access availability, spaciousness, presence and pleasure both individually and collectively. Students will investigate basic patterns of choreography, experimenting with principles of velocity and momentum and exploring personal and shared movement impulses. Assigned readings, screenings, and writing assignments will complement and support our physical practice. Students will be evaluated based on attendance, successful completion of assigned work, depth of engagement during class and with course materials, and the expansion of their individual movement capacities. All class meetings will take place in-person and on campus. Participants of diverse abilities, needs, and backgrounds are encouraged to enroll. Dance experience is welcomed, but not necessary.

In Black Atlantic Music students will work to understand how histories of slavery, colonialism, diasporic imagination, and networks of cultural exchange form the basis for popular music in the African diaspora. Tracing musical and political histories through a series of case studies routed throughout the diaspora, this course aims to develop a theory of “the Black Atlantic” as a sonic geography. After establishing a foundation in the key historical forces leading to the creation of the African diaspora, students will explore case studies related to the development of local and transnational musical styles from salsa to hip-hop, funk, reggae and more. We will explore the intersecting work of artists (such as Janelle Monae, Angélique Kidjo, Fela Kuti, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Bob Marley) and scholars (such as Paul Gilroy, Angela Davis, Amiri Baraka, and Michael Veal). Equal weight in the course will be given to reading, listening, and writing as valuable modes of interacting with music. Throughout the course of the term, students will learn to listen more closely to sound and to develop a critical capacity for relating these sounds to the political and social worlds from which they emerge. Turning our attention back and forth between the local and the transnational, Black Atlantic Music is a window into how music takes shape in the context of culture, politics, geography and history. Evaluations will be based on regular written responses, a final project, and participation in class discussions and activities.

What do Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms have in common? They are all considered great masters of classical music, having written several works for large symphony orchestras. But they also wrote music for smaller ensembles called chamber music. What is chamber music and how has it developed through the centuries? How is it relevant today? The bulk of this course is a lab/ensemble opportunity to perform in small chamber groups, based on experience and following a musical score. To deepen our understanding of the music we play, it’s helpful to understand the political, social and cultural trends that influenced and shaped chamber music across the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras. There will be mini lessons about the composers and their places in history, along with listening guides, but the majority of class time will be spent in rehearsals coached by the instructors. Music will be chosen by the instructors based on demonstrated abilities, with input from participating students. Other aspects of the class include a trip to a live performance, some research, listening assignments, and a written essay.

Evaluations are based on musical collaboration/participation, practice/preparation outside of class time and assignments.

Using traditional music notation and a variety of non-traditional notation techniques, The Composer’s Ensemble will offer a fun series of sessions where we study ways that composers have used words (text scores), images (graphic scores), game strategies, collage, and iconic symbols to create open works that encourage students to develop their individual compositional voices and one-of-a-kind performances.

We will start by defining what music is, how it works, what its principal components are, and then learn how to organize those elements in a variety of methods and perform the outcomes. The instructor will provide a variety of scores that have influenced his compositional output along with his own works. Ideally, we will spend equal time studying scores and playing/preparing music for a final concert. Classes will meet twice a week: one 90 minute ensemble section, and another 90 minute ensemble section that will culminate with a 90 minute session where the instructor can offer individual instruction/support and sectional or group rehearsal.

Students will study scores by: Anthony Braxton (Language Modalities), Pauline Oliveros (Text Scores), Wadada Leo Smith (Scaffold Scores), John Cage (Time Based Scores), Phillip Greenlief (Graphic Scores) John Zorn, Rova Saxophone Quartet (Game Strategies)

Evaluation will be based on: in-class participation and attendance; composition (composing) assignments; and written essays, reviews, etc.

This introductory course will focus on personal expression through movement and compositional techniques. Each class will begin with a gentle warm up that will help students become aware of movement impulses and locate a personal movement vocabulary. Through short, weekly assignments, students will gather a collection of tools for composing movement sequences including honing improvisation toward set choreography, responding to spatial and environmental conditions, and drawing inspiration from sound and imagery. Our making will be supplemented by readings and screenings of 20th and 21st century choreographers, aiding us in contextualizing our creative process within the current field of contemporary dance. Students will be asked to craft a short final piece of choreography, to be shared with the community during a “Works in Progress” showing. Evaluation will be based on attendance, satisfactory completion of weekly assignments, and rigorous engagement with the process of developing a final piece. Students of diverse abilities and experiences are encouraged to enroll. It is strongly recommended that students have some prior dance or theater coursework before taking this course. Please contact the instructor directly if you have questions about your background.

Participants in this studio course will examine the CoA campus path system from the standpoint of mobility, access, and landscape narrative. We will examine the path system as it exists as a physical artifact and the access and safety challenges associated with it (abrupt grade changes, inadequate lighting, etc.). We will also conduct research to uncover stories about the landscape history and landscape spaces on campus that might be curated to tell a rich story about this unique place, how it transformed over time, the ecology and biotic communities that are present, and some of the forces that might affect its future (climate change for example). Student teams will be led through a process to develop visions for the future of the campus path system, building on what already exists, and that synthesize technical parameters (associated with improved access through regrading for example) and qualitative and experiential dimensions of the path network experience. The goal will be to utilize these design visions to inform a campus-wide conversation as to what a better functioning, more equitable and more indelibly memorable campus path system could look like and be achieved. Given the focus on design and emphasis on an iterative process that will entail making drawings of paths and landscape features, the class is best suited for students with artistic/graphic backgrounds including drawing experience. Evaluations will be based on participation and sustained engagement with course content, responses to this material in the form of short, illustrated essays that combines notes and simple diagrams, photographs, and sketches, and commitment to an iterative process centering on use of drawings to convey information about existing spatial conditions and to project what these path spaces might look like in the future.

This topical studio explores the application of ecological design principles in urban settings to counteract ongoing environmental injustices. Participants will investigate low cost, high impact approaches to water reuse for a neighborhood in medieval Islamic Cairo (Egypt) suffering from poverty, food insecurity, and increasingly severe climate change impacts. As with many other neighborhoods in Cairo and cities throughout Egypt, the residents of al-Khalifa confront the irony of abundance amidst scarcity: living in a hot, arid desert environment where rainfall is virtually nonexistent at the same time dealing with a failing water supply infrastructure (leaky pipes) raising the groundwater table, saturating and undermining building foundations, and exacerbating respiratory illnesses. This studio will investigate possibilities for intercepting and treating this water to help drive community-scale rooftop gardening (in a city where food prices have risen dramatically in recent years), introducing street level evaporative (passive) cooling features to improve comfort by ameliorating the urban heat island effect, and in other ways enlisting recycled water to beneficial ends and premised on the notion that “there is no such thing as waste.”

A “research” studio is a highly collaborative one. Studio participants will have opportunities throughout the term to interact with a Cairo-based team of urban designers, digital animators, storytellers, engineers, heritage conservationists, ethnographers, and others. Students with experience and/or interest in design, food systems, chemistry, the arts, environmental sciences, environmental economics, women’s and gender studies, heritage and cultural history, and anthropology are encouraged to enroll (previous coursework in these areas is not required but will be helpful). This research studio resists “solutionist,” “techno-optimist” approaches (“we have the solution to all your problems”), operating instead from the standpoint of humility in the search for path-of-least-resistance correspondences between available resources and culturally appropriate end uses. To that end, reflection on and articulation of one’s positionality in our global world provides a subtext for all that we do.

Evaluations will be based on participation and sustained engagement with the core studio themes, honing of collaborative capabilities, and commitment to an iterative process involving succinct compositions of written narratives and diagrams and other visual representations of the systems we will be examining. Above all, the studio requires initiative and engagement as we transition from a highly facilitated framework at the beginning of the term (topics, resources and methods that the instructor choreographs) to more independent and applied research given the “life” that project-based work acquires as the term progresses.

Theatre is, at its core, an embodied investigation of the dynamics of difference and power. This course will focus on how that investigation works both on the page and in production. Students will study the unique architecture of texts written for performance, how plays are built and how they function for an audience. Student will read aloud a varied selection of contemporary and historical texts for performance, examining them structurally, logistically, aesthetically and from multiple points of view within production work (ie. dramaturgy, design, direction, acting, audience). The class will consider differences in staging and determine through practice, how those choices impact meaning. Students should be prepared to actively engage with the work through discussion, table reads, weekly writing assignments and occasional informal scene work. There will be one required field trip. Students will be evaluated on demonstrated participation in all class activities, screenings and discussion, successful completion of all writing and performance assignments and a final project of their own design.

This is an intermediate creative writing course for students interested in writing for theater, film and television. We will read published and unpublished plays, screenplays and tv shows from up and coming writers currently off and on Broadway and in film/television as well as selected plays and screenplays/shows from the cannon based on student interest. Playwrights (and screenwriters), like cartwrights and shipwrights, are all skilled builders of vehicles meant to move people from one place to another. We will explore dramatic structure from the perspective of the audience. Whether writing linear narratives, collage or non-linear plays and films, there is a rhythm to dramatic writing that can be studied. We will make a conscious study of form to free us to write what we are driven to write. Through reading, analysis and writing, we will investigate the dramatic elements of character, conflict, language and theme. The course will include practical writing exercises to motivate and progress the writing from first draft through revision to rehearsal draft. Students will be encouraged to develop productive writer habits and self-discipline. Class time will be divided between hearing students’ work and discussing work we’ve read. We will develop our listening skills when hearing our own and colleagues’ work. We will explore the role of critique in new script development and refine a process that works for us. Students will be expected to bring new pages in to each class building to a complete first draft of a full-length play or screenplay (of any length) by the end of the course. Evaluation will be based on the student’s dedication to developing a writing practice as well as the submitted script. We will conclude with a reading series to give each student the opportunity to hear his or her work in front of an invited audience. Evaluation is based on the quality of student’s written work and participation in class discussion.

In Experimental Sound Studio, students will develop advanced skills in sound design, sound synthesis, soldering, field recording, multichannel mixing, basic electronic circuit design, and the use of hardware and software synthesizers. This hands-on course emphasizes the creation of original sounds by building custom devices and signal flows from scratch. The course emphasizes exploration and experimentation, encouraging students to tailor each project in a way that furthers their sound practice. Each project includes dedicated lab time for the development of nuanced, individualized work. Projects include soldering basic sound generators and effects, learning VCV Rack (an open-source modular synthesis software), working with semi-modular and modular hardware synthesizers, composing and mixing in quadraphonic (four-channel) sound, and the creative use of field and archival recordings. We will study musicians and sound artists who have pushed the limits of sonic experimentation, considering how their work can inform our own creative practices. Selected readings will be drawn from texts by practitioners including Karen Collins’ Studying Sound: A Theory and Practice of Sound Design, Thom Holmes’ Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture, Pauline Minevich and Ellen Waterman’s Art of Immersive Soundscapes, Micah Lexier and Dan Lander’s Sound by Artists, and Tara Rodgers’ Pink Noises. Students will be evaluated based on participation in class discussions and labs and successful completion of hands-on projects.

This is an advanced-level course intended for students with prior experience in music production, sound design, songwriting, recording and editing, and/or electronics.

This hands-on course will explore sound composition, editing, and mixing to create soundtracks for video and/or film. Students who take this course must have a background in music composition and/or sound and video production in order to collaborate on creative video/sound projects. Sound recordings will include music and voice as well as everyday sounds and special sound effects. The class will incorporate a number of group projects as well as individual exercises to illustrate sound recording and mixing strategies. We will also study sound in relation to video/film through readings and screenings. In addition to class assignments, students will start developing sound tracks for their independent projects. Students will be evaluated on their success in creating compositions, recordings, and mixes for video/film projects; and their ability to bring together moving pictures with a soundtrack to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Students will also be evaluated on their participation in class discussions and exercises.

In this performance-based class, students will work together to learn and perform traditional folk music, both in small groups and as a large ensemble. Styles will be guided by student interest and may include New England, Québécois, Cape Breton, Scottish, Irish, Old Time, Bluegrass, and others. Instrumentation may include (but is not limited to) fiddle, keyboard, guitar, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, ukulele, dulcimer, bass, cello, accordion, concertina, pipes, flute, whistle, vocals, harp, and percussion. Tunes will primarily be taught “by ear,” although notation will be available as well. Throughout the term, students will play and interact with experienced folk music practitioners representing various styles and instruments. The class will include participation in informal local song sessions and will culminate in a final performance.

How will students in this course be evaluated?: Assessment of student work will be based on contributions to rehearsals and discussions, participation in sessions and performances, weekly reflections, and a research project on a tune of interest.

This class gives students an opportunity to investigate time-based art. 4-D art draws on the vast and varied traditions of theatre, dance, media, and music, often crossing boundaries to create hybrid works. This course will focus on concepts and processes related to representing and experiencing events that take place in time. Strategies for planning, proposing, and producing work individually or collaboratively will be discussed and practiced. Some class periods will be workshop in style, and include physical and vocal exercises and improvisations. The course will include basic instruction and use of video cameras and sound recording devices. A majority of the learning in this studio course will happen as students make projects and reflect on their work and the work of others. Documentation and information about contemporary and historic time-based art will be presented. Students will be evaluated based on imaginative exploration of ideas and materials, extent and depth of work processes and research, completion of assigned projects, and participation in class discussions.

This winter, students will collaboratively research and stage a production of César Alvarez and the Lisps’ Futurity (2015), a work of musical theater about two people dreaming of a technological utopia during one of the darkest periods of American history. The musical looks back to the Civil War to raise contemporary questions about the role of technology in visions for liberation. The “thinking machine” at the center of Futurity asks us to consider the merger of human and machine in today’s technological age. Our staging of the production will benefit from the collaboration of electroacoustic sculptor Mark Dixon, whose novel musical instruments will feature in the role of the “Steam Brain,” the “thinking machine” that Futurity’s protagonists hope will bring an end to human suffering. Evaluation will be based on demonstrated engagement with all course elements and materials, and successful navigation and contributions to the shared production project. Students interested in being a part of the performing ensemble (actors, singers, musicians), and/or those interested in set, lighting and sound design, stage management, dramaturgy, etc. are encouraged to apply. To be considered, students must complete the questionnaire provided via email by the end of week 5, Fall term. This intensive process will result in a run of performances at the end of the Winter term. The course counts for 3 full credits and requires a considerable time commitment. The default grading option is credit/no credit. If a letter grade is desired, it would need to be requested by the student.

This course is a fundamental study in guitar chord construction, note reading, chord symbol identification, fingerboard facility, theory as related to guitar and scale and mode work. Students will develop a practice routine in order to attain introductory improvisational skills and basic facility in practical guitar performance. Intermediate students will expand their existing knowledge and skill in these areas. Assessment is based on class participation, reading, listening and notation assignments, and the development of a self-directed practice routine with specific goals, weekly practice tapes and a final performance. Students that play another stringed instrument are welcome but they will be responsible for translating the teachings to their instrument.

Students must provide their own instruments (acoustic or electric).

This course is an intensive study of Shakespeare’s work from the point of view of the actor. Through text analysis, scene study, physical/vocal work and acting exercises, students explore the meaning, music and power in Shakespeare’s words while developing their own strategies for performing the play effectively for contemporary audiences. The bulk of the work involves learning, staging and presenting key monologues and scenes from the play for

continued critique and revision. Students gain a clear understanding of the context in which the play was written but primarily focus on contemporary connections and discourse as well as a wide variety of old and new adaptations. Evaluation is based on participation in all class activities, readings and discussion, successful completion of all performance projects including productive rehearsal time alone and in groups, a portfolio of written responses and effective engagement with the shared class blog. Work will happen both on and off campus and includes the possibility of at least one field trip. Due to the nature of the work, please note the extended class block schedule.

This “hands on” theory/performance course for singers, instrumentalists, guitarists, pianists, drummers, etc., deals with improvisation, a spontaneous exchange or interplay of musical ideas and moods. It offers the musician the opportunity to utilize his/her technical ability to its fullest extent while enjoying the creative freedom of spontaneous composition. The class addresses technical and aesthetic aspects of improvisation in all styles of music (jazz, rock, blues, classical, folk, etc.), including the elements of melodic development, melodic cliches, rhythmic and melodic embellishment, harmonic substitutions, and development of the ear. It is multilevel in format, allowing for students of all technical proficiency to participate. In short, this course enables students to use the “tools of improvisation” to be able to make a “personal musical statement” while playing, singing, “jamming,” etc.

This is an introductory course that teaches students the principles and primary skills of navigation in coastal waters, utilizing compasses, charts, electronic plotters, radar, and, to some extent, quadrants. This will happen through a combination of theoretical, celestial, loxodromic, and radio navigation,and the practical: charting courses on paper, steering courses on the water, and the construction of traditional navigation instruments that help to cement the value of using angles for reading positions relative to celestial objects. The first half of the course will be devoted to early history and the theoretical, and practical, art of navigation; the second half of the course will focus on constructing instruments, such as cross-staffs and backstaffs, and participating in fieldwork aboard the college’s MV Osprey, putting skills to practice. We will explore, to a limited degree, modern methods of navigation by using radar and GPS, and we will visit the Maine Maritime Academy simulator for a virtual experience piloting a large ship in congested waters. The main focus will be to cement primary navigation skills and knowledge so that students are comfortable conducting small vessel navigation on local waters by the end of the course.

This course is open to all students interested in navigation and is particularly suited for those considering maritime careers. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to: understand the fundamental principles of navigation; plot courses of travel, fix a position and perform dead reckoning calculations; appreciate the role of celestial movements and magnetic variations that influence navigation; and use hand tools to craft instruments used in early navigation. Evaluation will be based on journal entries, attendance and participation in class and field trips, problem sets and quizzes, and a final assessment.

Have you always wanted to write an original song, but don’t know where to start? Or perhaps you have been writing songs for years and would like a different perspective. Wherever you are in your musical journey, you are welcome in this course! Join singer songwriter Caroline Cotter for an adventure in songwriting that explores the power of songs and provides different approaches to crafting a song that truly speaks to your ideas and emotions. Caroline shares her own process on finding inspiration and crafting songs that have the power to move you and others. There will be opportunities for free writing, listening and dissecting songs from all genres, song sharing, group feedback, co-writing, and lots of experimenting in a supportive and safe environment. For a final project, students will present their final work in their choice of an audio recording, video recording, or live performance. Evaluation will be based on class participation, completion of written assignments, and the final project.

In this intermediate-level course we will form a medium-sized ensemble to rehearse and perform jazz music. Some prior experience with improvisation is required, as well as an ability to read music or to learn quickly by ear. Rehearsals will focus on playing with good time, intonation, feel, blend, while respecting various stylistic and historical elements of jazz. Emphasis will be placed on improvisation, which will be taught from the ground up with a focus on ear-training and harmony. There will be a concert performance toward the end of the term and there is the potential for additional off-campus performances and jam sessions. Students will be evaluated based on attendance, commitment to learning the material, successful completion of assigned work, and the expansion of improvisational ability. Participants of diverse abilities, needs, and backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including those who play non-traditional jazz instruments. This course is scheduled from 11:10-2:25 with a break for lunch. The second studio block will at times be used for small group work and other assignments as needed.

During the 1930s, the French-Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt launched a new musical style. Combining the traditional music of his Romani heritage with French bal-musettes and the Swing music storming Europe from the other side of the Atlantic, Reinhardt pioneered a sound that came to be known as “Gypsy Jazz,” “Jazz Manouche” or “Hot Club Jazz.” This class will focus on the rich musical repertoire flowing from this history as we work to practice, perform, and learn about its sounds and histories. A practice-based course organized around learning and performing the music, it will treat a series of compositions as entry points for lessons in jazz improvisation, understanding harmonic motion, chord voicing, and rhythmic awareness (swing, waltz, bossa, bolero, etc.). In addition to practice-based work, students will also learn about the histories of Romani (Sinti) migration across Europe and the genealogies of musicians as they relate to the development of Jazz Manouche. Students will read texts concerning Django Reinhardt and other key figures and will write a final paper that reflects research into the people, places, and sounds associated with this music. Assessment will be based on class participation, weekly practice logs, and the final paper/project. The course is designed for students with a working knowledge of an acoustic instrument (guitar, strings, bass, percussion, accordion, mandolin, woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.). The class will be held largely outdoors, so we cannot accommodate piano or electric instruments. Permission of instructor is required to ensure a workable balance of instruments.

In this advanced art practicum and seminar, students will pursue the development of a body of art work or series of art works. Through practice, critique, discussion, readings, and interactions with artists and those involved in supporting and presenting artists, students will gain a better understanding of art as an ongoing pursuit, beyond classes and assignments. What does it take to maintain and fertilize the long-term project or a life’s work? How can a creative process be carried on, maintained and sustained? The primary goal of this course is for each student to develop their art practice, better understand their creative processes, and show evidence of these developments. This course is an excellent lead-up to a senior project in the arts. Students may work in any medium, but should already have the basic skills required for their chosen project(s)/body of work. This course requires significant dedication outside of class to make artworks. Students are expected to possess and/or extend their ability to be self-directed and motivated. Students will be evaluated on their progress towards their goals, and participation in discussions and critiques; students are encouraged to elect for a credit/no credit grade.

This course is an introduction to a wide variety of physical skills useful for anyone interested in investigating their own potential for physical research and self-expression. Techniques are derived from movement training methodologies developed for actors as well as other practices including (but not limited to) classical ballet, martial arts, circus skills, sports training, acrobatics, and improvisation. Students gain a greater sense of physical awareness and imaginative possibility, building strength, mental and physical agility, stamina and flexibility while grappling with questions regarding personal and collective responsibility, personal and collective consent and the power/politics of a specific body in a given space or circumstance. The class works to challenge preconceptions about body image and body language while working creatively and collaboratively to clarify abstract concepts through physical action. Evaluation is based on class participation (including labs/screenings and small group rehearsals), engagement with the course blog (including all introduced topics and concepts), and successful completion and presentation of a short sequence of assigned projects. Students with any or no movement experience are welcome.

As newly independent African nations claimed their freedom from colonial rule, an effort was underway to define the sound of these nations. State-sponsored bands likes Bembeya Jazz and Balla et ses Balladins in Guinea developed a sound that announced Guinea as a modern nation. Their music drew heavily from the sounds of Cuban son, entering the newly independent nation into an African diasporic discourse that signaled alliances with international Marxist movements. In 1977 Fela Kuti released the track “Colonial Mentality,” a song that forcefully argued that even seventeen years into Nigeria’s independence from colonial rule, euro-centric mindsets continued to haunt Nigerian politics. That same year, Kalakuta, Kuti’s autonomous communal compound was burned to the ground after an assault by Nigerian soldiers. In 1987, Hugh Masekela released the track “Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)” on his album Tomorrow. The song caught fire as an anthem of the anti-apartheid movement that would see the political prisoner Mandela freed in 1990 and inaugurated as President in 1994. This practice-based music course will sharpen students’ music performance skills as they engage in the critical study of popular music from the era of African independence. Students will work to perform a musical repertoire drawn from this time period, including the artists listed above as well as Miriam Makeba, Franco Luambo, E.T. Mensah, The Rail Band, OK Jazz, Manu Dibango, and more. In addition to rehearsing and performing a selection of songs, students will engage with reading, listening, and viewing that informs a historical understanding of how music became a venue for contesting visions for post-colonial Africa. In addition to the practice-based research involved in learning a musical repertoire, students will undertake a research project examining the life of an artist who helped shape the sound of post-colonial Africa (sounds that often resonated out into the diaspora). The course will take place in two lab sessions each week, one of which will be dedicated to rehearsal, and one that will be split between rehearsal and academic study/analysis. There will also be an evening session reserved for film screenings and independent rehearsal time. Participants will be assessed based on attendance and participation in class, individual practice and preparedness, the research project, and map quizzes on the African continent. This Intermediate/Advanced ensemble course is open to students who play an instrument or sing. To achieve a workable balance of instruments, the course will be by permission of instructor. Students wishing to take the course should email a brief statement to the instructor describing their musical practice and what they hope to get out of the course. This class will be graded pass/fail by default, but students may also choose to take the course for a letter grade if they wish.

How does music work to amplify the meaning and motivation of narrative artwork? Music for Narrative Media is a practice-based course focused on creating music for narrative forms such as theater, film, and podcasts. The class will open with critical listening-viewing of various narrative media to analyze how music supports storytelling. Each member of the class will carry out structured weekly assignments in music composition that will involve a variety of tools and approaches (beginning with an instrument, beginning on the page, working with digital tools, working with field recordings, etc.). These prompts will invite an iterative process of creating a series of brief musical sketches that are then selected from and further refined. Throughout the term, we will find opportunities to collaborate with students working on films, podcasts, theater or dance pieces, or other media. This process will mirror the kind of work that composers regularly undertake: developing a collaborative vision with other artists. Student assessment will be based on attendance, the completion and thoroughness of assigned projects, participation in critique/feedback sessions, and a mid-term project profiling a composer/sound artist. Working knowledge of an instrument (acoustic, electric, or electronic) is a prerequisite, but you need not have composed music before. You will need to take musical risks and trust in the dynamics of group collaboration and revision.

This hands-on course deals with the aural, visual, and physical elements of music and its production. Topics include foundational music theory/ear training, the elements of music, basic keyboard and ukulele skills, and arranging/composition. This course is specifically geared toward musical novices and musicians with limited formal training. The sole prerequisite is a desire to make music or simply to enrich one’s skills as a critical listener of music. Emphasis is on popular song styles, but analysis of Western art music and non-Western styles are also included for comparison purposes.

Assessment of student work will include appropriate participation in class and musical experiences, weekly reflections and responses, music theory exercises, and mid-term/final projects applying a chosen topic from the course.

This hands-on course deals with the aural, mental, and physical elements of music and its production. It is divided into instructional segments including: Ear Training and Aural Perception, Music Theory, Basic Keyboard Skills, Arranging and Composition, and Basic Guitar Skills. This course is open to all students, regardless of musical experience. The sole prerequisite is a desire to make music or simply to enrich one’s skills as a critical listener of music. Efforts are made to accommodate the special needs of the musical novice, as well as to challenge the experienced performer. Emphasis is on popular song styles, but analysis of Western Art Music forms are included for comparison purposes.

In this three-credit course, students will collectively research, rehearse, and produce an established work of music theatre in collaboration with two or more faculty and/or guest artists. This course provides practical experience in methods and processes useful in building a working creative ensemble. The number of students enrolled in the course varies depending on the demands of the project. Students with any or no experience are welcome, but priority is based on seniority and/or specific academic investment in the given project, process, or subject matter. Information about the specific project will be shared in the term preceding, and in most cases, all assignments (cast and crew) will be made before registration through an application and interview process. Those interested in aspects of production other than acting and music (set design, light and sound design, stage management, dramaturgy, etc.) are especially encouraged to apply. This intensive process will result in a run of public performances near the end of the term. The course counts for three full credits and requires a significant time commitment. The class meets most weekdays, for extended hours, and those enrolled must be available for a certain amount of additional collaborative work (extra rehearsals, construction and tech work, plus final performance dates and strike). A production schedule will be available by the first week of the term the course is offered. Evaluation is based on demonstrated commitment to the process and a final reflective paper based on the experience. Because the material and pedagogical focus of the course changes with each successive rendition, students may receive credit for this course more than once. Default grading for this course is Credit/No Credit.

Ready to take an existing or budding musical practice to the next level? This course is for students interested in developing their skills as instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, songwriters, or beatmakers. Students will work independently (or in small groups) to create and implement a learning plan that reflects their specific musical goals. Students are welcome to sign up individually or in groups (e.g., a string quartet, a songwriting partnership, or a band would be welcome to sign up together).

Class topics will include practice strategies, repertoire selection, rehearsal techniques, performance skills, notating/communicating musical intentions, applications of theory, and interdisciplinary connections (i.e. dance and visual arts). Practice outside of class is expected and will be documented through a reflective practice log. A final project will be determined in consultation with the professor. At the term’s close, students will share a representation of their learning and complete a self-assessment reflecting on their progress.

This course is an investigation of how we consume and are consumed by music. Topics include youth and subcultures of music, power and identity, the politics of location, and fan cultures. We will listen to punk rock, hip hop, riot grrrl, shoegaze, noise, psych, death metal, doom drone, post rock, grindcore and pop (among others); we will analyze visual artists who come to represent musical movements (such as Raymond Pettibon & Winston Smith, Fab 5 Freddy & Cey Adams) and we will read socio-cultural criticism of the times and places from which these artists sprang (Joan Didion, Steve Waksman, Theodor Adorno, Tobi Vale, Kathleen Hanna and Kevin Young). The class will explore analogue artifacts from the 70s, 80s & 90s (posters, zines, fine art, videos) and compare them to digital artifacts found today on the internet. Students are required to attend all weekly film screenings and sound sessions. Evaluations will be based on regular critical responses, a final project and participation in discussion and class activities.

Food is central to the human experience. It can bring us profound joy and a sense of belonging to a place, to a people, and to ourselves. And yet, food is frequently used as an additional form of punishment for the nearly 2 million people incarcerated in jails and prisons across the United States. In this course, students will learn about different kinds of prison food systems, from those using food to dehumanize incarcerated people, to those using food as a tool to help promote rehabilitation and support successful reentry. We will explore this topic through readings, lectures, field trips, and interviews with folks working to transform prison food systems. Simultaneously, students will learn how to produce a podcast from start-to-finish in order to share the stories they gather.

To understand the U.S. carceral system, we will read works by Michelle Alexander and other scholars, using as our primary text Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prisons, published by the organization Impact Justice in 2020. The audio production skills students will learn include recording, importing, mixing, editing, mastering, and exporting sound. Students will be evaluated based on their participation in class discussions, performance on a series of audio-production exercises, preparation for and completion of interviews, and production of a short podcast episode.

How will students in this course be evaluated?: Students will be evaluated based on their participation in class discussions, performance on a series of audio-production exercises, preparation for and completion of interviews, and production of a short podcast episode.

Samba is one of music’s great spectacles – loud, coordinated, precise, and kinetic. The music is equally at home on the stage and in the street. All are welcome to participate in COA’s samba percussion ensemble. The individual percussion parts range in complexity so the music suits a wide range of skills and levels of experience. The musical repertoire for the ensemble will be developed in coordination with Caique Vidal, a Brazilian percussionist who will visit the class (virtually) on a few occasions to offer perspective and insights drawn from his experience with the music. Alongside rehearsal and performance, students will study the history of samba music in Brazil. We will read Barbara Browning’s Samba: Resistance in Motion and also discuss what the music’s recontextualization to a college campus in Maine might mean for its performers and listeners. Student assessment will be based on rehearsal attendance, class discussion participation, reading response journals, and a final group presentation.

Around one hundred and fifty years ago people’s relationship to sound and listening began to fundamentally change. No longer just an ephemeral phenomenon, sound became a thing that could be captured, stored, and played back. The first sound recording technology, the Edison Tin Foil Phonograph, induced a minor social panic; people described being unsettled by the uncanny experience of listening to voices from the past. We now take this ability to listen and re-listen to events from the past for granted as we stream music into our earbuds, enjoy the heightened emotions brought on by a film or television score, or feel our bodies resonate with rumbling bass frequencies at a dance party. Shellac to Spotify: 100 Years of Recorded Music explores how music and technology have coevolved over the past hundred years to shape our relationships to sound, music, and listening. We will approach these questions with both hands-on assignment and from the perspectives of the academic fields of ethnomusicology and sound studies. Students will experiment with music technologies: creating an analog cassette mix tape, soldering together a theremin, composing with analog synthesizers, conducting low-power radio transmissions, experimenting with autotune and digital sequencers, exploring algorithmic music composition, and learning the basics of sound recording and editing in a digital audio workstation (DAW). In addition to weekly hands-on activities, students will read academic texts exploring how the intersection of music and technology reflect and condition social values, norms, and ways of knowing the world. For a final project, each student will create a short podcast that examines a musician, song, or music technology in historical and social context. Student assessment will be based on attendance, the completion and thoroughness of assignments and projects, participation in seminar discussions, and the end-of-term podcast project.

How are artists and scholars of sound engaging various crises in the anthropocene? What are the possibilities and limitations of responding to or representing a place through sound recording and playback? How do contemporary composers and sound artists engage place-specific material in their work? This practice-based course examines the interdisciplinary field of sound studies through close reading, listening, and hands-on (ears-on?) work in sound. Students will create place-based recording projects and site-specific sound installations that draw on local fieldwork excursions around Frenchman Bay, as well as on archival research connected to the Maine Sound and Story Archive and others. Students will sharpen skills in field recording, audio editing, multi-channel sound mixing and presentation, artistic collaboration, and building sonic-rich soundscapes as they work to create immersive sound art projects. This class will work to expand the narrative podcast format, seeking more abstract and layered forms that draw on research and storytelling to help audiences sense a place or a concept through the experience of sound. The course will examine key readings in the field of sound studies, and investigate the practice of sound artists working at the intersections of sound and climate change, sound and social (in)justice, the repatriation of sound recordings, sound and ethnographic practice, and more. Students must have prior experience recording and editing sound, and a willingness to collaborate with their peers to synthesize and realize their ideas. This course will involve fieldwork excursions outside of class time. Evaluation will be based on class participation, engagement with class projects and assignments, and the demonstration of learning in relationship to course content.

Soundscape may be defined as an environment of sound (or sonic environment) with emphasis on the way it is perceived and understood by the individual, or by a society. It thus depends upon the relationship between the individual and any such environment. The term may refer to actual environments, or to abstract constructions such as musical compositions and tape montages, particularly when considered as an artificial environment. In this interdisciplinary course we investigate a broad range of acoustic concepts, ranging from a scientific treatment of the nature and behavior of sound both in air and underwater, the biology of hearing, the use of sound by animals in communication, and the cultural applications of sound and music in human society. Students will explore methods of composition using sounds as materials for assigned projects. Various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound will be examined, including spoken word, radio shows, music, and experimental forms. Labs will focus on understanding the nature of sound, and practical application of sound equipment, technique and theory. Students will learn about microphones, sound recording, amplification, and the physics of sound. The course will culminate in a performance to the community of student presentations that expresses the wide use of sound as part of our culture. Evaluation will be based on class participation and a set of assignments, including a final project. Emphasis will be placed on an artistic interpretation of soundscape, although students will be expected to have a basic understanding of the scientific basis of acoustic phenomena.

In this course we will use creative process as a tool for developing perspectives on disability as a context-embedded expression of humanness. This class is recommended for artists and makers looking to complexify their use of corporeality, as well as students looking to engage critically with representations of and responses to disability both in and outside our educational culture at COA. We will first explore an abbreviated history of disability in the United States. Then, with Human Ecology as our lens, we will engage in a critical examination of social, medical, and disjuncture models of disability. Each class session will involve a discussion of assigned readings and viewings, collaborative activities, and gentle somatic exercises to ground our learning in our bodies. Students will be asked to reflect on their learning through the development of a small creative project each week, and in collaboration with the instructor, students will develop their own standards for assessment through a grading contract system.

In this course, we will work towards an embodied understanding of our own anatomy, as well as a deepened sense of listening, presence, and understanding of the body as a complex system. Students will explore anatomical models and be led through simple, gentle movement sequences. These exercises will be drawn from various somatic modalities such as Mind-Body Centering, Feldenkrais Technique, and Alexander Technique. Students will be asked to reflect on these explorations in a journal format, and will curate a small portion of this work to share with the class on a weekly basis. Readings, additional viewings, and drawing assignments will complement our weekly lessons. This course is recommended for performers looking to deepen their relationship to their instrument, as well as students with a strong science background who are interested in additional perspectives on anatomical study. Through consistent discussion of this work and our experiences in it, we will work to place the experiential in dialogue with the empirical.

This course will explore the process of narrative storytelling with sound. We will study a broad range of audio formats, from podcasts to audio installations to interactive soundwalks. Students learn each step of creating an audio story, from recording techniques and initial collection in the field or in archival collections through the writing to the final production of a podcast or audio piece. Students will learn the technical skills of digitizing audio and conducting interviews, scripting and writing stories based on that audio, editing audio and creating sound-rich audio productions in digital editing software.

This class will focus primarily on digital material already collected in the field or found in local collections. These stories are from downeast communities in Hancock and Washington Counties and will build on ongoing collaborative work. Students will work in small groups and individually on each stage of production based on their interests as well as on ongoing projects. Opportunities exist to explore various forms of audio storytelling in a final project. This course is for students with interests in documentary work, storytelling, oral history, and community-based research broadly construed. Students will be evaluated on individual audio assignments (transcription, scripting, digitizing, and production work) as well as their contribution to group projects

For as long as people have worked, they have sung. Worksongs coordinate the heave of a sail, set the pace of a hoe, ease the monotony of a repetitive task, and bind a group of workers into something larger than the sum of their individual effort. This course explores musical labor as a global human practice, tracing the songs that have shaped work across Maine, other parts of North America, Ghana, Tanzania, Mongolia, Scandinavia, and beyond. We will ask what happens to a workspace when music enters it. Singing does not erase the labor, but it transforms the environment, opening a third space that sits between work and play and holds the elements of both at once.

Taking a human ecology lens, we will study worksongs as a meeting point of culture, economy, ecology, and the body. Why does a particular kind of work produce a particular kind of song? How does a fishing community, a farming village, or a ship’s crew encode its relationship to land, sea, and labor into rhythm and melody? Students will move between the classroom and the field, learning songs by singing them and testing how they function in the physical work they were built to accompany. We will read and listen widely, drawing on ethnomusicology, labor history, and anthropology, while also putting our hands and voices to the practice itself. The course will include field work outings (rowing, planting gardens, harvesting, chopping firewood, and other musical projects), especially on Wednesdays. We will also spend some Wednesdays at Bagaduce Music in Blue Hill diving into the world’s largest publicly accessible library of printed music, unearthing worksongs that have been archived and bringing them back to life. By the end of the term, students will understand worksongs not as relics but as a living technology for organizing effort, building community, and reshaping the experience of work. Assessment will be based on participation in class and field sessions, preparedness for group singing, written reflections, and a final project.

This is a “hands on” class for learning and performing conga, snare drum, drum set, hand percussion techniques, focusing on the role of percussion in European, Latin American, African, and American music. In addition to enjoying themselves and having a better understanding of the world of percussion, students master rhythmic notation, counting and subdivision, time signature, and reading percussion music. Requirements include: test on notation, composition of a percussion ensemble solo that will be performed by the group, and a paper on a percussion topic of student’s choice with approval of the instructor.