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Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Course Description

This is a practical introductory course for those interested in composing music of any genre. It focuses on developing composition skills such as melodic construction and fostering your understanding of harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation. The instructor will provide you with weekly structured exercises that will help you play around with ideas and essentially develop them into your pieces or songs. These exercises are designed to emphasize artisanship and to stimulate the imagination. Given that the class puts forth the premise that anyone can make music, the course is designed to welcome beginners, more experienced composers, and enthusiasts. It helps if you can play an instrument to some extent, and if you have some familiarity with musical notation but these skills are not essential to participation in the course. This course will also examine notational systems and the specifics of notating music, teaching you to put your own music into a form that will be transferable to others in the field. The class will take place in a special state of the art computer MIDI lab at harper College. Each student will have his/her own Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), which includes music software.

Students will be using Finale notation software. 

Dr. Issa Boulos, a world renowned composer and performer. Among his commissions are several pieces for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Silk Road Ensemble, and various other orchestras and ensembles around the world.

Who this course is for:
Music students
Beginning Composers/Songwriters
Composers or songwriters who have some experience and want to hone their skills
Anyone who has always wanted to learn some new tricks that can be used in any genre they're interested in

This is not the class for you if you want to learn the following in-depth:
How to read music
Western music literature
Music theory
Jazz
How to read and write lead sheets
World music
Electronic music

Course Aim
To give students a greater understanding of the craft and techniques of composition and to apply this to their compositions.

Teaching methods
Lectures and hands-on workshops.
Illustrations of relevant works of the great composers

 

Learner Outcomes

Compose your rhythms and melodies.
Learn a wide variety of compositional techniques.
Apply techniques and develop your rhythmic and melodic material.
Get familiar with a wide range of non-traditional approaches to music composition.
Experiment with different approaches to music composition.
Learn how to transcribe what you hear.
Practice notating music using a music notation software.
Increase the level of craftsmanship in their compositions.
Get ready for the next advanced composition course.

 

Notes

Ages 15+

 

Testimonials

"I'm very glad I had a chance to take this class. I've learned quite a bit this semester. Issa has been informational and inspiring. The exercises and lectures made me think of musical concepts I had never considered." E. F.

 

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The Elements of Music Composition course is not currently open for enrollment, but we can arrange for any number of lessons you would like, click here for more information or contact the Community Music and Arts Center (CMAC) at cmac@harpercollege.edu. If you’re a new student wanting to register for private lessons, click here to fill out the new student form. If you would like us to notify you when enrollment opens, click and on the Request Information button below.

Thank you for your interest in this course. While we currently do not have a section open for enrollment, we invite you to join us the next time the class is offered. To ensure you don’t miss out, please complete a Course Inquiry and we’ll be sure to notify you as soon as the next enrollment opens.
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