AUGUST 13 - 19, 2018
Description
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Introduction to Improvisation
This Course, held concurrently with Adult & Family Week at Camp Louise (moved from Timber Ridge), is designed and led by Eden MacAdam-Somer.
Discover your inner improvisational voice and how to express that voice through your instrument. In this class, singers and instrumentalists will explore rhythmic, melodic, and simple harmonic improvisation using techniques common to aural traditions throughout the world. This class is great for musicians who are new to improvising, but will also benefit experienced improvisers. Participants should be comfortable getting around their instrument enough to play/sing simple tunes. Everyone will do a fair amount of singing in addition to playing your other instrument (full-time singers are very welcome of course). Percussionists should be prepared to do melodic and harmonic work in addition to playing rhythm. You do not need to know anything about reading music or music theory - we'll discuss theory as it comes up but the focus will always be on the music.
During the week, we will spend time:
- learning folk tunes and blues by ear
- playing/singing in every key
- playing/singing harmony (chords) and backup parts (rhythm)
- taking solos, improvising, and have fun doing it
- writing our own class tune
You are encouraged to bring a recording device and a notebook.
The Course meets for two hours each day. For the rest of the day, participants can choose from among the activities available at the host week. See the week's full schedule for details.
REGISTRATION
This course is limited to 8 participants to ensure plenty of opportunity for active participation. Participants should be comfortable getting around their instrument (including voice) enough to play/sing simple tunes. If the class is oversubscribed on March 13, there will be a lottery, with preference given to instrumental balance, musical goals, and to applicants supported by their local community. Strong indicators for CDSS are our Group Priority and Matching Scholarship processes, where a CDSS affiliate vouches for a participant and may offer some scholarship, asking CDSS to match that amount (www.cdss.org/support-services/insurance-group-services/priority-matching-scholarships). This is a statement by people who know the individual, that the person is deserving of assistance and would benefit the local community by attending camp. That can count highly in this and in our scholarship considerations.
Please clearly indicate if you would like to attend Adult & Family Week at Timber Ridge, if you did not get a space in the Course.
Eden MacAdam-Somer is one of the most exciting and versatile musicians performing today. Hailed by the New York Times as reflecting "astonishing virtuosity and raw expression," her music transcends genre through soaring violin, sweet vocals, and percussive dance, weaving in and out of the many cultures that have formed her experience. Her travels have carried her across the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, to Afghanistan, India, China, Iceland, Israel, and the U.K. Eden is a full-time faculty member at New England Conservatory, where she teaches improvisation and serves as Co-Chair of the Department of Contemporary Improvisation. She also makes frequent visits to Kabul, Afghanistan, where she works with young Afghan musicians as guest faculty member at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and collaborates with local artists. Her solo album, My First Love Story, was listed as one of the top ten jazz albums of 2015 in the Boston Globe. In addition to her work in Boston, Eden maintains an active international performance and recording career as a soloist and with such bands as Notorious Folk, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and