WELCOME TO
Week 4 ~ Fall 2020

Weekly Academy Class Notes for
Mon. Oct. 19, 2020 ~ Sun. Oct. 25, 2020

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LIVE Events This Week

Link to the chats & live event from the “Chat Info” link in the sidebar

  • MON at 11AM EST: CHAT SESSION #1 (60-90 minutes)*
  • MON at 5:30 pm EST: CHAT SESSION #2 (60-90 minutes)*
  • FRI. OCT. 23 at 11:30 AM EST: Office Hour (60 min) (if you’re behind, or having trouble with something, this is a good time to check in — others are also welcome to check in during this time)
  • THU. at 4:30 pm EST: Harp Time Live (60 min)

*We have two chats each week to accommodate students in different timezones. You can come to either or both. I’ll be going over the same basic material in each, but we’ll be reviewing different people’s homework. We try to review the homework of people who are attending the chat. If you are never able to attend chats, but you’re submitting homework, let us know so we can make sure you get reviewed at some point in the semester.

How the Masterclass/Chats Work (click to open)

My goal in the Masterclass/Chats is to:

  1. Give an overview of what you’ll be learning in the coming week
  2. Give you an opportunity to ask questions
  3. Review homework together

I try to organize each session this way:

  1. Urgent technical questions or breakdowns
  2. Brief review of last week’s lesson in Toolkit; then in Jazz for Harps
  3. Overview of this week’s lesson in Toolkit; then in Jazz for Harps
  4. Homework review – alternating between Toolkit and Jazz

Class Content This Week

Link to each class through the Dashboard

If you’re a first year student, you should focus on Hip Harp Toolkit. If there’s a special reason you want to work on Jazz for Harps, let DHC know.   If you’re past your first year you can choose either class.

 

Hip Harp Toolkit:

 

  1. We’re starting MODULE 4 this week. (From your Dashboard find the “Hip Harp Toolkit” badge, then navigate to the modules)
  2. To see the homework people shared last week  see the Homework Display Page.
  3. To see the FEEDBACK to last week’s homework, see last Mondays’ Chat Replay

 

Review

To reorient yourself on what this class is all about and what you should expect to get out of it,  read the overview  on page 8 (or just do a search in the document for “Hip Harp Toolkit) of the “Hip Harp Academy Class Description”

  1. In week 1 you learned to create a simple 5-part arrangement
  2. In week 2 you learned to apply that arrangement to 3 or more tunes to quickly create a repertoire
  3. In week 3 you learned to enrich that simple 5-part form by building an accompaniment up from the bassline or down from the melodic line

 

What we’re doing THIS WEEK:

This week you’re learning about VAMPS: they’re an alternative way to create an “Exploration” that can be a lot simpler than using the harmonic progression of the tune itself.  If you took the 5 Day Harp Improv Challenge, we learned a 4-chord vamp and then we used it as an intro and to support our improv.

To see what the homework is – including the SPEICAL BIRTHDAY PROJECT go here.

Jazz for Harps:

Review:

To reorient yourself on what this class is all about and what you should expect to get out of it,  read the overview  on page 31 (or just do a search in the document for “Jazz for Harps”) of the “Hip Harp Academy Class Description”

  • In Week 1 we learned about how the harmonic roadmap works.
  • In Week 2 we learned the difference between the “Swing” and “Latin” (or straight eighth) feels.
  • In Week 3 you’ll get a different melody for “Leaves” – a melody that has a little more space in it so you can improvise melodically and  you’ll learn to play a whole arrangement rubato (this should be familiar from “Hip Harp Toolkit” or “Lead Sheet Bootcamp” – the big difference with Jazz is that the harmonic roadmaps are more complex in jazz that in the simpler tunes we use in Hip Harp Toolkit.

What we’re doing THIS WEEK:

This week is REALLY FUN.  It’s all about learning to switch roles. There’s a playalong video and you’ll be able to change the speed of the video so you can play along at your own speed.

Special Projects:

If you’ve been in the Academy for at least 2 years, you’ve taken both classes and you’re playing the material in the fluently, you can propose a special project to DHC. You’ll still come to the chats to share your questions and experiences with the project.  Right now I’m working on a breakdown of the roadmap for a tune similar to “Blue Bossa” for Alicia. If there are others in the program who can play Remember, Orpheus, Valentine, Season & Leaves, then you are welcome to work on the roadmap of the “Blue Bossa-like” tune as well.

    Upcoming Deadlines & Events

    Homework is Due

    See “Homework Submission & Guidelines” link in sidebar to submit homework
    You are encouraged to submit homework each week. If you can’t, then come to one of the masterclass-chats and share your takeaways.

    Homework description will be found in the class itself – or come to the chat

    • Sunday Night at Midnight EST

    Project Due Dates

    See “Project Submission” in the sidebar for info on what the projects are and how to submit them

    • Birthday Project is due Nov. 11 (but only if you want to finish it by my birthday)
    • Half-Baked Projects are due: TBD 
    • Final-Beginning Projects are due: TBD