An exploration of the instrumental and analytical techniques needed to perform contemporary music with skill and understanding.
Students perform extensively in class.
Since accurately rendering the complex rhythms usually found in 20th Century music is the most difficult challenge most performers face, we work our way systematically to complex polyrhythms, metric modulation and other rhythmic problems. The difficulties that thus come up serve to focus the work. Designed primarily for performers, the course is of good value for composition students. Composers are encouraged to bring to class problem spots from their compositions. They also must execute the weekly exercises, thus, getting the feel of what it is like to perform the difficult passages they write.