Band Electronics and Effects (Mikula Schulz)
Module code
M-JP-EBDEE
Curricular domain
Practical Classes
Credits
4
Group size
Flexible group size. 4 to 12 students. Larger or smaller very occasionally possible in consultation with faculty.
Number of course weeks
30
Class duration
4 students: 40 minutes per class, 5 students: 45 minutes per class, 6 students: 50 minutes per class, 7 students: 55 minutes per class, 8 to 12 students: 65 minutes per class. Please note that only students who earn credits count toward determining the group size. Group sizes below 4 or above 12 with different class times are sometimes possible after consultation with faculty. Class time will not be adjusted after the start of the academic year due to any change in group size.
Total contact hours
32 hours
Study load
79 hours
Form / content / level
Prerequisites
Admitted to year 2 Jazz & Pop or, after audition, Composition for Film and Theatre. This subject can only be followed on-campus.
NOTE that selecting one elective band is compulsory in the second year Jazz & Pop. In years 2, 3 and 4 students Jazz & Pop can select up to two elective bands per year in total.
Competencies
Aims
Acquiring and developing ensemble playing skills in repertoire of the relevant style. Development of creative, practical and social skills required for playing in a group. Mastering different roles, learning to improvise in connection to the material of a song.
Relation to other modules
This module is related to the main subject module.
Content
In this ensemble we are going to experiment a lot. We will dive into free improvisations in an electronic context. The focus lies on all electronics and effects (hence the band name), which means you're welcome to play the trumpet, drums or any other acoustic instrument, as long as you're willing to use it with effects (delay, ring modulation, reverb, overdrive, ... BRING THEM YOURSELF). Synthesizers are welcome as well of course.
We will take a detailed look at how to control "knobs", especially while maintaining a decent
volume, how to work with soundtextures and repetitions and how to blend in a group of people creating nearly unpredictable sounds.
Mode(s) of instruction
Band rehearsals and performances.
Material & Tools
Handed out by the instructor (where applicable).
Student activity
Generating internal publicity for the band's concerts, and selecting repertoire.
Examination and assessment
Mode(s) of assessment
Assessment by the band instructor at the end of each semester.
Criteria
Creativity, improvisation, sheet music, sense of harmony, rhythmic idioms, timing and tempo control, musical interaction, intonation, reading skills, sound, interpretation, style awareness, form principles, tonal balance, preparation, accompaniment, active participation and attitude.
Pass requirements
The student has completed this module if being awarded a minimum grade of 5.5 at the end of the second semester.
Examination procedure
Written assessment by the instructor at the end of both semesters. Assessment at the end of the autumn semester is formative and expressed in terms of satisfactory/unsatisfactory. It indicates a student's progress in this module. No ECs are awarded and there is no resit. Modules can only be absolved, and ECs awarded, after the end of the spring semester. The end-of-semester assessments comprise evaluations of students' performance during the rehearsals and public performances.
Resit options
Module summary
This module allows students to extensively study how effects alter their instrument and how electronics work in an improvised context. in addition to more general aspects of ensemble playing and performance.