Achieving the predetermined technical completion level, learning to independently resolve musical/technical problems and showcasing an individual musical taste which is translated to a personal playing style. Students should be able to independently prepare and perform the final audition.

The contents of the main subject lessons are for the most part tailored to the final audition, and may be related to other classes, e.g., Arranging or Band Coaching.

TECHNIQUE:
Studying individual musicians' styles/transcriptions with respect to their use of techniques and developing modern techniques, e.g., pentatonic and quartal exercises; triad pairs; augmented scale.
IMPROVISATION:
Pieces by contemporary composers, more attention for contemporary music in any style; consciously applying diverse harmonic tonalities, such as altered, octatonic, whole tone, mixolydian #11 and lydian; using upper structure voicings, motivic improvisation, free improvisation, alternating between free improvisation and restricted improvisation.
HARMONY AND VOICINGS:
Arranging a melody with chords, e.g., approach chords, planing, quartal voicings and/or pentatonic movement, Coltrane changes.
Substitutes.
Studying harmonies by favorite pianists.
REPERTOIRE:
Mainly pieces of the student's own choice, in one or more favorite styles. Students should be able to play ca. 80-100 standards or self-chosen pieces by heart and to improvise over them.

Individual lessons, group lessons and/or project weeks.

Media / study material / repertoire of module 3, and additionally: Aebersold Play-a-Longs, transcriptions and analyses of solos by pianists and other instrumentalists.

Organizing a performance (band, repertoire, rehearsals) as part of the annual Jazz & Pop concert and/or project week; this performance may be used to try-out elements of the final exam. Independently organizing, performing and promoting the final audition concert.

Examination and assessment

Assessment by the main subject instructor at the end of each semester.

The student should have mastered the elements described under Aims. Specific criteria are: creativity, expression, improvisation, technique, sound, timing, reading skills, repertoire knowledge, progress, self-reflection, session participation, attitude and lesson preparation

The student has completed this module if being awarded a minimum grade of 5.5 at the end of the second semester.

At the end of both semesters the instructor fills out an assessment form designed specifically for this module. Assessment is comprised of a verbal evaluation and a concluding grade. The instructor reviews this assessment with the student during the first subsequent lesson. 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.

See the Education and Assessment Plan.

Module summary

In this module, in weekly individual classes, students develop both their personal artistic vision and the main subject-related technical skills relevant to it, in addition to more generic technical skills.

Main Subject Accordion Jazz & Pop 4

Form / content / level

Examination and assessment

Module summary