2015 The Practical Musician Kampala Intensive Course Outline

9.00am-5.00pm, 10th -21st August 2015

NOTE: Advanced musicians may attend only day 2 and 4 and may choose specific elements from those days. Beginners and intermediates may need to attend all days but they have electives. For example non-vocalists don’t have to come early morning on days 1 & 3 and days 2 & 4 are designed for more advanced study so most are not obligated to do. Advanced harmony, guitar/keys class, Reading and writing (fast lane) or the Blues class. But anyone wishing to do the Blues class must do the Amadinda class too same goes for those who wish to do guitar or piano classes

PRACTICAL MUSICIAN DAY 1, 3 AND 5 EVERY WEEK

9-10 VOICE [DAY 1, 3] / MUSIC BUSINESS BASICS [DAY 5]

This practical class involves breathing and warm-up exercises; practicing routines and scales; tone development; discovering the voice (lower body, chest, nasal and head). For singers and wind instrumentalists only. For music business details see next page outline.

10-11 BODY PERCUSSION

This is a practical class creating & deconstructing rhythms using one’s body. Relating to R&W music as well as analysis. Improving musical focus and ensemble performance attributes. For all musicians attending the program.

11-12 CHORD THEORY USING VOICE [DAY 1 & 3] / KEYBOARD HARMONY [DAY 5]

Participants will learn how to stack up different voices to create harmony starting with the very basic 3 note chords to complex extensions of five or more notes. Also the concept of voice leading will be dealt with. Part theory part practice, this class will use voice and piano/keyboard alternating. On day 5 participants will be replicating on piano what they were doing with voices.

12-13 SONGWRITING & COMPOSITION

This class will teach song-writing techniques and practices as done conventionally in respect to different genres and cultures. It will consider song forms in pop, classical, jazz, rock, blues, kidandali, kadongo kamu and hip-hop traditions. There will also be a segment on lyrical development. This is largely a theoretical class with a few practical group exercises that may be used in other practical classes.

14-15 READING & WRITING

Strictly for learning how to read and write music using staff notation starting with only rhythmic reading and writing, this class will largely follow GMA’s template especially in the early stages.

15-16 MUSIC ANALYSIS

This is effectively a listening class to develop the ear in terms of dissecting an arrangement, rhythms, melodies, orchestration, timbre, textures, harmony, genre with the use of participants’ works and commercial works as well as traditional songs. This class is practical and its results may be exploited in the Song-writing & Composition class.

16-17 LIVE PERFORMANCE & IMPROVISATION [DAY 1, 3 & 5] & AMADINDA [DAY 2& 4]

Participants will learn how to create and maintain a band; professional methods of rehearsals and how to prepare a performance. They will also study ways of improvising over a given piece of music and how to generate ideas on the spot in a specific musical direction. Largely this is a practical class.

This class’ content will vary wildly depending on the level of expertise the participants have and the diversity of the group in musical background. If there are many instrumentalists it will lean more towards improvisation but the other two elements will still be a part of the class. For Amadinda class, see “amadinda” below.

PRACTICAL MUSICIAN DAY 2 AND 4 EVERY WEEK

9-10 AMADINDA

This is a practical class in the art of playing amadinda and understanding the practical use of the pentatonic scale in selected Ugandan traditional music.

10-11 THE BLUES FROM A UGANDAN PERSPECTIVE

This is a theoretical class about the development of the blues and how they have influenced popular music; and the blues scale and how it relates to various African pentatonic scales.

11-12 READING & WRITING [Special fast lane]

This is for people who want to learn how to read and write music both rhythmic and melodic at a very fast pace. Better for instrumentalists or individuals who are not starting from scratch?

12-13 MUSIC BUSINESS BASICS

In this slot there will be profile writing; proposal writing; seeking endorsement and sponsorship; online music distribution; press release writing; networking and building lasting connections; planning a 5-10 year strategy.

14-15 ADVANCED HARMONY

Constructing advanced scales; learning modes and their derivatives. Persons must have studied basic major and natural minor scales before attending this.

15-16 APPLIED HARMONY & IMPROVISATION

Applying scales & modes in real life; modes and their associated chords in practice and how to exploit them.

16-17 GUITAR AND PIANO/KEYBOARD CLASSES

These will be for mainly beginners and intermediate (split up) for both piano/keys and guitar/bass. For guitar there will also be an advanced class depending on participants’ abilities.

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