MUSPOP 1201 - Song Writing & Performance 1A

This course introduces students to the creative, technical and professional skills used by composers in a contemporary popular music context, with a focus on the creation and presentation of new original music. Seminars introduce composition and song writing techniques, including creative impetus, the musical materials of rhythm, pitch, melody, chords progressions and song structures, and approaches to writing lyrics. Stylistic idioms used in contemporary popular music styles are contextualized in relation to established song-writing forms. Through Workshops, students will work in small groups to prepare their original work for live performance. Rehearsal, improvisation and performance techniques will be introduced, culminating in on and off-campus student performances.