Composing for Drum Set
Course Description
Summary
This 7 week course will shift how drummers think and play the drum set. Students will be encouraged to move beyond just playing beats and grooves to thinking more compositionally. If you are able to play the drums, we will not completely ignore rhythms, however,learning how the drum set can be a melodic and harmonic instrument is one of the directions students will explore. Students will explore a variety of approaches using but not limited to, found objects, membranophones, ideophones, electronics, and the human voice. Students will compose pieces using graphic scores, paintings, mathematical and western notation. Reading music notation is not a requirement for this course. This course is open to beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Being open to exploring a process of thinking outside the box is paramount. An end of term presentation is encouraged.
Learning Outcomes
- 1) Exploring your imagination and creativity
2) Discovering how a drum set can be a melodic
and harmonic instrument
3) Composing graphic, mathematical, and notat-
ed scores
4) Researching alternative ways percussion is
used in film, world music, and indigenous
communities