Each winter, HV CAMP offers a Master Class (or Classes) when ensembles are not in operation. The program runs over a few weeks, usually one night per week. Topics are usually selected based on desire from members of our ensembles, but anyone is welcome to register and attend our classes.
Students who sign up for a Master Class must understand that the relationship between clinicians and students is different than settings in ensembles or individual private lessons. As a group of students will be learning concurrently with no examination or final grade, instruction may not be as direct or specific to each student as it may be in other settings. The pace of these classes will be steady and cannot slow down for individual students.
To sign up, click "Register" under "How To Join" and select the Winter Master Classes. (If multiple Master Classes are being offered, select the appropriate class.)
For 2025, HV CAMP is proud to offer TWO different Master Classes! They are:
Each class will run for five weeks and costs $175 per person per class.
Here is the curriculum for each class:
JAZZ IMPROVISATION I
Class 1 (January 6)
A comprehensive exam will be given to demonstrate skills on scales (major/minor/modal/pentatonic/blues), chords, and tonality. The clinician will review each exam prior to the next class and provide each student with a report on the subjects the student must study prior to the next class.
Class 2 (January 13)
The focus will be on answering the question, “What notes do I use when I improvise?” Through the examination of chords and scales and how they function within tonality, students will learn how to analyze tonality and tonal centers to help determine which scales should be used to help select notes during improvisation.
Further, notes that do not fall within these chords/scales/tonal centers will be discussed to show how they can also be properly used.
Class 3 (January 20)
The focus will be on answering the question, “Once I know what notes to use, how do I use those notes to create melody?” Through the examination of motivic development and styles used by great improvisers throughout the history of jazz, students will learn how to create melody and “make things up as they go.”
Further, subjects such as form and communication among musicians will be discussed to provide additional tricks of the trade.
Class 4 (January 27)
The focus will be on answering the question, “What do I need in my back pocket?” Students will focus on studying a 12-bar blues and “Rhythm Changes.” Students will also be encouraged to memorize one jazz standard and one ballad. Knowing these forms and tunes will allow a musician to succeed at a jam session.
Class 5 (February 3)
The culmination of the class will be a jam session. Musicians will be able to improvise with a rhythm section to experience jazz improvisation in a combo setting. Professional musicians may be hired to assist. Timing may be altered to combine with the other Monday evening class.
JAZZ IMPROVISATION II*
*Entrance into this class requires the prerequisite of having taken JAZZ IMPROVISATION I the prior winter or having permission of the clinician.
Class 1 (January 6)
Students will review the subjects discussed in the prior improvisation course to ensure everyone is on the same page. This includes the basic framework of tonality and melodic invention, understanding the blues and "Rhythm Changes," and being familiar with standard repertoire.
Class 2 (January 13)
Students will examine melodic exercises that demonstrate "riffs and licks" that can be superimposed into many different improvisational settings. The exercises will be fluid so that they can be used "forward and backward" or "ascending and descending" as well as in different keys.
Class 3 (January 20)
Students will work on "getting around the changes" of various tunes using the exercises from the prior week. This will give the "riffs and licks" a feeling of being three-dimensional as they take shape within the framework of a tune.
Class 4 (January 27)
Intangibles that affect improvisation will be discussed. These topics include the internal metronome, appropriate stylistic choices, "selling" your solo to an audience, and creating your own voice as an improviser.
Class 5 (February 3)
The jam session is back! In conjunction with students from the other class section, an additional opportunity to see and hear skills in action will be provided. Professional musicians may be hired to assist, and the time of this meeting may be altered due to the combination with the other section.
Students who sign up for a Master Class must understand that the relationship between clinicians and students is different than settings in ensembles or individual private lessons. As a group of students will be learning concurrently with no examination or final grade, instruction may not be as direct or specific to each student as it may be in other settings. The pace of these classes will be steady and cannot slow down for individual students.
To sign up, click "Register" under "How To Join" and select the Winter Master Classes. (If multiple Master Classes are being offered, select the appropriate class.)
For 2025, HV CAMP is proud to offer TWO different Master Classes! They are:
- JAZZ IMPROVISATION I (Mondays 6:30pm-8pm with Jack Furlong)
- JAZZ IMPROVISATION II (Mondays 8pm-9:30pm with Jack Furlong)
Each class will run for five weeks and costs $175 per person per class.
Here is the curriculum for each class:
JAZZ IMPROVISATION I
Class 1 (January 6)
A comprehensive exam will be given to demonstrate skills on scales (major/minor/modal/pentatonic/blues), chords, and tonality. The clinician will review each exam prior to the next class and provide each student with a report on the subjects the student must study prior to the next class.
Class 2 (January 13)
The focus will be on answering the question, “What notes do I use when I improvise?” Through the examination of chords and scales and how they function within tonality, students will learn how to analyze tonality and tonal centers to help determine which scales should be used to help select notes during improvisation.
Further, notes that do not fall within these chords/scales/tonal centers will be discussed to show how they can also be properly used.
Class 3 (January 20)
The focus will be on answering the question, “Once I know what notes to use, how do I use those notes to create melody?” Through the examination of motivic development and styles used by great improvisers throughout the history of jazz, students will learn how to create melody and “make things up as they go.”
Further, subjects such as form and communication among musicians will be discussed to provide additional tricks of the trade.
Class 4 (January 27)
The focus will be on answering the question, “What do I need in my back pocket?” Students will focus on studying a 12-bar blues and “Rhythm Changes.” Students will also be encouraged to memorize one jazz standard and one ballad. Knowing these forms and tunes will allow a musician to succeed at a jam session.
Class 5 (February 3)
The culmination of the class will be a jam session. Musicians will be able to improvise with a rhythm section to experience jazz improvisation in a combo setting. Professional musicians may be hired to assist. Timing may be altered to combine with the other Monday evening class.
JAZZ IMPROVISATION II*
*Entrance into this class requires the prerequisite of having taken JAZZ IMPROVISATION I the prior winter or having permission of the clinician.
Class 1 (January 6)
Students will review the subjects discussed in the prior improvisation course to ensure everyone is on the same page. This includes the basic framework of tonality and melodic invention, understanding the blues and "Rhythm Changes," and being familiar with standard repertoire.
Class 2 (January 13)
Students will examine melodic exercises that demonstrate "riffs and licks" that can be superimposed into many different improvisational settings. The exercises will be fluid so that they can be used "forward and backward" or "ascending and descending" as well as in different keys.
Class 3 (January 20)
Students will work on "getting around the changes" of various tunes using the exercises from the prior week. This will give the "riffs and licks" a feeling of being three-dimensional as they take shape within the framework of a tune.
Class 4 (January 27)
Intangibles that affect improvisation will be discussed. These topics include the internal metronome, appropriate stylistic choices, "selling" your solo to an audience, and creating your own voice as an improviser.
Class 5 (February 3)
The jam session is back! In conjunction with students from the other class section, an additional opportunity to see and hear skills in action will be provided. Professional musicians may be hired to assist, and the time of this meeting may be altered due to the combination with the other section.
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PLEASE NOTE: The audio or video recording of any rehearsal or performance of any ensemble under the jurisdiction of the Hopewell Valley Community of Associated Music Projects is strictly prohibited.