Homework

This page shows the homework belonging to the curriculum of the first year Jazz & Pop department of the Utrecht Conservatory, 2010-2011.
External participators: pleasy study these special remarks.

Web & Contact
Downloads of transcription songs, answer-pdfs and additional material on http://lichtemuziek.hku.nl/Bart
HKU students please use bart.noorman@muziek.hku.nl to contact your teacher, or call 020-6974595 / 06-15161425

Your daily ear training routine is now complete and consists of
Intervals, scales (level 2), triads, seventh chords plus 1; Writing rhythm including 16ths; Basic Progressions - All series in the ear trainer (Services column).

Everything you need is in Services > Eartraining centre, in the Ear trainer and on the page called 'other exercises'.
The Play What You Hear trainer in the Fundamentals also is available for additional practicing transcription of melodies en rhythm (P2, P4 and P6 recommended).

Exam planning
 Re-exams of the first semester are on march 22, between 9:00 and 12:00, in room H105 (bring headphones); Similar group exams of the 2nd semester are on may 17 and 19 (class times);
Final individual exams (1 h. for each student) will be scheduled on may 25 and 26.


What are the assignments for the propaedeuse exam?1. Write a singable melody consisting ofa number of 8 bar phrases, with traditional elements like a verse and a bridge/refrain. AABA is a good starting form, but I'm open to different formats. Make sure the bridge behaves like a real bridge: contrasting, and connecting properly to the final A-part. In second instance you add harmony to this beautiful melody.

2. Write an AABA chord progression, 32 bars, containing at least a diminished chord, a secondary V of II-V, a spot with Modal Interchange. No blues, no rhythm changes please, and write in the format of the jazz standards. In second instance you add a singable melody to these progressions.

3. Write a solo on one of the classic jazz standards, like Stella, There'll never be another you, etc. No blues, no rhythm changes. The progression must contain harmonic movement, so it would be a good idea to show me first. Of course this solo must be worth listening to and not just fill up the space. We've practiced melodic development a lot, so I'd say you have the tools.

Hand in well readable scores. If computer programs don't notate what you want I'd rather see a good handwritten chart. Take care of good alignment of the bars, so it offers good overview. For instance: new parts of your song should start on a new staff. Also hand in all three assignments as mp3 - this is for your own good. In class I'll show you how to do that in Logic (File > Bounce is the menu command). Choose clear names, like Peter-Melodysong.mp3, Peter-Harmonysong.mp3 or Peter-Solo.mp3, so that I don't have to figure out who's song it is. Drop them in the green colored folder named 'drop your mp3s here', which I created in the folder of students 2010-2011.

Some final remarks:
• Don't use too many roots in the melody. It is boring an causes ugly parallels;
• You have to add an analysis of the scale degrees of the harmony song and the melody song. This is for your own good. If it can't be analyzed it usually sounds bad...
• Please note that these assignments are style imitations, in the format of the standards.
• The assignments must be handed in on may 19 2011, preferably sooner.

Homework for week 19

Next week is holiday, and tuesday may 10 is the last normal class.
I want to do one more scale exercise, as a kind of summary, so for that I chose Stella by Starlight. Analyze it and find the appropriate scales. The first few bars are pretty impossible to analyze as long as you don't know the original construction.

If you have any questions, this is the time to ask them. The workbook has many summaries, so it is wise studying these if you need it.

Those who want to practice transcribing another song could do De Vlieger by the late Andre Hazes, a Dutch vocalist, famous in the 'commercial entertainment industry'. Whether you like it or not, there is a lot of craftmanship in this song. Don't underestimate!


Homework for week 17

Homework for tuesday april 26
Transcribe Just the way you are (melody and harmony, real book style, you best start where the band comes in).
Practice sixteenths if you haven't nailed them yet.
Work on the rest of the ear training package - as always;-)

Homework for thursday april 28
Continue working on the three exam assignments. Might be good to restudy the requirements!

Homework for week 16

This week I've treated line clichees, a subject that is by the way no part of the VMS yet. Functionally there is nothing new here, line clichées simply take us back to the horizontal aspects of voices acting together.

Homework for tuesday april 19
Transcribe Paquito d'Rivera's Samba for Carmen (melody and harmony, real book style, fast quarters). This is a challenging tune, you'll need everything you learned so far. If you have time also do the coda.

Re-do Go with flow in the back of your book.

Homework for thursday april 21
Continue working on the three exam assignments.

Homework for week 15

This week we discussed the Rhythmchanges. You can learn from the many possible harmonic variations in Bert's accompaniment of his song Bertology.

Homework for tuesday april 12
Practice Go with the flow, one of the last pages in your book.
Also work with cat. 6 in the Write What You Hear trainer of the Fundamentals.

Homework for thursday april 14
Please note: no class this day due to a symposium I attend.
Nevertheless you can work in H205. In case you haven't done it yet:
• Harmonize Summer Fling (Section of Thematic solos)
• Transcribe a chorus of the bass lines of Bertology (Rhythmchanges)
Continue working on the three exam assignments.
If you like it: watch the beautiful Elis Regina concert I put in the Bart Noorman folder. Highly recommended, her voice, groove, ballads and lyrics are stunning.

Homework for week 14

This week we discussed the blues and the concept treated in the thematic solo's Section, both are easily found in the VMS.

Homework for tuesday april 5
Make a transcription of Hopelessly devoted to you - melody and chords. This anticipates a next class about line clichés.

Homework for thursday april 7
Write a cliché blues melody on the basic three chords.
Continue working on the three exam assignments.

Homework for week 13

This week we discussed the second assignment and experimented with writing bridges opening with obscure key changes. Week 12 is projectweek, no classes.

No specific homeork, simply work on your assignments and your eartraining program. Focus especially on your weakest elements.

Homework for week 11

This week I treated the Clave section. The movie with the song Sin Explicación contains lots of interesting harmonic, melodic and rhythmic spots, worth studying in detail. We also discovered that 16ths still needs our attention...

Homework for tuesday march 15
Fill in the page I've got you under my skin, on last page but 1 in your book. Based on the key, the root motion and the melody you have to determine the possible chord types.

Find the chords of Sublime Illusion, a beautiful song in traditional Cuban son style.

Homework for thursday march 17
Finish the first assignment: melody with harmony.

Homework for week 10

Homework for tuesday march 8
Practice more with 16ths. Try to master I'll be glad when you're dead on a deeper level. Transcribe the rest of the special horns chorus (only a few bars left), with the right pitch.

Analyze the harmony of Sin Explicación, on page 130, a good refreshment of scale degree theory.

Homework for thursday march 3
Let's start with the first propaedeuse assignment: Write a good and singable melody, suggested form is a 32 bar AABA structure. Don't think/play chords (yet). Using the limerick melody we made last week is allowed, but not obligatory (verplicht). Test its singability on your mom...


Homework for week 09

This week we refreshed diminished chords by studying the VMS-song Diminished Diversity, which shows appropriate use of scales plus lots of improv concepts. We also studied technique #3 from the song page: examining the sound of the scales.

Homework for tuesday march 1
• Analyze Bewitched on p.91 and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
• Study the 16ths page called I'll be glad when your dead at the end of your book
• Continue working with 16ths in the SWYS trainer of the Fundamentals (cat. 6).

Homework for thursday march 3
Finish your scale exercise on Diminished Diversity in the computerroom.


Homework for week 08

This week we listened to some great music and found out that classical composition principles hardly differ from the construction of a great jazz solo like Clifford Brown's solo on Jim (sung by the young Sarah Vaughan), also available as PDF.
I've also introduced the elements of 16th figures. The second half of the Notation movie covers these, and cat. 6 of the SWYS trainer in the Fundamentals is fully dedicated to 16ths.

Homework tuesday febr. 22
Ear training week! Extend your routine with these elements:
• Please finish last week's dictations if you forgot them.
• Work on singing and recognizing the 16th figures in the Fundamentals
• practice the additional scales (scales level 2 in the VMS, PWYH trainer cat. 7 and 8) • work on seventh chords plus 1 (mp3 is in the VMS).

Homework for next thursday febr. 24 is to model your graphically designed solo into the harmony of Weaver of Dreams, you can use the Logic file in your personal folder in H205 for this. Most of you already got pretty far, so please finish it. If the Logic program is problematic for you simple do it manually, with pencil and paper.
Note to external participators: any other standard will do: There'll never be another you, Stella, etc.

Homework for week 07

This week I introduced the subject of shapes and solo building. Relevant movies are found in Basics > Phrasing > Explanation > Items 6, 7 and 8. The page with Melodic Shapes (p. 32 in your book) on the exercise page is a great and practical improv tool for all players and singers.

The homework tuesday febr. 15 is to apply the technique demonstrated in the last movie. Below are some suggestions for this roadmap, which has to be constructed without thinking of any key. Make a completely graphically designed solo. You can change the order, and use the first elements I suggested in class. Exaggerated examples of te double line technique can be found in Samba Bicycleta (Section of Thematic Solos). In order to prevent too much complexity you must be able to sing your roadmap for your fellow students and convince us with the clarity of your ideas. Please think medium swing. With complicated 16ths you may get into trouble.

1. Make a short shape, repeat it, and the third time: extend it
2. Create three different elements. The connection between these is that the last note of the previous shape forms an interval of a second with the next shape.
3. Write 4 bars of double line technique (verkapte tweestemmigheid).
4. Write two phrases that are based on the same concept of articulation.
5. Write three elements in which an overall ascending line of seconds can be observed (as found in thousands of standards)
6. If you have less than 32 bars, fill it up with connected elements of your own.

Eartraining: dictations D801-808 from the ear training page of the TriSubs please.

There is no explicit homework for thursday, we will insert your roadmap into Logic. Continuing your daily eartraining routine speaks for itself.

Homework for week 06

Dear students,
This week I continued with alterations. Serenade for Sara has been uploaded in the relevant folders, as well as the great Booker Little song called Rounders mood (mp3 and pdf with multiple pages). Studying his melodic treatment of the weirdest possible alterations is worthwile. We also discussed the VMS song called Subway belonging to the TriSub section, as well as the amazing panflute solo by Bert. I recommend studying the structure of this solo in detail, because solo building will be the next subject.

Homework for tuesday febr 8:
Some students told me they had trouble hearing the bass. Please transcribe (for next tuesday) How Deep is your love (melody and chords), a beautiful song with a clearly audible bass line, some intelligent harmonies and various rhythms. You can skip the intro and focus on the main material of the song itself. Beware of sus4 chords!

Homework for thursday febr. 10:
Compose more PWYH melodies: compact phrases with a clear concept, singable. Choose a variety of styles. One harmonic cycle is enough. Also find the harmony of say half of the available grooves. Some are easy, some are tougher, all are good for functional hearing. It is impossible to define what 'a good melody' is, but there are many examples available in the PWYH trainer in the Fundamentals, and we discussed many other good phrases already.

Homework for week 05

This week I treated the subject of alterations. Relevant items to study:
The essay called alterations in your workbook on page 161-162.
Sections > Tritone Substitutions > Explanation > first three items
Fundamentals > Play Whay You Hear trainer > P6 tracks 049-060 (locate in Start With mode)

Homework for tuesday 25:
Add the chords to your transcription of the melody of Serenade for Sarah, knowing that it consists of many I-V-I constructions as well as lots of II-Vs, in which pretty much all V7s are altered, and the alterations occur in the melody. You can do it if your ears and your knowledge cooperate!

Analyze the One note samba on p104.

Homework for thursday 27:
Finish the de-altering exercise using the track 'Autumn altered' as we did in class, most probably you're already finished.
In the next practicum class we'll do a lot of composing, using the grooves from the PWYH trainer.

See the box of 'your daily ear training routine': I've added cat 800 to the Basic Progressions, since it is relevant to the subjects we discussed. We have almost 5 months to master the remaining categories, so with a little systematic practice everyone will manage.

Homework for week 02

Please evaluate your exam results and draw your conclusions. We'll discuss the tests next week.

The program will be slightly different in the second semester. Thursdays practicum classes will mostly be in H205, and I may do some ear training on tuesdays as well. The focus will be more on creative assignments. I won't add so much extra theory since we discussed most of the building blocks, but I will go a bit deeper with everything.
Please note: creative assignments are obligatory, so I strongly advise to join all classes - by far it is the easiest way. Always bring your headphones to thursday's classes.

Homework for tuesday
Next week I plan to start with the subject of Alterations, which is closely related to TriSubs. A song that is really stuffed with alterations is Serenade for Sarah, a great Michel LeGrand song. For reasons of continuity I chopped out some parts in a brutal way - I apologize to the makers. Please transcribe the melody of this song for tuesday januari 11. Later we'll add the harmony to that.

Homework for thursday
Please find the harmony of Bamboleo. The intro has an interesting construction, the verse is piece of cake, and the bridge differs slightly form your expectations! That's enough, but if you need more training with writing rhythms there is a lot of good material in the horns and the arrangement. It's up to you.

Homework for week 01

In the first week we'll do the exams. The eartraining exam will take place in H205, normal class times. Please bring your earphones for this.

Theory on tuesday 4 - consists of a standard whcih you'll have to analyse in scale degrees, scales and melody.
Ear training on thursday 6 - consists of 10 intervals, 10 triads, 10 scales, 10 basic progressions cat. 100-500, and a dictation for melody and harmony.

Good luck with the preparation.

Bart

Homework for week 51

The world is bigger than the II-V-I progression, that's why I found it a good idea to treat the essay Meaningful harmonies on pages 16 and 17. Together with the movies Melodic Progressions and Sliding with II-Vs in Basics > Basic forces > Explanation this should kind

Next week is the final class before the exam, so it is a good idea to ask any remaining questions. Check if you really know which scales belong to diatonic scale degrees in major and minor, and what to do with secondary dominants & II-Vs, modal interchange, diminished chords and tritone substitutions.
Homework for Theory:
• Analyze Easy living on p. 90;
• Analyze Body and soul on p. 101;
• Please finish the melodic analyses of If you knew if you haven't done it, I didn't manage to treat it in this week's class.
Homework for ear training / practicum
• Transcribe the song Takkenheks (melody and harmony - tonic is f) as much as possible without using the piano (only use it for checking). This is similar to the (shorter) song you can expect on the exam: basic functional harmony, audible bass notes, etc. Foreign students: it's a song about a witch, that's why the voice sounds creepy.

Homework for week 49

This week we I've introduced tritone substitutions. Fortunately these are much easier to understand than diminished chords.
Oye was used to practice transcribing fast rhythms by lowering the tempo and doubling the half note pulse. A useful ability!

Homework for Theory:
• Study page 96 for the overview of TriSubs precisely.
• Fill in the scale degree puzzles on p. 99
• Of If You Knew analyze the melody on page 98, analyze the harmony on page 105.
• Analyze Everything happens to me on page 89;

Homework for ear training / practicum
• Go to Sections > Modal Interchange > Ear training and make dictations D506 till 510 plus D601 till D603.
• My main concern is the speed of rhythmic transcriptions of many students, it should go faster.... Please focus/practice accordingly!

Homework for week 48

Dear students,

This week I treated Diminished chords. Relevant items are in the explanation page of the affiliated Section. Diminished chords are tough, because:
• They involve more non-diatonic notes than normal secondary dominants;
• Defining the tone supply from the root of the diminished chord is impractical, due to the 4 possible inversions;
• Non-chord tones always conflict with neighbouring chord tones, so delicate phrasing is required.

Homework for Theory:
• Study the relevant items mentioned above and improvise on the chord progression of Diminished Diversity.
• Fill in page 86, scale degree puzzles with Diminished chords;
• Analyze Here's that rainy day on page 70 (read the notes at the bottom of the page);
• Analyze Desafinado on page 88.

Homework for ear training / practicum
• Transcribe the harmony of the song Oye, a good exercise in functional hearing, especially the bridge is relevant to the recent subjects. Check your work with the piano. Take a fast tempo (quarter = 240). Make a double staff system, because in class we'll also transcribe parts of the horns.

Homework for week 46

Change of plans: the exams will take place on januari 4 and 6.

This week I treated the remaining items of the Modal Interchange section, the Neapolitan6 and bII chord. The relevant explanatory movie is in the explanation page, the summary is on page 63 in your book. Both songs of this Section contain a Neapolitan chord and are worth checking out.

I've used the Theme from the Godfather as an example with a classic Neapolitan chord, used to modulate from major back to the relative minor key. Worth listening to, worth transcribing, and not too difficult.
Louis Prima's Buona Sera is a swinging example with typical Moll-Dur clichees.

Homework for Theory
• Fill in page 66, scale degree puzzles with Modal Interchange, Neapolitan6 and bII
• Analyze All the things you are on page 69. The song modulates quite a few times, in an interesting order.
• Fill in page 13, the notation exercise. Watch the movie about Notation in Basics > Vocabulary once more if you need it . It's also in the Fundamentals on the Theory > Explanation page.

Homework for ear training / practicum
• Work on the things mentioned in the upper box with 'your daily ear training routine'. I've added the 500 series to the Basic Progressions. Focus on your weak spots.
• Go to Sections > Modal Interchange > Ear training en make dictations D501 till D505.
Some people missed a lot of classes. Please note that all practical and creative assignments (phrasing exercise, basslines etc.) are obligatory. The fact that you did it (good or bad) counts. No study points if you don't do them.

Homework for week 45

Dear students,

I have uploaded my version of the melodic analysis of Secondary Thoughts here (6 MB download).
Find the page with keywords of melodic analysis by clicking here. And study it of course...
You can check your dictations in Services > Eartrainer > Tips and tricks.

Relevant items
This week I started with Modal Interchange. Relevant items are in:
Sections > Modal Interchange > Explanation: the first 4 items (Pdfs are on p. 61 and 62)
Or come snow on the song page shows perfectly how one can dive into minor to a greater or lesser extent.

Would be good to finish the corrections of the bad phrasings as we did in the computerroom today.

Homework for Theory:
• Make sure that you understand the essence of MI: how to analyze it properly, plus its scale possibilities.
• Analyze Misty on page 68 (pretty easy).
• Make a transcription of Chet Baker's solo on In your own sweet way, which starts on 1'43". 32 bars please. We will discuss its beautiful melodic structure in class.

Homework for ear training / practicum
Next week we'll do a barometer check: I'll test your level on all possible aspects of ear training and knowledge, quality and speed, so that everyone knows his or her weak spots.

Homework for week 44

Relevant items
This week we went deeper into the subject of phrasing. Sources to study are the essay called Sounding interesting (p. 165/166), the first four items of Basics > Phrasing > Explanation, Bert's solo on Secondary Thoughts, and the essay about Walking bass lines (p.

Homework for Theory:
• Analyze the melody of Secondary thoughts (p. 46 & 47) with your common sense. Look for motives, lines of seconds, double line technique, developments etc. Try to apply these principles in your improvisations as well, so that your audience won't go to the bathroom during your solo.
• Study the solo on Sec. Thoughts with bad phrasings on p33 and find the many phrasing mistakes. Do NOT watch at the movies about this assignment in the VMS, you'll spoil the exercise.

Homework for ear training / practicum
• Write/finish a walking bass line on Secondary thoughts, as we did in the practicum room. External students could use the available Logic or midi file located here. The root of the chord must be played on the first beat where it enters.
• If you are behind on previous assignments, please catch up.
• Go to Sections > Secondary Dominants > Ear training and make Dictations D305 till D309 plus D405 till D407 (melody and harmony please), this time try them in a few other keys too.
ATTENTION: the next thursday class will also be in room H205, please bring your headphones.

Homework for week 43

This week we continued with secondary dominants, and I also treated essentials of melodic analysis and solo building. Relevant items to study:
• If you need it: the explanation & song page in the VMS of the Secondary Dominants Section;
• The essay called Sounding Interesting (p165+166). Bert's solo on Secondary thoughts is a paragon of good phrasing

Homework for Theory
• Page 55: Scale degrees and scales of Ceora. I hope I made it clear that keys can be competing with each other and that you have multiple possibilities, especially on pivot chords. So please do this exercise not only 'mathematically' but also try the different possible tone supplies on the piano. Ceora is also an excellent song to practice Sec. Doms on your instrument.
• Page 54: Scale degree analysis of The Shadow of your smile (follow instructions at the bottom of the page).

Homework for ear training/practicum
• Write 5 phrases in various major keys and 5 in minor on II-V-I progressions, similar to the examples in the Play What You Hear trainer of the Fundamentals (cat. P6), as I showed in class. Singable, with clear and few concepts. Making mistakes is allowed ;-). Scale degrees II and V last 1 bar, I takes two bars.
• Go to Sections > Secondary Dominants > Ear training and make Dictations D301 till D304 plus D401 till D404.
• Add categories 300 and 400 of the Basic Progressions to your routine.

ATTENTION: the next thursday class will be in room H205, please bring your headphones, we'll do computer assignments.

Homework for week 41

You can check your answers to last weeks Dictations in
Services > Eartraining centre > Tips and tricks.
This week I treated the subject of Secondary Dominants.

Relevant items to study:
• Sections > Secondary Dominants > Explanation > all 4 items.
• The essay about Sec. Doms is on pages 43, 44, 45 in your workbook, I did not treat the final page yet, please do this yourself.
• Page 48: Sec. Doms and scales: I don't expect you to learn the overview by heart, but see if you understand its origin by going through the movies in detail.
• Sections > Secondary Dominants > Secondary thoughts (song), only both choruses with melody of alto and trumpet. I'll discuss this movie next week in class too.

Please note: this Section is a fundamental one. Everything we're going to treat later is basically a variation of the same principle: connecting keys based on substitutions, common tones, leading tones, etc. If you study it thoroughly, the rest is easily comprehended.

Homework for theory
• Analyse the chords of Secondary Thoughts (p.46) using the Berklee system, and write down the guidetone lines. It would be good to play the song and the guidetone lines on your instrument as well.
• Fill in page 49: puzzles with scale degrees level 1
• Fill in page 53 (and follow the instructions precisely): On the sunny side of the street

Homework for ear training
• Transcribe melody and chords of Janis Ian's The other side of the sun. Focus on the material from 0'16" till 1'23".
• Go to Services > II-V-I facilities > Play along. Practice singing the guidetone lines, learn to find the bass, scat freely with it, etc. Bridging the modulation is the biggest challenge. Of course you should also play this stuff on your instrument, and ideally (if not surely) your main subject teacher will also work with this fundamental improv

Homework for week 40

This week I treated two subjects related to the principles of voice leading.

Relevant items to study for consolidation:
Workbook p.159: The essay about guidetone lines;
Basics > Basic Forces > Explanation > The I6/4 chord;
Sections > Seq. of Descending Fifths > song page > Autumn Comes

Ideally 3-7 & 7-3 lines are treated in your main subject lessons too when dealing with improv.
Your piano teacher will also let you play them on the piano, most likely embedded in II-V-Is in all 12 keys.

If you don't know chord types, scales and scale degrees belonging to the 12 major and 12 minor keys sufficiently: please pound it in!

Homework for theory
With your knowledge of the Tonic, SubDominant, Dominant and the I6/4 chord you are ready to harmonize the melodies on page 25. Additionally you may try to harmonize the melodies you finished yourself last week. If the melody is good and balanced, harmonization will go by itself. Taking your findings to piano lesson is not a bad idea at all.

Homework for ear training
Go to Sections > Seq. Of Desc. Fifths > Ear training and make

Don't forget to check the upper box with 'your daily eartraining routine', because it was updated!

Homework for week 39

Answers to the pages with Seventh chords (vocabulary) and Modal scales (basic forces), as well as the transcription of Strollin' have been uploaded (paths: see bottom of this mail). The pdf also shows Chet's beautiful solo (worth transcribing too).
Fill in page 27 (modal scales plus ~) if you want to practice more with modal scales. I won't treat it in class (answers are already uploaded).

This week I treated the Basic forces in harmony. Relevent items to study:
Basics > Basic Forces > Explanation > items 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The summary called the Holy trinity with the primary functions is on page 15 in your book.
The overview of all scales and scale degrees in major and minor on p 169/170 is has biblical qualities!

Make sure that you know these terms: pivot chord (Dutch: spil-akkoord), authentic cadence, plagal cadence, tertial substitute (Dutch: tertsverwantschap), sequence of descending fifths ( kwintvalsequens), deceptive cadence (bedrieglijke wending / trugschluss). The glossary (services column) might also be of help.

Homework for theory class
• Memorize the chord types belonging to each scale degree in major AND in minor keys.
• Fill in page 28 (easy) and 29 (tough) about Diatonic scale degrees.
• Finish the melodies on p 19 in a normal, predictable and musical way, following the description of the exercise exactly.

Homework for ear training
Find Frank Sinatra's Fly me to the moon.
Make a double staff system: the top staff is for transcribing the melody, the lower one in bass cleff for the walking bass. See if you can find the chord symbols based on the information from the bass and the melody together. You will find a pretty predictable chord progression. Finish the transcription till 1' 12". If you use a repeat sign you'll have less work. Don't use the piano too much, but of course you can check your lines.
Please note that Frank's timing is a bit vague now and then, simply choose something that comes close. Don't spend too much time on the rhythm, the goal of the exercise is to find the harmony.

Add triads to your 'daily' ear training program (see top box).
There is a movie in the Fundamentals (Theory menu > Explanation) called Harmony that explaines the system and character, a summary is on p 172.

Homework for week 38

Answers to the pages with intervals and transpositions have been uploaded (path: upper box). If you store them in the corresponding folder in the data folder called 'VMS' on your harddisk, the link to the answer page will become active.
The answers to Dictations are somewhat hidden in: Services > Library > Eartraining >Tips and tricks.

This week I treated the vocabulary of chord symbols and modal scales. Master these subjects by watching:
• Basics > Vocabulary > Explanation > 03 Chord symbols
• Basics > Basic Forces > Explanation > 06 Modal Scales. I'll cover the part about use of modal scales in functional music later

Homework for ATV (theory)
• Fill in page 10 (seventh chords)
• Fill in page 26 (modal scales)
• Learn all Dominant seventh chords by heart, following the circle of fifths (C7, F7, Bb7, Eb7 etc.). Ideally you do this on your instrument and in piano lesson too. After taking this first tough step the other chord types will be much easier.

Homework for Ear training (solfège)
• Continue working with intervals.
• Add Scales level 1 (Basics > Basic Forces > Ear training) to your 'daily' ear training program.
• Transcribe the melody (the theme, 32 bars) of Chet Baker's Strollin'. You may use an instrument for this. It is in swing timing, so write 8ths instead of triplets. Listen to Chet's amazing internal drummer!

Note for external students: Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches is a beautiful example of modal music. Try to recognize the modal scale of each block, start by finding the bass note. The band shifts every 4 or 8 bars, you'll easily hear that.

Homework for week 37

We discussed the circle of fifths and intervals. Two relevant movies >Vocabulary > Explanation.

Theory (ATV):
Fill in page 9 (intervals). At the 2nd half of the page: don't forget to construct intervals below the given tone too.
Fill in page 12 (transpositions) in the workbook.
Write down all major and minor scales if you need the overview.
Learn the circle of fifths and the order of appearance of flats and sharps by heart (p. 5 in your workbook). You can refresh your knowledge by watching the first two movies in Basics > Vocabulary > Explanation

Ear training (Solfège practicum)
There is a new movie about sightsinging in Dutch or English, not yet hooked up in the fundamentals.
Additionally work with the Sing What You See trainer in the Fundamentals. Every now and then we will doe this in class too.

Use your new knowledge about sightsinging for making dictations:
Transcribe the melodies of Dictations D103 (key of C), D104 (Bb), D105 (A), D106 (E), D107 (D).
You'll find them in Basics > Basic Forces > Ear training.
Please note: all dictations are in C major or in C minor, but since you are not supposed to use the piano for them you might as well imagine that they are in different keys. Think more in terms of functions instead of distances, that makes it easier!

Work on intervals like the way we did in class. The mp3s in Basics > Vocabulary > Ear training can help you. You'll also find a page there with interval

It is a good idea to find yourself an ear training buddy!
Good luck,
Bart

September 2010 - note to external students

Dear external students,

Before the real homework starts on september 9 I'd like to make a few important remarks. Please study them carefully.

Target group
I write the homework page for my students, referring every now and then to the things discussed in class. This means that you won't always be able to follow exactly what I mean. I will try to keep things as clear as possible, but please accept a certain percentage that you won't be able to pick up. I am not unwilling to respond to e-mails with questions, but don't be disappointed if you don't always get an answer.

Workbook
I refer to pages in the 2009 workbook, which the students of the school have to buy, since it's so much more practical in classroom situations. You have the workbook as a big PDF in the Library (services column). If your VMS-DVD is labeled 2008 there will be small differences in the page numbers since I inserted a few pages in the 2009 version. I expect finding the right page in either the workbook or in the relevant Section never to be a problem.

Piano lessons
The conservatory students have piano lessons - most likely you don't. The piano offers a great overview, and of course you can play chords on it. My own piano skills are pretty limited due to lack of motorical talent, but I recall one exercise as extremely useful: playing II-V-Is in a certain convenient voicing. When I skip through songs this is the technique I use for it, playing basic seventh chords with left, and melody or scales with right.
I have described it in the introduction of Melodies To Harmonize Level 2, Section of Secondary Dominants (exercise page). I strongly advise to invest in this basic skill and simply learn to play II-V-Is in all 12 (can't help it) keys as soon as possible.

Math vs ears
Doing analytical exercises in a way is mathemetical fun, since music is structured so beautifully. However: your musical capabilities will benefit much more from it if you also play the material on an instrument. Knowing which scales to play on a certain type of chord progression is pretty meaningless if you have no idea how it sounds!

Studying the movies
Studying a movie can be done in two ways: lean back and see if you get the general message, or go through it bar by bar, checking if you understand each scale, all remarks, trying out things on the piano, making summaries, etc. This last approach gives the best results.

Student version DVD
The students have the Student Version of the DVD. This DVD has no answers to the written exercises, I offer them as downloads after the having treated the material in class. For you Full Version owners these downloads are not relevant, since the answer links are active.

Mental matters
Finally: the curriculum is for people who want to become professional musicians, and they follow an intensive program requiring a steep time investment. Whenever you feel you loose track, never let this discourage you! It is not a shame if you need more time for certain elements, and even if you would pick up say 30% of the material, that 30% is definitely worth the work. I'm not a psychologist, but I think you'll get the message. Always remember this slogan:
With VMS you can study music at your own pace with a teacher you can rewind!

Enjoy!

Bart