Online Classes

FALL 2024

ONLINE CLASSES

My brand new FALL 2024 online Zoom course is here!  No homework… just two hours a week of dedicated fun study.

Orchestral Score Study: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel.  An in-depth look at this timeless musical masterpiece!  This exciting 10 week course will guide you step by step through the study of both the original piano score by Mussorgsky as well as Ravel’s brilliant orchestration.  Together, with the help of my own unique harmonic reductions and structure charts, we will begin to  unlock the mysteries of form and structure, harmony, and orchestrational techniques. 

ENROLLMENT OPTIONS

1) Attend the classes live each week on Zoom

2) Watch the recorded classes later at your own pace

3) Any combination of the two!

REGISTER as soon as possible to reserve a space by clicking the button below.

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ORCHESTRAL SCORE STUDIES

Pictures at an Exhibition 

Modest Mussorgsky / Maurice Ravel

SUNDAY MORNINGS
10am-12pm PACIFIC (September 29 to December 1)

 Attend classes live each week on Zoom OR watch the recorded classes later at your own pace…. whichever fits your schedule!

Topics covered: * The basic fundamentals: How to approach an orchestral score * Form and Structure Charts * Harmony and Key Relations * Motivic/Thematic Development * Counterpoint * Orchestration * Rhythmic Usages * Registral Concerns * Historical context * Harmonic Reductions provided *

Fee: $450.00 USD (10 sessions)

Contact Steve to Register

Other Courses offered Throughout the Year

These series of courses are designed to introduce students to the importance of orchestral score study and offers clear techniques to help guide you. All courses come with my own analysis of form and structure, harmonic reductions, and notes on orchestrational practices.

Topics covered in each course include: How to approach an orchestral score for study, Form and Structure, Harmony and Key Relations, Motivic/Thematic Development, Counterpoint, Orchestration/Texture/Spacing, Rhythmic Usages.

Contact Steve to for more Info

Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring:
A Complete Study

A ten week course covering Stravinsky’s 1913 masterpiece.  A complete study that covers form and structure, orchestration, and harmony.

A TRIP TO FRANCE! – Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Debussy’s “La Mer”

A ten week course covering two orchestral masterpieces of the early 20th century, both centered in France.

TURN OF THE CENTURY MASTERS – THE MUSIC OF RAVEL AND STRAVINSKY

A ten-week course covering the music of Maurice Ravel’s masterpiece Mother Goose Suite and Igor Stravinsky’s Fireworks.

PROKOFIEV’S PETER AND THE WOLF

A ten-week course covering the music of Serge Prokofiev’s masterpiece Peter and the Wolf and and selections from his ballet Romeo and Juliet.

GUSTAV HOLST’S THE PLANETS

A ten-week course covering the music of Gustav Holst’s masterpiece The Planets. We take a close look at five of the seven movements: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn.

MASTERS OF FILM MUSIC—THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS AND BERNARD HERRMANN

A ten-week course covering selections from John Williams scores to Star Wars and Harry Potter. Also included are selections from Bernard Herrmann’s phenomenal scores to Vertigo and Psycho.

MASTERS THROUGH THE CENTURIES

A ten-week course that covers music spanning from the 18th to 20th centuries. Composers studied include:

  • Bach Air on the G String
  • Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (Movt 3)
  • Tchaikovsky “Overture” to the Nutcracker Suite
  • Rachmaninoff Vocalise
  • Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 (Movt 3)
  • Stravinsky The Rite of Spring (Dance of the Earth)

LOVE AND NATURE

A look at the scores of Tchaikovsky and Copland…two masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire.

CHROMATIC HARMONY OF THE ROMANTIC COMPOSERS

A look at many of the important harmonic techniques used throughout the 19th century…a must for all composers and music enthusiasts!

MASTERS OF HARMONY AND MODULATION

A journey through time revealing the beauty and creativity of harmonic practices by some of the greatest composers of the last two hundred years.

MUSIC THEORY

CHROMATIC HARMONY of the Romantic Composers

A ten-week course covering the chromatic techniques of composers such as Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Ravel, Gershwin, and more!

Topics covered include: Chromatic Non-Chord Tones, Modal Borrowing, Dominant 9th Chords, Neapolitan Chords, Augmented Sixth Chords (Italian, German, French), Secondary Augmented Sixth Chords (Tritone Substitution), Modulatory Sequencing, Chromatic Sliding Chords, Chromatic Modulation to Far Reaching Keys.

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AURAL SKILLS 101

A ten-week course designed to offer a strong foundation in techniques of ear-training. The methods I use are mostly my own, developed after years of teaching. Whether you are new to ear-training or looking to strengthen your skills, this course will help provide you with a solid foundation and means to practice on your own. The goal is to develop the ability to “hear what you see, and see what you hear”.

Topics covered include: Basics and importance of Sol Fegge, Sight Singing, Hearing Intervals, Chord Qualities, Hearing Chord Inversions, Recognizing Meters and Rhythmic Patterns, plus… “Be Your Own Mozart”…a special technique I created to help you practice on your own and excel.

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