Teaching
I teach composition, music technology, and music fundamentals at Carleton College. I direct the composition program at the Sō Percussion Summer Institute. I am constantly teaching myself, too; currently it's the usual obsession with independence (playing drums and keys and singing, all together (ideally)), ii-Vs in all the keys, and partimenti.
I taught a Writing Seminar in the Princeton Writing Program from Fall 2010 until Spring 2015. It's went through many iterations/revisions. The most recent was:
Found Sound
An avant-garde composer loops, shifts, and multiplies a single spoken phrase out of intelligibility. A hip-hop producer builds an entire album from sampled sound. A practitioner of musique concrète arranges environmental sound—passing train cars, reverberant steps in a hallway, a man singing to himself—into a symphony. How does music made of “sound objects” rather than musical syntax transform our listening, and in what ways must we modulate our expectations when we encounter sampled, collaged, or collected sounds? To what extent does the increasing prevalence of works made of found sound signal a change in listening practices generally? We’ll begin by making original inquiries into minimalist pioneer Steve Reich’s Come Out, discovering how this piece can surprise us despite its transparent compositional process. We’ll then extend scholarly work on sampling through analysis of hip-hop producer and auteur J Dilla’s Donuts. Original research into musical works of our own choosing will then drive an essay situating them in broader social and historical context; possible topics include DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing, Schaeffer and Henry’s Symphonie pour un homme seul, and John Oswald’s Plunderphonics. We’ll close by making original works out of found sound and providing listening context in prose liner notes.
Found Sound
An avant-garde composer loops, shifts, and multiplies a single spoken phrase out of intelligibility. A hip-hop producer builds an entire album from sampled sound. A practitioner of musique concrète arranges environmental sound—passing train cars, reverberant steps in a hallway, a man singing to himself—into a symphony. How does music made of “sound objects” rather than musical syntax transform our listening, and in what ways must we modulate our expectations when we encounter sampled, collaged, or collected sounds? To what extent does the increasing prevalence of works made of found sound signal a change in listening practices generally? We’ll begin by making original inquiries into minimalist pioneer Steve Reich’s Come Out, discovering how this piece can surprise us despite its transparent compositional process. We’ll then extend scholarly work on sampling through analysis of hip-hop producer and auteur J Dilla’s Donuts. Original research into musical works of our own choosing will then drive an essay situating them in broader social and historical context; possible topics include DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing, Schaeffer and Henry’s Symphonie pour un homme seul, and John Oswald’s Plunderphonics. We’ll close by making original works out of found sound and providing listening context in prose liner notes.
I was also an Assistant in Instruction for many courses in the Princeton University Department of Music while a doctoral fellow in the composition program. These included:
Music 104: When Music is Made with Paul Lansky
Music 105-106: Music Theory Through Performance and Composition with Dmitri Tymoczko
Music 205: Species Counterpoint with Dan Trueman
Music 206: Tonal Syntax with Dan Trueman
Music 265: Rock, R&B, and Hip-Hop with Rob Wegman/Stephen Arthur Allen
Music 104: When Music is Made with Paul Lansky
Music 105-106: Music Theory Through Performance and Composition with Dmitri Tymoczko
Music 205: Species Counterpoint with Dan Trueman
Music 206: Tonal Syntax with Dan Trueman
Music 265: Rock, R&B, and Hip-Hop with Rob Wegman/Stephen Arthur Allen
A long time ago, as an undergraduate at Williams College I was a teaching assistant in a few courses in the Department of Music:
20th Century Music Theory with Karl Korte (I ran the ear training and musicianship building components)
Revolutions in the History of Popular Music with W. Anthony Sheppard
20th Century Music Theory with Karl Korte (I ran the ear training and musicianship building components)
Revolutions in the History of Popular Music with W. Anthony Sheppard