WIT Music degree staff and students explain how online delivery has opened up new ways of performance and new skills, and the opportunity to collaborate
While facing into another semester of remote learning was not something anybody was looking forward to, students of the BA (Hons) Music programme had added concerns due to the practical nature of the discipline.
Programme leader Dr Hazel Farrell said: “Final year performance students were particularly worried about how they would compensate for the lack of a live audience in their exams and also the restrictions around playing with other musicians.”
Ensemble, online
Jazz guitar lecturer Dylan Bible decided to address these problems head on and taught himself how to use two music software packages – acapella and iMovie. He put his new skills into practice with his students and re-opened the door to ensemble playing.
Year 4 jazz guitar student Adam Cullen Stafford said: “Since we've gone online it's actually opened up new ways for performance. As a result of what I've learned, I can now contact musicians who would otherwise be out of reach and collaborate with them on performance projects. I can then take these videos and use them for my own online promotion.”
“I found the process easier that the first lockdown. It’s also great to perform with Adam and have a nice end product that he can use for his career development. It should act as a valuable reflective source in the future,” Bible concludes.
Performance project
This is an example of one of the performance projects featuring Dylan Bible and Adam Cullen Stafford. It’s their version of ‘Giant Steps’ by John Coltrane.
Link: https://youtu.be/ZbR2ChBJs78
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