Starting July 18, this 6-week class will give you the music theory tools you need to understand how classical music works. The colloquial term “classical music” covers a broad range of styles from the Romantic, Classical (big “C”) and Baroque eras, along with other more contemporary genres. We will develop and use music theory tools to decode how the composers from these eras made the great (and the not-so-great) music that defined them.
Basic requirements will be:
- To be able to read music (bass and treble clefs are a must; tenor and viola clefs are only for laughing at violists!)
- To have a computer capable of using Zoom for video-conferencing. (This will be an essential tool for score-reading together and analyzing music remotely and in-person)
Participants can submit up to two (2) pieces for potential analysis with the whole class. Depending on the curriculum needs, the instructor will make his best effort to integrate requested pieces into the course plan.
Bio of Instructor
Jason Sherwin, Ph.D. has spent a lifetime composing, playing and studying music. He has also taught music since he was a high schooler. He began teaching classical music to socially disadvantaged children in Chicago in 2000. Since then, he has taught private piano lessons to high-achievement pianists, chamber musicians and worked with singers. He composes and produces music through his recording and production company, Thor Industries, Inc. As a pianist, he produces digital / analog recordings under the name “Binary and Not”. As a DJ and producer, he performs and makes Deep House and Dance tracks under the name “Shredder Thor”. He is a Ph.D./M.S. is in Aerospace Engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology) and he is a B.A. in Physics (Double Major with Music, University of Chicago). He founder in 2014 and has since been CEO of deCervo, a neuroscience technology company specializing in decision making improvement.