| From July 9 - 13, 2007, percussionist Bill Cahn presented a week of daily 3-hour workshops at the Eastman School of Music for participants from throughout the United States. The week culminated with an informal recital performance on July 13 presented for an audience of over 60 high school students in attendance for the Eastman “Music Horizons” course.
Based on his book, “Creative Music Making,” (Routledge, 2005) the workshop was facilitated by Bill Cahn. Playing on various combinations of instruments, (all instrumental types - strings, winds, keyboards, percussion) the workshop participants created free-form improvisational music, with goals of expanding their musicianship and adding to their prior performance experiences. During the week, participants employed a simple and practical, 4-step pedagogy - 1. improvise, 2. make a recording of the improvisation, 3. listen to the playback, and 4. discuss it - enabling each participant, regardless of the particular instrument or technical level to realize the beneficial effects of CREATIVE MUSIC MAKING:
- a deeper knowledge about the expressive possibilities in one’s chosen musical instrument(s)
- improved listening skills
- a more developed sense of musical response in performance
- increased confidence in musical expression and risk-taking |
