Rick McLaughlin » Teaching

NEC Jazz Department (Prep/SCE 2009) – take 3

Rick McLaughlin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:11:15 +0000

I recently posted an outline of the NEC jazz department’s 2009 school year. Today, I updated it to reflect that it is now preferable to fill out the audition form via Excel, then to save a copy and email it do david.zoffer@necmusic.edu. The forms are available here:

If you don’t have Excel, a PDF version is available (Prep is here; SCE is here). Please fill it out and return it either by scanning and emailing, or via fax at 617-585-1135.

Best, R.

NEC Jazz Department (Prep/SCE 2009) – take 2

Rick McLaughlin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:52:48 +0000

I recently posted information on the upcoming school year for everyone interested in studying jazz at New England Conservatory of Music. I updated that post today to include additional audition times, which are:

Saturday, September 12, 9AM-5PM
Sunday, September 13, 12-5PM; additional evening times available
Monday, September 14, 4-6:30PM; additional evening times available

Looking forward to hearing you!

Best, R.

NEC Jazz Department (Prep/SCE 2009)

Rick McLaughlin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:41:54 +0000

Interested in studying jazz at New England Conservatory? Already a student, but wondering about auditions, registration and the upcoming schedule of events (”When do classes start?” “When do ensembles start?” “Lessons?”)? This post should answer most of your questions, although it is important to note that this post is not intended to replace what is available on NEC’s website in any way – in fact, the NEC site is the default place to look. You should consider this merely ancillary to what is available through NEC.

Overview

The information you need, along with the forms you download vary slightly depending upon which program you enter. The Preparatory (or Prep) school is designed for 8-18 year-olds, and the School of Continuing Education (or SCE) is for anyone older than 18 years of age (although it is true that in some cases, SCE and Prep students mix).

Preparatory School

Some of the following information, along with a large amount of additional information is available at NEC’s Preparatory School website. To get started, please download these documents:

Information packet (52KB) – this document will answer most questions you may have about the program, classes, schedule of events in coming weeks (auditions, when classes start, etc.), registration, etc.
Audition form/schedule (10KB) – Should you, or should you not, audition? See below. Please fill out the form (Excel – type right into it) and return it via email to david.zoffer@necmusic.edu. If you do not have Excel, a PDF version is available here. Please scan in and email your completed form, fax it to 617-585-1135, or bring it to the audition. It is crucial that a completed form is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/15, in order to begin scheduling classes.

Also, if you are interested in taking Jazz Theory and/or Jazz Stylistic Analysis, please download the theory quiz (2.3MB). As with the audition form, please be sure that a copy of your completed quiz is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/15.

To schedule an audition, please call the Preparatory School at 617 -585-1130. Auditions will take place:

Saturday, September 12, 9AM-5PM
Sunday, September 13, 12-5PM; additional evening times available
Monday, September 14, 4-6:30PM; additional evening times available

To register, please refer to NEC’s registration pages.

School of Continuing Education

To start, please download these documents:

Information packet (52KB) – this document will answer most questions you may have about the program, classes, schedule of events in coming weeks (auditions, when classes start, etc.), registration, etc.)
Audition form/schedule (9KB) – Should you, or should you not, audition? See below. Please fill out the form (Excel – type right into it) and return it via email to david.zoffer@necmusic.edu. If you do not have Excel, a PDF version is available here. Please scan in and email your completed form, fax it to 617-585-1135, or bring it to the audition. It is crucial that a completed form is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/15, in order to begin scheduling classes.Please bring a completed form to auditions. If you are not auditioning, please scan and email a copy to david.zoffer@necmusic.edu or fax your form to the Preparatory office at NEC. The number is 617-585-1135. It is crucial that a completed form is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/15, in order to begin scheduling classes.

Also, if you are interested in taking Jazz Theory, Jazz Composition and Analysis, or Jazz Arranging, please download the theory quiz (668KB). As with the audition form, please be sure that a copy of your completed quiz is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/15.

To schedule an audition, please call the School of Continuing Education at 617 -585-1130. Auditions will take place:

Saturday, September 12, 9AM-5PM
Sunday, September 13, 12-5PM; additional evening times available
Monday, September 14, 4-6:30PM; additional evening times available

To register, please refer to NEC’s registration pages.

Auditions

Posted above are instructions for auditions: how to schedule one (call NEC at 617-585-1130), when they are, and which form(s) to bring. In the Information packet is a section on auditions that highlights other aspects of the audition. But one might wonder whether or not an audition is necessary. The answer depends on a few factors:

Are you new to the program? Or have you been away from the program for a year or two? Yes, you should audition.
Are you a continuing student who has evolved tremendously over the summer? Yes, you should audition.
Switching instruments? Yes, please audition.
Do you have questions that were not answered by the information packet? Would you like to spend some time talking with the Department Chair about the program? The best way to approach this is to schedule an audition.

Lastly, important dates. You can view the academic calendar for the entire Preparatory/Continuing Ed school here. Insofar as the jazz department is concerned, the following dates are important to note:

Sept. 18 – a NEC faculty/staff member will contact students with their schedule for jazz classes (only) starting Sept. 19.
Sept. 19 – jazz classes begin
Sept. 25 – a NEC faculty/staff member will contact students with their schedule for jazz ensembles & lessons starting Sept. 26.
Sept. 26 – jazz ensembles and lessons begin
May 29, 2010 – jazz evaluations

Looking forward to hearing you.

Best, R.

Very, Very Important Fundraiser

Rick McLaughlin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:50:07 +0000

As you know, I teach at New England Conservatory. One of our students was mugged recently – he was beaten up and his baritone saxophone was stolen. Kelly Roberg, a friend and colleague at NEC, has organized a fundraiser that will (one hopes) help our student acquire a new instrument. If you are in the Boston area, please attend this event. The music will be absolutely incredible, and this is clearly a worthy cause – the young man who was the victim is a great kid, and quite a talented musician. If you aren’t in the Boston area, please consider contacting Kelly to find out how to help. The details:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

8TH GRADER MUGGED AND BEATEN, HIS BARITONE SAXOPHONE STOLEN. FUNDRAISER CONCERT PLANNED TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT.

An 8th grade baritone saxophone student of mine at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School was on his way to spend the night with his big brother in Dorchester, who would then accompany him the next morning to his audition at Boston Arts Academy. Getting off at the wrong stop, he was mugged, beat up pretty bad (severe concussion, stitches on his lip), it happened while he was on his cell phone calling his brother to say he was lost (at Dudley station in Roxbury!). My student’s bari sax was stolen, and he probably lost consciousness, although nobody knows for sure because he can’t remember a thing about it.

After a night at Boston Medical Center, he is back home, recovering and has secured a new audition date in early March for Boston Arts Academy. He desperately wants to attend BCA next year and his admission heavily weighs on his audition. Without a saxophone to play, I am organizing a fundraiser concert to raise funds for a new instrument. (if the stolen one is unable to be recovered by police)

Please help me spread the word about this important fundraiser concert! Any coverage of this performance in your publication would be greatly appreciated – don’t hesitate to contact me with any requests for jpegs, interviews or guest spots to the performance.

CONCERT DETAILS:
March 15th 2pm
Quartet of Happiness and Jim Hobbs and the Hobbettes
LilyPad,
Inman Square
1353 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA
$10 admission (100% proceeds towards a replacement baritone saxophone)

Quartet of Happiness takes modern jazz and infuses it with a hefty dose of cheekiness and irreverent humor, wrapping it all up in the sort of theatrics reminiscent of Blue Man Group. The group has made it its mission to take jazz out of the ivory tower and make it accessible to a wide-ranging audience.
www.quartetofhappiness.com

Jim Hobbs and the Hobbettes are Jim Hobbs on alto sax, Joe Morris on guitar, Jacob William on bass and Laurence Cook on drums. Members of this band also perform with Thurston Moore’s Avantnoise Band, Fully Celebrated Orchestra, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Joe and Mat Maneri, Rob Brown, Raphe Malik, Ivo Pearlman, Borah Bergman, Andrea Parkins, Whit Dickey, Ken Vandermark, DKV Trio and others.
http://celebratefully.squarespace.com/home

Press contact: Kelly Roberge, 617-775-3235, kelly_roberge@yahoo.com

NEC Jazz Department (Prep & SCE)

Rick McLaughlin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:09:52 +0000

Interested in studying jazz at New England Conservatory? Already a student, but wondering about auditions, registration and the upcoming schedule of events (“When do classes start?” “When do ensembles start?” “Lessons?”)? As you probably know, I’m on the faculty at NEC, in the School of Preparatory and Continuing Education. I work for David Zoffer, Chair of the Jazz Department. After talking with Dave about various answers to the above questions plus a few others, we decided that it might be helpful to post some information here, along with a few forms. This post is not intended to replace what is available on NEC’s website in any way – the NEC site is the default place to look. You should consider this merely ancillary to what is available through NEC.

Overview

Preparatory School

To start, please download these documents:

Information packet (88KB) – this document will answer most questions you may have about the program, classes, schedule of events in coming weeks (auditions, when classes start, etc.), registration, etc.
Audition form/schedule (10KB) – Should you, or should you not, audition? See below. Please bring a completed form to auditions. If you are not auditioning, please scan and email a copy to dzoffer@newenglandconservatory.edu or fax your form to the Preparatory office at NEC. The number is 617-585-1135. It is crucial that a completed form is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/8, in order to begin scheduling classes.

To schedule an audition, please call the Preparatory School at 617 -585-1130. Auditions will take place on Sat., Sept 6th, from 9AM until 5:00PM. If you are not able to be present at the Sat., Sept. 6th audition, there are a limited number of slots available on Sun, Sept. 7th starting at 12PM, and Mon., Sept. 8th starting at 4PM. If it is not possible to meet at NEC on Sep. 8th-Sept. 10th, then please leave a message for Jazz department chair David Zoffer at 617-585-1100 ext. 5709.

To register, please defer to NEC’s site, where registration forms can be downloaded.

School of Continuing Education

To start, please download these documents:

Information packet (87KB) – this document will answer most questions you may have about the program, classes, schedule of events in coming weeks (auditions, when classes start, etc.), registration, etc.)
Audition form/schedule (9KB) – Should you, or should you not, audition? See below. Please bring a completed form to auditions. If you are not auditioning, please scan and email a copy to dzoffer@newenglandconservatory.edu or fax your form to the Preparatory office at NEC. The number is 617-585-1135. It is crucial that a completed form is in David Zoffer’s possession by 9/8, in order to begin scheduling classes.

To register, please defer to NEC’s site, where registration forms can be downloaded.

Auditions

Are you new to the program? Or have you been away from the program for a year or two? Yes, you should audition.
Are you a continuing student who has evolved tremendously over the summer? Yes, you should audition.
Switching instruments? Yes, please audition.
Do you have questions that were not answered by the information packet? Would you like to spend some time talking with the Department Chair about the program? The best way to approach this is to schedule an audition.

Looking forward to hearing you.

Best, R.

Teaching

Rick McLaughlin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:29:30 +0000

I am slowly, but surely, crafting some thoughts on teaching to be posted here. There is a new page (look at the top of this page) entitled Teaching, and in the coming weeks I’m hoping to get some reviews posted of key materials I use in helping guide aspiring musicians. Specifically, I’m a fan of the following books, although I should mention that there are tons of other incredible books available. These are just the books that I use all the time:

Bass Playing

Ron Carter: Building Jazz Bass Lines (Hal Leonard)
Simandl: New Method for Double Bass (Carl Fisher)
Charlie Parker: Omnibook (Alfred Publishing)
Todd Coolman: The Bass Tradition (Aebersold)
John Goldsby: Jazz Bowing Techniques for the Improvising Bassist (Aebersold)

Jazz Improvisation

Jerry Bergonzi: Inside Improvisation (Advance Publishing) – N.B., I think that Vol. 6 is the best book out there on jazz improvisation
Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book (Sher Music)
Andy Jaffe: Jazz Harmony (Advance Music)

Best, R.