Counterclassical Treatise for Youth Ensembles

About the Education Module: This module provides an introduction and invites student musicians to explore the art of improvisation through Kebra-Seyoun Charles’ Counterclassical Treatise.Using familiar traditional forms of embellishment as an introduction, such as trills and mordants, students are guided from adding simple ornamentation to an existing melody, to expanding those ornaments into short original phrases, to improvising freely within the context of the piece. Students will explore how their individual sense of ornamentation (or “style”) is connected to their personal history and identity and they will explore how artists from a variety of genres express their history and identity in the ways that they add ornamentation to their own music. This module encourages students to go beyond technical execution, fostering a deeper connection to the music by allowing their creativity to shape the piece in real-time while bringing their own personal styles and ideas into the room.

‍What students walk away with:

      • Improvisation skills developed through ornamentation and variation
     • The ability to expand traditional technique into original phrases
     • Comfort making stylistic choices that reflect personal identity
     • Experience experimenting with cross-genre expressive traditions
     • Confidence taking creative risks within structured music
     • Ownership over interpretation and musical voice

‍

‍

For purchase and module use email jess@americancomposers.org