Good questions, Tara.

I’ve been including transcriptions of jazz and pop tunes, and though we do at times run into the limitations of notation, those just become interesting points of discussion for our students. Then there are simply scoreless listening assignments where students are expected to locate by ear the WT or OCT passage in a certain…[Read more]

I agree with Sara. This looks really interesting. Regrettably. I’ll be attending a workshop at that time.

Oh geez, yes. That’s on me. My apologies. The IG I attend most often is
still working out it’s 2021 activities . . .

(Right, Chris—had meant that the Xenakis celebration could wait for 2022.)

Hi everyone,

long-time listener, first-time ‘caller’ . . .

I like Antares’s ideas about pedagogy, and think that a session on that
would be timely—whether it’s carefully limited to post-1945 or not. So,
I’ll second that.

Maybe Xenakis waits until next year, where he hits that nice, round number?

Thanks, Walt!

Hi Ben,

I’m not quitting the Society for the same reason I’m not quitting society as a whole. This issue of systemic racism is reflected in both societies—it may seem more acute at the SMT level because of the tendency of academics to dress their entrenchments in polished prose and attractive/clever rhetoric, and it may sting more because many o…[Read more]

Thanks, Dustin. This looks good.

And sure, I’d love any V.J. Iyer transcriptions!

A nice idea, Garrett

I’ll spin my wheels on some readings—perhaps some that aren’t specifically within the realm of jazz theory.

To clarify, my original suggestion admittedly open-ended, and inviting more specific ideas) was really more about the African-American experience of players/composers, rather than from the perspective of jazz theory o…[Read more]

Interesting idea, Garrett. Yes, I’m also doubtful that we’ll meet as a society in person this fall. (That’s really too bad, too, as I have some dear friends in St. Paul.)

I have another suggestion, fwiw. It’s not a very specific one, but more of a category within which we could hone something more specific: In the midst of current events and…[Read more]

Sure, thanks Megan.
I have a similar philosophy for constructing comps—but we do not have a DMA
program for jazz. To a considerable extent, I’m just hoping our doctoral
students can make interesting/informed claims and support them with
relatively cogent arguments. My other hope is that the comp leaves the
testee with the sense that there’s a…[Read more]

Feel free to just email me, btw: ksalley@su.edu.

Hi Megan

I also make the grad diagnostics for my school, and have a substantial
background in jazz theory. Am about to attend a webinar, so will be
unavailable for a couple hours, but I might be able to offer help. My first
question would be: what are you diagnosing? That is, what is it that you’re
trying to determine from each student’s…[Read more]

Hi Mark

The first thing that comes to mind is Steve Larson’s article “What Makes a Good Bridge,” from the Dutch Journal of Music Theory (8: 1–15). If memory serves, it explores ‘bridge’ as a metaphor, and uses Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” as an example. Perhaps this isn’t the repertoire you’re really looking for, but it’s worth reading.

Best of luck.