Harmony
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Rick Kress, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"Transcription can easily fall into drafting, but without hearing it, it means practically nothing. So I always integrate hearing and writing, and with the software we use, students can create bits of music, so we can hear them back and make a judgment about how it sounds. What's the melody-harmony relationship? Are the phrases balanced? Are they coherent? Is there a note that sends the phrase in a direction that is never realized? I think the more we do that without students becoming overwhelmed by the prospect, the better."
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Daniel Ian Smith, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"Given all the constructs we have to deliver, it would be easy to walk into class and throw a list up on the board. But I'd rather start with a piece of music and ask, 'What colors do you see? When you hear this section, what does it feel like?' I want to start with that tangible connection and then say, 'Okay, now let's look at the chords, or the relationship between the melody and the harmony.'
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Mike Scott, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"To show my students a practical use for this, I give the example of a singer I occasionally back up on piano at Sunday brunches. She's 50 years old, and at 9:00 a.m. her voice is a whole step lower than it will be an hour later. I have to play all of her tunes a whole step lower. If I didn't have the ability to think in representational terms, instead of literally, it would be very difficult to do."
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Winnie Dahlgren, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"Berklee is such a unique place. You get people from all over the world. And though we come from different backgrounds and different cultures, music is one language. There are different styles, but at heart it's the same. We separate the topics into harmony, ear training, arranging, private lessons, etc., but it's important to understand these are all just parts of the puzzle. It's about learning the rules, and once you do, you understand how you can then go out and break the rules."
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Eric Byers, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"I'm a strong believer in process; you learn by doing. So starting in the first few weeks of my arranging classes, students arrange something every week. I don't really think you can learn much about any art form without actually getting your hands dirty. I want my students to gain the ability to notate, transcribe what they hear, and put down on paper what's in their heads. I don't know if you can really develop an idea unless you have the the skills to articulate what you're hearing inside your head."
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Danny Harrington, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Harmony Department"My teaching style is similar to the way I play my horn: pretty much by the seat of my pants. Just like I know what tune I'm playing, I know what lesson I'm talking about. But in the heat of battle, I have no idea how it's going to manifest itself, because a kid asks a question and the next thing you know (laughs), you're talking about music from The Three Stooges or something."
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