A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed.
"Masterclass" is also used in a figurative sense to describe a display of great skill in a context where education was not the primary intention; e.g., "his last few laps were a masterclass in overtaking" (referencing a race around a track). [1]
The difference between a normal class and a master class is typically the setup. In a master class, all the students (and often spectators) watch and listen as the master takes one student at a time. [2] The student (typically intermediate or advanced, depending on the status of the master) usually performs a single piece which they have prepared, and the master will give them advice on how to play it, often including anecdotes about the composer, demonstrations of how to play certain passages, and admonitions of common technical errors. The student is then usually expected to play the piece again, in light of the master's comments, and the student may be asked to play a passage repeatedly to attain perfection. Master classes for musical instruments tend to focus on the finer details of attack, tone, phrasing, and overall shape, and the student is expected to have complete control of more basic elements such as rhythm and pitch. The value of the master class setup is that all students can benefit from the master's comments on each piece.
Many concert performers have given master classes, starting with its inventor Franz Liszt [3] and including such greats as Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Vladimir Horowitz. Often, a touring performer will give a master class the day before, or the day of, their performance in a particular city. Giving a master class before a concert provides both artistic stimulation for the performer and a means of obtaining a larger audience.
Aspiring classical musicians, and their teachers, typically consider master classes to be one of the most effective means of musical development, along with competitions, examinations, and practice.
Some musical theatre composers will also give master classes to college students studying performance.
Some speciality classes may be referred to as 'mini master classes'. These can involve short, faster lessons on a new subject. Students, typically experienced in one discipline, may attend these classes to learn the basics of a new, related discipline.
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In 1884, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, delivered twenty lectures on molecular dynamics and the wave theory of light. [4] In their 1987 book Kelvin's Baltimore Lectures and Modern Theoretical Physics: historical and philosophical perspectives, Robert Kargon and Peter Achinstein write [5] that the sessions, which were held in a small lecture hall, were conducted as "master classes". The tone was conversational and informal; Kelvin made almost no use of notes ... Usually Kelvin lectured from one of these standpoints, then engaged the audience in a discussion of the details, then shifted to another of the standpoints for the second part of the lecture. They explain: [6]
The attendees were expected to have advanced knowledge of physics and mathematics. Among them were British physicists Lord Rayleigh and George Forbes; Professors Kikuchi and Fujioka of Japan; American instructors in physics from eastern and western colleges, including Albert Michelson and Edward Morley; attendees from Canada, Germany, and Russia; and Hopkins faculty and students including Rowland, Thomas Craig, Fabian Franklin, Henry Crew, Gustav Liebig, Joseph Sweetman Ames, and Christine Ladd Franklin.
A record of the twenty classes was made by A. S. Hathaway and circulated afterwards using papyrograph stencil duplication. It is these notes that were reproduced in 1987 for the publication sponsored by Johns Hopkins Center for the History and Philosophy of Science. In fact Hathaway continued to correspond with Kelvin, who supplemented the notes, and the "Lectures" were eventually broadly circulated in 1904. [7]
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. He was the professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, where he undertook significant research and mathematical analysis of electricity, was instrumental in the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and contributed significantly to unifying physics, which was then in its infancy of development as an emerging academic discipline. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1883 and served as its president from 1890 to 1895. In 1892, he became the first scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords.
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history of any type or genre of music ; in practice, these research topics are often categorized as part of ethnomusicology or cultural studies, whether or not they are ethnographically based. The terms "music history" and "historical musicology" usually refer to the history of the notated music of Western elites, sometimes called "art music".
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments.
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way that reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as facial expression and eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.
The Master of Music is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The degree, which takes one or two years of full-time study to complete, prepares students to be professional performers, conductors, and composers, according to their area of specialization. The MM is often required as the minimum teaching credential for university, college, and conservatory instrumental or vocal teaching positions.
A preceptor is a teacher responsible for upholding a precept, meaning a certain law or tradition.
In higher education, a course is a unit of teaching that typically lasts one academic term, is led by one or more instructors, and has a fixed roster of students. A course usually covers an individual subject. Courses generally have a fixed program of sessions every week during the term, called lessons or classes. Students may receive a grade and academic credit after completion of the course. Courses can either be compulsory material or "elective". An elective is usually not a required course, but there are a certain number of non-specific electives that are required for certain majors. The entire collection of courses required to complete an academic degree is called a program of studies.
Relativistic electromagnetism is a physical phenomenon explained in electromagnetic field theory due to Coulomb's law and Lorentz transformations.
A show choir is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often integrated into a narrative story. Show choirs have been popularized by the American television show Glee but have a longer history dating back to glee clubs in London in the 18th century, musical theatre, music in the plays of William Shakespeare and the theatre of ancient Greece.
Edvin Marton is a Ukrainian-born Hungarian composer and violinist. He became known as the violinist of the skaters, mainly because Evgeni Plushenko, Stéphane Lambiel, Yuzuru Hanyu, and other famous skaters often skated to his music.
The role of men in childbirth in the Western world has become more participatory than it was in the past. More Western women want their male partners to give active assistance during pregnancy and childbirth.
August Ferdinand Hermann Kretzschmar was a German musicologist and writer, and is considered a founder of hermeneutics in musical interpretation and study.
György Pauk is a Hungarian violinist, chamber musician and music pedagogue.
Shiur is a lecture on any Torah topic – such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha, Tanakh (Bible) – usually in a yeshiva, although commonly in other settings.
Walter Bache was an English pianist and conductor noted for his championing the music of Franz Liszt and other music of the New German School in England. He studied privately with Liszt in Italy from 1863 to 1865, one of the few students allowed to do so, and continued to attend Liszt's master classes in Weimar, Germany regularly until 1885, even after embarking on a solo career. This period of study was unparalleled by any other student of Liszt and led to a particularly close bond between Bache and Liszt. After initial hesitation on the part of English music critics because he was a Liszt pupil, Bache was publicly embraced for his keyboard prowess, even as parts of his repertoire were questioned.
Although Franz Liszt provided opus numbers for some of his earlier works, they are rarely used today. Instead, his works are usually identified using one of two different cataloging schemes:
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece given to the performer at the audition or shortly before. In some cases, such as with a model or acrobat, the individual may be asked to demonstrate a range of professional skills. Actors may be asked to present a monologue. Singers will perform a song in a popular music context or an aria in a Classical context. A dancer will present a routine in a specific style, such as ballet, tap dance or hip-hop, or show his or her ability to quickly learn a choreographed dance piece.
Arthur Stafford Hathaway was an American mathematician.
A concert program or concert programme is a selection and ordering, or programming, of pieces to be performed at an occasion, or concert. Concert program's can be organized into a booklet. In some occasions the programs might be simpler, and will be put on a piece of paper. Programs may be influenced by the available ensemble of instruments, by performer ability or skill, by theme, by musical concerns, or by allowable time. For example, a brass ensemble may perform an "all brass" program, the pieces of which may be chosen by a theme, such as "all Bach", and the chosen pieces may be ordered so that they build in intensity as the concert progresses. Concert programs may be put together by ensembles, conductors, or ensemble directors, and are often explained in program notes. The structure of modern concert programs can be traced back to the contributions of Felix Mendelssohn while he was director of the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig. Mendelssohn's programming style consists of an overture, a concerto or suite, an intermission, and then a larger work such as a symphony or operatic movement.
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