Film Music Exploration (Flex for Ages 13-18)

This 9-week course will focus on all things film music! We will learn important terminology in regards to the film music world, explore the history of sound and music in movies, discuss sound effects, listen to the most famous film scores, learn more about famous film music composers, and even talk about the people who record music for movies! The weekly schedule is as follows: 

Week 1: The Purpose of Film Music; Terminology 
Week 2: Silent Movies; A Short History of Sound and Music in Movies
Week 3: Sound Effects 
Week 4: Musical Mood; Using Music to Tell a Story
Week 5:  Award Shows; Famous Film Scores
Week 6: Hans Zimmer
Week 7: Danny Elfman
Week 8: John Williams
Week 9: Life of a Studio Musician; Recording Music for Movies

I will provide a video lecture outlining the weekly topic no later than Monday at 5pm. A YouTube playlist will also be posted in the classroom for additional listening activities. A handout will be provided which summarizes the content of the video lecture and contains critical thinking questions.  Learners should answer these questions after watching the video lectures and listening to the music provided and post their responses to the classroom no later than Friday at 5pm.

I will check into the classroom on Wednesday and offer a Q&A session for any learners who need additional help or have extra questions. I encourage students to interact with each other and myself and will help facilitate classroom discussions relevant to the course. These additional (and optional!) conversation posts will be posted throughout the week. 

Learners do not need to be musicians to enjoy and succeed in this class! They only need a desire to learn and an interest in film music. 

This is a flexible schedule course, which means there are NO LIVE CLASSES. I will post materials on a weekly schedule and learners will be responsible for watching lecture videos, listening to music playlists, and posting to the classroom as they take the class. I encourage my students to get to know each other through the online classroom and welcome any questions and comments about the material at any time! For more information on flex classes in my classroom, please watch this video: https://youtu.be/iFdL2cYWiDs