Lessons/Lectures, etc. ->

What do you think of a new forum where experienced and knowledgable musicians give lessons or lectures on certain topics (anything to do with music) from time to time. They organize all of their information into a thought-provoking, inspiring, and informative lecture. There could be a discussion afterward, but the first post of the lecture/lesson should be able to stand on its own and provide a lot of information to the readers.

This could be a new forum altogether or could just be a subforum.

In either case, what are your thoughts?

Yes, as long as I (or anyone else) can do them as podcasts

That's what spawned the idea. There isn't enough chance for people here to really learn anything directly from this site... if there is, there isn't a "direct" way. I think it's a good idea because it gives people a chance to get inside of each others minds and really "explore the musical space from a more historical standpoint."

EDIT: They could be done as podcasts as an alternate method, but it's always good to have the simpler, non-technical text alternative.

A good idea, if you have the resources.

Only a handful of people would be able to produce material sutable for good lectures or lessons. A subpar lecture is a wasted lecture, in all seriousness.

I don't believe it's currently practical. Given time (and an influx of members with strong musical knowledge) then yes.

I'm not talking about a detailed college lecture, just something to get everything thinking and more "in the know" in regards to the musical world. I'm sure there will be a handful of members that will love to help others in this way.. some seem to have time to give lengthy reviews, a little lecture here or there really isn't much more difficult (considering some of the large and very detailed reviews that people have posted) and have a value to everyone.

I'm not talking about a detailed college lecture

Neither am I.

I just don't see a justification yet for a new forum for it. It will be underused and ineffectual as it's currently envisioned.

Podcasts don't need to be downloaded - you stream them right on the internet :innocent:

It will be underused and ineffectual as it's currently envisioned.

It could begin as a subforum with absolutely no harm done whatsoever. Nothing's for certain unless we actually give it a shot. I'm almost certain however that there will be members that wish to contribute--and contributions of any kind are informational and entertaining (effective) to all readers.

it's true..

Just an idea - I think it would be a smarter idea not to include all of these teachings in a separate forum but to stick each teaching on each style in the permanent section (the part where the thread stays at the front of the forums list permanently and above the dividing line - like along with the rulles and everything). So each forum like Orchestral, and Soundtrack, and Piano and what not would all have a teachers guide in the front of it.

I had written a lengthy guide on "things to look for in composing" (aimed principally at "classical" composition), but it just went the way of the dodo and slipped down to page 7 or 8 of the "Advice and techniques" forum.

(for anyone still interested in it)

things to look for while composing

If there had been more interest in it, I could have lengthened it and incorporated the various questions brought up by the discussion.

I think this is a great idea, and I think it's an equally great idea to do it in a separate forum.

Furthermore, I think that the objection that the lectures (though I would call them lessons, rather than lectures) will not be top-quality college-style lectures holds no water. Already as it is, YC contains a good number of incredibly talented and insightful musicians, any of whom could write a quality lesson. It's important to remember that our art here is music -- there is no one right or wrong answer, only degrees of truth and conventions; the forum format facilitates discussion of the finer points of a given topic, which both beginners and seasoned 'experts' can find useful.

Brilliant idea!

This will really "spicen up" the forum :innocent:

Brilliant idea!

This will really "spicen up" the forum :blink:

+1

We could submit the articles anonymously...

then credibility couldn't be questioned... unless members started questioning ALL of the lectures... just an idea.

I just got an idea. A person posts a piece in this special forum and indicates, either in the post name or even a side-forum who they want to give a lesson on it. Then the two will work on the piece for a bit. It will be just like having your own composition teacher, someone who you are comfortable with and someone you can rely on, not just anyone from the site. First, there should be established a list of people who are willing to accept requests for lessons, and this list should be clearly displayed in the forum as well. This is also so someone can either choose a lesson-er who relates to the style of their piece or not.

This would be different from standard critiques and comments in the main forum because it will be interactive, specific, and definitely not simple praise or criticism. It will be constructive and useful and prevalent.

Nick, I think that's a fantastic idea.

What do you mean, Nico?

And Creation Artist, my whole idea meant that the lesson-giver would work solely with the composer, as an interactive, one-on-one sort of thing.

To expand on your idea, Nick, I think first of all members should not have the privelage of creating their own thread in this forum/subforum (whicher we decide it will be). Second of all, the suggestions could be organized in one pinned topic (Suggestions). Each member should have a maximum limit of one standing suggestion at a time. Each post should only read one suggestion for a lesson/article and nothing else. The suggestions should be chosen chronologically (the first suggestion in the thread -> last) by the lesson/article writer. If any writer wishes to reserve a topic for later writing once that suggestion has been reached, he or she may simply PM an administrator or moderator their wish and a note in that post shall indicate the writer that has reserved it. Once a suggestion has been chosen for writing, it'd be best for it to be deleted immediately through the contact of an administrator or moderator. After the opening of a lesson topic, there should be a limit to the amount of discussion that can take place afterward (in length and also of the quality of discussion). Then, I believe the lesson topic should be closed and only available for viewing purposes.

As for the criteria of the lesson itself, I believe there should be some limit to how long it should be as a minimum (possibly five paragraphs of detailed instruction preferrably more and hopefully much more). The lesson should have been thoroughly researched, therefore suggesting a works cited page. Although this isn't a term paper, it should be written somewhat like one to make the readers feel more comfortable with the accuracy of the information. (The lesson should be in the writer's own words and plagiarism on a large scale is obviously strictly forbidden.) There doesn't have to be a cited section at the end, but it should be a must that the writer will include a resource section for further reading of at least three strong websites/articles (preferrable five or more).

As for the choosing of the suggestions, I believe it's best to move in chronology simply because of organization and the fact that it's not that big of a deal considering the option of reservation. It's also much more fair, therefore I think it's obvious that the benefits of choice in this way are much greater than the cons.

I don't think each article should be a collaborative effort.. well it could, but it shouldn't be the preferrable method. Individual writing doesn't confuse opinion and I believe is much easier to do considering the time it takes to edit the article as a team. Would a collaborative work produce much better results? Probably not. I believe one person has all the resources they need to produce a quality work.

Quality and quantity go hand in hand when it comes to articles or "lessons." Quality is accuracy and means a work is well thought out, but doesn't necessarily imply depth. Quantity allows for the harmony of not only thought, but depth. Think of quality like harmony and quantity as melody. Quality gives quantity its structure, but without quantity, quality has no place. So in light of this, I think both should be stressed equally and also greatly. Will it scare off writers? I doubt it. Intellectuals (which make up a great portion of this site) for the most part like to talk, write, and share their opinions. In fact, I'm glad if it scares off writers, because the writers that all of these things put together would scare off are no writers indeed.

Edit:

In regard to your recent comments, Nick:

We're a community, so naturally I agree with the Lesson->Q&A method. Don't underestimate the Q&A; it could get pretty involved. I feel this organization of things is most user-friendly, attractive, and effective based on my ^^ previous ^^ support ^^. I also always tend to feel that a continual expansion on one feature can always win against the method containing more features, but with lack of expansion. This has no specific relevance to what is said here, but it applies in general to what we ultimately want out of this idea. Would you want an article, with resources, possible attachments, very informative, and suggestions for further reading with an intimate Q&A session, or the type of lesson you describe and also the article feature? Merging the two while keeping the substance, keeping this the only feature of the forum, will in essence enhance the quality of the overall view of the feature itself. It's saying, "Through careful organization, you can have everything--it's all in one place, it's all there, and it's all for you."

I think this is getting way over-thunken. Simplicity is golden here. I think the following system is as detailed as we'll need for an idea like this.

1) Create a new board and select moderators who will act as "screeners" for new lessons.

2) Sticky a "requests" thread in the new board. Writers then have the option of picking topics from this thread, or simply giving a lesson on the topic of their choosing.

3) Writers create the lessons and submit them as new threads.

4) The board should have activated the option that requires all new threads to be moderator-approved. The moderators (screeners) screen each new lesson for accuracy, and allow it to be posted.

The end. I don't like this whole discussion of length of a lesson. Some lessons might take several pages to fully delineate (e.g., "What Makes A Good Harmonic Progression) whereas some could be given in a few paragraphs (e.g., "Techniques for Good Voice-Leading in Four-Part Diatonic Progressions"). Length, then, is a function of the topic at hand, which varies from lesson to lesson.

I say we all quit quibbling and try it out.

I thought the focus would be on a one-on-one mentor-student type thing, not a sort of cover-all lesson on a subject. The 'lessons' would be more like something like when I bring scores of things im working on to my composition teacher. That's what I was proposing. And it should, therefore, be the composer's choice of 'teacher'.

Oh.

Well, that's different from a lecture.

In that case, maybe we have two different ideas going on here.

But Nick, isn't what you're describing already easily doable by contacting another member through something like AIM?

I think this is getting way over-thunken. Simplicity is golden here. I think the following system is as detailed as we'll need for an idea like this.

1) Create a new board and select moderators who will act as "screeners" for new lessons.

2) Sticky a "requests" thread in the new board. Writers then have the option of picking topics from this thread, or simply giving a lesson on the topic of their choosing.

3) Writers create the lessons and submit them as new threads.

4) The board should have activated the option that requires all new threads to be moderator-approved. The moderators (screeners) screen each new lesson for accuracy, and allow it to be posted.

The end. I don't like this whole discussion of length of a lesson. Some lessons might take several pages to fully delineate (e.g., "What Makes A Good Harmonic Progression) whereas some could be given in a few paragraphs (e.g., "Techniques for Good Voice-Leading in Four-Part Diatonic Progressions"). Length, then, is a function of the topic at hand, which varies from lesson to lesson.

I say we all quit quibbling and try it out.

Damn right

Please read my suggestion. I think it's the best way to go about this.

would it be possible to maybe utilise the wiki we have on here? we could have seperate sections for profiles and articles, there are already a few threads on here (like J Lees Fugue one and both of QCs that are stickied in advice and techniques) that could be wikified which would free up the amount of stickies in some of the forums.

Thoughts?