Workshop | Dancing About Architecture: Music Appreciation Writing & Zine-Making

This program happens over a long weekend, beginning on Thursday, August 13th and ending on Sunday, August 16th.  Class runs Friday morning through Saturday morning, with additional programming on Thursday and Sunday.

It’s been said that “writing about music is like dancing about architecture” – a pointless and impossible enterprise. Aside from the fact that dancing about architecture would be awesome, this just isn’t true: the best writing about music illuminates it from within, rising to the level of a parallel artistic endeavor itself. 

This class will introduce the basics of what is broadly known as “music criticism” to people who love music and want to delve more deeply into writing about it, not simply from a “professional” perspective but one that is based in a love of and attention to music, and writing about it as a creative, personal, even spiritual pursuit.

The course will include both reading and writing about music, and will culminate in a zine-style publication co-created by participants.

What creative modalities are used in this course?

Reading, writing & multi-media 

What will class time be like?

Class time will be a mixture of lecture, discussions, freewriting, and independent work. 

Will I need to work outside of class?

Some work outside of class will be needed to write.

Do I need experience to take this class?

No experience other than enjoying music is required.

What do I need to bring to class?

A personal notebook and pen/pencil is a must for writing; a laptop or other device is also a good idea and probably a necessity, since we will be working on a collaborative Google doc; a device for listening to music is a good idea, especially with headphones.