Monday-Friday daily routine
The course is designed to offer as much playing opportunity as possible, but is also flexible enough for you to make it as intense or as relaxed as you wish.
From Monday to Friday we keep the following routine...
08:00-9:30am Breakfast available
9:00-9:20am on Monday there will be a welcome meeting for everyone in the SU bar. From Tuesday to Friday we start each day with our group warm up session (in studio one), which is a good chance for everyone to get together for some gentle exercise/relaxation/yoga-type activities to start the day.
9:30-12:30 Small band rehearsals. These form the core of our course and are organised by us. When you apply for a place on the course you will be asked to fill in a "self assessment" form, giving a general indication of your experience level. We use this information to group participants together and form small band combos, typically an 8-piece band. Each band will be assigned a tutor who will teach the group every morning throughout the week. The singers will have their own group for the morning sessions with their own rhythm section and vocal teacher. Our tutors are not only some of the finest jazz musicians in the country but are also hand picked for their teaching skills and experience.
​
12:30-2:00pm Lunch available
​
2:00-4:00pm Workshops, masterclasses and choir rehearsals. These are sessions where our tutors offer workshops and masterclasses on a particular subject or aspect of playing. In the past these have included things like: rhythm section playing, constructing bass lines, improvising using the melody, vocal technique for instrumentalists, lyric writing, samba drumming, free improvising, early jazz, etc. On two of these afternoons we run a choir which we encourage all students to attend. A song is learned and then performed in the jazz club with an all-star tutor band and is one of the highlights of the week.
​
4:00-6:00pm Free Time for practice, rehearsing and jamming.
​
6:00-7:30pm Dinner available
​
6:30-8:00pm Jam Session in the Jazz Club.
​
8:00-11:00pm Jazz Club. This is a chance for your small bands to perform the pieces they have been working on in the morning sessions. Also the tutors and assistant tutors will perform for the students.
​