Hirschmann Masterclass Tour
SJMW
Hirschmann masterclass 2024: Civil Music Movement
For organisational reasons, only the unfavourable week at the beginning of August was possible for the masterclass to take place. Due to fewer registrations, a reduced but no less intensive and exciting masterclass for 4 talented musicians and prize winners of the SJMW 2024 Foundation took place from 1 - 3 August in Zurich at Exil.
Composer Nik Bärtsch
‘In my opinion, the extended three-day masterclass was very worthwhile for the participants,’ said Nik Bärtsch, the composer. He himself also had a lot of fun and found the musicians very interested, curious, committed and competent. They were able to work at a very good level the whole time and look at various aspects of his music and music-making itself.
Daily programme
The day began at 10.00 a.m. with a 30-minute physical warm-up. Then they did rhythm exercises with shakers and clapping/walking. This made it possible to experience and train the relationships between subdivision, pulse and pattern. Finally, they worked musically on Nik Bärtsch's pieces, and all participants were able to play their own piece individually during the masterclass. Everyone then gave feedback and Nik Bärtsch worked with the participants on specific aspects of their interpretation.
Improvisation and practice techniques
Encouragement to improvise also played a role when working on his pieces. All participants had little experience with improvisation but were very interested in learning. Some basic improvisation strategies were therefore discussed and tried out.
The topic of ‘practice techniques’ also played a role: how to practise what and for how long. There were also a lot of questions about this. Nik Bärtsch encouraged the participants to work in a serious, sustainable and at the same time playful and enjoyable way.
Equipped with a lot of new knowledge, the 4 participants were able to enjoy their free evening after 5.30 pm.
