Rock On Summer Workshop
12:00 – 5:00 PM
Berkshire Community College 1350 West Street, Pittsfield MA 01201
Orientation Day Schedule (Every Monday)
11:00 AM Sign in at Koussevitzky Arts Center Lobby (see below)
12:00 PM Orientation and instructor introduction
12:30 PM Instrument Instruction – Melville classrooms
1:30 PM LUNCH – The BCC Cafeteria will be open, or you can bring your own food
2:00 PM Normal schedule (see below page break)
Sign in and registration table will be set up in the Koussevitzky Arts Center Lobby.
Sign In – Guitar, Bass, and other instruments (except drums) – Bring your instrument, amplifier, and equipment to check in at Koussevitzky Arts Center Lobby. Students will bring gear to classrooms with an Instructor when they are dismissed from orientation.
Sign In – DRUMMERS: Please check in at the Koussevitzky Arts Center Lobby and staff will direct you to an assigned room on the BCC campus to unload. We will have staff on hand to direct you, and help carry equipment. Please ID all parts of your drum kit and bring a list of what you have brought to us at sign in.
Monday – Orientation – After sign in we will gather in K111 (Auditorium), which is right off the Koussevitzky Arts Center Lobby. At 12:00 PM we will introduce the faculty and hand out schedules.
Daily Schedule – 11:30 AM Sign in begins
12:00 – 12:30 PM Daily orientation and Rock at Noon special guest presentations!
12:30 – 1:30 PM Instrument Training/Repertoire
The first activity of the day is Instrument Training. This is done in small groups, by instrument, and by skill level. During classes, we also cover basic music theory, styles, fundamental skills sets needed on each instrument and song structure analysis.
1:30 – 2:00 PM LUNCH
2:00 – 3:30, 3:30 – 5:00 PM Ensemble Rehearsals and Workshops
If a student is not rehearsing with a band they are attending a master class, or workshop.
Bands are coached through rehearsals and performances on how to work together. Bands work as teams, analyzing songs, learning covers and/or writing their own tunes. The instructors will teach the bands how to get started on rehearsing a song and see it through to completion.
Master classes will be either an instrument master class where advanced concepts for a particular instrument are explored, or a special musical experience designed to expose young musicians to new, interesting, or different aspect to music.
Workshops are typically week long explorations of songwriting, recording, production, etc.
Recommend Gear
All Instruments Please Bring: water, food or money for vending and BCC cafeteria, Helpful to bring: writing materials, headphone adapter if you need one for your phone (to play song suggestions through sound systems)
Voice: Your voice is your instrument, treat it well and drink water often throughout the day! The weather will be warm and you will be using your voice a lot, take extra care. Start singing more in the afternoons the week before camp to let your vocal instrument acclimate and give yourself the best chance to not stress your voice. Use this time to explore song suggestions to sing in your bands at Rock On. We will have all the sound equipment you will need. Please bring: water, writing materials, your completed singer survey Helpful for singers to bring: headphone adapter if you need one for your phone (to play song suggestions through sound systems), charger/external battery for phone
Guitar/Bass: You may be moving your equipment around campus a bit during your day at Rock On, it is highly recommended to strap larger amplifiers to a rolling luggage cart or dolly. If you have a choice of amps, bring the smaller one (25Watts+ will work fine). You won’t need too much volume for rehearsal and we will bring amps for the Friday performance on stage. Label amps and any pedals with your name. Please bring: Your instrument, amplifier (except for acoustic players), instrument cable Helpful to bring: power option – small extension/strip, writing materials, extra picks and set of strings
Drums: On the first day we will direct you to where you will unload and set up your drum kit, usually this will be the location of your kit for all of Rock On. Label all pieces of your drum kit and provide us a list of what you brought. Please bring: drum kit, seat/throne, sticks Helpful to bring: extra sticks, percussion options – brushes, shakers, etc.,
Winds: Like a vocalist, you will want to make an extra effort to stay hydrated! You will be playing a lot, so reed playes may want to bring a few reeds 1 step down, for example: an alto sax that normally plays #2 reeds, also bring a few 1 ½ reeds Please bring: Your instrument, extra reeds Helpful to bring: comfortable strap