DESCRIPTION
Masterclass Volume I: Remasterclassed
In this first masterclass, Kurt will share stories about how he began playing guitar, as well as snippets from his life on the road. He’ll play through some of his own compositions, as well as Mark Turner's composition "Casa Oscura" and share his compositional thought processes, while playing through sections of the pieces. Kurt also shares pieces of his warm-up routine, and dives deep into his own investigations of the major and melodic minor scales. He covers major scale positions/modes, mixing scales and switching keys, throwing hand movements, and using intervals to voice chords through various scales. As Kurt himself says in the masterclass, “when you investigate basic things, music comes out.” Kurt will also take you through his signal chain and show viewers exactly how to replicate his famous sustaining horn-like lead guitar tone, which is one of the most idiosyncratic guitar tones in all of modern music.
Masterclass Volume II: Strategies for Composition
In the second masterclass, Kurt takes viewers through an inspired three hour lecture, sharing the stories of how thirteen of his own compositions came to life. From a poignant moment Kurt experienced in college watching elderly people on the other side of street in “Dream of the Old”, the poetry of the New York skyline from a view of a subway car in “East Coast Love Affair”, studying and applying John Coltrane’s compositional methods in “Cubism”, or using the studio as a conduit for improvisation in “The Blue Line”, Kurt demonstrates that creativity is a limitless horizon, and if you seek inspiration out, you’ll find it everywhere you are. Exercises will be shown that give viewers practical tips on how to build on initial compositional ideas, break out of habits, and explore new musical terrain. Along the way Kurt will trace his own investigation of the music of other artists and discuss how they inspired his own compositions. Maybe most importantly, he’ll show viewers how to listen to themselves by tapping into the well of their own experiences, and using them to generate new musical paths to explore.
Masterclass Volume III: Guitar Technique and Improvisation
Kurt Rosenwinkel’s impeccable technique and improvisation skills have earned him a reputation as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. But of course, the power of his music does not lie in sheer virtuosic mechanics. Underneath the pyrotechnics of Rosenwinkel’s playing is a deep presence that helps him engage spiritually with music. In this third masterclass, Kurt will discuss and demonstrate many different aspects of his own technical practice and share exercises he uses to navigate the fretboard, including the circle of fifths, scale combinations, arpeggios, legato techniques, slides, and hand throws. He’ll also discuss ways that we can be more physically relaxed, spiritually receptive, and emotionally present when they play the guitar. He reminds us all that practicing the guitar is not just a technical or academic pursuit. It is how we live our lives with our guitars in our hands.
Masterclass Volume IV: Inner Guitarmony
In the fourth masterclass, Kurt guides you through his explorations of the major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, and harmonic major scales-- the “parent scales” of western music, from which much of western harmony is derived. Kurt will lecture on how he thinks through substitutions, suspensions, and tension in chord voicings and changes, by analyzing a chord’s functional and modal relationships to other chords. Viewers will partake in an immensely practical and beautiful lecture as Kurt helps them unravel the mysteries of these scales and shows students how to methodically explore their harmonic worlds by finding the modes and chords present within them to create otherworldly atmospheres and subtle emotive landscapes.
Masterclass Volume V: Standards
In the fifth masterclass in the series, Kurt guides viewers through analyses and playthroughs of a selection of ten of his favourite jazz standards. Songs such as Wayne Shorter’s “Fall”, Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Darn That Dream”, and Ralph Rainger’s “If I Should Lose You” have become a part of Kurt’s own repertoire, and viewers will gain valuable insight into how a master of his craft makes interpretive decisions that breathe new life into beloved songs from the jazz canon. As Kurt says in the class, “What’s old is new.” When we revisit standards in a contemporary context, we participate in one of the great pleasures of our shared musical history; studying and playing the songs that are a part of our collective musical heritage.
Masterclass Volume VI: Guitar Technique and Improvisation Part 2
In this class, Kurt goes very deep into many fascinating topics related to guitar technique and improvisation. Kurt hand-wrote a 25-page large format book for the class and created 19 play-alongs and other supporting materials. The class experience is like an adventure going seamlessly from one revelation to the next, with characteristically high production values and humor that we have come to expect from the masterclass series. From the macro to the micro level, Kurt's way of teaching is always clear, generous, and meant to be useful and helpful to musicians of all levels.
Masterclass Volume VII: Being Kurt Rosenwinkel
In Masterclass VII “Being Kurt Rosenwinkel”, you will take a tour through Kurt’s musical evolution from his first exposure to music to now, 52 years later. This never before seen musical autobiography will dive deep into his practice, sharing his most influential exercises throughout the years and explain how his experiences in life led him to develop the skills he has today. We will explore some key songs and give context to the life experiences that inspired them. We will experience his unique and thoughtful perspective, taken directly from his extensive personal and musical journals from that time period, and expand upon his creative evolution through his philosophical and practical musical writings.
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