As part of the ongoing course development for Point Blank’s BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering Degree and equivalent online degree, we have commissioned a series of very special masterclasses from renowned instrumentalists at our London studios. To kick things off, the highly-accomplished musician Sirishkumar Manji hosted a unique masterclass session on the Tabla, a South-Asian percussive instrument. Following from this we hosted Basement Jaxx percussionist Oli Savill last week, with Japanese instrument specialist Clive Bell joining us in the near future, all for the benefit of our students!
Oli Savill is a world renowned percussionist and composer, having been at the heart of the UK jazz, broken beat and dance scene for the last 25 years and playing with bands such as Delata and Mala for his ‘Mala in Cuba’ project, as well as currently touring with dance superstars Basement Jaxx. He gave a masterclass to the BA (Hons) Advanced Composition class as part of their study of South American music, discussing the origins of Cuban and Brazilian music and the importance of the Clave rhythm. He demonstrated how to apply traditional conga, bongo and timbale percussion parts to contemporary music such as House and Pop, and got the students to play designated parts over pop hits such as the current smash ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi. Oli also discussed how he applies his rhythmical knowledge to help write vocal melodies, and how improvisation can be an essential compositional technique. After the class students used recordings from the session to compose their own tracks.
At Point Blank, we have a wide range of industry professionals join us at our studios to present masterclasses for our students’ benefit. We’ve had electronic producers, DJs, live performance artists, sound engineers, film score composers and many more come and share their knowledge at our studios in London, LA and Ibiza. To gain access to these events and more, head over to our website and check out our courses. Our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering Degree covers everything from production and sound design to mixing and mastering and is now also available online. We are also currently offering 25% off selected online courses until July 31st, so there has never been a better time to enrol!
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The post Exclusive Artist Masterclass Series Continues at Point Blank: Oli Savill (Basement Jaxx) appeared first on Point Blank’s Online Magazine.