| Art, Music and Photography - Spring 2014 Courses |
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 S14AM02 - Guitar for Beginners
It’s never too late to learn a musical instrument! This relaxed, fun, slowly paced course is designed for beginners and for players who know a few chords. You don’t need to read music or understand theory. We will learn scales, chords, and rhythm patterns and then play basic beginner songs. Handouts will be included.
Note: Students need their own acoustic guitar with steel or nylon strings and an electronic tuner. Please come tuned and ready to play.
Bob Alessio plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin and sings in folk, country, and bluegrass bands.
March 3 - May 5 9 weeks/18 hours
Mondays, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (No class April 21) Course Fee: $199
 S14AM03 - Violin/Fiddle and Mandolin for Beginners
The violin and fiddle are the same physical instrument played in different styles: the violin for classical music and the fiddle for folk genres. The mandolin makes a great companion instrument for learning and playing with the fiddle. Many great instrumental tunes and song melodies can be easily flat-picked on a mandolin.
The initial steps to learning the violin/fiddle and mandolin are the same: learning scales, easy tunes, and bowing/picking patterns.
We’ll start from the basics and learn two tunes in the first class! We will focus on ear training with minimal use of music notation.
Inexpensive “student” learning violins and mandolins can be purchased or rented at many area music stores. Please come to the first class with your instrument tuned and ready to play. (Music stores can help you tune your instrument.) You’ll need to buy an electronic tuner. Violin/fiddle players: you should have a Kun (or equivalent) shoulder rest.
Bob Alessio plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin and sings in folk, country, and bluegrass bands.
March 5 - May 7 9 weeks/18 hours
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (No class April 23) Course Fee: $199
 S14AM05 - Introduction to Hand Drumming and Drum Circles
In this course, you’ll learn the basic technique for playing a variety of different hand drums from various musical traditions, including African, Native American, Middle Eastern and Latin. You’ll also get to experiment with many kinds of hand percussion that mix with the drums to create an exciting ensemble sound and learn how to write, read and play basic rhythmic patterns that are the foundations of many musical traditions.
No prior music experience is necessary to take this course. The instructor provides all of the necessary materials and instruments, although you are welcome to bring your own hand drum if you own one. Each class is a mixture of formal instruction with lots of hands-on participation, as well as some unstructured “jam time” to try out your new skills.
Note: The last class will run from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
David Curry is the creator of Drums For One And All and the co-creator of the Eastern Massachusetts Rhythm Festival. He has led hundreds of public drum circles, drumming events and workshops across New England. Find him on Facebook at “Dave Drumhead Curry” .
“Class was both fun and informative.
I liked learning about the culture of the drums’ origin.”
March 5 – April 9 5 weeks/8 hours
Wednesdays, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM No class April 2) Course Fee: $99
 S14AM07 - Blues and Harmonica
This course will consist of a discussion of blues history and artists, listening to recordings of blues pioneers and masters, and practicing simple blues harmonica. Musical/instrumental ability is not required - just a love of blues music and the desire to learn about this unique form of American music.
Note: Please bring $15, payable to the instructor, for a blues harmonica and practice CD.
Kent Kissinger is an accomplished blues musician who plays drums, guitar, trumpet, and harmonica. He has a passion for blues and a blues collection second to none.
March 6 - March 27 4 weeks/8 hours
Thursdays, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Course Fee: $95
 S14AM08 - Mastering Oil Painting
This fun class caters to those who have never held a brush to experienced artists who would like to gain new skills. We will explore the medium of oil paint with an emphasis on fundamentals. The class will develop your skills in composing an image, creating illusions of light and space, understanding perspective, color mixing, and creating art with your own hands.
Note: Students will be mailed a list of materials prior to class. Please bring materials that you already have.
Lee Su studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and has taught for nearly two decades. He has exhibited from Arlington, MA, to Rome, Italy, and is currently online at www.Lee-Su.com.
February 25 - May 13 10 weeks/25 hours
Tuesdays, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Course Fee: $199
(No class March 25 and April 22)
 S14AM09 - Beginning Art
This course will take the fear out of basic drawing - the building block of art. We will explore shapes, perspective, and portraiture and develop our creativity, composition, and color sense in a non-threatening, fun atmosphere. Students will learn how to use various art tools and discover the tricks and techniques many artists use. This class is a good foundation for any of the painting mediums (watercolor, oil, acrylic, and pastel).
Note: You will need to bring paper, pencil, and eraser to the first class. We will discuss art supplies during the first class.
Textbook required. Title - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition, Author - Betty Edwards, Publisher - Tarcher; 4 edition, ISBN - 9781585429202.
Kathleen Hebert has been teaching art classes since 1986. She recently published a new book “No Talent Required: My Journey from Paint by Numbers to Art Instructor”. You can view her work at www.artkatcards-paintings.com.
February 27 - May 8 10 weeks/25 hours
Thursdays, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (No class April 24) Course Fee: $210
 S14AM14 - Introduction to Digital Photography
This class will help you become comfortable with your camera and its features. Topics include exposure; white balance; internal flash modes; and digital camera settings. This is a “hands-on” course and includes a Saturday morning field outing where you’ll get to apply the concepts you learned in class.
Time and meeting place will be announced in class.)
Note: Suitable for SLR camera or point-and-shoot users (camera must have Aperture and Shutter Priority modes). Please read your camera’s manual thoroughly before the first class. Bring your camera, manual and fresh batteries to each class. There will be a photography assignment each week.
Lynne Damianos, B.S. in Photography from RIT, has over 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer (Damianos Photography.com).
February 27 - April 3
5 classes plus 1 field trip/18 hours total Thursdays, 6:15 PM - 9:15 PM (No class March 6) Course Fee: $235
S14AM15 - Overview of Portrait Photography
Did you ever wonder why your portraits of family and friends don’t look as polished as you’d like? This presentation will show you some useful techniques for creating a great portrait. Topics include how to work with your subjects; composition; focal length; depth of field; and lighting.
Note: Email five of your photos in JPEG format (up to 15 MB total per email) to [email protected] by Monday, April 14 with the subject line “AssabetP_YourLastName” for inclusion in the discussion.
Lynne Damianos, B.S. in Photography from RIT, has over 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer(Damianos Photography.com).
“I enjoyed learning how to set my camera to take good portraits.” ... “This class was very hands-on and practical for beginners.”
April 17 1 night/3 hours
Thursday, 6:15 PM - 9:15 PM Course Fee: $59
 S14AM16 - Get Familiar with Your Camera's Settings and Controls
Learn how to use the buttons and menus on your camera during this hands-on workshop. The instructor will demonstrate a specific camera setting, describe why you would pick one option over another, and show the results. Students will then find this setting on their camera and experiment using the different options. Camera settings to be covered include auto and program modes; flash settings; exposure compensation; white balance; and image size/resolution. A handout will be provided.
Note: Please read over your camera manual beforehand and bring it to class along with your camera and fully charged batteries. This workshop is suitable for point-and-shoot or beginning SLR camera users.
Lynne Damianos, B.S. in Photography from RIT, has over 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer(Damianos Photography.com).
“I thought using pairs of photos to compare as part of the instructor’s explanation was very useful.” ... “This class solved many questions about my new camera.”
March 4 1 night/3 hours
Tuesday, 6:15 PM - 9:15 PM Course Fee: $59
 S14AM19 - Introduction to Watercolor Painting
This class will explore the exciting and flexible medium of watercolor. You will learn about color and light, washes, depth of space, harmony and composition. The individual attention provided will enable you to develop new skills or revive forgotten ones. Each lesson will address your respective needs and will be a mixture of demonstration, discussion, and lots of practice.
Note: Students will be mailed a list of materials prior to class. Please bring materials that you already have.
Geraldine Joseph has over 20 years’ experience teaching art. She has worked extensively in watercolor, acrylic and oil media.
“The instructor did a great job explaining
the painting fundamentals.”
February 26 – May 7 10 weeks/25 hours Wednesdays, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (No class April 23) Course Fee: $175
S14AM20 - The Fast and Easy Way to Write Music
Learn how to compose music by using a computer notation software program called MuseScore. With MuseScore you don’t need to write down instructions; there is no need for a pencil or music paper, and no need for a piano or other instrument. Various key strokes create the written music, allowing the student to transcribe, transpose, compose, arrange or copy music. The software provides the sound of instruments and voices (over 200 to choose from) so you can hear what you have written. You can download the program free of charge and continue to work from home.
Note: Please bring a set of computer ear buds or a headset to class.
Dennis Deyo, B.A. in Music Theory and Composition, is a piano teacher and choral director who has composed hundreds of musical pieces.
March 5 – April 9 6 weeks/15 hours
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Course Fee: $150
S14AM21 - Introduction to Digital Painting: Learn to Paint with a Stylus
In this course you will learn how to plan, set-up and create digital drawings and paintings. We will start with the fundamentals of digital painting including the basic terms, tools and possible workflows. Topics to be covered include concept development; basic composition theory; color theory; working with layers, undo’s and history; and painting from photographs and from observation of real objects.
Note: Bring a sketchbook and a 4GB flash drive to store your work.
Andrew Cefalu has a BFA in Illustration from UMass Dart-mouth and is a local freelance illustrator and designer specializing in digital, narrative illustration. You can see his portfolio at www.andrewcefalu.com.
February 27 - April 17 8 weeks/24 hours
Thursdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Course Fee: $299
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