UNM Honky Tonk Ensemble, Fall 2019, Monday nights,
5-7:30 pm
(email [email protected] or [email protected] for registration and audition information)
This ongoing class is offered each fall and spring semester, and serves as the one-credit "lab" course for the three-credit class, "Country Music and Cultural Politics" (MUS/ANTH 438/538). Honky Tonk Ensemble focuses on learning to perform country music from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, also known as “honky tonk.” Artists and material covered include songs by Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Buck Owens, Johnny Rodriguez and Charley Pride. Guest artists will also be brought in to run clinics on fiddle, harmony singing and steel guitar.
The class focuses on country singing style, harmony, rhythm and lead instrumentation, song arrangement, and performance techniques for successful performance. Class is designed to be taught as a group, with students learning to perform as part of a band in the process.
Desired outcomes for this course include an increased appreciation for the poetics and nuance of country music performance (including stylistic details relating to honky tonk), hands-on knowledge of country music’s sonic progression and history, and a more intimate knowledge of country music’s thematic content from the perspective of someone who has performed it.
To view the spring 2018 syllabus, click here.
5-7:30 pm
(email [email protected] or [email protected] for registration and audition information)
This ongoing class is offered each fall and spring semester, and serves as the one-credit "lab" course for the three-credit class, "Country Music and Cultural Politics" (MUS/ANTH 438/538). Honky Tonk Ensemble focuses on learning to perform country music from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, also known as “honky tonk.” Artists and material covered include songs by Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Buck Owens, Johnny Rodriguez and Charley Pride. Guest artists will also be brought in to run clinics on fiddle, harmony singing and steel guitar.
The class focuses on country singing style, harmony, rhythm and lead instrumentation, song arrangement, and performance techniques for successful performance. Class is designed to be taught as a group, with students learning to perform as part of a band in the process.
Desired outcomes for this course include an increased appreciation for the poetics and nuance of country music performance (including stylistic details relating to honky tonk), hands-on knowledge of country music’s sonic progression and history, and a more intimate knowledge of country music’s thematic content from the perspective of someone who has performed it.
To view the spring 2018 syllabus, click here.
Testimonials from Students:
~“Honky-Tonk Ensemble is truly a gigging / performance centered ensemble/class, and as such, it concentrates on improvisation and reading your fellow musicians. This is very different from all the other musical ensembles that I have been in, that were primarily focused on simply playing what is on the page. Learning how to operate off the page in a encouraging and non-judgmental environment is amazing and rare. Also, this is a truly useful and marketable skill set for a musician.”
~“Unlike many other ensembles I have been a part of, the Honky-Tonk Ensemble has a very positive environment. It is non-competitive and like a very supportive community. After studying music for a while, I had forgotten that it was fun and why I loved it. This ensemble provided me the opportunity to enjoy music again. Other ensembles cause great amounts of stress because they typically search for a specific perfection of performance practice. In our band, we have the opportunity to really express ourselves and try new things with full support and no judgement. I love the freedom to focus on making music, not reproducing it.”
~"I believe that the Honky-Tonk ensemble is culturally relevant to New Mexico and the west. I grew up in the Rodeo, and I became interested in the Honky-Tonk ensemble because the ensemble was playing the tunes that I heard at rodeos in rural New Mexico. I am sure that most university music departments do not have a "Honky-Tonk Ensemble", but most music departments are not dead center to the American west. I think it is wonderful that the UNM music department is willing to invest in the culture in which it is embedded. Lets face it, the UNM Honky-Tonk Ensemble is "New Mexico True"!"
~"I would list two things as the highlights of the semester: 1) The gigs. The ensemble sounded great, and worked great together at both of our gigs. Each gig was an amazing culmination of a lot of hard work! 2) The ensemble’s transition from a group of disconnected musicians into a band as the semester progressed. We were reading each other and communicating non-verbally by the end of the semester. I do not even know how Dr. Jacobsen and Alex managed to teach us this, but they did! In the beginning, it took quite a bit of work to make a new song sound like a song. By the end of the semester, we could make a song sound like a song on our second try! It is like musical magic!"
"The "Vibe" of the class is amazing. It strikes just the right balance between encouraging people to try new, and producing a solid musical product that UNM can be proud of."
~“Honky-Tonk Ensemble is truly a gigging / performance centered ensemble/class, and as such, it concentrates on improvisation and reading your fellow musicians. This is very different from all the other musical ensembles that I have been in, that were primarily focused on simply playing what is on the page. Learning how to operate off the page in a encouraging and non-judgmental environment is amazing and rare. Also, this is a truly useful and marketable skill set for a musician.”
~“Unlike many other ensembles I have been a part of, the Honky-Tonk Ensemble has a very positive environment. It is non-competitive and like a very supportive community. After studying music for a while, I had forgotten that it was fun and why I loved it. This ensemble provided me the opportunity to enjoy music again. Other ensembles cause great amounts of stress because they typically search for a specific perfection of performance practice. In our band, we have the opportunity to really express ourselves and try new things with full support and no judgement. I love the freedom to focus on making music, not reproducing it.”
~"I believe that the Honky-Tonk ensemble is culturally relevant to New Mexico and the west. I grew up in the Rodeo, and I became interested in the Honky-Tonk ensemble because the ensemble was playing the tunes that I heard at rodeos in rural New Mexico. I am sure that most university music departments do not have a "Honky-Tonk Ensemble", but most music departments are not dead center to the American west. I think it is wonderful that the UNM music department is willing to invest in the culture in which it is embedded. Lets face it, the UNM Honky-Tonk Ensemble is "New Mexico True"!"
~"I would list two things as the highlights of the semester: 1) The gigs. The ensemble sounded great, and worked great together at both of our gigs. Each gig was an amazing culmination of a lot of hard work! 2) The ensemble’s transition from a group of disconnected musicians into a band as the semester progressed. We were reading each other and communicating non-verbally by the end of the semester. I do not even know how Dr. Jacobsen and Alex managed to teach us this, but they did! In the beginning, it took quite a bit of work to make a new song sound like a song. By the end of the semester, we could make a song sound like a song on our second try! It is like musical magic!"
"The "Vibe" of the class is amazing. It strikes just the right balance between encouraging people to try new, and producing a solid musical product that UNM can be proud of."
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