Spring 2026 - CA 340 D100
Creative Ensemble Lab II (3)
Class Number: 4252
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Mon, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
GOLDCORP
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Instructor:
Eldritch Priest
epriest@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
B or higher in CA 245 or permission of instructor.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Studio-based performance ensemble. An immersion in practices of live performance, focusing upon listening, interaction, and creating music for small groups or the entire ensemble, both through collaboration and individually. Offerings will focus upon a single model per term; models include hybrid acoustic/electronic ensembles, laptop ensembles, improvisation ensembles.
COURSE DETAILS:
“These are days when no one should rely unduly on his ‘competence’. Strength lies in improvisation. All the decisive blows are struck left-handed.”
Walter Benjamin
One-Way Street
Sometimes you have to make things up as you go along. That is, sometimes routines and habits don’t cut it, and you have to act without knowing the outcome of a situation before it happens. Some call this bullshitting, others call it improvising. Indeed, there’s a family resemblance. But where bullshitting is a way of telling stories to not tell the truth, improvising is a way of telling the truth by telling stories. Or at least that’s one way to look at it. It’s difficult to say, given that I just made this up. In this course, then, we’ll try to tell the difference between bullshitting and improvising by focusing on a range of techniques, strategies, and approaches to making things up. And we’ll do this musically. We’ll do this by exploring theories of musical improvisation, by listening to improvised works, by composing for improvisers, by treating improvisation as a mode of critical thinking, and, of course, by playing. We will also consider how improvisation as both method and goal leans into the aesthetic and philosophical implications of making things up.
Also, we’ll try to figure out what that quotation from Benjamin is all about…
Grading (subject to change)
* Participation 50%
* Homework and Class Preparation 30%
* Projects 20%
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
Students are expected to bring their own sound-making tool(s) to each class. Instruments, voices, or electronics are welcome.
REQUIRED READING:
Readings and listening material will be available through Canvas.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.
To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit:
- SFU’s Academic Integrity Policy: S10-01 Policy
- SFU’s Academic Integrity website, which includes helpful videos and tips in plain language: Academic Integrity at SFU
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.