The Alpha School of Music will officially offer an Introduction to Sound System Performance course starting this month.
The course, which is the first of its kind in Jamaica, and perhaps the world, will be a required course for second-year students in the pre-qualifying year of Alpha’s Associate Degree of Music Performance program.
The course will teach the fundamentals of sound system performance in a group context, from setting up the equipment, to audio selections to microphone work. As a unique Jamaican example of performance, the sound system fits appropriately within Alpha’s ensemble based curriculum and offers a proven methodology for training youth in audio technology, performance and production.
“The sound system is a key part of Jamaica’s commercial music and entertainment ecosystem,” said Alpha Bandmaster Gay Magnus. “It’s important not just because it’s the foundation of our popular culture but because it’s also an important group activity at the forefront of Jamaican music and entertainment for decades. We’re looking forward to the course and grateful to Dr. Dennis Howard for accepting the position of instructor.”
In the 1960s, when Sister Ignatius managed the Alpha music program, she operated the Mutt & Jeff Sound System on the Alpha Boys School campus. She would use Mutt & Jeff to listen to new songs and discuss what makes ‘good music’. Students had a chance to also perform and operate the sound system. Grammy nominee Winston ‘Yellowman’ Foster says he first used a microphone on “Sister’s sound”. Alpha past student and drummer, Ilawi Malawi, a veteran selector for Brigadier Jerry’s Jah Love Sound System, credits Sister Ignatius with teaching him how to play on a sound system.
“The Introduction to Sound System Performance course is not just about the past,” said Dr. Howard, “it’s also about the future. We will be using modern music technologies in unique ways to create new sounds and new ways of using and performing with the sound system. The class is inspired by the past but definitely looking forward to the future.”
Alpha has been called a “dream factory” (NPR/USA) for “legendary musicians” who “helped release the spirit of one of the most musical islands in the world”.
Alpha’s place in Jamaica’s music pantheon can be heard on Alpha Boys School Radio, a 24/7 streaming station that only plays music in whole or in part performed by Alpha graduates (alphaboysschoolradio.com).
