EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

• Beatboxing - Our award-winning, competitive beatboxer, Craig Simonetti, gives a crash course on beatboxing. He teaches the basic sounds of beatboxing, incorporates the sounds into beats, and gets students up on the microphone to try out their beats. For more experienced groups, Craig offers an intermediate version of this class

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• Singing a Solo - Backtrack conducts this clinic with the hopes of helping students gain confidence when auditioning and performing solos. We discuss elements that make a successful solo, such as singing with intention and sharing tips to help singers overcome nerves. Students sing a verse and chorus from a song of their choice and receive feedback. 

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• Choreography/Movement- We discuss elements for successful choreography such as directed energy, stillness, and call and response. Students are taught a chorus of a song and broken up into small groups to choreograph/block the song. The groups perform and receive feedback. Time and technology permitting, Backtrack members share video examples and discuss the elements that make for strong stage presence (as a group and individually).

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• Pop Vocal Techniques - Learn healthy singing practices for pop music from our Music Director, Craig Simonetti and soprano, Chrissy Aloisio. Craig has his Masters in Vocal Pedagogy and teaches private voice lessons at Berklee College of Music. Chrissy has her degree in Music Education and teaches private voice lessons at Gateway to the Arts in Denville, NJ. Students will collectively learn pop singing techniques and will receive one-on-one coaching time permitting. Techniques include: Riffing, mix-belting, scoops, cries, growls, distortion, and vocal flips (yodels).

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• Triple Threats: Nailing the MT Audition - In this class, we combine singing, dancing, and acting together and discuss the elements that make for a successful musical theatre audition and performance. Students will gain confidence, work together, and embrace their imagination and instincts by learning the basics of acting improvisation through games and team activities. In addition, select students will perform a verse and chorus of their favorite MT selection and workshop the song with the goal of crafting a polished 32 bar audition cut. Students will be given tools to delve into a character’s point of view, turn lyrics into action & find comfortability on the stage. Lastly, students in this class will learn a musical theatre dance combination focusing on style and technique, as well as learning tips to pick up choreography quickly and effectively.

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• Group Vocal Improvisation - This is a simple and fun introduction to a cappella arranging and also teaches students about the importance of listening, going with their musical instincts and not being afraid to put themselves out there. The clinic involves teaching and playing a series of games where small groups of students create vocal arrangements on the spot. ​

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• Arranging - We will explore the overarching journey of arranging; beginning with a blank page and the brainstorming process, while writing for specific singers and ensembles. While getting the song “on paper,” we will delve into the tiny details of groove, voice leading, and harmonization. Students will leave the class with more arranging tools in their toolboxes, as well as a broader perspective and an increased ability to tailor their arranging to their individual singers.​

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• DIY Music Video - Backtrack discusses the process we use for creating music videos. We discuss the equipment necessary (sometimes just an iPhone will suffice) and the planning and execution steps. Using Backtrack videos as examples, we discuss different structures for music videos including narrative-driven videos, green screen videos and behind-the-scenes videos.

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• Recording/Mixing/Editing class - More and more, it is becoming important for musicians and singer/songwriters to be able to record themselves and produce their own music. These skills allow artists to be more self-sufficient and give them the ability to create demos, full tracks, and other musical projects from home. Craig Simonetti, Backtrack’s primary mixing engineer teaches students the basics of recording, mixing, and editing, demonstrating softwares such as Melodyne and ProTools and discussing elements of audio production including pitch and time correction, EQ, compression, and reverb.​​

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