Clay Stevenson presents on live sound and music department admissions at the Association of Popular Music Education Conference

Clay Stevenson, senior lecturer in music, presented "The Live Sound Class; Innovative and Integrative Practices", which outlined steps to introduce live sound concepts with simple exercises focused on organization in the field.

Clay Stevenson, senior lecturer in music, presented on unique strategies for teaching live sound theory and application. In an additional presentation, Stevenson explored pitfalls and successes of various application practices in the music department over the past few years.

Clay Stevenson, senior lecturer in music

The presentation, “The Live Sound Class; Innovative and Integrative Practices”, outlined steps to introduce live sound concepts with simple exercises focused on organization in the field.  Additionally, Stevenson discussed integrating basic theory on electrical systems with practical work in cable building and wiring.  He offered attendees tips on covering system integration using a variety of mixing consoles and public address systems. Stevenson also highlighted the importance of assigning students roles in time-restricted scenarios to encourage critical thinking and problem solving in an environment where “mistakes” are treated as learning opportunities.

Co-presenting with Fred Johnson, lecturer in music, Stevenson offered a second presentation on three application processes used in the music department over three years. The presentation identified pitfalls and successes of the various practices. Additionally, the presenters offered data, outlining each approach, to make a case for the current practice. Stevenson and Johnson covered solutions to navigating faculty preferences for applications including, but not limited to, types of auditions, portfolio submissions, location, length of auditions, repertoire, and essays which are often unique based on program requirements and pose challenges for the departmental unit seeking a singular approach.