"Students and faculty alike can rely on his leadership. He is well read and his interests go far beyond the musical. He... would be an asset to any music department curriculum. I highly recommend him."

Dr. Andrew Rindfleisch
Cleveland State University

Educational Activities

Eric Gould has been active in music education for 30 years, both as an artist and an administrator. He was both the managing consultant and a music instructor for the innovative Excellence in Music Initiative, a community partnership which addressed needs in the Cleveland Public Schools through music study for students and professional development for teachers with a jazz program for the upper grades. He has served on the faculty at Cleveland State University, Oberlin Conservatory, and the College of Wooster, and was Director of the Department of Music at The Music Settlement, where he founded a thriving jazz program. Currently, Gould is Chair of the Jazz Composition Department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA..

Gould offers a variety of clinics and workshops, and is able to offer online courses as well as classroom instruction. Most instruction involves use of multimedia, in conjuction with concise and well-edited written materials.


CLINICS / WORKSHOPS / COURSES

Creative Strategies for Jazz Composition and Arranging
The Music of Tadd Dameron
  • Explores rhythm, ensemble techniques, formal elements, and instrumentation as parts of an overall conception.
  • Breaks down the elements of rhythm, harmony, texture, and melodic line to illuminate the factors that distinguish one approach from the next.
  • Encourages students to think "outside the box" with regard to Jazz arranging while drawing upon the rich history of examples set forth by the masters of the idiom.
  • Available as a workshop or as a course.

The rhythmic and harmonic approach of Dameron's music provide excellent vehicles for improvisation and adaptation to different styles of music. Explore the music of Dameron from his composition to his arrangements. See how Dameron influenced Bebop and Post-Bop styles in his collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, and John Coltrane.

  • Includes written materials and an audiovisual presentation.
  • Explores Dameron's repertoire and periods of development.
  • Includes octet master class on Gould's arrangements of Dameron's music.
The Continuum:
The African Musical Diaspora in America
Music Technology
and Your Career

Computers impact music careers more than ever, and the trend will not be slowing down. Eric Gould, whose career has required a familiarity with virtually every type of computer application that is used in the music industry, leads workshops and/or classes geared toward familiarizing the student with the technology, terminology, and tools needed to become comfortable with using computers to further their careers.

  • MIDI Overview
  • Sequencer Applications
  • Music Composition Software
  • Digital Audio Recording
  • Exporting graphics files
  • Web audio applications
  • Website planning and implementation
  • Offered as a workshop or as an online course.

Examine the foundations of the African-American musical aeshetic that has yielded many styles that have left an indelible mark on American music and the music of the world. Discover the lineage of traditions that has fed into jazz, blues, R&B, Gospel music, and more. Explore slave ship narratives, oral histories, musical examples, audio and video recordings, and more.

  • Multimedia presentation with written handouts.
  • Hands-on exercises
  • Comparative listening
  • Offered as a workshop or as an online course.