Transcriber: Tulio Leao Reviewer: Denise RQ
So I have a question for you:
what can't most musicians do?
Is it a) pay the rent
(Laughter)
b) get a haircut,
is it c) read music,
or is it d) hold down a steady job?
Now I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking that the answer is e) all of the above.
But in fact, it's c) read music.
Most musicians in the world cannot read western classical music notation.
At least not with any proficiency.
Now, most university music departments,
however, require students to be able to read western classical music notation,
if they are to join an ensemble,
take lessons, or learn how to compose.
That means
that most university music departments do not serve
the majority of the musicians on campus.
And that represents a missed opportunity of tremendous proportions.
So that's were the Carolina Beat Academy comes in.
The Carolina Beat Academy is an initiative of UNC's music department
that aims to serve all musicians and aspiring musicians on campus
and offer them opportunities to create and perform music.
Carolina Beat Academy has two main activities.
First, it offers a number of courses: hands on, innovative courses
that teach Hip Hop, Rock, and Electronic Dance music.
We also have community engagement programs.
We've taught beat-making around the world
from Congo, to Panama, to Fiji, and here in Chapel Hill.
The Carolina Beat Academy has three core values:
access, entrepreneurship, and engagement.
Music should not be a luxury.
It is not a luxury. In fact, it is a human necessity.
Music education, therefore, should be accessible to all.
The Carolina Beat Academy takes the idea in the model
that music should be available to all
and provides those who don't have training in music
or don't have the ability to read western classical notation,
the ability or the opportunity to compose and perform music.
Most musicians are entrepreneurs by necessity.
Musicians have to be able to promote themselves and market themselves
and they have to be able to demonstrate professionalism.
These values come up every day in our courses,
and they can be applied to any profession.
Our students tell us
that they have learned things about business practices
that they have learned nowhere else.
Moreover, our students have gone on
to create music careers after taking our courses.
We don't just want to create good music. We want our music to do good.
And what we try to do is to foster deep and meaningful relationships
with communities around the world and across the street.
And we do that by engaging them through music,
by offering them constructive possibilities
for expressing themselves creatively through music.
The Carolina Beat Academy story fits in perfectly
with our theme of taking flight.
We were hatched here at UNC, we were incubated here on campus,
and now we are ready to spread our wings.
And I'm excited to announce
two new spin-offs that came from the Carolina Beat Academy.
First we have the beat-making lab.
The beat-making lab began as a course,
but is now a company lead by Apple Juice Kid, and Pierce Freelon.
The beat-making lab teaches and spreads the art of beat-making across the world
and offers young people self-empowerment through music.
We also now have Next Level.
Next Level is a two-year collaboration with the U.S. Department of State
that will send a team of hip-hop artists
from the U.S. to six countries around the world
to promote cultural exchange and foster conflict resolution.
Over the next year and a half,
we'll be going to Bangladesh, Bosnia, India, Senegal, Serbia, and Zimbabwe,
and then we're bringing back a team of artists from each of those countries
to perform here for you, at UNC.
(Applause)
They'll be right here, so you can stay here if you want.
(Laughter)
Now, before we hand things over to the musicians,
I'd like to thank the students of UNC.
You are the reason that the Carolina Beat Academy exists.
You are the reason that we created these courses and workshops.
It was your passion for music, your excitement, and your enthusiasm
that lead us to develop these courses and workshops.
So to thank you, we have a modest musical offering in return.
Gentlemen?
Apple Juice Kid: All right, ya'll,
if you're ready for some modest musical offerings,
make some noise.
(Cheers)
All right, A Minor, talk to 'em bro.
(Drum beats)
Hey!
ey, be--, be--, Beat Academy
I wanna see some heads boppin' out there.
Let the beat drop, uh,
we're 'bout to show you a little bit about scratching,
if you wanna see 'em, make some noise.
(Cheers)
SK, talk to 'em.
(DJ SK scratching)
All right, we're gonna try something out,
I want some crowd participation.
On this side of the room, "Hey", on this side of the room, "Woo".
Let's try it out, "Hey", "Woo",
"Hey", "Woo", "Hey", "Woo",
(Audience) Hey, woo.
Hold on, cut the beat, cut the beat, cut the beat.
What we're going to do right now, we're going to sample your voices.
I'll use this microphone to capture the "Hey"s and the "Woo"s,
and we're gonna make a beat out of it; is that cool?
TEDx is that cool? (Audience) Yes.
Alright, get really, really loud for me.
One, two, three, four, "Hey", "Woo",
(Audience) "Hey", "Woo", "Hey", "Woo",
"Hey", "Woo".
Alright, alright, drop the beat back for 'em
(Beats of "Hey"s and "Woo"s)
Now clap your hands now, clap, clap, clap, clap
(Clapping)
Be--, Beat Academy
(Beats and scratching)
Thank you very much ya'll.
(Applause)