""An immense musical talent, a strong innate musicality and a resume to make envy make Chris Boardman the ideal teacher. It is difficult to meet a man of such success that with such humility and passion is willing to share his secrets accumulated after many years of success. Chris is a magnetic person If you want to take seriously a music composer career, I strongly recommend Chris."
"Chris is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to the application of compositional techniques in any film scoring setting. His mentorship provided me with valuable lessons in the business and process of film scoring. He emphasized the importance of the history of film, and its roll in the development of the present-day tools and tricks used to realize a film score. If you have a desire to improve the efficiency of your process and the effectiveness of your film scores, contact Chris."
"Chris is a seasoned Hollywood composer, orchestrator and frankly an inspiration and a driving force.
I'm grateful to all that which Chris has given back through his teaching and words of wisdom.
A consummate professional and a gentleman. Proud to know him"
What makes me unique as a teacher and/or what did you find to be the valuable to you as a student?
"Your unique combination of insight into the film business...and musicality"
"Your honesty about how what you teach relates to the big picture, the industry, and our own sense of worth."
"Your vast experience as an arranger and composer and your willingness to share it so openly and warmly"
"You have really vast industry experience, from performing, to writing, to arranging, to producing, and more. You don’t shy away from your students’ strengths because I think you have a diverse musical background and have allowed yourself to be a fan as much as a mentor and someone there to critique."
"You believe in being well rounded and recommended I try and involve myself in things I wouldn’t have otherwise. You also believe that it’s okay to fail, which made being critiqued really pretty easy (as long as deadlines were met hehe)."
"You tried to outdo yourself every semester by investing your personal time researching and reflecting about your previous efforts, creating new methods to convey information in a way that every student (regardless of their background) would feel confident in pursuing projects assigned."
"Chris brings not just decades of experience working in the film and television music industry, but the unique perspective of having worked as almost every possible job position in this industry. Because of this, Chris brings an astonishing ability to help students learn to be problem solvers as composers and producers, learning to understand what is needed to address a myriad of real world situations that one might encounter in their careers."
"The fact that you had real experience working in the industry. Also really appreciate all of the one on one time you took outside class and detailed notes on scores. Extremely helpful - especially looking at how to develop one motif"
Say a few words about how the course was structured, if the material was explained well, etc
"The course was logically structured. Each project presented unique challenges but was structured in a way to maximize learning curves thus presenting new levels of compositional techniques"
"The material was introduced thoughtfully, explaining basic principles at first and growing towards complex ideas. Every class introduced a new concept and another way of interpreting how the music and storyline interact.
this was a while ago so I don't really remember course structures, but will never forget how quickly you were able to spot opportunities for improvement in my scores just by looking over them, and how accurate your suggestions were to make them better
The milestone to final deliverable structure of the film scoring class was fantastic. Segmenting projects is the only way I can work now and it’s made me much more efficient and more realistic about how long I take to get things done. Material was explained well. I appreciated the history portions and context for each cue we’d write for because it made it seem realer. I wish I’d known more about producing virtual instruments, but frankly, between all the coursework and trial and error I got better and each project allowed me to challenge myself in that way. Ending with the horns was especially good all around in terms of conducting in session, recording a cue in a non linear fashion, and ultimately utilizing the rare gift of live horns. Watching films and doing the cue sheets was great as well. I think annotating scripts could’ve been done less, but hey I was taking 19 credits and working almost 20 hours a week."
"The Film Score courses were structured in a way that I felt enabled me to build upon the lessons learned in each project, with well defined goals and clear explanations of the techniques used to achieve these goals. The material was not only explained well, but always tied together with real world examples that help solidify the concepts being taught."
"Really enjoyed the historical overview of film scoring. Was great working on different types of scenes - valuable experience (horror, action/chase, sweeping vistas, etc)."
Talk about your experience being in my class...and how that experience may be of valuable to others?
"Your class reached way beyond the technical (obvious) aspect of film scoring. Anyone who desires to gain insight into the subtleties of the highest level of film composition would highly benefit from taking your class."
"This class taught me not only about how music shapes our experience of a story (consciously and subconsciously), but also about switching between being a participant vs. an observer, expressing my ideas more efficiently, and finding a balance between being true my artistic self while following a director's vision.
I think the above statement was my main takeaway - being able to trust your eyes to give feedback on my writing, and through that knowing what level of mastery was possible with work and time, which gave me a new standard to aim for"
"In class we could veer off and go over extra bits - we geeked out on great extended techniques for strings scores for part of a class, we played with new libraries in the studio, we could rehash melody and counterpoint, we could get philosophical about the purpose of a cue. Being in class was really valuable on critique days. As I said, the environment assumed everyone was talented and capable and able to take criticism and so we could really delight in things we didn’t think to do, but also get right to what could enhance the cue. Sometimes there were disagreements which was also really cool to see. If I did something and two students had different viewpoints on how that worked I could decide if I thought “yeah that was eh” or “okay I'm keeping it but I don’t want it to feel out of place.” The downside of class of course is that life happens - hurricane Harvey, the election, maybe your computer dies, admin is keeping you in a simple credit load meeting too long, half the class is playing a festival - but often if we had, say three students there, we could take advantage of the class time by spending longer on meatier subjects. The dynamic of a teacher providing a critique, but bringing enthusiasm and giving you a lot of options or examples that could improve it was great and the students pretty much followed suit."
"The first thought that comes to mind is honesty. You were true to yourself as well as your students. You never made anyone feel less than, even though we were a "multilevel" class. You believed in everyone and always made sure to highlight our shining moments. Most of all, you always had good intentions and cared a great deal about your students. You've had/have great success working your craft and never lost humility. To me, this is a huge benefactor of a great artist and that is something I respect and value."
"The time that I had with Chris as my professor and mentor was the period in my life that I feel I experienced some of my most profound musical growth, gaining the confidence necessary to be approach the always intimidating task of writing music to picture. The concepts he teaches are lifelong lessons that apply to not just writing music, but to being efficient and successful at whatever project you are undertaking."
"Before I started the class I judged film music purely from a "musical" perspective - do I personally enjoy this music in terms of my own musical taste. However, it completely changed my way of looking at film music so that now I see it as a vehicle for furthering the story."
Anything else you might think is relevant.
"On any level of music production, less is more (when the quality of less if applied correctly)....This is probably the most significant lesson I learned from your class."
"You're wayyyyyy too technologically savvy:) The music industry is ever changing and you're moving your game along with it."
"I can genuinely say that I feel a massive difference in my abilities as a composer and a musician after working with Chris. When I look back at my work and how I created that work before studying with Chris, I realize how far I've come in such a short amount of time. He encourages learning, experimentation, growth, and passion, and has been one of the most impactful teachers I have ever worked with."
"Would be cool to see some specific excerpts from scores - for example "this type of harmony works well in a chase scene." We did watch many examples of specific types of cues which was great."
"Chris Boardman is not only a highly talented musician, but also a quality human being. A rare mix."
"Chris is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to the application of compositional techniques in any film scoring setting. His mentorship provided me with valuable lessons in the business and process of film scoring. He emphasized the importance of the history of film, and its roll in the development of the present-day tools and tricks used to realize a film score. If you have a desire to improve the efficiency of your process and the effectiveness of your film scores, contact Chris."
"Chris is a seasoned Hollywood composer, orchestrator and frankly an inspiration and a driving force.
I'm grateful to all that which Chris has given back through his teaching and words of wisdom.
A consummate professional and a gentleman. Proud to know him"
What makes me unique as a teacher and/or what did you find to be the valuable to you as a student?
"Your unique combination of insight into the film business...and musicality"
"Your honesty about how what you teach relates to the big picture, the industry, and our own sense of worth."
"Your vast experience as an arranger and composer and your willingness to share it so openly and warmly"
"You have really vast industry experience, from performing, to writing, to arranging, to producing, and more. You don’t shy away from your students’ strengths because I think you have a diverse musical background and have allowed yourself to be a fan as much as a mentor and someone there to critique."
"You believe in being well rounded and recommended I try and involve myself in things I wouldn’t have otherwise. You also believe that it’s okay to fail, which made being critiqued really pretty easy (as long as deadlines were met hehe)."
"You tried to outdo yourself every semester by investing your personal time researching and reflecting about your previous efforts, creating new methods to convey information in a way that every student (regardless of their background) would feel confident in pursuing projects assigned."
"Chris brings not just decades of experience working in the film and television music industry, but the unique perspective of having worked as almost every possible job position in this industry. Because of this, Chris brings an astonishing ability to help students learn to be problem solvers as composers and producers, learning to understand what is needed to address a myriad of real world situations that one might encounter in their careers."
"The fact that you had real experience working in the industry. Also really appreciate all of the one on one time you took outside class and detailed notes on scores. Extremely helpful - especially looking at how to develop one motif"
Say a few words about how the course was structured, if the material was explained well, etc
"The course was logically structured. Each project presented unique challenges but was structured in a way to maximize learning curves thus presenting new levels of compositional techniques"
"The material was introduced thoughtfully, explaining basic principles at first and growing towards complex ideas. Every class introduced a new concept and another way of interpreting how the music and storyline interact.
this was a while ago so I don't really remember course structures, but will never forget how quickly you were able to spot opportunities for improvement in my scores just by looking over them, and how accurate your suggestions were to make them better
The milestone to final deliverable structure of the film scoring class was fantastic. Segmenting projects is the only way I can work now and it’s made me much more efficient and more realistic about how long I take to get things done. Material was explained well. I appreciated the history portions and context for each cue we’d write for because it made it seem realer. I wish I’d known more about producing virtual instruments, but frankly, between all the coursework and trial and error I got better and each project allowed me to challenge myself in that way. Ending with the horns was especially good all around in terms of conducting in session, recording a cue in a non linear fashion, and ultimately utilizing the rare gift of live horns. Watching films and doing the cue sheets was great as well. I think annotating scripts could’ve been done less, but hey I was taking 19 credits and working almost 20 hours a week."
"The Film Score courses were structured in a way that I felt enabled me to build upon the lessons learned in each project, with well defined goals and clear explanations of the techniques used to achieve these goals. The material was not only explained well, but always tied together with real world examples that help solidify the concepts being taught."
"Really enjoyed the historical overview of film scoring. Was great working on different types of scenes - valuable experience (horror, action/chase, sweeping vistas, etc)."
Talk about your experience being in my class...and how that experience may be of valuable to others?
"Your class reached way beyond the technical (obvious) aspect of film scoring. Anyone who desires to gain insight into the subtleties of the highest level of film composition would highly benefit from taking your class."
"This class taught me not only about how music shapes our experience of a story (consciously and subconsciously), but also about switching between being a participant vs. an observer, expressing my ideas more efficiently, and finding a balance between being true my artistic self while following a director's vision.
I think the above statement was my main takeaway - being able to trust your eyes to give feedback on my writing, and through that knowing what level of mastery was possible with work and time, which gave me a new standard to aim for"
"In class we could veer off and go over extra bits - we geeked out on great extended techniques for strings scores for part of a class, we played with new libraries in the studio, we could rehash melody and counterpoint, we could get philosophical about the purpose of a cue. Being in class was really valuable on critique days. As I said, the environment assumed everyone was talented and capable and able to take criticism and so we could really delight in things we didn’t think to do, but also get right to what could enhance the cue. Sometimes there were disagreements which was also really cool to see. If I did something and two students had different viewpoints on how that worked I could decide if I thought “yeah that was eh” or “okay I'm keeping it but I don’t want it to feel out of place.” The downside of class of course is that life happens - hurricane Harvey, the election, maybe your computer dies, admin is keeping you in a simple credit load meeting too long, half the class is playing a festival - but often if we had, say three students there, we could take advantage of the class time by spending longer on meatier subjects. The dynamic of a teacher providing a critique, but bringing enthusiasm and giving you a lot of options or examples that could improve it was great and the students pretty much followed suit."
"The first thought that comes to mind is honesty. You were true to yourself as well as your students. You never made anyone feel less than, even though we were a "multilevel" class. You believed in everyone and always made sure to highlight our shining moments. Most of all, you always had good intentions and cared a great deal about your students. You've had/have great success working your craft and never lost humility. To me, this is a huge benefactor of a great artist and that is something I respect and value."
"The time that I had with Chris as my professor and mentor was the period in my life that I feel I experienced some of my most profound musical growth, gaining the confidence necessary to be approach the always intimidating task of writing music to picture. The concepts he teaches are lifelong lessons that apply to not just writing music, but to being efficient and successful at whatever project you are undertaking."
"Before I started the class I judged film music purely from a "musical" perspective - do I personally enjoy this music in terms of my own musical taste. However, it completely changed my way of looking at film music so that now I see it as a vehicle for furthering the story."
Anything else you might think is relevant.
"On any level of music production, less is more (when the quality of less if applied correctly)....This is probably the most significant lesson I learned from your class."
"You're wayyyyyy too technologically savvy:) The music industry is ever changing and you're moving your game along with it."
"I can genuinely say that I feel a massive difference in my abilities as a composer and a musician after working with Chris. When I look back at my work and how I created that work before studying with Chris, I realize how far I've come in such a short amount of time. He encourages learning, experimentation, growth, and passion, and has been one of the most impactful teachers I have ever worked with."
"Would be cool to see some specific excerpts from scores - for example "this type of harmony works well in a chase scene." We did watch many examples of specific types of cues which was great."
"Chris Boardman is not only a highly talented musician, but also a quality human being. A rare mix."
