The Magic of One-Day Music Camps: How Reproduce the Magic in Academia?

Abstract

Music camps are intensive one-day seminars where students are tasked with creating lyrics, composing melodies, and producing a song within 11 hours. This experience is demanding for both the students and the faculty. Faculty members must be experienced and adept at monitoring the progress of the various groups, providing different inputs based on each group's advancement. The music camps follow a sequence of activities designed to facilitate song development and production within the given time frame. Over three years of longitudinal study on the music camp practice during the first year of the Bachelor program in Music Business and Production at the Business School of the University of Inland Norway, students have unanimously agreed that it is a highly effective learning experience. Is this possible to utilize in other parts of academia? What needs to be considered if this approach is to be successfully implemented? Hence, how can this approach be applied to other courses and curricula? In this paper we explore the possibilities and seek to suggest some possible solutions for successful integration it into different curricula.