D'Arcy Reynolds

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Educator

D’Arcy Reynolds, who has demonstrated exceptional skills as an enthusiastic, forward-thinking and eminently capable Chapter Director of the American Composers Forum’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, is a Bay Area-based composer, pianist, educator and consultant. She has held or currently holds teaching posts at the Community Music Center, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Diamond Music and Mills College Music Training School, and for three decades has maintained a private studio teaching both fundamental and advanced courses in composition, theory, orchestration and piano. 

As a music director or consultant in multi-media music education she has worked with Jump! Music in Mountain View, Creative Insights in Cupertino, and Interactive Records. As Director of the American Composers Forum’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter, D’Arcy developed and implemented the Composers in the Schools program for high school students throughout San Francisco and the East Bay. Ms. Reynolds holds degrees from Mills College, where she received both the Paul Merritt Henry Prize for Composition and the Maurthea Friedberger Cup. She has received funding from the American Music Center, Meet the Composer, the American Composers Forum, USIA, ASCAP, and the Noe Valley Chamber Music.

“This program is wonderful! I hope it goes on for many years. It provides an opportunity for striving musicians/composers to express themselves. A very educational, fun program.”

Rogil E., student composer

Excerpt from private composition lesson

Workshops

Fundamentals of Composition Workshop

The following material will be presented during the fundamentals of composition class, presenting the material in a way that is sensitive to the students’ needs and level. For instance, the segment on structural concepts will vary according to the type of music that is being discussed; the form and structure used in Indian music or jazz are quite different from the traditional western classical models presented below. Flexibility is key as it pertains to the music composed while introducing standard musical concepts.

Notation

Students will be taught standard notational techniques as they relate to pitch, rhythm, meter, phrasing, articulation, dynamics, tempi and clefs. This material will be introduced at the outset of the composition program and will be reviewed and discussed throughout the entire course when issues arise in the students’ pieces. A discussion about compositional software and part generation will be a part of the curriculum.

Musical Analysis

Students will analyze piano music, chamber music and orchestral scores to learn about structure, themes, motives, harmonic development and texture. Analysis has been used for centuries by composers to learn more about compositional techniques.

Thematic development

Student composers will learn to create themes, develop thematic material and develop bridges between the different sections of their pieces.

Harmonic development

Participants will learn about the relationship between harmony and structure, the role of the bass line, modulation, and creating harmonic momentum.

Rhythmic development

Techniques such as repetition, variation, augmentation and diminution, polyrhythms and syncopation will be studied.

Structural Concepts

Traditional forms such as preludes, fugues, suites, sonatas and variations will be analyzed. Students will also create new and unique structures.

Advanced Composition: Extended Materials and Techniques

Scale Formations

Pentatonic, Whole-tone, diatonic, octatonic and chromatic

Chords and Simultaneities

Tertian, quartal, quintal, secundal, mixed-interval, whole-tone and polychords

Melody and Voice Leading

Stylistic features of 20th century melody and melodic organization

Harmonic Progression and Tonality

Tertian and non-tertian neotonality, polytonality, pandiatonicism and atonality

Developments in Rhythm

Syncopation, nontraditional time signatures, polymeter, metric modulation, ametric music

Each student will compose pieces that explore the material presented in the curriculum. Professional performers may attend some of the composition classes so that students can hear their compositions in progress. At the end of the course, open rehearsals and performances may be held to present the final projects to other students, friends, and family.

This course introduces techniques necessary to compose for strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and keyboards. Each family of instruments will be discussed in detail, and student  will compose short pieces for instruments of each of the instrumental families in order to apply the principles that they are learning in class. Professional performers will be available for classes (or remotely) to demonstrate their instruments and play the short pieces that the students have written. Not only will this be useful for the student composers, but it will begin to establish and nurture the relationships between the performers and composers.

Students will listen to piano music from the Baroque era to the present day to learn about the evolution of musical form. We’ll study preludes, fugues, suites, dance forms, variations, and sonatas. No musical training is necessary to take the class, however, composition students might enjoy composing pieces using these varied structures. This delightful and engaging course will enable participants to listen to music with new ears.

For Schools

Team Opera Project is an innovative four-hour workshop that provides a wealth of experience in music education, improvisation, and performance in an to learn new musical skills, with an interdisciplinary focus that builds on existing education curriculums.

Workshop leaders work with children and teachers to develop the story, write the words, create the chorus and solo lines, and make supporting instrumental parts. There is no musical experience necessary, so everyone can have fun while learning in a safe and friendly atmosphere. The cognitive and creative aspects of TOP integrate verbal and written skills, while building teamwork and active listening abilities.

Everyone attending will learn how music is constructed, and as a team, create a short opera to perform at the end of the program. As conductor, instrumentalist, solo singer or chorus member, everyone gets a chance to wear the costumes and fill the roles.

For Organizations

Team Opera Project brings organization development and music together in an innovative model for building confidence and exploring hidden barriers to effective teamwork. Participants use the creative process to learn and exercise new skills that relate directly to the boardroom and the workplace.

Each workshop is tailored to the participants, and every activity is presented in a safe and friendly format. Working in teams, the group will create a chorus, solos, and an “orchestral accompaniment”. These
combine to form a short “opera” which will be performed at the end of the workshop.

The workshop leaders bring their organizational experience and professional music credentials to participants, whether managers, staff or board members. This dynamic, new strategy for engaging the creative process in synergistic settings offers a playful

Composition Testimonials

Private Lessons and Coaching (in-person or online)

Private lessons are available for all workshop topics, piano and improvisation.

Spontaneous creation comes from our deepest being
and is immaculately and originally
ourselves. What we have to express is already with
us, is us, so the work of creativity is not a matter of
making the material come, but of unblocking the
obstacles to its natural flow.
Stephen Nachmanovitch

In our coaching sessions we’ll draw upon several resources to free up blocks to your creative process. This is a very intuitive and dynamic process, much like the art of composition. The somatic component will facilitate deep listening, and with the wisdom of artists, philosophers, and spiritual teachers, you will be supported to give voice to your natural and spontaneous expression.

We’ll use a broad range of coaching techniques such as the Internal Family Systems model, Mind Mapping, Somatic Experiencing and meditation practices. I completed a one-year health and wellness coaching program at the California Center for Integral Studies to more fully engage with my students on a deep creative level.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
J. W. Goethe

Piano Testimonials
Copyright 2024 D'Arcy Reynolds. All Rights Reserved

“I have known D’Arcy Reynolds for over twenty years, first as her composition student, and later as a colleague. I first met D’Arcy in 1995 when I enrolled in a group composition class that she taught from her home. I had decided to make a transition from my career as a lawyer to that of a composer, musician, and teacher. D’Arcy’s class was my entrée into the world of classical composition, and it formed the initial basis for my eventually receiving my MA in composition from San Francisco State University.

I found D’Arcy’s composition class and teaching methods to be inspirational, motivational, and encouraging: qualities that are particularly important in working with beginning composers. At the end of the class, she arranged for a professional woodwind quintet to comer to her house to rehearse, perform, and record the students’ compositions. This is indicative of the extent to which D’Arcy cares about her students’ musical progress and is committed to providing a complete learning experience. 

After taking her class, I enrolled at San Francisco State University to pursue a Maters degree in musical composition, which I completed in 1999. I then enrolled in the Musicology Ph. D. program at UCLA, where I received my doctorate in 2005. I now teach music history and composition at the university level”. 

Larry W.

“I am a professional musician – a pianist, teacher and improviser with graduate studies in music theory at the Mahhattan School of Music in New York. I was seeking a teacher who would help me to expand and develop my voice as a composer. At the same time I was interested in deepening my knowledge and understanding of contemporary harmony.

How fortunate I am to have found D’Arcy Reynolds.

D’Arcy blends a richness of musical background as a composer, orchestrator and pianist with a flexible and engaging teaching style. She is well versed in modal, standard and contemporary harmony and composition techniques. D’Arcy achieves a balance between the technical and intuitive in her teaching, offering creative ways to use my existing musical knowledge as a point of departure to expand to new areas.

In addressing my desire to learn more about contemporary musical theory, D’Arcy integrates analysis assignments that support the compositions I am writing.

D’Arcy’s expert use of process helps me to dispel the inner critic, freeing me to experiment and experience freedom and possibility. D’Arcy creates incorporates self-awareness exercises and improvisation into her sessions with profound results for me.

I enjoy my composition lessons with her tremendously. They are both productive and inspiring.

I recommend D’Arcy heartily and without reservation to anyone who is seeking a compassionate, enthusiastic, skilled teacher and musician”.

Marie C.

“You have found the best piano/music /composition teacher in the Bay Area!  

I have studied piano and music for the past 15 years, in both private and public settings that have included the Berklee College of Music and UC Berkeley, and I can honestly say that D’Arcy has been one of the very best teachers that I have studied with during this time.  I started studying with her just over 6 months ago, and in that time I have grown as a pianist, composer, and overall musician in ways I didn’t think possible before. 

I have found that one of the most difficult parts of finding a good teacher is to find someone who can adapt to your style and goals, while at the same time still acting as a teacher and pushing you in new and challenging ways. Most importantly I found it was hard to find a teacher who actually listened to what YOU wanted to achieve in music, but D’Arcy has done just that from the beginning.  

Before studying with her I had a background mainly in rock, pop, and jazz piano and composition, and with her I hoped to focus and improve upon my classical piano chops, theory, and compositions, while at the same time integrating this with my previous musical interests and skills. 

D’arcy has done all of this, tailoring each lesson to my specific and overall goals, and with her MA in Music Composition and experience as a professional composer and pianist, she brings a working knowledge of music that is unparalleled.  

Regardless of your age or previous experience, or if you want to study piano, theory, composition, or general musicianship, classical or otherwise, D’Arcy is the teacher for you”.

Cody M.

“I have studied piano with D’Arcy for over 25 years. I started studying with her when I was 7 years old, learning all the basics of musicianship, sight-reading, and technique. Over the years, Istarting learning more difficult music and began giving solo and chamber music concerts. I mostly studied classical music, but D’Arcy works in different styles, so I also studied improvisation with her. She’s always been flexible about my repertoire and she’s really responsive to my needs.”

Ann S.

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