The Beautiful Mess takes a deep dive into the practical and artistic elements of composition and creativity, drawing on Eric Whitacre's thirty years of experience writing music and lyrics. This comprehensive course provides online access to video content, lesson plans, reference sheets, perusal scores and a personalized certificate upon completion. Materials are customized at three levels so they can be used from middle school through college and are ideal for both individual and classroom instruction. The strategies and creative solutions discovered in this course can also be applied to many aspects of life, so are suitable for general music education, composers, performing ensembles, or individual music-lovers. Instructions for online access will be sent within one business day to the email address provided when you place your order.

Volume II presents the performing components of jazz such as the performance of eighth notes in jazz, the creation of jazz phrases in the format of the blues and the jazz standards. There are 7 different blues formats that are presented with Preparatory Studies that include preset jazz phrases and the typical type of chord changes used in each format. The next part of the study includes Jazz Etudes that are modeled after several of the jazz standards, The chord changes are designed to be used as in an original standard but in an etude form. If one has mastered Volume I of this study or the equivalent, then they will be able to work through the material in Volume II as well. This completes the study of "The Jazz Improvisation Workshop."