iPad Music Creation Workshops

High School Workshop Descriptions Fall 2014

I am offering:

• One-hour workshops for grade 7 & 8 intermediate music students and grade 9 &10 high school music students.
• Two-hour intensive workshops for grade 11 & 12 music students and/or Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM).

The overall goal of the workshops is to empower students to write and produce their own music. Students use technology to interactively learn and apply principles of music composition and multi-track recording to create high quality music.

The interactive aspect of the workshops is accomplished through the use of 8 iPad minis, which are provided. Students may also bring their own iPads (and/or iPods/iPhones/laptops with Garageband music software). Using a projector screen to display the instructor’s iPad is also an option if one is available.

Garageband Projects created on the iPad may be exported to Garageband for Mac OS and/or Logic X Pro for further editing and automatic generation of sheet music.

Possible applications include composing and producing original music for music theatre productions, concert band, student documentaries, and podcasts. Skills students may develop include creativity, problem solving, team work, and enhanced sensitivity and understanding of the elements of music (harmony, rhythm, and melody).

One-Hour Workshop Description

The workshop consists of three parts:

Part 1: Introduction to Music Technology (20 minutes)

This section interactively instructs students on how to use Garageband for iPad using Smart Instruments. Smart Instruments (including piano/keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and strings) involve specifying parameters such as the type of instrument, chord progression, instrument range, rhythmic complexity, etc., and the instruments essentially play themselves. As a group we collectively decide on a chord progression to follow for a demonstration song. We then create a simple 16 bar instrumental song to gain competency in the software using the various Smart Instruments.

Part 2: Cooperatively Creating (25 Minutes)

In this section, students apply what they’ve learned creatively and cooperatively in a group setting (2-4 students per group depending on class size) by composing their own short piece of music (recommended length 16-32 bars).

Part 3: Sharing & Performance (15 Minutes)

Finally, students share/perform what they’ve created with the class. I provide feedback and suggestions for further exploration. Students also have the opportunity to save the song files, which are later made available for them to listen to and share on the internet.

Cost: $250

Two-Hour Intensive Workshop Description

This two-hour workshop teaches students a six-step process for composing and producing songs, which will be applied using the iPad mini as a multi-track recording device. The workshop will consist of three parts:

Part 1: Introduction to Music Technology (40 min)

This section covers interactively creating music in Garageband for iPad using Smart Instruments, within the context of a six-step song creation process. Smart Instruments (including piano/keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and strings) involve specifying parameters such as the type of instrument, chord progression, instrument range, rhythmic complexity, etc., and the instruments essentially play themselves. Recording audio (including voice) using the iPad’s built-in microphone will also be covered. As a group we collectively decide on a chord progression to follow for a demonstration song, then we create a simple 16 bar instrumental song to gain competency in the software using the various Smart Instruments. We also cover one of the following programs for creating electronic dance music (to be decided beforehand by the teacher): Propellerhead Software’s Rebirth (which emulates Roland’s classic TB-303 bass line synth and TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines) or Figure (an intuitive graphic-based music creation program powered by Propellerhead’s Reason audio architecture). We then create a short demonstration song using this software as a group to gain basic competency in the program.

Part 2: Cooperatively Creating (40 min)

In this section students work collaboratively and creatively in a group setting (2-4 students per group depending on class size) making original music using software of their choice applying the skills they learned in the previous section.

Part 3: Sharing & Performance (20 min)

Finally, students share/perform what they’ve created with the class. I provide feedback and suggestions for further exploration. Students also have the opportunity to save the song files, which are later made available for them to listen to and share on the internet.

The two-hour workshop can fulfill part of the curriculum requirements for Arts & Culture SHSM students by fulfilling one of the three electives from the six sector-recognized training courses/programs component of the program, namely training in the technique of song composition/production, and/or the use of multi-track recording equipment.

Cost: $400

If you are interested in hosting a workshop at your school but this is beyond the school’s budget please contact me at 1-613-342-3665 or via email (brynecaruthers@gmail.com), special arrangements are possible.