Day 1 Schedule
10:30 AM - 11:15 AM: Introduction and sound sampling - students will receive a basic introduction to Logic software and the mechanisms of how MIDI works. We will make our way through several sound samples of instruments in the categories of: strings, woodwinds, synthesizers, experimental, keyboard, ethnic instruments and more. Students will make a list of their top 10 instrument sounds for our first project and beyond.
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM: PROJECT 1: Creating your own composition using “apple loops.” Apple loops are pre-existing musical phrases that loop, and can be layered upon one another to create full songs. Students will create an entire song by choosing ten different loops in Logic. These loops will then be layered upon one another to create a lush, musically and rhythmically diverse piece of music.
12:15 - 12:45 PM - Break for lunch
12:45 PM - 2:00 PM: PROJECT 2: Creating your own loops with chosen instrument sounds. Students will create an entire song by composing ten different short two bar looped phrases into Logic (each with a different chosen sound/instrument). These phrases will then be layered upon one another to create a lush, musically and rhythmically diverse piece of music.
DAY 2 SCHEDULE
10:30 - 11:00 AM: Review: Listen to the compositions that were created the day before. Discuss favorite parts of the songs, what worked well, answer any questions.
11:00 - 12:00 PM PROJECT 3: Building and layering musical ostinatos using an Eb minor pentatonic scale (all black keys) and ethnic instrument sounds (Celtic harp, Indian Sitar, Indian Bansuri, South African choral singers and more). We will learn about the uses and history of each of the ethnic instruments used. Students will create an entire song by composing ten different short two bar phrases (using only the minor pentatonic scale) into Logic (each ostinato with a different chosen ethnic sound/instrument). These phrases will then be layered upon one another to create a lush, musically and rhythmically diverse piece of music.
12:00 - 12:30 PM: Break for lunch
12:30 - 2:00 PM: PROJECT 4: Robot composition: Students will use only percussive sounds (drums, mallets, timpani, etc) and experimental ambient sounds to create a mechanical piece of music. Each new percussive sound will be layered upon the last in four measure increments to emulate machinery and repetitive sounds.
Day 3 Schedule
10:30 - 11:00 AM: Review: Listen to the compositions that were created the day before. Discuss favorite parts of the songs, what worked well, answer any questions.
11:00 - 12:00 PM - PROJECT 5: FINAL PROJECT: For the final project, students will take an existing piece they know how to play and use it as the foundation to create their own composition. After recording their piece into Logic, students will then work with 1,000s of sounds to add layers and different musical sounds creating an interesting and unique composition all of their own.
12:00 - 12:30 PM - Break for lunch
12:30 - 2:00 PM - Continue to build out, polish and finish the final project.
Each song will be compiled in a dropbox link and emailed to family at the end of the Lab!