Liam H

Huntsman’s Chorus in progress

We recorded our Huntman’s Chorus at the beginning of Fiddle Lab on 11/18/10.  The second time you can hear me calling out the bass line: all G, C, & D! This is still pretty rough, but you can play along with it for sure.  It starts about 11 seconds in.  [audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Huntsmans-chorus-Fiddle-Lab-11.18.mp3|titles=Huntsman’s chorus Fiddle Lab 11.18]

Different Trains: Day 6

This week we viewed experimental videos made by Matt Flowers, Éder Santos, Kevin Gallagher and Nic DeSantis with music by sound artist Stephen Vitiello. We also watched an excerpt from a performance of Different Trains that included video and a unique stage set-up.

Editing then continued working on videos begun last week, with a focus on practicing looping clips and adding special effects. We also learned how to add a soundtrack to our pieces, blending recorded sound from our cameras with music from freemusicarchive.org.

We shared our pieces and discussed what we found interesting, surprising, or unexpected about them.

At the end of class we revisited our audio work from the first few classes and brought out our instruments to practice phrases based on selections from our pieces.

Different Trains: Day 5

Today we went outside and did some shooting! We talked about camera angles and different types of shots (wide/medium/close up), and practiced using tripods.

After shooting, we brought our footage back inside to practice editing on iMovie.

Different Trains: Day 4

Today we started talking about video work! We mostly watched a lot of different work and talked about different types of videos, such as narrative, documentary, and experimental.

Here’s some stuff we saw:

Videos from other students:
RAW ArtWorks’s Real to Reel Film School
ICA’s Fast Forward program

Videos from local filmmakers:
Mike Stoltz
Lauren Mackler
Keith Heyward
Alee Peoples
Sophia Tintori

Stop-motion videos:
Living My Life Faster by JK Keller
Summer Sped Up by Josh Kalven
T-Shirt Wars
MUTO by BLU

At the end of class we learned about the cameras we’ll start shooting with next week! We tested them out in the classroom in preparation for a small field trip outside next week.

Different Trains: Day 3

At our third class we reviewed how to use the recorders and we also reviewed the work we did with them in our last class. Then Laura put “Come Out” back on and showed everyone how to create a repeating phrase that matched a section of “Come Out.” We talked about improv and about being composers and about “musical form.” Laura played “Twinkle” and asked us to figure out the pattern the composer used.

Laura: “Can anyone figure it out?”
Justin: “I just know how to play it.”
Laura: “But how do you memorize something like that?”
Anthony: “At the end, it does the first one!”
Laura: “Yes! The end is the same as the beginning. It’s a very common musical form called A-B-A.”

Then we split up into pairs to interview each other, asking questions we came up with last week: Where are you from? Where do you want to be from? Where are you going? Where do you want to be going?”

After we were done interviewing, we moved to the computers and worked on editing our audio files.

At the end of class, everyone got a CD to take home with their audio file so they could practice creating phrases with their instruments based on parts of their audio files.

Different Trains: Day 2

The second day of class involved more listening – to Steve Reich’s “Come Out” and to field recordings (or are they music?) by Chris Watson.

We also learned how to use the audio recorders, and we interviewed each other. We then transferred our files to the computer to work with them. Before bringing them into Logic we had to convert the files to a new format. We shared our pieces at the end of class.

Different Trains takes off!

This semester CWM students are spending time in the Media Lab with Steve Reich’s Different Trains, a piece the PSQ is performing in February. Classes will study the piece and produce their own “Different Trains,” using sounds and images they collect and edit in Logic Pro and iMovie.

On the first day of class students did a “listening walk” to attune to the everyday music we hear when we slow down enough to pay attention to the world around us.

After discussing our walks, we oriented to the Media Lab (a new space for most students), exploring the Lab’s various equipment and how to use the space.

Then we settled into the Listening Nook of the Media Lab for some deep listening to the first movement of Different Trains. After listening we talked about what we heard, how it made us feel, and how the piece is constructed.

After listening, we transitioned to the computers where we explored Logic! We learned how to import files and select, move, copy, and loop audio regions. We then completed a short assignment, using a pre-recorded audio file (Laura saying, “Welcome to the Media Lab. Have fun making your own music.”) to create new audio pieces. The results are below!

Sophie L
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/SofieL9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Sophie L]

Malachy H
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/malachy9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Malachy H]

Liam H
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/liam9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Liam H]

Justin C
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/justin-9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Justin C]

Gabriel V
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Gabriel9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Gabriel V]

Elvis R
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/elvis-9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Elvis R]

David D
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/david9-20-2010.mp3|titles=David D]

Anthony D
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/anthony9-20-2010.mp3|titles=Anthony D]

Angel V
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/angel9-20-10.mp3|titles=Angel V]

Jeffry S
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/092110jeffry.mp3|title=Jeffry S]

Alana P
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9-21-10alana.mp3|titles=Alana P]

Aiden S
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9-21-10aidensullivan.mp3|titles=Aiden S]

Brian R
[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9-21-10-Brian.mp3|titles=Brian R]

Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year!

Here’s to a great year!

Students

Teachers

Classes

Performances, Events, Projects