Summer '11 Music Workshops at InHouse

Making Music in Your Lap(top)
Introduction to the art of creating and recording music on computer

Whether on your laptop or in your computer-based home studio, the possibilities for creating and producing your own music are limited only by your imagination and some technical know-how. This workshop explores the possibilities and addresses the technical know-how. You bring the imagination and we will get you up and running and creating your own music! We examine the following topics:

    How to convert your mac laptop into a portable music workstation. Software options, external equipment.
    Introduction to MIDI and the art (and skill) of sequencing music on computer. Learn how to program and orchestrate what you hear and play it back on your laptop or other external device.
    How to set up a basic home recording studio. Matching equipment needs with your budget.
    How to best use your space.
    Basics of sound production and digital recording. How to use external synthesizers and “softsynths”. How to record and edit "virtual" (live, acoustic) tracks on your computer, combine them with sequenced MIDI tracks, use “effects”such as reverb, EQ (equalization), etc. and mix them all down into a finished product.

Requirements: Mac laptop w/OS X, basic computer literacy (word processing, etc.), basic music reading ability.


Composer/Performers' Workshop - Life Beyond 'Song Form'

Song Form (the cyclical structure found in most show tunes) is still the predominant form used in jazz composition and performance. However it is clearly not the only one. This workshop explores alternatives to song form for both composer and performer. From Ornette Coleman to Steve Coleman and their contemporaries, we examine the evolution of open form compositions, "free jazz", pieces that incorporate both extensive notation and improvisation, and some that involve no written notes at all. Extended techniques of playing which create new sonic possibilities are explored and used as compositional tools. Students compose pieces using different experimental forms, and the group rehearses, plays and records those pieces in the workshop. Requirements: intermediate level skills on your instrument and basic music reading ability.


Basic Jazz and Blues improvisation Workshop

This basic workshop is for students with limited experience in jazz improvisation and a desire to explore it further in a nurturing group context. The focus is on “straight ahead” ensemble playing using blues and jazz “standards” as the vehicles for improvisation. Requirements: basic proficiency on your instrument, basic music reading ability and some experience with jazz improvisation.

Each workshop meets once a week for 8 weeks at InHouse (474 Greenwich St., Tribeca, NYC) from the first week in June through the last week of July (the time and day of the week will be determined when the group is formed). Each class is 2 hours in length. To maximize individual attention, enrollment is limited to 6 students. The cost of each workshop is $595, payment for which is due in full by May 23. A place will be reserved upon receipt of a deposit of $100. The workshops are offered independently of one another. A discount of $100 on the composite of fees is offered to students who take more than one workshop.

The workshops are led by David Lopato. An award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist who has performed internationally as a leader and sideman, Mr. Lopato also has extensive experience in the world of MIDI and computer sequencing, having employed it in a variety of applications such as network TV, radio and TV commercials, and avant-garde performance art . A graduate of Yale University, he currently teaches on the faculties of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and Montclair St. University. See bio for more information.

Checks should be made payable to David Lopato and mailed to InHouse, 474 Greenwich St., NY, NY, 10013. For further information, please call: 646-824-9381 or email David Lopato