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Northeastern University Professor Teaches SONAR in Ghana

sonar5Head of the Music Technology program at Northeastern University, Dennis Miller and his wife, Susan, are spending spring semester in Ghana working as visiting professors for a local university. This trip marks the couple’s second trip to Ghana, having first visited the country in 2004.

The pair will spend 150 days working on the campus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in the city of Kumasi. KNUST offers various music and arts courses through the Center of Cultural Research and African Studies. These courses include Keyboard Skills, Music Theory, Drumming, Ghanian Dance, Performing Arts Traditions of West Africa, Sound Engineering, and Music Technology.  Dennis is teaching two classes at the university in Digital Media Production and Digital Animation while Susan, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, is working in the department of theoretical biology, supervising a lecture hall and lab.

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Dennis’s Digital Media Production course introduces students to digital audio, discussing MIDI, how to do basic editing with tracks, load and change patches in soft-synths, adjust tempo and dynamics, and more. They are also learning about sequencing in SONAR 8.5 Producer. Dennis provided each student with basic step-by-step tutorials to help them learn the program. He also made each student a DVD that includes copies of SONAR, project demos, articles and assignment files.

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Learn SONAR Online with BerkleeMusic.com

Berklee-Online-LogoBerkleemusic.com, the online continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, offers SONAR online courses and certificate programs for all skill levels. Master ascpects of multi-track recording using MIDI, audio, loops and plug-in effects using SONAR.

By the end of the course, you will learn:

– The basics of SONAR’s configuration, audio file types and user interface
– How to use soft-synths to record and mix your MIDI performance
– Professional mixing techniques using SONAR’s mixing console
– Audio editing techniques using SONAR
– How to use SONAR’s Groove Clips with MIDI and audio
– The signal flow in the SONAR mixing console
– ReWire and the benefits of using other software application with SONAR as the host.

Enrollment is now open for the Winter term, beginning January 11, 2010.

Learn more about Berklee’s SONAR course as told by the instructor, Steve MacLean.

Get a free SONAR lesson today

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Berklee Professor Steve MacLean Talks SONAR in the Classroom

Berklee-Online-LogoHello to all SONAR users!

In efforts to empower artists and music producers it is hard for me to imagine the huge numbers of students I’ve had the opportunity to work with over a 20 year span.  This happens in every format from private one-on-one or small group classes to many years in Berklee classrooms along with the Berklee online school (teaching production techniques in SONAR).  A range of numbers somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 students is a not so calculated guess!  The truth is that I’m grateful for every one of them as each helped teach me to be a better coach and teacher along with all of the wonderful and amazing musical rewards when students apply what they have learned.  It gives me great satisfaction to know that these people will continue making progress and developing the music careers they wanted. 

One area of confusion that constantly comes up is this: 

I often notice that the technology almost forces people to work in ways that are very unnatural for what they are trying to do.  A great example of this is when the type of musical “style” the student is pursuing vigorously is ultimately made to sound lifeless and sterile.  You might ask, how can the musical style play such a huge role in the successful outcome of various production projects?

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Creating Music In The Classroom With Cakewalk

On June 15 2009, Cakewalk Product Manager Samara Krugman discussed music production in the classroom with Keith Mason, coordinator of Music Technology at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and producer for the Music Tech For ME podcast.

In this episode, Samara explains how Music Creator 5 can benefit the music student. It’s simple interface and getting started tutorials guide users through the process of recording, editing, and mixing their first tracks. Students can add sound effects and backing tracks to their projects with hundreds of high-quality instrument sounds, loops and samples built right into the software studio. With these tools, plus Music Creator 5’s various project views and assistant features, students will learn basic music composition techniques as they work toward arranging and printing their own sheet music.

Visit Music Tech for ME online to hear the interview.

Music Tech For ME covers all aspects of incorporating music technology into the K-12 school curriculum, advising music educators across the globe on the latest advancements in creating and teaching music. Even if you’re not a music educator, you can learn a lot about the numerous technological tools and resources that are available on the market today just by listening to the show.

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Session Story: Composer Ray McNamara

Composer, performing artist and professor of music Ray McNamara recorded the award-winning album Oceans Made Fun using SONAR. Oceans Made Fun is the winner of the 2005 Parents Choice Award, bringing the sea to life while teaching children ages four to 12 years old language and science through music and visual aid. The recording was published by MCD Curriculum, which teaches youngsters active participation, creative writing and language development outside of a classroom environment. Hear the songs about the Shark, Penguin, Octopus and more at http://cdbaby.com/cd/mcdcurriculum.