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CREATIVE CODING FOR ARTISTS
INTRO TO AUDIOVISUALS
July 24 - August 14, 2021
This four-part course will introduce the basics of creative coding — the practice of using computer programming for artistic expression. We'll be working with Processing, an open-source programming language built for electronic art, new media, and visual design communities.
Led by sound artist and educator Zeynep Özcan, participants will learn the fundamentals of Processing including syntax, styling, variables, data types, functions, variable scope, 2D drawings, and animation.
Using Max software, Zeynep will cover the essentials of mapping simple synth parameters to visual components in Processing using Open Sound Control.
At the end of the course, participants will create their own unique audiovisual artwork for installation or performance.
This course is suitable for visual artists looking to integrate audio into their practice or musicians with an interest in creating multimedia performance and interactive works.
Beginners are welcome! No prior experience with Max or Processing language is necessary.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
SENSES IN MOTION
July 15, 2021
Senses in Motion is a free-flowing movement meditation rooted in listening: to our bodies, to the environment, and to our internal rhythms. Using a sensory and imagery-based approach, dancer and choreographer Georgia Usborne will guide us through improvised gestures and researching our own ways of moving. Together we will explore connections between imagination and physicality.
Throughout the class, Georgia will offer prompts in texture, rhythm, and imagery to activate different parts of the body, followed by a brief discussion about movement technique and process.
This 60-minute workshop will offer peaks of high intensity movement and creative explorations of form and space.
Open to non-dancers and dancers alike!
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
SOUNDS LIKE LOVE
AN EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO LAB
June 22 - 29, 2021
Sounds Like Love is an experimental audio lab, playfully exploring the concept of love through popular music, critical readings, and sonic meditations. We will embrace and encourage an amateur mind-set of making, listening, and loving. The word ‘amateur’ is derived from late 18th century French, borrowed from the Latin word for ‘lover’ (amator).
Led by cross-disciplinary poet Amanda Monti, we will discuss excerpts by Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, and Anne Carson. We will ask: who taught us what love is, and what did those teachings look like? How is love modeled for us in music and beyond? How did cultural metaphors surrounding love impact our early understandings of it?
Amanda will present their process for making audio works through the use of prompts to write, record, and listen to what ‘sounds like love’. After the first session, participants will create a Love Log: a written and recorded journal, which will be used to develop ‘feel recordings’ and experimental sound pieces. Old materials –– such as texts written to a beloved, a friend, an inamorata, a family member, a pet –– will be recycled and deconstructed to compose new works.
All are welcome, no prior experience in audio is necessary.
Flyer Design by Rebecca Kaebnick
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CODING FOR MUSIC II
SYNTHESIZING WITH MAX
May 01 - 22, 2021
Coding for Music II is an expansion on our introductory Max programming language course. It will broaden the ways you can use digital sound synthesis techniques within Max. Led by sound artist and educator, Dr. Zeynep Özcan, participants will learn how to implement polyphonic and granular synthesis, sampling, and sequencing.
Each week, we will cover a different synthesis technique used by pioneering electronic music composers through critical listening sessions. Weekly coding assignments will include real-time digital signal processing in Max, and submissions will be reviewed for feedback.
At the end of the course, participants will design their own unique sequencers for use in live performances or compositions.
This course is suitable for those with basic knowledge of Max software and open to all levels of musical experience.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
INTRO TO MODULAR SYNTHESIS
April 29 - 30, 2021
Join us for a special two-day workshop and learn the foundations of modular synthesis. Composer and sound artist Dani Dobkin will cover everything you need to know to get started using free VCV Rack software. No hardware required!
All levels welcome, no musical experience necessary.
DAY 1
Foundational aspects of modular synthesis:
Modulation, Signal flow, LFO's, Sequencing, Wave Shapes, Filtering and more!
DAY 2
External modules and continued advanced foundations:
FX, MIDI in, Routing to other softwares, Drum sequencing, Patch building
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
CODING FOR MUSIC
SYNTHESIZING WITH MAX
April 6 - 27, 2021
Coding for Music provides a practice-based focus on digital sound synthesis techniques with Max programming language. Participants will learn the basics of Max software and the art of synthesizing and processing sound.
Each week, we will cover a different synthesis technique used by pioneering electronic music composers through critical listening sessions. Weekly coding assignments will include real-time digital signal processing in Max.
At the end of the course, participants will design their own unique synthesizer as their final project.
This course is suitable for beginners and open to all levels of musical experience.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
CLUB FOR 1
March 8, 2021
Welcome to Club for 1: an anonymous, participatory telephone hotline dedicated to the exercising and expansion of the human voice and body led by artist Becca Kauffman.
Drawing from the foundational teachings of composer Kay Gardner, we will identify the way different combinations of vowels and consonants produce resonance and vibration throughout the body. We’ll pay special attention to our breath, the soft palate, placement of the tongue, and the power of the hum.
We’ll put our newfound awareness into a collectively read aloud text, building from a round robin recitation into musicalized, embodied interpretations inspired by an ambient soundtrack.
A complimentary music mix will be gifted to all participants.
See you at Club for 1.
Flyer Design by Emily Roff
IMMERSIVE SOUND DESIGN FOR VIRTUAL WORLDS
March 2 - 16, 2021
This three-part workshop will explore how to build adaptive, sonic environments for virtual worlds. Participants will experiment with spatial audio composition, real-time audio processing, implementation, and play-testing. Led by sound artist Deirdre Morrison, they will provide an overview and setup of Unity3D, FMOD, and Ableton Live.
We will chop, loop, and process sound files to create an immersive soundscape that reacts to our 3D environment. In FMOD, we will experiment with spatial parameters and trigger behaviors to position our audio throughout the scene and add probability and chance to our sound files. Using Ableton Live, we will experiment with audio processing and manipulation to create additional sound effects and ambiences.
Upon completion of the workshop, participants will have created a 3D environment that implements adaptive, spatial audio in real-time.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
COMPOSING ELECTRONIC MUSIC
February 2 - 23, 2021
Back by popular demand, this four-week long, practice-based course will cover both the compositional and analytical aspects of electronic music.
Students will:
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Develop critical listening skills through discussions of pioneering composers
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Learn about important technological developments that have shaped electronic music composition from the early 20th century to present day
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Complete weekly composition and listening assignments, with the opportunity to evaluate each other’s work during feedback sessions
The course will conclude with a showcase of final composition projects.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
COMPOSING ELECTRONIC MUSIC
January 5 - 26, 2021
Led by Dr. Zeynep Özcan, this four-week long, practice-based course will cover both the compositional and analytical aspects of electronic music.
Students will:
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Develop critical listening skills through discussions of pioneering composers
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Learn about important technological developments that have shaped electronic music composition from the early 20th century to present day
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Complete weekly composition and listening assignments, with the opportunity to evaluate each other’s work during feedback sessions
The course will conclude with a showcase of final composition projects.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
THE SOUNDS AROUND US
December 13, 2020
Those of you confined to your home may have noticed unwanted sounds disrupting your space. While you may not have control over the clamor of your external environment, there are ways to set conditions for respite and relaxation.
In celebration of Women in Sound’s two year anniversary, we invite you to join us for a special workshop led by interdisciplinary artist Rena Anakwe.
Using a visual exercise, Rena will guide us through possible noise pollution triggers and offer tools for intentional listening. She will suggest ways to set up your surroundings and use scent to create a restful and healing ambiance.
The workshop will conclude with a mini sound bath and guided meditation.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
ESTRANGING THE FAMILIAR
EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRAINTS
IN SOUND AND TEXT
November 17, 2020
In this workshop, we'll look at sound as text and text as sound. Exploring embodied and theoretical motivations in sound and text creation, we'll experiment with constraints like visual scoring, imitation, and hocketing.
Artist Jacqui Cornetta will share how theories and practices of translation can offer a deeper engagement with the constant dialogue between our work and its collective swirl of influences.
Bring a notebook and a piece (sound, text, film, object, image, etc.) that you admire.
POETIC APPROACHES TO SOUND
OCTOBER 22, 2020
Poetic Approaches to Sound is an invitation to think about and work with sound in new ways. Led by multidisciplinary artist Cy X, we will consider our current relationships with sound and investigate creative approaches to making sonic art.
What would happen if we looked at sound as something more than vibration through space? What benefits are afforded to us when we explore sound as a material, an embodied experience, code, poetry? How does race, gender, culture, and community influence our perceptions of sound? We will also examine the elitist structures within academia and industry.
This participatory workshop will encompass listening, group discussion, and prompts for creative inquiry. It is intended for those who are looking for an introduction to sonic arts and interested in exploring new concepts and methods to apply to their own work.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
PHILOSOPHY OF AUDIO PRODUCTION
ARTIST TALK WITH ROSANA CABÁN
AUGUST 18, 2020
Join us for Women in Sound’s first artist talk led by Brooklyn-based producer Rosana Cabán in partnership with the Computer Music Center at Columbia University.
Rosana will discuss her philosophy of music production from both business and creative perspectives. The workshop will cover the various roles within a recording studio environment and the importance of finding your music community, being an active listener, working with clients, and setting expectations. Rosana will also offer insights into budgeting, crediting, understanding split sheets, and finding clients.
Using Pro Tools, Rosana will share her techniques for preparing and organizing recording sessions. This includes learning how to set up your equipment, creating your “go-to” FX chains, choosing instruments, exporting STEMS, preparing mixes for mastering, and managing/archiving your audio files.
After a short break, the workshop will conclude with a critical listening session. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback on each other’s work.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
EXPLORATIONS IN PLUNDERPHONICS
SAMPLING AS BEAT-MAKING
IN ABLETON LIVE
JUNE 25, 2020
Plunderphonics, AKA sampling, is the epitome of the cultural feedback loop. The beauty of sampling is that all recordings of the past and present are shared, expanded upon, mutated, and mirrored back to the culture that birthed them through the lens of the individuals who are inspired. This can be used as a political tool, a social commentary device, or simply an inversion of available sonic fodder.
The tools used to create samples vary widely, and this workshop will focus on digital sampling using Ableton Live. Composer and sound designer, Kate Siefker, will give an abbreviated history of musical borrowings and mutations focusing on key songs and artists who so innovatively paved the way for the digital sampling era.
We will briefly examine moments in music history where this influence led to a shift in genre or manner of creating music particularly with a focus on hip-hop beat making. We will then create our own sample mutations followed by a period of independent exploration and discussion.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
A WALK THROUGH THE INTERIOR CASTLE
May 23, 2020
Introducing WiS in the age of social distancing. Join us virtually for a voice and movement workshop led by musician and performer Becca Kauffman. The workshop will incorporate vocal techniques, visualization, drone, and movement experiments to heighten body awareness and carve out vast interior space in this current moment of external enclosure.
Integrating elements of Qi Gong, pranayama, Meredith Monk vocal warmups and music healing techniques from new age composer Kay Gardner, we will use voice-generated resonance and vibration to expand from the inside out and enliven the cells. We will learn new tools for breaking up energetic blockages and finding psychic and physiological spaciousness. We will conclude with a simulated club experience, i.e. a guided dance party.
This workshop is suitable for all levels and will include a short recess.
Flyer Design by Marie Demple
TO LISTEN, TO WITNESS
March 8, 2020
Using our voices and bodies, we will gather on International Women’s Day to explore the relationship between somatic and collective learning. Led by sound and movement artist Melodie Stancato, this workshop will investigate the processes of listening and witnessing as tools for both communal and self care.
The group will begin by performing Pauline Oliveros’ Tuning Meditation. This vocal meditation is an exercise in connection through deep listening. It explores the boundaries between singing and listening—where one voice ends, another begins.
For the remaining part of the workshop, we will engage in improvised vocalizations and movement called Authentic Voice and Movement. This practice allows for free association with the body and voice. Working in pairs, participants will alternate between witnessing and sharing. Together we will cultivate a space of communal reflection, healing and celebration.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
SIGHTSEEING FOR COMPOSITION
SCORING VISUALS & MOVING IMAGE
February 23, 2020
To kick off Women in Sound’s 2020 programming, sound and video artist Ehm West will lead a workshop on the process of sound collage and scoring for visual compositions and moving image.
The class will provide an introduction to West's own work and other artists using sound collage to ground their moving image praxis. Together, the group will define and discuss key elements in scoring and composition, both visually and sonically.
Participants will then create their own collages by selecting audio from a large collection of found sound using the DAW of their choice. The sound collages will be used to structure moving image material pulled from a large collection of found footage provided by the artist.
Flyer Design by Ehm West & WiS
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VOICE ACTIVATED
ELECTRONICS & LIVE VOCAL PROCESSING
December 15, 2019
To celebrate Women in Sound’s first birthday, we’ve invited vocalist and electronic musician Dafna Naphtali to lead a special workshop for those who want to learn new music practices using their voices and electronics.
We will start with basic vocal and body warm-ups, followed by an exploration of the kinds of sounds we can make with our voices using extended techniques. We’ll then alter those sounds using microphones, delays, filters and other electronic processing methods.
Together, we will create musical compositions through improvisation using physical gestures with smartphones and other tools (including voice activation) to control rhythm, tempo, melody and vocal processing. Dafna will discuss the general parameters of electronic and electroacoustic sounds for any live performance situation.
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
MIXING DEMYSTIFIED
CREATIVE MUSIC PRODUCTION IN ABLETON LIVE
November 17, 2019
Mixing is the process of fine-tuning individual music tracks, balancing them and creating space in the “mix”. In this 4-hour workshop, participants will deepen their understanding of mixing through listening and hands-on practice with Ableton Live.
Composer and artist Lee Gilboa will give you a grounding in the fundamentals of mixing and how to apply them to your own musical style.
Topics the class will cover:
- What is a mix?
- Levels & Panning
- EQ & Compression
- Creative processing & breaking the rules
- Listening & analysis of various contemporary artists
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
Flyer Design by Georgia Coleman
BREAKING WAVES
FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS & METHODS FOR SOUND DESIGN
October 20, 2019
Back by popular demand, this workshop is an extension of our NEW WAYS OF LISTENING class, where participants will dive deep into the fundamental tools and methods for sound design.
This course is for anyone working in (or with ambitions to work in) audio media—documentary, fictional or artistic.
Shani Aviram will present experimental and creative works from the world of radio drama, music and film as sources of inspiration and references for sound design ideas.
CAPTURING THE SOUNDSCAPE
INTRO TO CREATIVE FIELD RECORDING
August 11, 2019
Learn how to listen to, capture and interpret your sonic environment in this workshop led by sound and media artist Jenn Grossman.
The class will provide an introduction to theories of sound studies, acoustic ecology, musique concrète and psychogeography, as well as a range of recording techniques. Working in groups, participants will create their own sound collages by recording site-specific sounds and using audio editing software.
“Today all sounds belong to a continuous field of possibilities lying within the comprehensive dominion of music. Behold the new orchestra: the sonic universe! And the musicians: anyone and anything that sounds!” -R. Murray Schafer
Flyer Design by Anny Oberlink
Drawing by Eleni Arapoglou
OUTLINES, BODIES & BLANK SPACES
IMPROVISATIONAL PRACTICE THROUGH MOVEMENT AND VOICE
July 21, 2019
Using multimodal approaches to live composition, instructor Eleni Arapoglou will guide participants as they use shapes, fluidity and stillness in the body as a source of vocal expression.
Attendees will work as a group to develop spatial and physical awareness; examine links between body, voice and breath; and experiment with imagery, rhythm and form to create improvised sounds.
The workshop adopts practices and methodologies from Action Theater, 5Rhythms, Gaga movement, Alexander Technique, and Circlesongs.
NEW WAYS OF LISTENING
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO SOUND DESIGN
June 02, 2019
In this three-hour workshop, participants will explore new ways of listening and learn how to develop their sound design skills whether they are working in documentary, fictional or artistic mediums.
Instructor Shani Aviram will teach participants how to make considered sound design choices, how to choose the right tools for the job, and how to maximize their resources (no fancy plug-ins necessary!).
Attendees will also be introduced to experimental and creative works from the world of radio drama, music and film as sources of inspiration.
Flyer Design by Anny Oberlink
Flyer Design by Anny Oberlink
EXTENSIVE INTRO TO ABLETON LIVE
FROM SETUP TO MIXING
April 14, 2019
Join composer and sound artist Lee Gilboa for a comprehensive introduction to Ableton Live, focusing on creative approaches to music production.
The class will cover:
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Navigating the Ableton Live interface
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Basic MIDI sequencing
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Creating synth sounds
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Sampling
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Automation, mixing and creative processing
WOMEN'S GROUP SING
TUNING MEDITATION
March 08, 2019
In honor of International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8th, women are invited to share their voices in an evening group sing at Grand Street Healing Project.
We will focus on composer Pauline Oliveros' Tuning Meditation. No preparation or experience is required and ‘non-singers’ are encouraged to join. We will begin with a single pitch and build a chorus. “Call it listening out loud.” – Pauline Oliveros
The event will comprise three 20 minute sessions led by vocalist and musician Cassandra Jenkins.
Flyer Design by Cassandra Jenkins
ELECTROACOUSTIC SOUND ART PRODUCTION
December 08, 2018
Led by Berlin-based sound artist Verónica Mota, this class focuses on musique concrète techniques and electronic sound production, referencing the works of Delia Derbyshire and John Cage.
The workshop will include:
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An introduction to recording high-quality audio samples
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Instruction in using Ableton Live editing software
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The opportunity for participants to create their own 10-minute composition incorporating self-made audio, field recordings and creative sound art techniques