EMP Beats class and Advanced Rock Band Performance
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 10:39AM My friend Jason and I teach at Experience Music Project in Seattle. A lot of people think this is a Jimi Hendrix museum, but it's a lot more. The education department runs a lot of classes and programs through out the year including their week-long Teen Artsit Workshops during the summer. I taught a one-week Beat Making class a few weeks ago. I had four incredible students who learned the program, Reason. They really blew me away with the pieces they wrote. Fearless and inventive. I gave them challenges every day like "write new music for the Matrix lobby scene shootout", "write music in 3/4 time for a circus using traditional circus themes, but with modern sounding instruments". I'll try to post some music soon.
Jason taught four Rock Band camps including a two-week Advanced Rock Band Camp that ended last Friday. I went to see their final performance and as usual I was really inspired. Three bands performed four to five songs each - originals and covers. One boy named Chandler is a not-to-distant-future indie star. He writes great songs and has a voice that ranges from Jeff Buckley falsetto to Cookie Monster screams. Really impressive! A private guitar student of mine was in one of the bands. It was great to see him stretch out and play with other people - he even played bass on a few songs.
We can learn a lot from kids if we take the time. We've forgotten how pure music can be and what it was like to step into the spotlight for the first time....