For our workshop, our plan is to centre it around garage band and teaching people to make a quick song in an hour and a half. This will involve a lot of different things and I will explain it below.
Introduction (Less than 5 minutes) – We will start off the session with a quick introduction. This will introduce who we are, what we’re doing in the workshop and the aims of the session. Tia will be speaking for most of this introduction.
Follow the leader (Ice-breaker game) (10 minutes) – Firstly we are going to start with a game for a couple of reasons. The game we are playing is called Follow the Leader, which is a rhythm game. The game starts off with one person being sent out of the room, who is named the guesser, then a leader is picked by one of us. Then this leader will make a rhythm using claps. Then the guesser will come back in, and have to guess who the leader is. During the game, the leader has to change the rhythm without the guesser knowing. The guesser gets three attempts to pick who the leader is. This is a fun game, that starts the workshop musically but it also will be fun for them. It will also lead into the next session and is a good warm up for it. A game is a good way to start off a session like this, as it gets the people who you are delivering the workshop to, to get more comfortable with each other and not be as nervous or awkward during the workshop; it also is a fun way to start off the session, instead of it being a boring start and them losing interest quickly, a game is fun and will make them more interested in the session; finally it will help with the relationship they have with us, as they will like us more and feel more comfortable around us after we’ve done a game as they will see us as more fun. Tia will be running this part, and me and Isaac will be helping where help is needed.
Rhythm section (15-20 minutes) – This part of the session will be about the drum sequencer on garage band. I will be running this part, with Tia and Isaac helping if need be. For this section, I will start off with showing them some examples of beats, such as a rock, dance and hip hop beats; I will also show them how to use this sequencer and what all of the instruments are, what sound they make and how to use them effectively. Then after I have done that, I will let them make their own rhythms. This should be quite easy for them as the sequencer on garage band is very simple and easy to use. After they have done that, I will show them how to record it; then I will ask anyone if they want to share their work with the rest of the class. After that we will show them how to quantise their work, as then it will sound more professional. This should be a good start to the session, as it is quite an easy start to the workshop, as it is very easy to work with and is fun to improvise with.
Harmony Section (15 – 20 minutes) – This section will be about the guitar on garage band. Tia will be leading this section, with me and Isaac helping anyone if they need help. Tia will be explaining how to use the smart guitar, which is an easy and simple way of playing chords. We are sticking to C major, as it will make it easier in the next section. Tia will explain how chords work, she will give an example of a good chord progression and explain how to make a good harmony. After everything has been explained, the students will get on with their work and we will all help them. The same process as with the rhythm, they will record it and then play it back to the class if they want to. This harmony will be added on top of the drum beat. This will also be quantised.
Melody Section (15 – 20 minutes) – This section is being led by Isaac and me and Tia will be the helpers. Isaac will be explaining what a melody is, and how it is implemented into songs. Then he will show how to make a melody by showing them a few examples of melodies. He will be using the piano on Garage Band, and will be using the same chords that Tia used as the examples. The same process will happen after everything has been explained, they will get on with making their melody and if they need help we will help them. Then after they will record on top of the harmony and the rhythm, then quantise it. This is probably the hardest section for the students as the piano isn’t easy to use and can be hard to play sometimes. Melody is also the hardest to wrap your head around, as it is the most complicated one out of the three.
Vocals or another instrument (10 minutes) – This section is being led by everyone in different aspects. Isaac will be leading the vocals and me and Tia will be doing the other instruments. This section will be different to the others, as they will be given a choice of either doing vocals or adding another instrument. However we thought that not many people will be willing to do vocals, as many of them won’t be confident in singing. So that’s why we’re giving a choice, as it would be unfair to make them do something that they really don’t want to do. If they pick to add another instrument, they will be able to use any instrument they like. As they already know what they are doing in Garage Band at this point, they will only need a few pointers from us in using the instruments. If they pick vocals, then they will either have vocals already prepared, or Isaac will give them a theme to write lyrics about. Then he will explain how to record into the audio recorder on Garage Band. This section shouldn’t take long as the others, as there isn’t as much to explain for the instrumentation, and it is only a short song they have been making so vocals shouldn’t take too long.
Share (5 minutes) – After they have completed the last instrument/vocals, they will be asked if they want to share their full song back to everyone. We will encourage them to share it as it will be good for them to share something that they are proud of making.
This our final plan of the workshop, however changes were made to get this final plan.
We had an idea to do lyric writing and vocals as the whole last section and not do another instrument. However we decided to cut this due to time constraints as a whole section on lyric writing and vocals will have run us over the time. Another reason is that it is another skill that we have to teach to them, and if we overload them with too much new information they won’t remember all of it. We had another game that was a lyric exercise, where you looked at an image and wrote what it made you feel. This would’ve helped with the lyric writing and vocals if we did that as well.