Instruments

• WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed submitted beats and in-progress recordings from several students, including a kazoo-based field recording piece and a folk song arrangement using power sanders as a drone instrument. Covered DAW workflow techniques in Logic, including bounce-in-place methods, mono/stereo conversion, and the distinction between Logic's Join commands. Discussed using Match EQ with white noise as a frequency-balancing tool in the mix process.
• OFFICE HOURS: Worked through the internal architecture of the Harmonic Synth, specifically routing a sidechain input to enable live re-synthesis and vocoder-style effects. Demonstrated the freeze-point scrubbing concept using a poly LFO, explored pitch bend as a high-resolution alternative to mod wheel for scrubbing, and discussed the broader application of nonlinear audio playback — scripting playback position changes that are typically only possible in a sampler. Also discussed a forthcoming songwriting incubator session planned for Wednesdays starting around the 12th, two hours earlier than the previous iteration.
• INSTRUMENT-GYM: Worked through the BK Harmonic synthesizer as an expressive instrument, exploring its core architecture — partials, overtone scan, tuning modes, and the partials matrix — with live hands-on walkthroughs for attending students. Covered just intonation versus equal temperament as implemented in the plugin, and demonstrated how to route MIDI modulation (pitch bend) to control the number of active partials as an expressive performance parameter.
• EAR-TRAINING-GYM: We worked through a high-difficulty chord identification exercise using an ear training app, analyzing a complex chord that turned out to be an E-flat major 7 (with a 9) in first inversion. The exercise surfaced the distinction between hearing a chord functionally versus hearing its explicit voicing and intervals, and illustrated how spread voicings can mask the intervals your brain already recognizes. Multiple guesses were worked through collectively before arriving at the answer.
• THEORY-GYM: Covered the minor 6 chord — what it is, how it functions, and where it naturally appears in a key — using Matthew Wilder's "Ain't Nothin' Gonna Break My Stride" as the primary study subject. Demonstrated how the song's verse is built around an Eb minor 6 chord functioning as a minor iv resolving to I (in Bb), showed the equivalence between a minor 6 chord and a minor 7 flat 5 (half-diminished) in root position, and traced the song's series of key changes through the verse, chorus, and bridge. Also introduced the reggae rhythmic feel by contrasting a standard downbeat-driven bass/chord pattern with the upbeat-focused "one drop" skank pattern.
• PRODUCTION-GYM: We spent this morning's Production Gym on an active listening session dedicated to Björk, prompted by a recent encounter with a music professional who had never heard of her. We worked through three songs — "Pagan Poetry," and "Unravel," and a recent Björk/Rosalía collaboration — analyzing mixing decisions, vocal production, drum programming, reverb use, no pitch correction, automation, and stereo field placement as they appeared in each track. The session also opened into a group discussion about music history literacy as a foundational skill for producers.
• WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Weekly Beat Challenge — 1276 words across 2 speakers (21 wpm). Insufficient instructional content for a summary.
• OFFICE HOURS: Covered an overview of the upcoming songwriting class format — six weeks of generative writing exercises, peer feedback, and working toward a completed piece. Walked through the Chordal ear training app in a live demo, including the interval identification game, chord density exercises, and a new harmony wheel mode in development. Discussed interval ambiguity, specifically why major and minor sixths are consistently the most misidentified intervals, with reference to tournament data collected from recent playtesting.
• THEORY-GYM: Worked through interval ear training using the Beat Kitchen chord quiz tool, focusing on how to hear and identify intervals within a chord context. Covered the characteristic sounds of major and minor thirds, fourths, fifths, tritones, major and minor sixths, and major sevenths. Introduced the concept of interval inversion and how it affects perceived quality.
• OFFICE HOURS: Covered a range of topics including video editing workflows in Logic Pro, stereo microphone technique for acoustic guitar, microphone selection philosophy (bright vs. dark mics, large vs. small diaphragm), and a live walkthrough of the Cordal app's multiplayer chord-identification game. Also worked through chord voicing options for a student's song project, including a Montuno-style bass line demonstration.

Show more… Learn more about Residency

• 
  Theory Gym: Nathan
  Aug. 09,
• 
  Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  Aug. 10,
• 
  Office Hours: Jam
  Aug. 10,
• 
  Production Gym: Nathan
  Aug. 10,
• 
  Instrument Gym: Kallie
  Aug. 11,
• 
  Office Hours: Scott Hampton
  Aug. 11,

Learn more about Residency

• Aug 12, 2026 Songwriting Incubator
• Sep 01, 2026 Comprehensive Program
• Sep 1, 2026 DAW Core Skills
• Sep 21, 2026 Beat Building Jam
• Oct 6, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
• Oct 21, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
• Nov 10, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
• Nov 29, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools

See All Courses