Looking back, I learned so much in our three modules for Term 1 this year. All three of my teachers were always happy to satisfy my curious questions and provide me with advice when I was stuck with a task, or just overwhelmed by it.

After the first few classes for our Intro to Music Production module, I have gained some confidence in using Pro Tools. Diego taught us about a dozen different shortcuts, like splitting an audio file or creating a new track, to raise his students into Pro Tools professionals. During class debates, we shared our individual and conflicting opinions on songs like “Paint The Town Red” by Doja Cat. While some of us thought the track’s Dionne Warwick sample was poorly layered onto the hip-hop beat, others praised Doja Cat’s determination to create a sticky chorus and her rapping.

Pro Tools became less intimidating once we started our Audio Principles classes, where Matt taught us about the patch bay and how recordings travel as digital signals into Pro Tools. This encouraged me to play around with the DAW even more and gradually get used to it. Additionally, I had my first experience setting up microphones in the studio. As a singer-songwriter and vocalist, this was a tick off my bucket list.

In Creative Audio Programming, Jose generously shared his knowledge about Ableton Live showing us how to play around with both Simpler and Sampler to make original sounds. For some of us, including me, it was our first time designing a drum kit from scratch using a wavetable and pads/synths with oscillators.

Overall, the first term was a satisfying learning experience for me. I look forward to booking the recording studios in LCC and using them more often with my coursemates in the coming year.