Recording Music Using Computers

Questions for Week 8

When asked, "how do you best learn?" most people usually respond with either a technique, like, "in a classroom," or by naming their favorite sense, like, "I learn best visually." Unfortunately, this implies most people define "learning" as the ability to parrot the correct answer.

What is wrong with this? We believe that "parroting the correct answer" creates parrots, not students; dullards, not Einsteins. So how can we create more Einsteins? By asking questions which are intended to provoke the student's own questions. More important, we see this as the best way with which to reawaken in students the love of learning.

This week's topic is, "Recording Music Using Computers." Would you like to actually awaken your love of learning about this topic? You can, simply by reading the teacher's questions and then, by asking yourself, "what questions did these words just provoke in me?"

"Recording Music Using Computers"

Teacher's Questions (asked by Gary)

• Is it possible to be musically creative while tending to the mundane and technical details of operating a computer?
• Can the Feng Shui of your studio enhance (or inhibit) your creativity, or even your desire to be creative?
• How does the lighting in your room affect your ability to stay conscious while recording?
• How does watching a computer monitor affect the way you hear music?
• Can a conscious connection to your body, e.g. through yoga or exercise, enhance your creativity and concentration?

• Does eating while working aid or distract you from focusing on your work?
• Do computers put you into shock?
• Do microphones put you into shock?
• Do headphones put you into shock?
• Does the absence of hardware (tape recorders, mixing boards, audio processors, etc.) make it difficult to picture the recording process?
• Can you stay connected to musicians and technicians while immersed in a highly technical, often high-pressured process?
• Can you maintain your authority, your dignity, and your sanity while being told what to do by a bunch of idiots, morons, and assholes?

Possible Student Response Questions (asked by Colleen)

[1]I've never been able to appreciate jazz, the symphony or music without words. I wonder if the lack of words to create a picture or a story to imagine prevents me from seeing the music. I've been told that others "see" the music, but I don’t know what that's like. Can I be taught to "see" the music? Do I have a BLock?

[2] I love your question about Feng Shui of your studio, but how is that grounded in Emergence Theory? (I found myself wanting to write questions that I thought I could teach, but not in relation to Emergence- or maybe I just couldn't see the relationship.)

[3] I am so interested to learn from you how one "maintains authority and dignity" while dealing with assholes as I'm sure that's applicable to all professions. Is this the same as staying connected or is it more about awareness of the layers one goes through when faced with these situations?