Erika: Online Mentorship
10 Weekly Group Sessions
Course Starts: 13th April 2021, 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET
10 x 1,5 hours group sessions taking place every week
Interactive live video format, including demonstrations, exercises and discussions
Exploring a different topic every week
Every session concludes with a Q&A and opportunity for participation
LIVE - Group Session [13th April; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Introduction
Frank will talk you through his studio set up, what decisions lead him to his current set up. Specific talk about several topics such as cabling, workflow, software and hardware and “real instruments” and acoustics.
Erika will introduce the course and platform, share with you her experience and background, and discuss the concept of making live music.
LIVE - Group Session [20th April; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Gear 1: Instruments
Improvisation as the core of Sebastian's approach to music, a philosophical introduction to the concept and its importance to tapping into your creativity.
We look at improvisation & creativity as something innate within human nature:
Frank will discuss the different mechanisms (pre-sets, tools, tricks) that he uses to help him improvise, capture valuable moments, condense the material, arrange his ideas, and finishing a song.
During these 3 gear sessions, Erika will walk you through her setup, discuss the roles that different machines play, and show how they work together. She will also address options and ideas beyond her current build.
LIVE - Group Session [27th April; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Gear 2: Utilities
The topic of improvisation naturally leads to the idea of collaborations, their role in the creative process (and of improvisation), listening and paying attention to other artists.
In the first session of the second week. Frank will lead you through his live-set-up. When you have watched this video, he will go into further details on the set-up, introduce you to his workflow on stage and answer further questions you may have.
In the second gear session, Erika will show you what you need besides your instruments to make your setup work the way you want it to, and talk about the many practicalities of live setups.
LIVE - Group Session [4th May; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Gear 3: Assembling your setup
Discover how reconnecting with nature and meditation can be used as tools to unlock your own creativity.
Meditation:
Nature:
In the second part of Frank’s introduction to his live-set, he will share more of his experiences on stage. He will give you background information on his approaches and solving issues on stage
In the second gear session, Erika will show you what you need besides your instruments to make your setup work the way you want it to, and talk about the many practicalities of live setups.
LIVE - Group Session [11th May; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Jamming
Sebastian will talk through his studio set up, what decisions lead him to his current set up and his advice. Specific talk about several topics such as Software, Hardware, Soundcards etc.
Touring as a solo-act is one part of Frank. However the integral part of collaboration has been present and vital to Frank also before his electronic music career. He will introduce to the different forms and aspects of his collaborations and how you can grow / develop through these team efforts.
Erika will talk about her creative process, which begins with live jamming, and show you some techniques and ideas for writing music that will ultimately become part of your live performance.
LIVE - Group Session [18th May; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Prepare Your Set
With improvisation as a technical aspect, Sebastian will discuss the different mechanisms (pre-sets, tools, tricks) that he uses to help him maintain a clear mind and therefore more open to the flow of creativity.
In this last episode Frank will give you an insight of how his story went so far. Here you will learn about his thoughts on communicating and relations, mistakes and decisions.
Molding jams into a solid live performance requires both intention and organization. Erika will show you the tools and techniques she's developed for turning sounds and sequences into a set that flows well.
LIVE - Group Session [25th May; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Practice
Sebastian will talk you through the various software programmes he uses, plugins and software synths (and why).
Practicing is how you grow from being capable to being excellent. Becoming ready to perform at a gig is about practicing more than just your music. Erika will discuss many methods of practicing to become ready for the stage.
LIVE - Group Session [1st June; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Traveling
In this second module focusing on playing live, Sebastian will follow up on the topic by discussing the hardware aspect of his live set up and help you with any doubts or questions you may have to build your own.
Leaving your house to give a live set requires packing and transportation, communicating with other people and entities, and taking care of your self and your equipment. This class draws heavily on Erika's experiences traveling around the world with too many flight cases.
LIVE - Group Session [8th June; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Business
Sebastian will share his tricks about finding peace and presence on stage. These include pragmatic solutions to finding your creative flow, and a more holistic approach to touring (for e.g. monitoring and sleep).
Practical things to think about:
The act of giving a live performance is touched by many aspects of the music business, well beyond the most basic transaction of getting paid for a performance. Erika will talk you through bookings, promoters, record labels, royalties, and promotion.
LIVE - Group Session [15th June; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Performance
Sebastian uses freestyle live looping as well as prepared sketches, both when he plays live and when he improvises in the studio. This episode gives a deeper insight into these two approaches and in what way you can combine them for better creative flow.
Looping
Sketches
And finally, Erika will talk through what happens at an actual live show! Learn what to expect on the day of a performance, including every last possible thing that could go wrong.
Every Tuesday at 12pm EST / 6pm GMT
This course is for anyone with any amount of experience in making music or playing live, including you! if.... ...you want to make music (and maybe even play live), but aren't sure how to approach this from a creative or technical perspective; you might not have much or any gear yet. ...you have collected a studio full of equipment (sequencers, eurorack, hardware synths, soft synths, plugins, controllers, whatever!), but don't know how to make music. ...you are making music, and want to take your sound to the stage or stream. ...you have played live some, and are looking for ideas, tactics and inspiration to take it to the next level.
While this course has a heavy focus on hardware, it is also relevant to those who want to perform with a laptop, giving techniques and strategies for managing a collection of tools and instruments to create and perform live music, regardless of the equipment you choose. Otherwise the sessions are hosted on Zoom, so we recommend getting the desktop app rather than working through browser
No, we are not sending recordings to participants after the sessions. The intention is to practice presence, and experience the course in the moment, focusing on improvisation and real-time feedback. One-on-one sessions will be recorded however and shared.
This can happen, such as in real life things sometimes come up. We look at this case by case, if someone has considerable changes in their schedule and is absent to more than 1-2 sessions then we speak directly to the student about the possibilities.
Yes, the course is in English.