Erika: Online Mentorship

1

Session 1 - Introduction

LIVE - Group Session [13th April; 12:00 EST / 18:00 CET] - Introduction

The introduction is an extra session to the complete programme, it is not mandatary to attend. However this is where you will get the opportunity to introduce yourself to the group and hear a little about the other participants. Sebastian will also go over some frameworks for the course, these will also be emailed to everyone after the session.

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.

Hardware set up, cabling and workflow
Software set up and configuration
Analog synths, drum modules and drum machines
Effect units and Pedals
Hardware vs. Software
Preamps and Converters
“Real“ instruments
Some thoughts about monitors and acoustics

Erika will introduce the course and platform, share with you her experience and background, and discuss the concept of making live music.

Welcome!
Housekeeping
What is playing live?
From pure improve to live playback
Alone or together?
Content that isn’t music

Neel will talk you through his studio, explaining how it evolved over the years, what does the studio represent in his life and what decisions lead him to his current setup. In this session we will have specific talks on different topics such as the importance of our listening environment, speaker positions, hardware and digital setup, AD/DA conversion.

Setting up a studio: what is important to know
What does a studio represent to us?
Listening position
Home studio, considerations, pros and cons
Introduction to my music production workflow. Hardware and digital configuration, my instruments, DAW, effects
AD/DA conversion, sound card
Matching the signals, avoiding ground loop, latency issues

2

Session 2 - Gear 1: Instruments

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:

Improvisation is to listen; what is listening?
Sebastian's approach to improvisation
Similarities between improvisation and meditation.
Improvisation; the creative expression
Improvisation; openness and awareness
The importance of improvisation - healing and acceptance
Different improvisation exercises
Improvisation with Circle of Live
Let improvisation flow into your general life; Is improvisation our natural expression?

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.

How to start creating a song
How to start a remix
Some tricks I use
Finding ideas through experimenting
Recording a good signal
Jamming in the studio
Sequencing

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.

Sequencers
Live playing & Looping
Drum machines
Synthesizers
Effects
Samplers

The second session will be focused on different aspects of music production. Neel will show you his approach to music creation, the different techniques he uses and how his setup is important for his workflow. Moreover, he will talk you through his inspirations, methods and expressive intentions that lead him into making music.

The importance of having a ready-to-go setup (are you able to quickly record a musical idea?)
How to get inspired when we feel we are not
How to make the sound we have in mind
Exploiting the most from our instruments, the importance of limiting and disciplining ourselves
Experimenting with tools (Unconventional ways of making sounds)
Making movement in a sound (How to avoid flattened sounds)
Hardware synthetisers and drum machines; which ones do I use the most and why I love them.

3

Session 3 - Gear 2: Utilities

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.

Improvising alone vs with others
Openness / inspire & get inspired
Different collaborations / unlocking different things.
Invite / sharing your ideas
Temporary roles
Listen
Non violent communication

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.

Planning a live set and initial thoughts
What equipment I use and why I choose it
Bringing your own gear vs. renting
Centerpieces: Computer and Mixing desk
My workflow on stage
About travelling with gear

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.

MIDI and control voltage
Mixers
Cables
Your Phone
Electricity

This session will be entirely focused on mixing concepts and techniques. Neel will treat this key topic from both theoretical and practical sides. He will share his experience in the field with tips and demonstrations, and help you with any doubts or questions.

What does mixing mean, what is your final goal
How to start a mixdown, how to prepare yourself for a mixdown
Mixing fundamentals, principles and tools that will always be valid
Different ranges of frequencies, how to make the best choices and find the right balance
Dynamic processing: how to treat your sound properly
Spatialisation: the importance of creating a sound's image and its depth
Differences between an analog and digital mixdown, & the power of combining the two
Final test, master chain, general considerations and tips

4

Session 4 - Gear 3: Assembling Your Set Up

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:

Different meditation techniques and exercises.
Daily practice / retreat
Meditation - non state
Reminding, not teaching. presence is not something you learn, it's you!

Nature:

The natural expression of the wild
Just be in nature, no activity.
Different exercises in 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

Song selection
How i create a live version of a song
Jamming and improvisation
Reacting on problems, dropouts etc
Attaching to the room and audience
Respecting the people playing with you

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.

Including a laptop
What goes with a laptop
Making choices about your gear
Setting up your studio for live
My home-live set up

It's been now more than ten years that Neel started his professional activity with mastering, working and contributing to define the sound of some of the best labels and artists in the scene. This session will be fully dedicated to mastering both from the conceptual and the technical point of view. Neel will treat all the main topics of it, sharing his direct experience on field and showing some of his favourite techniques and methods of work.

What is important to understand when you listen to someone's music. What is the purpose of a mastering engineer.
Critical listening: why it is a main step of the mastering process
Enisslab: The beginnings, how Neel built it's identity and improved it
Being a music producer and a mastering engineer at the same time: the challenges and benefits
Outboards and plugins: my setup
What is the difference between a professional mastering and a self made/software/algorithms mastering
How to understand the right hardware or plugins to use for our purpose
Mastering chain. Aspects to consider.
Multiband compressing: what it is and why is it used on mastering.
Loudness protocols
Differences between digital, vinyl/tape and streaming platforms

5

Session 5 - Jamming

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.

Software set up and configuration
Hardware configuration
Soundcards
Tape Machine (and why would you consider using it?)
Midi controllers / control surface
Loopers
Issues of noise and hum, how to avoid and how to live with it
Stomp boxes and pedal trains
Cables
Sequencers

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.

Opening up for making music with others
Improvising
Sharing
The importance of listening
Studio collaborations
Collaborations on stage
About touring with a band

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 creative process vs studio creative process
What is jamming?
Jamming ideas
Listening
Technical & creative goals
Saving as you go (or not)

Playing live has always been an important part of Neel's musical life. During this session he will show you how his live setup works and how it changed and evolved in the years. Additionally, he will share with you some of the experience he gained over the years through practical tips and anecdotes from his shows. Last part of the session will be dedicated to a live improvisation where Neel will show you and explain progressively all the decisions he takes.

Different approaches and possibilities when you build a live session
Being able to improvise, listening what we do, feeling confortable with it
My personal way to approach live performances. Why I keep on changing my setup.
Modular synthesizer: how I use it to perform and how I combine it with other machines
Technical issues and problem solving: before or while playing.
Circle of Live: Setup, interaction. How it works, why every time it's different.
Live jamming

6

Session 6 - Prepare Your Set

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.

Express and write without a specific purpose
What is your intention with making music? Allow that intension, don’t work against it
Meditation as a tool, why does it help your studio work?
Spend time with an instrument without recording, just for the pleasure of playing/feeling music.
Different angles to approach the expression. Layering / free improvisation / arranging / looping /
Use your feelings as a starting point
Define your temporary frame and express from that
Accept yourself, honour yourself, allow all feelings also the ones that are harder to accept

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.

Building a team
Travelling
Treating people
My way
Motivation and goals
My way / your way
Mapping
Push & Midi looping

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.

Define your intention
Organise your music and ideas
Refine your technical approach
Creting notes and /or a set list
Being mentally prepared

During this session Neel will talk you through his life experiences in making music with others artists. How he approached it from the creative and technical side, how the different projects evolved in the years and what do they represent to him.

What does collaborating with another artist means? The importance of sharing.
How to merge two different artistic personalities into one
My collaboration experiences (Voices From The Lake, LF58)

7

Session 7 - Practice

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).

Computer
Ableton
What software synths and plug ins
Soundcard
Midi controllers & control surfaces
My template
Mapping
Push & Midi looping

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.

What is practice?
Practicing your set
Recording yourself
Simulating the real world
What you can’t practice
Practicing set up and tear down

8

Session 8 - Traveling

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.

Mixer
Synths
Drummachines
Midi interface
Midi keyboard
Outboard effects
Signal mergers
Bags and travel recommendations (to protect your gear on the road)

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.

Technical and hospitality riders
Packing: what to take, how to take it
Planes, trains and ground transport
Self-care
Insurance

9

Session 9 - Business

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).

Your live set up is your trampoline and your parachute
Your presence is your inner trampoline and parachute
What are your intentions for playing live? Recognise them and honour them.
Do it! Learn by doing and accepting ”failure”

Practical things to think about:

Technical rider and advancing
Monitoring
Renting equipment VS bring everything yourself
Pre-connected vs connect on sound check
Having a tour manager (or do I need one?)
Cases, bags etc.
Rest & meditation

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.

Getting gigs
When your music is business
Support for your career
Performance rights and publishing
Social media and community building
Releasing your music
Streaming

10

Session 10 - Performance

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

Looping / improvisation / meditation
Looping in the studio
Boss RC-505
Midi looping with Push
Duo Looping

Sketches

Sketches built on 12 sounds
How to record sketches from scratch
How to make a sketch from an existing song/track of your own

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.

Leading up to your show
The day of your show
Set up and sound check
Performing
Teardown
Recording your set
After your show