Students Remix Tracks in MIDI Class

In the Spring 2013 MIDI Techniques class, students were provided with a short sample of an electronic track, and they were given the task of creating a short remixed version.  The tracks were arranged using the software Reason, which provides a series of virtual synthesizers, drum machines, and effects.  The students did an excellent job, and here is the result:

NAMM Conference Highlights

From left: Jordan Nyenhuis, Matt Lyon, Austin Lee, Dan Stefanich, Bruce Schulz, Tyler Steele, Professor Nathan Edwards (also in attendance: Tristen Boyte, Daryl Becker)

Eight students and I packed in a whole lot into the three days of the National Association of Music Merchandising show this past January in Anaheim.  I'm excited to share the highlights! You can link to them below on my personal website:

NAMM Show - Day One

NAMM Show - Day Two

NAMM Show - Day Three

Audio Students go to "Pensado's Place"

In late January, eight Audio Production students attended the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandising) trade show in Anaheim, California.  While there, we had the opportunity to be audience members in the front several rows of the internet video show, "Pensado's Place".  In the show, Grammy award winning mix engineer Dave Pensado, presents tips and tricks for mix engineers.

During this special 100th episode, many guest recording engineers made an appearance.  Needless to say, we were all very excited and inspired following the show.  Full details of the NAMM show are soon to come!

New Gear for DSU Live!

Our live sound organization on campus, DSU Live is really excited to have some great new gear this semester, including an all-new 24-channel Presonus StudioLive Digital Mixer!  With our new equipment, students will have the opportunity to record every individual channel live to a computer via firewire, and create multitrack mixes.  Needless to say, we'll be recording a lot of live music this semester, and also shooting a lot of HD video.  We're looking forward to some great guest musicians this semester, as well as cultural awareness events, and a Battle of the Bands.  There's a lot to look forward to!

Students Tyler Steele, Nathan Fields, and Daryl Becker help to unbox the digital mixer.

Students Impress with End-of-Year Projects

Animation instructors Giles Timms and Scott MacKenzie showed off the amazing work from their 2D and 3D animation classes this semester at the Animation Spotlight event. Additionally, our DAD-498 "Undergraduate Research" class displayed their work in the campus gallery. Projects included graphic design, animation, sound design, video, and web design.

As a part of the exhibition, graduating graphics student Tyler Wall showed off his amazing video highlighting the DSU Football program. Other great work included customized tarot cards, an interactive storybook, designs for a fictional brewery, and sound effects from a live stage performance.

Lots of Musical Talent Visits DSU

Our live sound organization, DSU Live, has been very busy this past month, hosting a number of different bands and musicians.  This included a visit from national touring musician Tony Memmel, who put on a highly impressive performance and also talked to music and audio classes about the business of being a professional musician.  Here's a video of a song from the show, edited by Cody Welu and Nathan Fields:


We also helped with sound for Washington D.C.-based band, Black Alley.  Their show included upbeat interpretations of popular pop, rock, and R&B songs.

Lastly, we had a visit from another highly-talented touring musician, Preston Pugmire.  He specializes in live looping, and showed off his impressive vocal skills.

There's more to come!  We are really looking forward to a visit from last year's Battle of the Bands winners, Amos Slade.  And in December, acoustic musician Adam Hammer will perform a show and visit with students in Audio Production classes.  There's a lot of great music going on here at DSU!

Getting Hands-On in Recording Sessions

Every Audio Production students takes our "Recording Sessions" class at least once during their college career.  In this class, we do a number of hands-on projects including recording stereo piano, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, and work on mix techniques in the control room.  If students choose to repeat the class, they can do independent projects, building more hands-on skills with Pro Tools and our analog mixing console.

Student Dan Stefanich practices his acoustic guitar skills as we set up mics in the tracking room.

Earlier this semester, I demonstrated various different common stereo microphone techniques as we recorded a student, Michael Rugg, playing piano while we tracked with mics set up in a number of different configurations:

Basic Stereo Mic Techniques from Nathan Edwards on Vimeo.