Education / Lessons

EDUCATION / CLASSES


We offer affordable and fun Music Education programs at our 25,000sq. feet showroom in Chicago - home of blues, also a birthplace of house music!
Our classes are taught by some of the best industry professionals around, all active in the city’s music scene, and some are world known touring artists/DJ’s.
We offer classes in:

  • Music production (Ableton, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Reason)
  • DJ Performance (From beat matching ACTUAL vinyl on Technics turntables, to Pioneer setup you would expect at all pro venues (CDJ/DJM setup), to full software control of various platforms such as SERATO, Traktor DJ etc.
  • Piano Instructions (private and ensemble/class)
  • Guitar Instruction (private)
  • Vocal Instruction (private)
  • Drums and Percussion (private and ensemble/class)
  • Music composition/songwriting (From hip hop, house, soul, blues, to rock, funk, rnb, ambient, chill out/trip hop etc.) DJ classes, as well as private instructions in guitar, piano, bass, drums and vocals.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES - ADVANCE YOUR SHOW!
We encourage every musician to get proficient on controlling the live sound elements, practice the venue setup prior to show, and be active in creating the visual aspect of their show (or at least know the basics of) - a full blown DMX-based lighting rigs, controlled by software, MIDI, controller or a combination of all three.
This final stage of your hard work is crucial - THIS IS WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WILL SEE/HEAT, this is what you'll be judged upon. 

Why study about Lights and Sound, I'm a a musician, not an engineer....
Though crucial, this element is often overlooked, and omitted from music education programs and instructions/workshops and clinics.
Bad sound system (or bad engineer behind a good sound system) can and will make your (otherwise great) music sound - bad.
Same for the visuals - if visuals don't follow the sound in unity, the show will simply be - incomplete.
Don't ever settle when it comes to your art, your music, your heart!
All it takes is 2-3 hours of instruction, to be able to understand the terms and possibilities, which you can then communicate to FOH engineers, or lighting engineers at your show.
Coincidentally, all of the technical staff at pro venues will at least try to do a better job of making you sound better, if you show them that you know the basics and have specific preferences.
They like the challenge, and you want to look/sound your best, everywhere you play.
To round off the knowledge acquired in performance, we offer class-based and personal instructions and classes in:

  • Sound reinforcement/Live PA setup, running anything from small/portable PA systems to large, concert size JBL line array systems, including proper speaker/amp selection (for the kind of sound you're going after), speaker placement etc.
  • Live Sound mixing and processing - hands-on instruction on analog and digital mixers and sound processors - which are all permanently installed at our facility here in Chicago.
  • Pro Lighting - from small, sound/auto activated setups, to sophisticated DMX/MIDI/console controlled setups with multiple shows, scenes etc. In addition, the newest MIDI-based lighting control is a God send for bands and DJs/live act performers, who can now learn to simply add lights as if it were just another track on the mixer! The savings on not having to pay the light show operator could ultimately increase your show profits as a result!

Setting up a basic lighting rig, including proper DMX addressing, software control etc, is crucial and essential for today's professional musician, as their show success is largely dependent on the visual aspect, and proper live mix - not just ability in songwriting and performance.
Today's advances in merging lights and sound (such as MIDI based control of LED lights, through Ableton Live for ex.), have finally paved the way for musicians to get full control of their visuals and have a lot of fun doing it too!
Ultimately, knowing the basics of sound reinforcement/PA systems, and basics of lighting equipment, allows you to run your own professional sound system the way YOU want it to sound, and your own professional level light show without the additional expenses of a sound/lighting engineer!