maschine online course information
DESCRIPTION
Very rarely does a piece of kit come along that changes the way you write music, Maschine is one such piece of gear. If you want to make the most of incorporating this into your workflow and live sets, doing a Midi School 4 week Maschine online course is the answer. Look at this for more information.TRANSCRIPT
MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK4 WEEKS MIDISCHOOL.COM
MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School. 2
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to online learning at Manchester MIDI School. Thanks for taking the time to download and look through this information pack.
It details what you can expect from enrolling on our 4 week NI Maschine music production course.
My name is Tom Lonsborough - I’m the head of online learning at the school. I’ve put together this 4 week course which I’ve designed for people like myself: people that want as small a gap as possible between musical inspiration, and realising those musical ideas.
Very rarely does a piece of kit come along that changes the way you write music: Maschine is one such piece of gear. It has been designed to make you take a step back from the traditional software-based, ‘mouse guided’ DAW setup, and start you producing music in a tactile, natural way. It is a software/hardware hybrid, which works in much the same way as classic grooveboxes such as those from Akai’s MPC series. However, unlike those classic machines where tricky programming on LCD screens, and tiny sample memories by today’s standards limited to some extent the ease of workflow, Maschine combines the feel of these hands-on boxes with the flexibility, and storage capacity of modern computer-based solutions.
After reading the following pages, don’t hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions about the course. My email address is:[email protected].
First of all, for those of you who are not familiar with Maschine, let’s answer a few questions......
▶ What is Maschine? ▶ What to expect from enrolling on this course ▶ How the course is delivered ▶ How much time you’ll need ▶ Supporting resources that come with the course ▶ Kit you’ll need for the course ▶ Details about our online learning site ▶ A breakdown, chapter by chapter, of the course material
JUMP STRAIGHT TO:
Tom Lonsborough
MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
The hardware and software elements of Maschine
What is Maschine?Maschine is a software/hardware hybrid, which, in general terms, allows the creation and sequencing of music and the real-time performance of that music.
What sort of things can you achieve with Maschine?Maschine can be used in the studio as a stand-alone music creating and sequencing tool. It can be used as the hub of a hardware-based studio, or as part of your pre-existing DAW setup: it will run as a plug-in in your favourite piece of sequencing software.
How is it different to other pieces of sequencing software on the market?The hardware aspect of Maschine gets you away from the mouse, and injects a bit of spontaneity back into your music making.
System requirements for running the software:Maschine runs on Mac or PC. Generally speaking a minimum of 2 GB of RAM and a decent sized hard disk for storing projects and audio samples should be sufficient,although please check the Native Instruments website for exact system requirements.
Is Maschine on its own sufficient to start making music?Definitely! It comes with a huge library of very high quality samples, a selection of sampled instruments, and studio quality effects. You have everything you need to compose and produce music from start to finish.
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MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
WHAT YOU CAN HOPE TO EXPECT FROM ENROLLING ON OUR MASCHINE COURSE...
Our 4 week Maschine music production course, has 2 main aims:- To give the student a working knowledge of Maschine as a stand-alone setup- To equip the student with general transferable music production skills
The course is taken from a beginner level upwards, no prior knowledge of music production, Maschine, or even music theory is required. The course builds over 4 weeks covering intermediate techniques during the latter part all of which is detailed over the next few pages.
It is focused on the studio-based music production side of things, and will show you how to use Maschine as a stand-alone software/hardware hybrid. We feel that if you’re spending around £500 on a piece of kit, you’ll want to know how to get the best out of it first, before then integrating it into your existing setup if that’s what you want to do.
How is the course delivered?The course is principally video based. Each week, a new set of video tutorials are made available to the student, to stream via our online learning site,(the previous week’s tutorials remain unlocked as the course progresses).
Each video introduces techniques to practice, and with each week comes a set of leaning outcomes/objectives to check off, and tasks to complete, before moving on to the next week’s material. Subsequent weeks will build on the knowledge gained from previous weeks.
How much time should I spend on the course?Each week, there will be approximately 1 1/2 hours of video tutorials to watch. How much time you spend practising the techniques we show you is up to you, however we would recommend a minimum of 2 hours practice per week on top of the 1 1/2 hours of tutorial time. The more time you spend above andbeyond this, the more you will get from the course, and the more confident you will be using Maschine.
What learning resources come with the course?There is supporting material to download in the form of written notes, which can be added to with your own personalised notes taken during video playback and downloaded in the format of a branded PDF at the touch of a button.
Included in the learning resources are a load of royalty free audio samples from Loopmasters to extend your sample library, and also a carefully selected pack of samples from our tutor which can be loaded into Maschine’s Sampler.
A selection of samples come with the course
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MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
What equipment will you need to complete the course?Fundamentally, you will need a computer running a copy of Maschine, and a broadband speed internet connection to participate on the course.
Optional extras used during this course:
1. A MIDI controller.Although this is an optional extra, we’d really recommend getting yourself one, because although the pads on Maschine can be used to enter melodic patterns of notes, it’s much easier with a MIDI keyboard.
2. Headphones/speakersIn short, some way of hearing the output of Maschine from your computer. Your computer might have built in speakers in which case speakers/headphones are not absolutely necessary.
Advanced optional extras talked about during this course (contact Tom with any questions):
1. Audio interfaceYou would need one of these if you want to listen to the output of Maschine through studio monitors, or sample audio from an external source.
2. Microphone and XLR leadNecessary if you want to record samples into Maschine.
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Motu’s Ultralite: an example of an audio interface. Connects to your computer via firewire or USB, and allows for more flexible input and output routing options than just using your computers built in audio hardware.
Yamaha HS80 studio monitors. Monitors provide a ‘flatter’ frequency response than say a home stereo, and are therefore a preferable listening choice for writing and mixing down music.
MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM OUR ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?
The ethos behind our online tuition is to provide accredited teaching to people who live too far away from the MIDI School to attend a course in person. Our online learning environment is designed to make students feel like they are part of a two way interactive learning process - a feeling which can sometimes be absent from online learning.
When you enrol, you will become part of a class of students that will progress through our course at the same pace. You will be able to create yourself a personalised profile, sharing knowledge and tips with other students enrolled on the course through online chat, and forums.
You can also interact with your tutor, who will be online to chat and answer any questions at various times during the week. Should you miss these sessions, there will be an inbox you can send any questions to which will be regularly checked throughout the week.
There will also be opportunity to obtain feedback on several tasks we will ask you to submit at various stages of the course, and we are introducing the option of screen-sharing where you can interact with the tutor in real time to iron out any difficulties you might be having with your productions.
Who can I contact with any questions regarding the course before I enrol?You can contact the tutor Tom Lonsborough directly, at any time by e-mailing [email protected] can be absolutely anything from how the online learning works, to stuff you might need for the course, to general advice about anything to do with NI Maschine!
Screenshots taken from our online learning interface
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MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
Week 1 - Maschine basics1. Setting up audio hardwareHow to configure the audio output options in Maschine
2. Maschine Project basicsA look at the different elements which make up a project, and familiarisation with the hardware controller. How to find your way around the browser and loading drum samples from Maschine’s library.
3. Loading a Group, creating a PatternLoading a whole group of sounds/samples from Maschine’s library, and creating patterns in Control mode.
4. Editing a PatternAdjusting tempo, the volume of all the different levels, the velocity of events, and quantisation of events. Switching between different patterns on the fly.
5. Editing a Pattern IIChanging pattern length, undo/redo facilities, erasing and replacing notes on the fly. Applying to swing to either the master output as a whole, or individual groups, and also nudging notes in a pattern to create a groove manually.
6. Editing a Pattern IIIPitching sound slots/groups, making use of Note Repeat mode to enter hi-hat patterns. How to ‘pin’ Maschine in different modes.
7. Creating Patterns in Step ModeLoading a Group with Patterns. How to use Step Mode to create a pattern including entering different velocities, and navigation of the mode. Adjusting the way velocity is recorded when in Control Mode.
Week 2 - Playing ‘Sounds’8. Building drum pattern variationsDuplicating and augmenting patterns to quickly build up rhythm tracks. Using mute and solo to bring sounds in and out of a pattern.
9. Using the softwareIn the absence of the Maschine controller, how to use the mouse to load sounds and groups, and to create and edit patterns directly in the software interface.
10. Adding samples to the Browser and sample managementHow to import your own samples for use in Maschine, including how to add the relevant tags for the different menus. Moving the Maschine library to an external hard drive, and how to make sure that if samples are moved or deleted, your project still works as it should.
11. Loading a Sound, attaching a keyboardThe first look at the Maschine ‘Sound’ format. Loading a bass instrument and creating a melodic pattern using the Maschine controller’s pads. How to connect up a MIDI keyboard to play an instrument, and a look at the various options for how and where it transmits MIDI signals to Maschine.
12. What is a Sound?An in depth look at what constitutes a Sound, and we start to look at how we can use the hardware to manipulate sampler instrument parameters.
13. Sampler parametersWe cover all the remaining sampler parameters and how to use them to shape the sound you’re looking for, including filters, envelopes, LFOs and velocity destinations.
WHAT WILL YOU COVER DURING THE COURSE?
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MANCHESTER MIDI SCHOOLLEARN MASCHINE ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION PACK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including printing,photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems without the prior permission in writing from Manchester MIDI School.
Week 3 - Instruments, Effects and Sampling14. Loading an InstrumentHow to load an instrument from the Komplete Elements collection that might have shipped with your copy of Maschine. Also where to go to load plug-in devices which you might have installed on your computer.
15. Adding effectsHow to add effects to your project - first of all as inserts in to one of the free module slots downstream from an instrument on a Sound slot, the as an auxiliary send and return effects on a separate group. We look specifically at reverb and delays here.
16. Automating parametersFirst up we cover how to add effects at the Group level. Then we look at how to record in automations for device parameters - namely how to record in a changing send level to a reverb device. We cover how you can do this in Step mode as well, and also how to remove any unwanted automation.
17. Sampling with MaschineIn this first tutorial on sampling, we look at the wave editing tools Maschine has to offer. We then import a drum loop and use the slicing tool to break it down into it’s constituent drum hits.
18. Sampling IIWe look at the various ways you can make use of a sliced up sample, and also how to setup Maschine to record in and edit samples from an external source using a microphone and an audio interface.
19. Sampling IIIA further look at editing recorded samples, how to set the correct number of samples in the audio preferences, and resampling the output of Maschine internally.
Week 4 - Creating an Arrangement
20. Finding your way around a full ProjectLoading up one of the Project files that comes with the library and manipulating the playback and arrangement of the track using the Maschine hardware.
21. Organising ideasWhere inspiration for a track might come from, and how to select sounds, samples, and instruments to fit around that. Organising and moving your sounds around into a logical order of Groups
22. Writing patternsAfter selecting the sort of sounds etc. we’d like in our piece, we look at methods for creating patterns for each of the groups including basslines, drum beats, lead lines etc.
23. Building your arrangementArranging the patterns you’ve created into a track.
23. Adding interest with automation and one-shotsHow to finish off an arrangement with extra automation of device parameters for expression, and adding those little sounds that make all the difference!
24. Exporting your finished pieceWe cover some basic mixdown techniques including EQ and compression, before then rendering our finished track ready for burning to CD.
MMS reserves the right to make changes to course content at any time.
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