Live and the Art of Remixing
Live and the Art of Remixing
Emmy-nominated composer Frankie Blue learns Live in three days—then takes 30 students along for the ride
Emmy-nominated composer Frankie Blue learns Live in three days—then takes 30 students along for the ride
With an Emmy nomination and several multi-platinum albums under his belt, it’s no wonder that the California State University of Fresno asked composer/writer/producer Frankie Blue (Garbage, Jamiroquai, The Rembrandts) to teach a class on remixing during the school’s Summer Arts Festival. An avid Logic user, Blue planned to teach the seminar using his platform of choice. But when a hectic work schedule turned up the pressure, a chance introduction to Ableton Live proved to be a lifesaver.
“About two weeks before the first day of class, I was introduced to Ableton Live 3.0 by a friend of mine,” explains Blue. “I was blown away and immediately secured a copy for myself. Then a week passed, and I still hadn't opened Live as I was busy scoring "The Last Ride," a movie for USA starring Dennis Hopper. (If only I had known then what I now know about Live!).”
Upon completing the movie, Blue realized he was left with only four days to construct the curriculum for his remix seminar. As he began the daunting task of reviewing Logic, he wondered how he could possibly teach the complicated program to 30 students in just two days’ time. Frustrated, Blue suddenly remembered the application he had been neglecting. He opened it up, began to tool around, and was amazed at what he found.
“In about two hours, I had pieced together the beginnings of a remix that would have taken me half a day on Logic,” says Blue. “That's when I had my epiphany (or burst of insanity)-–I would teach the entire seminar on Live, a program I basically had no idea how to use! As foolhardy as the idea originally seemed, three days later I was standing in front of a group of 30 students and a few college professors and instructing them in the art of the remix using a program I barely knew, but felt quite comfortable in.”
The consummate professional refused to lose his cool when confronted with questions he couldn’t answer. Blue embraced the experience, relying on Live’s straightforward interface and intuitive nature to make his way through the seminar. Ultimately, Blue was able to give the students a greater experience than he had ever anticipated; the majority of students not only completed their remixes, but also walked away with a sense of accomplishment from unlocking the power of Live for themselves.
“Were there things I didn't know? Definitely!,” admits Blue. “But the interesting part is we were able to quickly and easily figure them out together. Like me, the students found Live easy to learn, very intuitive and flexible. To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot to teach! And that was just perfect because I wanted the class to experience immediate hands on remixing, not a seminar on learning a software program. By the end of the second day, 27 of the 30 students had completed a finished remix.”
At the close of the seminar, Blue auditioned each composition, one by one, in front of the class—with stunning results. The head of the music department was duly impressed, and most of the students could hardly believe their own ears.
I have been studying music for over 15 years,” says CSU Summer Arts Program student Cristy Troia. “However, this was my first experience with remixing and using Live. I thought this would be a difficult project, but Live made it easy to build beats by letting me audition sounds while the loops I'd already built continued to play. After I'd built the basis of my remix, I started to use Live as more of a performance instrument than a mixing tool. By setting samples to be triggered by keys on the keyboard, I was able to play along to my loops. Live was a fun and easy program to learn, which made remixing accessible to someone with no experience.”
“I was skeptical of learning a new program in two days,” admits fellow student Jonathan Roberts. “But once I got my hands on this program, the music I created flowed mysteriously from my brain to the computer. I found that syncopation on this program takes little effort and that changing the key of a melody was just as easy—these two combined allow for optimum performance. I'd recommend this program to the novice as well as a pro who needs a program to do something quickly, efficiently, and well. I've gained an entire new respect for remixing because of this experience.”
All in all, the seminar was a tremendous success, and now Blue is looking for new ways to integrate Live into his workflow. Even though he’s back on the job, Live holds the promise of making “work” more fun than he ever imagined. And after experiencing the new features in Live 4 (released after the seminar), Blue is more hooked than ever.
“About two weeks before the first day of class, I was introduced to Ableton Live 3.0 by a friend of mine,” explains Blue. “I was blown away and immediately secured a copy for myself. Then a week passed, and I still hadn't opened Live as I was busy scoring "The Last Ride," a movie for USA starring Dennis Hopper. (If only I had known then what I now know about Live!).”
Upon completing the movie, Blue realized he was left with only four days to construct the curriculum for his remix seminar. As he began the daunting task of reviewing Logic, he wondered how he could possibly teach the complicated program to 30 students in just two days’ time. Frustrated, Blue suddenly remembered the application he had been neglecting. He opened it up, began to tool around, and was amazed at what he found.
“In about two hours, I had pieced together the beginnings of a remix that would have taken me half a day on Logic,” says Blue. “That's when I had my epiphany (or burst of insanity)-–I would teach the entire seminar on Live, a program I basically had no idea how to use! As foolhardy as the idea originally seemed, three days later I was standing in front of a group of 30 students and a few college professors and instructing them in the art of the remix using a program I barely knew, but felt quite comfortable in.”
The consummate professional refused to lose his cool when confronted with questions he couldn’t answer. Blue embraced the experience, relying on Live’s straightforward interface and intuitive nature to make his way through the seminar. Ultimately, Blue was able to give the students a greater experience than he had ever anticipated; the majority of students not only completed their remixes, but also walked away with a sense of accomplishment from unlocking the power of Live for themselves.
“Were there things I didn't know? Definitely!,” admits Blue. “But the interesting part is we were able to quickly and easily figure them out together. Like me, the students found Live easy to learn, very intuitive and flexible. To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot to teach! And that was just perfect because I wanted the class to experience immediate hands on remixing, not a seminar on learning a software program. By the end of the second day, 27 of the 30 students had completed a finished remix.”
At the close of the seminar, Blue auditioned each composition, one by one, in front of the class—with stunning results. The head of the music department was duly impressed, and most of the students could hardly believe their own ears.
I have been studying music for over 15 years,” says CSU Summer Arts Program student Cristy Troia. “However, this was my first experience with remixing and using Live. I thought this would be a difficult project, but Live made it easy to build beats by letting me audition sounds while the loops I'd already built continued to play. After I'd built the basis of my remix, I started to use Live as more of a performance instrument than a mixing tool. By setting samples to be triggered by keys on the keyboard, I was able to play along to my loops. Live was a fun and easy program to learn, which made remixing accessible to someone with no experience.”
“I was skeptical of learning a new program in two days,” admits fellow student Jonathan Roberts. “But once I got my hands on this program, the music I created flowed mysteriously from my brain to the computer. I found that syncopation on this program takes little effort and that changing the key of a melody was just as easy—these two combined allow for optimum performance. I'd recommend this program to the novice as well as a pro who needs a program to do something quickly, efficiently, and well. I've gained an entire new respect for remixing because of this experience.”
All in all, the seminar was a tremendous success, and now Blue is looking for new ways to integrate Live into his workflow. Even though he’s back on the job, Live holds the promise of making “work” more fun than he ever imagined. And after experiencing the new features in Live 4 (released after the seminar), Blue is more hooked than ever.
