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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Ableton Live for Anybody

No experience necessary. Beginner and intermediate users welcome. All genders and non-binary people are welcome.

$60 for the two-day course – email soundgirls@soundgirls.org if you require financial aid

Register Here

Class Description
Do you want to start making beats? Do you want to learn how to make your own demos? Do you want to sharpen your DAW skills so you can get over that first learning curve and really start running with your creativity? Do you want to start performing live with Ableton, but don’t know where to start?

By the end of this two-day course, you will have learned all you need to know in order to really get your engines revved up about Ableton. I want to give you the tools to explore and to run as much of your show as you want to. With your newfound agility and excitement, you might even feel confident to explore parts of Ableton functionality that haven’t yet been discovered! Because that’s what creativity is all about—exploring and playing! But first, what is it exactly that you will be learning?

Day One will be all about the essentials of Ableton. What is the basic design behind this software? How do you get the sounds you want IN there, so you can edit them and play with them? How do you program a drum beat? How do you slow it down if you want to? How do you mess around with ideas and decide what parts you want to go at the beginning, the middle, and the end? How do you listen to it on your phone? By the end of the class, you will have a multi-track song that you create entirely by yourself using Ableton.
*Key items covered: time signatures & tempos, MIDI, audio, clips, arrangement view, bouncing

Day Two will focus on Ableton in live performance. You will learn how to make backing tracks that are suitable for the type of performance you want to put on. Maybe you want to push play at the beginning of the set and never really look at your computer again until your last song. Or maybe you want to engage with every sound that comes out of the house speakers. Or maybe your fantasy set is something in between! We will go over different approaches to designing your live set by using your new song from day one as a template.
*Key items covered: importing tracks, deciding on a playback concept, labeling, setting up loops and automation

Equipment needed (students):
-laptop with Ableton already installed – You can download a 30-day free trial

Instructor: Elana Carroll is a songwriter, producer and performer who has been making original music for 15 years. She holds a BA in music and critical theory from Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

Elana’s interests as a writer/producer span from electronic and dance to pop and country, and she co-writes with other artists as well. Her current focus is on teaching (she will be teaching a Beats by Girlz class this fall), and her own project, Party Nails. She feels it is part of her purpose in this life to “normalize” non-males in the music business through performance, teaching, and mentoring. She is particularly fascinated with popular culture and music in the age of technology.

SoundGirls Tour Managing & Sound Engineer Seminar

Financial assistance available email soundgirls@soundgirls.org

Register Here

When starting out as a Live Sound Engineer, you will encounter gigs that require you to wear two hats. The Tour Manager or Production Manager and Sound Engineer are the most common dual roles you will encounter. Being able to handle both roles effectively will make you more valuable, increase your skill set, and allow you to gain the experience you need to tour solely as a Sound Engineer or Tour Manager.

What do you need to know to tour manage? Tour managing is similar to herding cats. Why would anyone want to herd cats? It’s difficult, time-consuming, and the cats don’t like it. These days touring budgets are shrinking and the crews are often smaller. This means when you are starting your career in live sound, you will be required to do more than one job. Engineer/TM/PM is a favorite combination.  If you gain the skills to TM/Engineer, you will be paid more and make yourself more valuable.

Come learn about “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Wearing Two Hats”.

Rachel “Mr.Soundlady” Ryan is FOH for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Monitors for Silversun Pickups and The Strokes and has road managed/Foh for PHOX

 
 
 

Jessica Berg has worked at TM/FOH and Monitor Engineer. She has tour managed Dr. John, Quadron, Waka Flocka Flame and Phoebe Ryan. Most recently she has been TM/FOH/MON with Hailey Knox and ME for KIIARA.

 
 

Mary Broadbent is the Tour Manager and Backline/Guitar Tech for The Mowgli’s and The Staves. She’s also worked with Wrabel, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

There will be plenty of time for Q&A. Feel free to send in questions you want to be answered –to soundgirls@soundgirls.org.

Light Refreshments will be provided.

 

SoundGirls Intro to Soldering – Los Angeles

Soldering is a necessary skill for audio engineers and techs. Being able to make and repair your cables can get you out of a tight spot and save you money. We are going to go through the basics of soldering, and we will build mic and guitar cables. If you do not have a soldering kit – we have loaners.

Required Tools to Bring to Class

You can purchase an inexpensive soldering kits on Amazon.

This class will address the knowledge and techniques required to produce high-quality manually soldered joints and provide an overview of the basic manual soldering equipment and the proper safety precautions for soldering.

You will be able to take your finished mic and guitar cables home to continue practice soldering.

Instructor: Erika Earl is the Director of Hardware Engineering at Slate Digital where she directs teams and engineers in the technical development of hardware products from concept to launch.

 

SoundGirls Grammy Museum Visit & Dinner

Join us on October 13th for a visit to the Grammy Museum and Dinner. We have two SoundGirls visiting from out of town. Freyja Lawson (system tech for Brit Row) from the U.K. and Amanda Davis (FOH for Tegan & Sara) from Atlanta.

 

The GRAMMY Museum is an interactive, educational museum devoted to the history and winners of the Grammy Awards.

Meet at Grammy Museum at 3 pm

RSVP to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

 

Making the Change

Last month SoundGirl and blogger Kirsty Gillmore wrote a blog that hit very close to home for me. She posted about taking a risk, creating change, and making decisions for her career that makes her happy. Read her blog here, if you haven’t already. Change can be hard and scary. It’s one thing to think or talk about doing something, and another to actually do it. Kirsty, I applauded you for stepping out of your comfort zone to refocus your career and take on new challenges! It is really inspiring to know someone else is in the same position I am in.

The points from Kirsty’s blog that rang most true for me were the feeling of accomplishing my goals in my last position and no longer feeling challenged by a majority of the job. Although a job may never be fully complete, there is a time where it is good to move forward, create change, grow your skills, and try something new. This is exactly the position I found myself in this year.

So, about a month ago I made a big life change; something I had been thinking about for close to a year while waiting for the right job opportunity to open up. That opportunity recently came along and, as a result, I submitted my resignation at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and relocated to a new city and university.

I’m now located in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I’m working for St. Catherine University, an all-women undergraduate school. I’m in more of an overall events logistics role, but there is still some small-scale technology as part of the job. This move has brought me closer to family after being away for about ten years, as well as into a larger market where I hope to develop relationships to continue to freelance in the area. Overall, I’m looking forward to working through the challenges of a new environment and space while developing new skills in my full-time position.

One thing I think is great about my new position is that, as I mentioned earlier, it’s an all-women school. With that, I will work closely with and get to develop the next generation of women entering the workforce, with the opportunity to expose them to the wonderful world of events too. I find my new role challenging, but it is a great place to use my skills in logistics planning for campus events.

I’m excited to be in this larger market where I’ll be able to make new connections within the events and audio world. I hope to experience many new venues, and hopefully, run into many more SoundGirls! I’m motivated to expand my network and maybe do a freelance gig here or there. I look forward to being able to continue to talk about my experiences and this change through SoundGirls. If you’re in the area, let me know – I’d love to connect!

SoundGirls AES Events

We are excited to welcome members from around the globe that will be attending AES NY.

We have put together a few events for our members to attend and we look forward to meeting everyone.

 

October 18

SE01 – Diversity Town Hall

Wednesday, October 18, 9:30 am — 10:45 am (1E15/16

Moderator: Leslie Gaston-Bird, University of Colorado Denver – Denver, CO, USA

Panelists:

This Town Hall is meant to introduce the recently formed AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee and give AES members a chance to have a meaningful discussion about the committee’s purpose. The committee has stated a number of goals intended to strengthen the AES as a whole:

These efforts will include women and other underrepresented groups, as well as students and young audio professionals working in newer music genres and audio fields.

SoundGirls Dinner:

Join us at 6:45 pm at

October 19

EC03 – SPARS Mentoring

SoundGirls Executive Director Karrie Keyes will be at the mentoring session.

This event is especially suited for students, recent graduates, young professionals, and those interested in career advice. Hosted by SPARS in cooperation with the AES Education Committee, career-related Q&A sessions will be offered to participants in a speed group mentoring format. A dozen students will interact with 4–5 working professionals in specific audio engineering fields or categories every 20 minutes. Audio engineering fields/categories include gaming, live sound/live recording, audio manufacturer, mastering, sound for picture, and studio production.

Women’s International Music Network – Girls Night Out

Join us to help support our friends at Women’s International Music Network for an evening of music featuring Grammy award-winning Lisa Loeb, The Command Sisters and Jenna Paone, and more. Info and tickets

October 20

EC10 – Education/Career Fair

Friday, October 20, 12:30 pm — 2:30 pm (Fairs)

SoundGirls will have a booth – come visit us.

The combined AES 143rd Education and Career Fair will match job seekers with companies and prospective students with schools.

SoundGirls Mentoring Session – SIR

Join us for a Mentoring Session with Women Leaders in Professional Audio

You must be a member of SoundGirls.Org. (membership is free and open to all genders and non-binary people. You can sign up on our website). You must register for this event as space is limited.

Register Here

This event is a casual mentoring session (not a panel), and you will be able to get advice and answers to your questions from industry leaders.

More Info here

October 21

SoundGirls Brunch

Please RSVP to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

We will also be available throughout the show to meet privately with members. If you wish to schedule an appointment, please email us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org.

 

SoundGirls Mentoring Session at AES – Oct. 20th

SoundGirls.Org Presents Mentoring Session at AES

Sponsored by DiGiCo

Join us for a Mentoring Session with Women Leaders in Professional Audio

Please join us at the AES Diversity and Inclusion Social 6:00 pm, followed at 7 pm for SoundGirls Mentoring Session in studio 4.

You must be a member of SoundGirls.Org. (membership is free and open to all genders and non-binary people. You can sign up on our website). You must register for this event as space is limited.

Register Here

This event is a casual mentoring session (not a panel) and you will be able to get advice and answers to your questions from industry leaders.

Industry Leaders Include (more tba)

Fela Davis is a graduate of Full Sail University and has over 15 years of experience in audio engineering. Her experience includes working for industry powerhouses Clair Broadcast and House of Blues.  She’s front of house for Christian McBride and co-owner of 23dB Productions.

 

 

Gil Eva Craig is an Audio Engineer and Sound Designer from New Zealand, primarily working in live sound. She is part of Western Audio Engineering, a live sound company based in Wellington New Zealand. Gil started as a studio engineer and sound designer for theatre. She has recorded and mixed numerous albums, three of these winning Tui (NZ Music) awards. Gil has also received several Chapman Tripp theatre award nominations, winning best sound design in 2010.

 

Caroline Sanchez is a freelance musician, audio technician, and technology specialist who regularly works for ABC, NBC, MTV, and Music Mix Mobile on production, music, and remote audio crews. Her experience includes working a number of positions in the broadcast field, ranging between stage A2, recording op, monitor mix, and RF tech on productions such as Good Morning America, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Caroline is a local to the New York area and holds a Bachelor of Music in Sound Engineering Arts from William Paterson University.

Karen Anderson Chief Operating Officer and Den Mother at Rational Acoustics. Karen Anderson is one of the founding partners of Rational Acoustics, the developers of the Smaart Acoustic Test & Measurement software platform.  Prior to founding Rational Acoustics in 2008, Karen held a variety of sales & marketing positions within the professional audio industry including Marketing Manager at Meyer Sound and Director of Marketing for Eastern Acoustics Works (EAW) and Loud Technologies.

During her tenure in the professional audio industry, Karen has done pretty much everything from answering phones and coiling cable to managing multi-million dollar advertising budgets and running worldwide training programs.  She’s also managed to learn a fair bit about sound systems in the process. Karen holds a BFA in Theatrical Costume & Makeup design from U.C. Berkeley, which was hopeless for getting a job, but makes her a lot of fun to have around at Halloween.

Michelle Desachy is a music producer, recording and mixing engineer and musician based in Mexico City. She works as an independent contractor at different record studios in Mexico and USA. Her Academic Training includes” Music composition, audio engineering and production” at Fermatta Music Academy (Mexico City). Management and business affairs” by Harvard University. Music Cognition” and “Music Business” by Berklee College of Music.

 

Karrie Keyes – Monitor Engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder Executive Director of SoundGirls.Org. Karrie has spent the last 25 plus years as the monitor engineer for Pearl Jam. Karrie started out doing sound for punk bands in Los Angeles in 1986 under the tutelage of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, where she spent twenty years helping to establish the company. She was able to gain an immense amount of hands-on experience and technical knowledge at Rat, which eventually led to her becoming the monitor engineer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1990-2000. She first met and started working with Pearl Jam who opened for RHCP on their 1991-1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magic Tour. She has worked with Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Neil Young.

Mike Bangs is a veteran in the touring world with an all-encompassing sound engineering and production management experience from many national and international tours, such as Katy Perry, Eric Clapton, and Aerosmith. Mike is now in charge of growing the Allen & Heath business in the touring market and supporting high-profile events, artists, engineers and sound companies as the new Live Sound/Touring expert.

A Special thanks to DiGiCo for sponsoring our AES Mentoring Session

Columbus – Community Recording Workshop

The Columbus SoundGirls Chapter  Presents a Community Recording Workshop.
Place: Capital University in the Convergent Media Center.
November 4, 2017
12:00 – 9:00 pm
This event is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the recording process and what it takes to be an audio engineer. Come for the whole day or drop in.

Register Here

Noon: Tour and Introduction to the Recording studio
1 pm: Microphones and Mic Techniques
2 pm: Microphone Differences – Hands on – listen to different microphones
4 pm: Set up recording session with local band Island Education
5 pm to 9 pm: Open recording session

Food and drinks will be provided.
SoundGirls is exclusive and open to all genders and non-binary people

SoundGirls Sound Camps Featured in FOH

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