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David Stamm ’08 (Holland, Pa.) is majoring in government and law. This semester, he is taking Music Technology, taught by James Moyer, associate professor of music and director of bands. The following is a first-person account of Stamm’s experiences with the course.
When it was time for fall 2007course selection, Music Technology, taught by James Moyer, was one class that I definitely wanted on my schedule. I love music and have been playing the drums for 12 years, including four years as a snare drummer in the Lafayette College Pep Band. I have known Moyer, who is also the director of the Pep Band, my entire time on College Hill. I desired to take a music class with him before I graduated. Each time I attempted to register for Music Technology, the class was already at capacity. I was eager to learn how to use computers to compose and arrange music, and was gratified that I was finally able to take the class this semester.
We began learning the basics of Apple’s GarageBand software during the first class. The software provides the ability to compose original music through sequencing and sampling loops. Each week, we learn how to use a new function of the software and learn how to implement it to create increasingly more complex compositions.
Through Moyer’s weekly piano lesson, we have also learned the basics of scales, melody, harmony, and rhythm. This illustrates and instructs us how to create and play our own original instrument tracks on the piano keyboard. We can later use the GarageBand software to transform the piano track that we played and recorded into any instrument, noise, or sound that you can imagine.
We also used GarageBand to record podcasts, allowing us to act as the hosts of our own radio shows. We were then able to use it to enhance our podcasts by adding pictures and links to websites that appeared throughout the project.
All of our class lessons and weekly assignments are geared toward our final project, which is conducted in pairs. The two options available for the final project are composing an original theme song for a current television show or creating and enhancing a podcast.
Learning how to use GarageBand has been interesting and enjoyable. Assignments using the software allow for a tremendous amount of musical expression and creativity. Initially, I was intimidated by all of the functions and features of GarageBand. I worried that I would be unable to create a satisfactory project. My fears were short-lived as I soon realized that this software is so easy to use that even people with little or no music background can create high-quality music compositions in a matter of minutes.
As a drummer, my musical training has not given me much exposure to scales, harmonies, and melodies. This class has been very helpful in teaching me these important aspects of musical composition. Moyer has also provided us with a vast amount of technological information pertaining to the use of various types of hardware. Using this hardware allows the class to record vocals and actual instruments into our projects, and he even instructs us how to set up our own home recording studios. The skills and knowledge that I have acquired in this course have enabled me to create intricate music compositions for multimedia presentations and for my own entertainment.
Music Technology has been one of my favorite classes during my four years at Lafayette. I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in music. Using GarageBand to create music has been exciting and satisfying. It has also been a rewarding experience seeing other students enjoying music that I composed. Whether you want to be the next Kanye West or just want to create music for fun, Music Technology will provide the necessary skills to accomplish your composition and production goals.