Geoff Shell presents "How To Create A Modern Rock Song" Garageband clinic at Oak Park and River Forest High School

I just finished doing a big day of multiple clinics at Oak Park River Forest High School which I got set up through their director of bands, Anthony Svejda, and it was a great success.

They put me on stage in their small theater with a computer hooked up to the projection unit, and all the school's instrumental, choral, and music theory classes came to the theater instead of their regular classes for a "special presentation." I came supplied with a Digital Audio Interface, MIDI keyboard, my bass and guitar, and I showed each class how to compose and produce an entire song in about 40 min.

I begin with a little presentation about music technology and what types of interfaces to look into, and then I jump in - I show how to sketch a form with markers, build a rhythm template from the loop library, record live audio (bass and guitar) and how to manipulate/copy-paste the regions, recording midi (organ), midi editing, basic mixing and panning, mastering and bouncing. I then do a quick q&a, and then I'm off to the next class!