Author Archives: Studio User

I’m a sophomore AEM major. Ironically, one of my greatest fears is ending up in a cubicle doing nothing but crunching numbers all day or something of that nature. So I figured there’s a business aspect to practically every industry and recognizing my love for music, I’ve decided that if I’ll be crunching numbers it better be for something worthwhile. I’ve been playing around with various DAWs on my own for the past few months and though I’ve gotten better, there’s just a lot I can’t learn without formal instruction. I’m also very interesting in discovering new music so if any of you have a soundcloud feel free to drop the link. Help me not end up in a cubicle Professor Ernste!

Hi everyone,

My name is Harold, and I am a senior in chemical engineering. In high school, I played the cello all four years and was in an orchestra. Before that, I played a little bit of piano and violin. Nowadays, I dabble in electric guitar. For quite some time now I have been interested in writing my own music, making this class a great opportunity to explore this interest. I want to expose myself to writing in a variety of genres, with electronic music being a good start. I also welcome any chance for collaboration!

Hey all,

My name is Colin Barber and I am a junior in CALS studying microbiology. I have a decent background in music–I have been playing cello for 11 years now, I have been learning to play viola da gamba (a six-stringed instrument popular in the Renaissance), and I can play a limited amount of electric bass. In the past, I have played with the Cornell Symphony and I am currently involved with Cornell’s Viol Consort, a small ensemble for viola da gamba players. I love to listen to “classical” music of many forms, though I have a strong passion for large orchestral works, especially those of the early twentieth century. I have dabbled in amateur classical composition in the past, but that has never amounted to much. Here’s an example of something I wrote a little over 3 years ago. (The audio is totally synthetic and not the highest quality, but you get the picture) The point is, my musical experience has been, in a word, classical.

So why am I taking this course? In short, I would like to discover and foster an appreciation for electronic music (which a lot of you seem to have experience in already) and potentially create some of my own. Ideally, I will be able to combine my passion for classical music with some of the electronic techniques we’ll learn. I am absolutely interested in collaborating with other people; please contact me if I can be of some help!

Hi, my name is Yoon. I am a 3rd year architect working on a minor in music and business. I was a classical flutist by training until high school, and I picked up jazz and improvisation here at Cornell. Other than flute, I’ve fiddled around a bit with piano (just enough to play simple pieces), piccolo, recorder, ocarina, and a whole slew of other “flutey” instruments. I have performed solo, in tiny chamber groups, huge orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz bands, and jazz combos throughout high school, and in improvisation ensemble at Cornell.

I don’t have much to show for previous recording or composition experiences, but here is a short piece I made using a Zoom recorder and Audacity three years ago.

I am interested in this class because I am looking for ways to “extend” my instrument digitally. I love playing the flute, but often feel that flute alone feels a little bland. I am hoping that digital manipulations and extensions can add a bit of umph in my music.  I am interested in digital composition, but I would also like to be able to utilize what I learn in this class for live performances.

I love playing with other people, so feel free to contact me if you want to collaborate! I am also down for jams. I am actually still on the waitlist for this class but I hope I get to join everyone before add-drop ends. Wish me luck!

Hi everyone,

My name’s Amin Nikbin and I’m a fourth-year undergraduate linguistics and philosophy major with a math minor. I’m from a suburb called Richmond Hill up by Toronto in the Great White North. Musically, I have played the clarinet in ages past and long forgotten how to do so, touched a piano with furtive interest but never actually learnt how to play one (which remains an endless obsession), and bought my first electric guitar for my sixteenth birthday and since produced various noises with the strings, few of which I’d dare to call music. My tastes find themselves heavily restricted within the bounds of contemporary metal (I am no subgenre purist but I could list dozens for you), though they venture on occasion into varieties of electronic music, classical, and instrumentals. I’ve long wanted to compose, and often draw out lengthy improvisations in my head, but weakness in musical theory and training means all my mental experiments have so far been doomed to be forgotten before I could record them. This is one reason I want to take this course – to perhaps learn how I might actually begin composing music. I also feel the flexibility and independence afforded by producing with a computer would be very useful to have if I’m to make music as a hobby, which is my intention. I have a plethora of ideas, most ill-formed and unimpressive, all centred on creating something that can genuinely make me feel. I think I’d rather like to collaborate, if somebody else is interested.

Strictly speaking I’m not yet enrolled in the course, but at second on the waitlist I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Amin

Hellooo~o! I’m Michelle and I’m a senior in ILR. I grew up in Brooklyn with my parents, who are both music teachers. I learned piano from my mom although I haven’t practiced in a pretty long time, and I can also play alto+tenor saxophone. I’ve shied away from learning and playing music over the past few years, mostly because I don’t have access to any instruments, but I’m really excited to get back into it this semester! I’m also down to collaborate, but I’ll have to bring my sax to Ithaca first (probably after fall break?).

Hello,

My name is Christine Hwang and I am a senior majoring in Electrical & Computer Engineering. I come from Edison, NJ and have played piano and trombone. Performance-wise, I played at piano competitions and did both symphonic and marching band. I haven’t had much experience in composing and mixing but have dabbled a bit in video production. In this class, I hope to learn more about music production and create some awesome music with the rest of you.

Looking forward to a fun semester!

Hello friends,

I’m Gil and I’m super psyched to take this course. Throughout the years I’ve been in a few rock bands and have had some experience recording and producing mainly using Logic Pro. I play some guitar, drums, and piano though I’m not formally trained by any means… I mainly just jam and have a good time. I wanted to take this course because I wanted to learn more about recording and editing rad music, plus I really want some experience with Ableton! It would tight to learn more about electronic music as well. I don’t really have a creative agenda, but it would be sick to put together some neo-psychedelic disco… If anyone’s feelin that or is simply down to jam sometime – hit me up.

Hello All,

My name is Sal and I am currently a senior in AEM minoring in Music. I hail from the Atlantic City area of New Jersey. I have taught myself guitar in the past and was a violinist for my high school’s orchestra. However, I never achieved an advanced level of proficiency in either of these instruments. More recently, I have been very interested in electronic music production, and I began this journey with Fruity Loops during my sophomore year of college before migrating to Ableton by my junior year. I took this class because I want to continue to improve my knowledge of electronic music production while learning from the unique backgrounds of my fellow peers. I look forward to hearing what is sure to be a wide variety of compositions in the coming months.

Hi everyone, my name is Daniel Gil. I’m a fourth-year Economics major and I currently live in Richmond, VA. My musical ability includes playing the guitar, piano, and clarinet. I also DJ at local events and venues around Ithaca (my DJ name is erbaKAI, thus explaining my username which probably seemed pretty strange to anyone reading this). My most recent performance was also my biggest so far, playing in front of a crowd of 2,000 for a freshmen orientation event. I decided to take this class because I had previously dabbled in producing music via computer but never got into it as much as I wanted to – I thought this class would be a good opportunity to immerse myself more in production and perhaps ultimately pursue it as a personal hobby. I do not currently have a creative agenda, but this is not surprising, as I tend to achieve inspiration pretty last-minute (nice way of saying I’m a huge procrastinator). Lastly, I would absolutely be interested in collaborating with others.