IAR launches School Scholarships and Extended Payment Plans:
Find out NOW if you qualify for either of these new programs!
IAR has now launched an annual scholarship program for present and future students, ranging from $250 up to $7,000. Also, qualified applicants can arrange payment plans that will extend beyond graduation date.
Scholarships are need-based and are awarded on a number of criteria. For full details on the requirements of this program, future students should contact their admissions officer and present students can stop in student services. Applications can be submitted immediately.
Important aspects of IAR’s Scholarship Program are:
• Partial scholarships available, ranging from $250 up to $7,000
• No credit rating or lengthy application process
• There is no application fee
• Scholarships are need-based with certain requirements for eligibility
• An essay is required
• This is an annual scholarship pool
• Recipients must meet academic progress standards while attending IAR
• Application deadlines apply for each future starting class
Interested in a Scholarship? Future students: contact your Admissions Officer. Present Students: see student services.
Over the past year, the Institute of Audio Research and IK Multimedia have partnered together to bring students and guests a series of seminars. IK is an industry leader in music software, with reasonably priced products. The educational seminars at IAR have introduced some of these products, such as the AmpliTube Fender, T-RackS, SampleTank 2, and the StealthPedal.
On September 16th, IAR and IK hosted a T-RackS Master Class with Production from SampleTank, the fourth of the series.
T-Racks is a modular mastering and mixing application; SampleTank2 is a professional, sample bank with over 2,000 sounds licensees can use.
IK Product Specialist Tony Grund demonstrated to students that the T-RackS 3 Deluxe would be a valuable addition to any DAW for mixing and mastering. Tony introduced the T-RackS 3 Deluxe suite, comprised of 9 total processors, 5 new effects (including the vintage tube 670 Compressor/Limiter based on the famous Fairchild 670), and 4 classic award-winning T-RackS processors. Tony showed the efficiency of the T-RackS suite and how its new configurable mixing chain allows for minimal CPU power. He suggested that the students start with the effects presets and tweak them to achieve the sound they want. He demonstrated the full production of a song from scratch with SampleTank 2 XL and the T-RackS 3 suite. Tony illustrated the full control of the synth engine with the new editable knobs. He stated, “What’s cool about SampleTank is that it works in different DAWs like Live, ProTools, Logic, etc.”
The seminar was concluded with a round of questions and answers. All the students and guests were given a free demo of T-RackS 3 and additional discounts for the full and crossgrade versions of the software demonstrated.
The Audio for Picture (“AFP”) Awards started more than 5 years ago as a way for IAR students to showcase the skills they learn in the audio post-production class. Students start with just a video clip and a “blank canvas” for sound design. Every aspect of audio, such as dialog, sound FX, and music, is synced with the video to create the final product. The students then submit their projects to be judged and critiqued by a panel of teachers and industry professionals.
On Wednesday September 16th, IAR held its Fall 2009 AFP event. Students from the November 2008 morning and afternoon classes submitted a total of 27 entries. Student participants, family and friends all enjoyed pizza and refreshments as the crowd viewed their work . Guest judge Wendell Hanes was also in attendance and gave the top three winners comments on their projects. Wendell is the author of “The 30-30 Career: Making 30 Grand in 30 Seconds!” and has scored for numerous television spots.
IAR would like to thank everyone who submitted and participated.
The Fall 2009 AFP Winners are:
1st Place: James Catapano – “9” Trailer
2nd Place: Graig Janssen – “Sponge Bob: Karate Choppers”
3rd Place: Awa Diouf – “Planet 51” Trailer
In an ongoing partnership between IK Multimedia and the Institute of Audio Research, the third seminar in a series was held on July 29th at IAR. IK Multimedia is a music software company known for the production of cutting-edge products, which run the gamut from consumer to professional award winning music software. Students and guests joined Tony Grund from IK for the “Guitar Recording Master Class.” Tony, accompanied by guitarist Adrian Romero, showed students how to get the absolute most out of their DAW using “Powered by AmpliTube” plug-ins such as AmpliTube 2, AmpliTube Fender, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, AmpliTube Metal, and Ampeg SVX.
Tony introduced the IK products AmpliTube X-Gear and StealthPedal to the students. AmpliTube X-Gear is the first fully modular, customizable and expandable amp and FX modeling system. Tony demonstrated how it allowed for easy mixing and matching of all the “Powered by AmliTube” products. The second product demonstrated was the StealthPedal, which is the first USB powered guitar audio interface/software controller in a compact wah-style pedal. The guitarist, Adrian, demonstrated that the pedal is not limited to the amp-simulator software, and Tony went on to explain how he uses the StealthPedal as a MIDI controller while playing the keyboard during live shows.
Students were intrigued when the duo demonstrated how concepts they are learning in the analog world were carried out in this digital software. Tony showed how the overtone structure changed like a real amp and compared the presets, containing different microphones and amplifiers, to obtain each particular guitar sound.
In the end the students were entered in a raffle for a chance to win great prize packages that include StompIO, AmpliTube Fender downloads, StealthPedals, and more. Additional discounts were offered for the full and crossgrade versions of the hardware and software demonstrated.
On Tuesday, July 14th, IAR hosted its 2009 Summer Audio for Picture (AFP) Awards Festival. In the fourth quarter of IAR’s program, students take an audio post-production course, one of the school’s most popular subjects and a growing industry filled with lots of job opportunities. They learn to synchronize audio to video. In the course, they then define and produce their own post-production projects from start to finish, and can submit them for recognition at IAR’s AFP Awards Festival.
Students choose any video piece they wish and then they delete all audio content. Using the techniques they have learned at IAR and in the post-production course, students recreate every aspect of audio including dialog, sound FX, sound design, and musical composition. IAR invited Wendell Hanes as one judge for AFP. He has scored over 600 commercials, themes, and promotional spots for television, and has authored the post-production book, “The 30-30 Career: Making 30 Grand in 30 Seconds!” Wendell critiqued every student project and shared his comments and advice with the audience, which included students, family and friends. “Sound design is all about the contrast between highs and lows,” he said. “The sound is intense during explosions and car crashes, but immediately low when switching to dialog. Use volume and reverb. Think about the environment the video is showing and build sounds that match. “Sometimes there will be audio that you do not see on screen. During the fight scene in the movie Gladiator, as the intensity of the fight builds, you have to intensify the sounds of the crowd, tigers, and background music.” This AFP’s projects included Fast and Furious, Wall-E, 300, Gladiator, War, Nine, Drop Dead Fred, Kung Fu Panda and many more.
Thank you to every one who submitted! The Summer 2009 AFP Winners are:
1st Place Bing Jee Ng – ‘Animatrix’
2nd Place Dolo and Jay Hendershot – ‘Up’
3rd Place Saul Ruiz Rodriguez and Max Rudd – ‘Tron’
Runner Up Manny Diaz – ‘Man On Fire’
On Wednesday, June 10th IARecords hosted its eighth Next Level Competition. The Next Level is a production held twice a year for current IAR students. Student-artists submit original music to IAR staff. The top submissions are chosen to then compete live on stage at Arlene’s Grocery, a club in the East Village. IAR student-artists had the opportunity to showcase their talent and diversity in front of an overflow crowd of students, faculty, staff, family and friends. The event has grown in popularity since it’s inception in 2005. Next Level 8 had 13 acts performing, more than ever before, and, for the first time, a headlining act, Hybrid, composed of students, alumni and faculty members, Steve Eigner and Jonathan Appel. The show was also recorded live and will be released as a live album in the coming weeks. The winner of the competition, decided by audience voting, was J. Vill, who received a $1,000 gift card to Guitar Center.
The Next Level performers were:
Chanese Elife, song ‘Your Peace’, myspace.com/chaneseelife
Freekstile, song ‘Flag Island’, myspace.com/freekstiletheepikk
Ma-or featuring Trigga, song ‘No More Rain’, maor.biz
PANA!, song ‘Hijos De La Calle’, myspace.com/panamusik
The Goodfellas, song ‘On My GF Bull S**t’, myspace.com/nygoodfellas
J. Vill, song ‘Life I Live’, myspace.com/ispyjvill
Signif, song ‘Flaws’, signifthegift.com
Once Off featuring Aziz, song ‘Comin’ Around’
J. Vic featuring Rhyse, song ‘Your Da 1’, myspace.com/orfacevic
Flames-Flow featuring Princess Menen, song ‘2000 and Mine’, myspace.com/flamesflow
The Crazy Rhythm Orchestra, song ‘Soles de Coral’, myspace.com/danicorreau
Juanito Perez, song ‘Soft Porn’, juanitoperez.com
Infamus Da Emcee, song ‘Who’s Laughing Now?’, myspace.com/rgs718
Aziz featuring Patrick Lee, song ‘Pressure’, myspace.com/jerseybump
On Wednesday, May 13th, IAR hosted an event designed to showcase 4th quarter students and their production skills. Selected student-mentors in their 4th quarter worked together to create and run an event for their peers. The event began with an introduction by each mentor and a candid Q&A about IAR’s program. The 4th quarter mentors provided insight and guidance to students in their 1st and 2nd quarters about what to expect and how to best use their knowledge. The mentors then demonstrated the step-by-step process of producing a track with ProTools and Reason. The demo started by creating a beat in Reason and then layering additional sounds and effects. Next they played the beat and student-mentors recorded tracks for bass, guitar, and keyboard in ProTools. Wes, a student-mentor who acted as main producer for the event, controlled the session and created loops, fades, and synched up audio segments, explaining every step of his mix.
Faculty members Mario Salvati and Steve Eigner injected comments about their studio experiences; Mario observed: “Recording a segment of audio and then cutting and pasting it throughout the complete track is a technique used in much of today’s production work. But to get more texture and feeling in the music, it’s best to have the artists record the entire song from beginning to end. The small differences and changes make the song that much better.” Finally, members of the audience added their own freestyle vocals to the track. While Wes created the final mix, students networked with one another and exchanged engineering ideas. In just 45 minutes, the student-mentors successfully used what they were learning at IAR to record and produce a finished track.
Just as science and mathematics have historical backgrounds and paths of evolution and discovery, so too does music. Understanding the building blocks of music is essential for any musical artist. It can also be a huge advantage for an engineer or producer. What is the ‘hook’? Where should it occur in a song? How do you transition to and from a verse? The answers can make the difference between a song becoming a hit or a flop. Audio engineers and producers communicate directly with artists to create their music. If an engineer can understand where the musician is trying to take his or her music, the engineer can steer a session towards acoustic perfection. Music theory applies to every facet of music including how it is perceived, scales, song structure, rhythm, harmony, melody, chords, and much more.
IAR instructor Justin Balch conducted this DIY for students and guests. Justin is an audio engineer specializing in remote recording and mixing of jazz and western classical music. He has recorded, mixed and/or edited many artists including Herbie Hancock, Chuck D, and DMC and currently does freelance recording and mixing at La Sala Studios in the East Village. Justin began with a brief history of music and defined common terms such as pitch, notes, chords, and key signatures. He played different notes, scales, and chords on a keyboard to demonstrate how emotions and feelings are created through different variations. Students engaged in a clapping exercise to hear the difference between whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes. A variety of handouts were distributed to reference during the seminar but also to take and apply to work at home. The two hour demo provided the basics but only brushed the surface of a deep topic.
On Tuesday, April 14th, IAR had the privilege of hosting a special event with the New York Chapter of the Audio Engineering Society (AES). AES is now in its 6th decade and is an international professional society dedicated to audio technology. AES Sections serve members in 47 geographic areas around the world and annual conventions are held in the U.S. and Europe to bring members together to network as well as introduce the latest in audio technology. Tuesday’s event was a panel discussion with industry experts about a topic extremely relevant in today’s economy; Making a Living with Audio. The guests were introduced by IAR’s Dean of Faculty, Noel Smith, as:
Moderator – Doron Schachter, Director, Sonic Arts Program at City College of NY
Speaker – Thomas Ray, Vice President/Corporate Director of Engineering, Buckley Radio, WOR News Talk Radio 710 HD
Speaker – Jeff Smith, Chief Engineer WWPR, Supervisor Broadcast/Studio Systems Clear Channel Radio NYC
Speaker – Jim Starzynski, Principal Engineer and Audio Architect, NBC Universal
Speaker – Colin Thibadeau, Owner, The Lodge
Speaker – Kirk Imamura, President, Avatar Recording Studios
IAR students and AES members were treated to a night of insight and advice from industry experts with decades of experience in their respective fields. Several statements were made for building a successful career in any industry as well as audio which were, “Have a passion for it and create strong relationships with as many people as possible,” “Keep yourself relevant by constantly learning new technology,” “Work hard and never act as if you know everything already.” The audience was encouraged to join organizations like AES and the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE), and earn certifications which will introduce new opportunities. Kirk, studio owner, stressed the importance of learning your craft, “Get fast with ProTools and Logic and learn Melodyne for tuning, and do things to differentiate yourself from the masses.” The discussion was opened up to audience questions such as how to get an internship, resources for new technology research and development jobs, how the economy has affected large Broadway theater recordings, and many more. After the discussion ended, the panelists stayed to answer questions one on one and audience members networked with one another. For more information and how to join, please visit the Audio Engineering Society.
On Tuesday, April 7th, IAR hosted its 2009 Spring Audio for Picture (AFP) Awards Festival. In the fourth quarter of IAR’s program, students take a post production course. The course introduces students to the production of an audio soundtrack synchronized to video. Using the tools they learn in the classroom, students complete their own post production projects and can submit them to be judged in the AFP Awards Festival. Students can choose any video segment they wish from which they delete all audio content. Then using the techniques they have learned at IAR and in the post production course, students recreate every aspect of soundtrack including dialog, sound FX, sound design, and music score. Faculty member Lyell Loyd is a Senior Staff Engineer at WABC-TV and the A1 show mixer (senior audio engineer) for “Live! with Regis and Kelly”. He brings his professional experiences into the classroom as he teaches the post production course. He remarks about this season’s projects, “There was more animation this time and they are impressive pieces. On the first day of class I tell them to start thinking about what they want to work on for their final project.” The diversity in tastes, styles, and projects was represented by selections that included Terminator, the animated film Warriors of the Wind, The Soloist, and Dawn of War. Thank you to every one who submitted! The Spring 2009 AFP Winners are:
Best Overall Project, Luis Santovena, “War Hammer”
Best Music Editing, Brittany Keen, “2046”
Best Automated Dialog Replacement, George Flayer, “Sharktale”
Best Sound Editing, Javier Flores & Rafael Morales Jr., “Transformers”
Best Original Score, J.P. Palmerio & Dayva Segal, “City of Lost Children”
IAR has begun a new series of seminars for its students by partnering with IK Multimedia, a leading music production software company. IK has an extensive catalog of innovative products amateur and professional musicians and producers use to create their art. On Thursday, March 26th, IK presented students and guests with their mastering software package, T-RackS. The powerful tool allows users to now master their own music without having to spend money and time on mastering houses. Northeast Manager, Tony Grund, showed off the features of the product and said, “Mastering houses are great if you want to send your final product and are ready to press a lot of CDs. But for single tracks or demos, that’s not effective and that’s where T-RackS comes in. It’s quick and affordable.” Tony showed students the full range of mastering techniques through T-RackS internal processors including Fairchild, Pultec EQ, Compressor, Phase EQ, and the Brickwall limiter. Tony showed how the processors could be aligned to create different sounds and related that Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, which has been criticized as being ‘too loud’ is a result of cranking up brickwall limiting in the mastering process.
Students were shown how to use T-RackS to compare their tracks to commercial tracks to emulate sounds or compare the mastered versions to the un-mastered and Tony remarked, “Have you ever recorded a track in Pro Tools, bounced it down and then played it for your friend in the stereo and it’s softer then everything else? That’s because it has not been mastered.” At the end of the seminar students were given demo copies of T-Racks and offered additional discounts on the full version. For those who were not at the seminar, anyone can download a free 10-day trial version from IK’s website, T-Racks.
At any live music show, whether it is Metallica at Madison Square Garden or a local band at a small venue, the process of how the music is distributed to the audience is the same. Live sound is a popular career path for IAR students and it is rooted in the same basic skills learned in the audio recording and production program. On Thursday, February 26th, IAR hosted another Do It Yourself event titled “The Ins’ and Outs’ of Live Sound” conducted by faculty member and IAR graduate, Sean Corcoran. Sean has worked in live sound for over 5 years with elite members of the Broadway and jazz community and currently works as Front of House Technician for the famous NYC jazz club, Birdland. Sean broke his seminar into two parts: Technical & Organic. Students received a tutorial in industry terms and lingo used by sound technicians, roadies, and artists alike including ‘Backline,’ ‘Direct Inputs’ and ‘Monitor Mixes.’ Sean listed necessary gear and microphone setups as well as demonstrated how to EQ the show on the fly.
The organic side of live sound is just as important to a successful show and career as are the technical skills involved in being a top-flight live sound technician. Building strong relationships with artists, managers, and promoters, controlling the schedule of sound checks and performance sets, and being prepared for anything during a show were areas highlighted as organic and thus unique to every gig. Sean commented on the working environment: “There’s an edge to live sound because you work in ‘real time.’ When it goes right, it’s instant gratification, but when it goes wrong, you can’t just call timeout and start again once the problem is solved. The problem needs to be dealt with at that very moment, sometimes in front of many people, and it can get intense. Aside from just getting a good mix for the audience and the artist, a great sound tech is someone who can work with people and solve problems, technical and otherwise.”
On Tuesday, February 3rd, IAR hosted the long-awaited Do It Yourself: REASON Part II seminar. The music production software, REASON, is developed by Propellerhead, one of the world’s leading makers of software instruments. This Swedish company pioneered the concept of computer-based software synthesis with Rebirth, and introduced the concept of slice-based sample manipulation with Recycle. REASON, their third breakthrough product, is a core part of IAR’s MIDI curriculum, and a very popular program amongst students interested in electronic music production.
Faculty member Dana McCurdy teaches electronic music and computer-based music production, and has worked with electronic music hardware and software for over 30 years. Most of the audience members at the seminar were already REASON users, and Dana went into detail regarding many of the program’s more advanced features, including the Reason modules Redrum, Subtractor, Dr. Rex, Matrix, the Vocoder, and the Combinator. He showed how, using REASON’s patchable outputs and inputs (both audio and control signals), a creative user can accomplish practically anything “within Reason.”
His demonstrations included how to:
•”fatten” drum sounds through multiple gating, or create synthesized drum kits by gating synthesizers from Redrum.
•create “phatter” bass sounds, or more convincing string and orchestral sounds, through doubling via the Combinator.
•load “Rex” loops into the NN-XT sampler for more flexible processing options.
•use multi-band processing to create unique delay effects.
•create rhythmic modulation effects using Matrix’s Curve output.
•use the Vocoder to process rhythm grooves and vocal samples.
In IAR’s Business of Music class, students cover a variety of industry topics including royalties, contracts, publishing, and touring. On one afternoon faculty member Gary Fritz detailed revenue streams and costs, production work, and domestic and international routing associated with live shows and touring artists. In addition to the lecture, Gary invited two guests who provided a ‘real-life’ education. The first was E. Kevin Jones, a professional production manager, engineer and tour manager for major international tours, who has worked with Deborah Cox, Diana Ross, and Jennifer Hudson, and has over three decades of experience. Kevin told students about a typical day when he runs a tour and highlighted areas such as overseeing employees and projects and the importance of building a network of staging, lightening, and other service companies domestically and internationally.
The second guest was soul performing artist, Maya Azucena. Maya has built a successful career in music through ‘do-it-yourself’ tactics and hard work. Her accomplishments include Best Live Performer of the Year (Agape Indie Soul Awards ‘07), the Number 3 spot on BILLBOARD’S Hot Club Dance chart, and many performances with celebrity artists. Maya gave students a realistic view of life as an artist and producer. She emphasized the importance of dedication and attitude in conjunction with musical talent and skill. Instructor Gary Fritz comments on the benefit to his students, “Real world input is the most valuable info that our students can get, especially when it comes from people who are out there doing the same things that our students want to do in this industry. Kevin and Maya are two of the most serious, hard working, and dedicated people that I know. They know what it means to make a career in the music business and if you don’t take care of your business, your business won’t take care of you.”
IAR Faculty member Lisa Moyer performed in the inaugural parade for President Barack Obama. Out of a record number of 1,400 applicants for the parade, only 90 bands were selected. To demonstrate the popularity and size of Obama’s parade, the 2005 inauguration for then President George W. Bush received 340 applications and invited 47 bands. Lisa Moyer has been a musician for over 20 years and plays multiple instruments, specializing in saxophone and piano. She graduated with honors from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelors of Music with emphasis in Music Recording Technology. At IAR, she teaches the Basics of Digital Audio, Ear Training and Acoustics, and Audio Post Productions, among others, and is among the school’s most respected and popular faculty members. For the past 5 years, Lisa has been a member of the Big Apple Corps marching band and orchestra. The band delivers over a dozen performances each year. They have performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Paramount Theater, The Hollywood Bowl, and in the NYC Veteran’s Day Parade. Big Apple Corps also performed for both of Bill Clinton’s inaugurations, though not in the inaugural parade, and will have the great honor of playing at Carnegie Hall this February.
An elite group of experienced military musicians selected Lisa’s band to perform on January 20th. Lisa had to be in Washington D.C. to check in at 5:00 am, “It was intense; instruments and bags were X-rayed and buses were checked for bombs,” says Lisa. An estimated 1.8 million people attended this momentous inauguration. “It was emotional to be part of such an historical event,” says Lisa. “It was great just to see thousands of musicians and the top bands in the country in the same place. There is nothing like it. We played John Philip Sousa’s ‘Washington Post March’ for President Obama as we passed the reviewing stand. To march past Obama, see him waving and smiling, you can’t describe that feeling of pride.”
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