This month we’re focusing on our community of amazing musicians!
We want to hear from you no matter your level of experience. We know it takes a lot of courage to record and submit a performance but trust us, once you do, you will want to do it again! Remember, if you need some help with recording please reach out for help in our FaceBook group or on our Discord server. There are no silly questions – we want to get you recording and participating! If you are shy or nervous about showing your face in the video, don’t! Simply do the classic video of hands playing 🙂
If you are looking for instructions on how to record and upload your performance, please see our Facebook Group or Discord server for instructions and links. To keep up to date with everything going on – including calls for performances and workshop announcements, please join our e-mail list here.
Happy New Year! We hope this note finds you well, and if it doesn’t we hope it lifts your spirits and that the workshop provides inspiration to get you through!
This time our focus is on Micro Sound & Granular Synthesis! We have a really interesting panel discussion with Michael Brooker, thispatcher (Michael Palumbo), Intrepita (Paul Stillwell) and some additional special guests! Of course we are always interested in performance videos from you as well! You will receive a bounty of karma bonus points if you use some micro sounds or granular synthesis in your performance but it isn’t a requirement! Please join us for the event as it premieres on YouTube so you can participate in the live chat. Instructions for sending in your performance videos are below.
Upload instructions:
We want to hear from you no matter your level of experience. It might seem like it takes a lot of courage to record and submit a performance but trust us, once you do it, you will want to do it again! Remember, if you need some help with recording please reach out for help in our FaceBook group or on our Discord server. There are no silly questions – we want to get you recording and participating!
Make your recording
Mobile phone video is great, mobile phone audio is not.
Record in your DAW at the same time as you record your video.
If you are in a place where you have to use headphones, try taking the Tape Out from your mixer as line input to your camera.
Make any EQ or compression tweaks to the audio and then export it.
Don’t chop the audio up otherwise the next part may not work so well
Open a video editor – most of them should let you do the next steps.
Import the video from your phone or whatever camera you used
Import the audio that you exported from your DAW
Most video editors should let you use the embedded audio in the video from your phone to line up the audio you exported from your DAW.
If you can’t do this simply line up the audio manually – nobody will mind if it is a little off – most of the time we won’t be able to tell anyway!
Disable the audio track that was embedded in the video. (sometimes this is done for you)
We hope you’re enjoying the fall weather and scenery, and, as usual, we are making an open call for performance videos from our community members to showcase on our FF stream on Saturday Nov 13. We welcome videos you’ve recorded in the past few months at gigs or at home, or something specifically made for FF. In addition to performances/jams, we welcome videos of studio tours, module/synth tutorials, tips and techniques, DIY/design projects you’re working on, and anything else you’d like to share relating to synths and modular.
This month, we’re offering an optional theme/challenge for your patching: showcase your least popular/most obscure module! Do you have a novelty or obscure module from Etsy, Synthcube, or a designer no one really knows about that you’d like to show off? Or a module (or two) you don’t reach for very often that might take you out of your modular comfort zone and inspire a different approach to patching? Show us those unheralded gems you have amidst the Mathsssss and Pamsssss. And if you prefer to share a “regular” jam, we’d love that too!
For instructions and a link for uploading your video please join our Facebook Group or our Discord server.
I must apologize for September’s workshop. FF HQ is going through some upheaval as we spent August looking for and buying a new house and September preparing and selling the current one. Time completely got away from me and before I knew it, the date for September’s workshop had passed. Again, my apologies for this and I hope you are all doing well!
For October’s workshop – lets focus on home studio or live performances (if you have been able to get out and play). Perhaps you made a video of yourself performing in a park, I know some of you have performed in pubs or other venues. Maybe you are like so many who continue to stay away from those gathering places. Doesn’t matter where you were, if you have a video performance you’ve recorded anytime over the past 3 or 4 months we’d love to help share it with the community!
November is still up in the air as far as whether or not a workshop will happen. The normal date would find us right in the middle of our move to the new location. I will do a much better job of letting you know soon!
Upload instructions:
We want to hear from you no matter your level of experience. It might seem like it takes a lot of courage to record and submit a performance but trust us, once you do it, you will want to do it again! Remember, if you need some help with recording please reach out for help in our FaceBook group or on our Discord server. There are no silly questions – we want to get you recording and participating!
Make your recording
Mobile phone video is great, mobile phone audio is not.
Record in your DAW at the same time as you record your video.
If you are in a place where you have to use headphones, try taking the Tape Out from your mixer as line input to your camera.
Make any EQ or compression tweaks to the audio and then export it.
Don’t chop the audio up otherwise the next part may not work so well
Open a video editor – most of them should let you do the next steps.
Import the video from your phone or whatever camera you used
Import the audio that you exported from your DAW
Most video editors should let you use the embedded audio in the video from your phone to line up the audio you exported from your DAW.
If you can’t do this simply line up the audio manually – nobody will mind if it is a little off – most of the time we won’t be able to tell anyway!
Disable the audio track that was embedded in the video. (sometimes this is done for you)
This month Heidi Chan (Bachelard) spends some time with Lily (Calytrix) from New York City, Pablo Perez from Los Angeles, Cayce (Autotectonic) from Toronto, and Sofie (Sonja & Biblioteka Records) from Toronto digging into the fascinating and often misunderstood genre of music called noise. As usual, we also need YOUR performance 🙂 Just because the panel discussion is on Noise – doesn’t mean your performance has to be – but why not try it? You might like it!
We want to hear from you no matter your level of experience. It might seem like it takes a lot of courage to record and submit a performance but trust us, once you do it, you will want to do it again! Remember, if you need some help with recording please reach out for help in our FaceBook group or on our Discord server. There are no silly questions – we want to get you recording and participating!
Make your recording
Mobile phone video is great, mobile phone audio is not.
Record in your DAW at the same time as you record your video.
If you are in a place where you have to use headphones, try taking the Tape Out from your mixer as line input to your camera.
Make any EQ or compression tweaks to the audio and then export it.
Don’t chop the audio up otherwise the next part may not work so well
Open a video editor – most of them should let you do the next steps.
Import the video from your phone or gopro or whatever camera you used
Import the audio that you exported from your DAW
Most video editors should let you use the embedded audio in the video from your phone to line up the audio you exported from your DAW.
If you can’t do this simply line up the audio manually – nobody will mind if it is a little off – most of the time we won’t be able to tell anyway!
Disable the audio track that was embedded in the video. (sometimes this is done for you)
Please join us at 3pm on June 12 for the YouTube Premiere of this month’s workshop featuring another interview in the series of Portraits of Our Community, this time with Michael Palumbo. We also feature some very cool performances from Michael Palumbo (thispatcher), Michael White, Les Hartai and Scott Lepore, Scott M2 and Stefan Powell with his amazing Electroduochord.
Hope you are keeping safe and doing ok. One thing that really makes our workshops is performances by members of our little community. We want to hear from you no matter your level of experience. It takes a lot of courage to record one of these but trust us, once you do it, you will want to do it again! Remember, if you need some help with recording please reach out for help in our FaceBook group or on our Discord server. There are no silly questions – we want to get you recording and participating!
Make your recording
Mobile phone video is great, mobile phone audio is not.
Record in your DAW at the same time as you record your video.
Make any EQ or compression tweaks to the audio and then export it.
Don’t chop the audio up otherwise the next part may not work so well
Open a video editor – most of them should let you do the next steps.
Import the video from your phone or gopro or whatever camera you used
Import the audio that you exported from your DAW
Most video editors should let you use the embedded audio in the video from your phone to line up the audio you exported from your DAW.
If you can’t do this simply line up the audio manually – nobody will mind if it is a little off – most of the time we won’t be able to tell anyway!
Disable the audio track that was embedded in the video. (sometimes this is done for you)
Our birthday celebration just wouldn’t be complete without YOUR performance video. Level of experience doesn’t matter, we want to hear from everyone and we always have room for performances! The more the merrier so crank up your inspiration mojo and start recording! Whether it’s your first time or your 50th, we want to hear from you. Help us make this birthday special! Anywhere from 2-15 minutes is great 🙂
Make your recording
Mobile phone video is great, mobile phone audio is not.
Record in your DAW at the same time as you record your video.
Open a video editor – most of them should let you do the next steps.
Use the embedded audio in the video from your phone to line up the audio you exported from your DAW.
Disable the audio track that was embedded in the video. (sometimes this is done for you)
The next workshop begins at 3:00 pmFebruary 13th! Please join us for the premiere on YouTube!
This month our panel discussion centres on upcoming changes to how we are doing things at Frequency Freaks. This is a pretty exiting change and we’re really looking forward to sharing it with you!
Scott Lepore will present another in the Portraits of Our Community series, and we have some performances scheduled already, but there is always room for more! Join us for the premiere on February 13th at 3pm or anytime after that on our YouTube channel.
Did you know that even though we present each FF Workshop as a YouTube Premiere you can head to the channel to watch any workshop at any time after the premiere? You can even replay the live chat so you don’t miss out on any of the community chatter!
Also – we have a Discord server in addition to our Facebook group. This is a great place with channels for more in depth discussion on various topics. If you haven’t joined the server already, please reach out via the contact form and we’ll hook you up. There are browser, PC, Mac, and Mobile device clients available so you can access the server however and whenever you want.
As you may have heard we are doing a fun challenge for the December workshop. A 3 Module Challenge with a Twist! The twist is that you can use up to 3 modules – accolades and adulation will be the reward for those who can do something “musical” in a single module. Musical being in quotes because as we all know, music IS subjective 🙂 We hope that you would like to participate and if you would like to please continue reading for more details. If not, remember to tune in to our YouTube channel on December 12th for the premiere!
Unfortunately, with any of these challenges we need to have some rules and we hope you think these are as loose and fun as we do!
Here they are:
No single voice modules – so no module that has a VCO/VCF/VCA built in. Examples include but are not limited to Mutable Instruments Elements and Intellijel Atlantis.
However, if that is all you have we will consider each individual section to be a module 🙂
Output modules are NOT considered to be part of the 3 module count.
Submit a video, no-longer than 3 minutes where you briefly describe your patch and then play it.
Videos longer than 3 minutes will be cut at 3 minutes.
The usual “no mobile phone audio” requirement for our videos is waved for this… we want you to participate!
Those who do not have a modular synth are welcome to participate with a semi-modular synth with the following provisions
The various components that make up your semi-modular synth all count as modules. VCO, Filter, VCA, Sequencer, LFO, etc. all count as modules and you are limited to 3.
No computer is to be used in the sound generation or control (no computer based MIDI, Clock, etc.
A MIDI keyboard is considered to be a module the same way a modular keyboard would be, but trust me – we would rather see you be more creative than that!
To submit a video, please reach out via the contact form and we will send you an upload link. We will publish every video submitted. Obviously we won’t be able to publish videos with technical issues that we are not able to resolve with you.
Be creative and have fun! Looking forward to seeing your videos!
