Electronic Music

Resources for electronic composition and production?

May 2013

My 16 YO son is very interested in what I think can be called electronic music composition and production. He has taught himself a great deal (left Garage Band behind long ago, seems to have mastered a program called Logic and is now working with a new one whose name I don't know) and spends his earnings from summer jobs, etc. on equipment and software. He is not otherwise super-geeky and doesn't know much about conventional computing, beyond the standard teenage proficiency. We are looking for ways to support his interest. He located a summer program at Oberlin that looks like a good match, but it conflicts with family vacation. Stanford has some week-long programs, but none of them were quite right. Berklee in Boston has one over a long weekend that seemed too superficial. Any thoughts on resources (both for the summer and other times) would be appreciated. Sarah

My son is similar to yours in terms of his obsession with computer music composition. We have enrolled him for a couple courses at the San Francisco Academy of Art University pre-college summer program. They have courses in digital music composition and other interesting courses as well (my son enrolled in a film-making course). The cost is very low ($525 for up to four courses). I don't know if the level of the material will be appropriate for your son, but perhaps it's worth a shot. The courses run from June 24-August 4, which might interfere with the vacation you mentioned. But you can check it out: http://www.academyart.edu/ Linda

My friend Chris Houston might be just the right teacher. A composer and sound designer for film, theater, and dance, he teaches composition as well as piano, guitar, and other instruments to children and adults at his home studio in Berkeley. He is a wonderful mentor for teens. He can be reached at (510) 428-2238 or houstonmusic [at] comcast.net. Highest recommendation. Music Lover