Running a music panel

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Running a music panel

Postby CitricAcid » 02 Feb 2014 20:48

So I mentioned that I'm going to try running a music panel at a con in this thread, but I would like to get the community's opinion of what the best way to run such a panel. If anyone here has ever run a panel, I would appreciate your thoughts.

My goal for the panel is to teach the audience how to produce music, and I'm still bouncing around a couple of different ways I can approach this:

1) Panelists demonstrate the production process in their own DAWs and instruments of choice and describe their methods.
- Pros: Panelists are working in familiar territory and can generate higher quality music.
- Cons: The information might not be as useful to the audience, since they might not have access to the same tools.
2) Panelists demonstrate the production process in a free software like Audiotool.
- Pros: The audience has easy access to the tools demonstrated.
- Cons: The panelists are working in unfamiliar territory and will produce lower quality music.

If someone has other ideas, I'd love to hear them. If you were attending a con and saw a music panel on the schedule, what would you expect from it?
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby itroitnyah » 02 Feb 2014 21:25

Idk man, running a sorta masterclass-like panel at a brony convention seems like a bad idea, imho. It'd be a better idea if the con was specifically for music, or if the con were simply a general music convention. Otherwise the panel would simply just appeal to a really small audience, or would drag on and take forever. Or both.

Well, I shouldn't quite say that. I think it's a bad idea to just have them sitting there making music to please the crowd, since music production is generally a longer process than sitting down and throwing stuff together unless the tutors really know their shit. What I think would be a better idea if you want to do something like this would be to just set up booths instead of having a panel, and then perhaps the booths can be labeled for their appropriate DAWs/synths and then the various artists attending can just chill at the booths and take questions to whoever approaches.

If you were attending a con and saw a music panel on the schedule, what would you expect from it?
I'd sorta expect people to be asking questions like "are you planning on releasing your next EP/album soon? Are you going on tour through so-and-so town? How'd you get started? Do you think you're ever going to dabble around in such-and-so genre? Have you ever talked with artist blahblahblah about collabing?"
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby Injustrial » 03 Feb 2014 04:16

I remember at BUCK, when Glaze did a panel on production in FL. It was well thought out and executed as good as could be, but I really felt like there weren't much to learn. He just talked about general chord progression and put down notes, which is something anyone could find on Youtube. The time limit is the issue, I think. There just weren't enough time to discuss something really useful, like techniques, melody structure or sounddesign.

If you are able to cut a few of the really basic corners and instead able to focus on something a bit more advanced (Though not going completely alien on newbies) I think you could have better luck.
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby ExoBassTix » 03 Feb 2014 05:37

In such a way, I think I'd be perfectly able to teach a group of newbies how to make a Hardcore kick, explaining everything I do and use, in less than 20 minutes at least.

I've thought about doing something similar to your plan, and I believe it's a good thing to do. And even though I agree with what itroit said, actually doing such a tutorial is already enough for me to make doing a tutorial worth it.
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby CitricAcid » 03 Feb 2014 06:38

itroitnyah wrote:
If you were attending a con and saw a music panel on the schedule, what would you expect from it?
I'd sorta expect people to be asking questions like "are you planning on releasing your next EP/album soon? Are you going on tour through so-and-so town? How'd you get started? Do you think you're ever going to dabble around in such-and-so genre? Have you ever talked with artist blahblahblah about collabing?"

There will already be a panel like that at the con for all the musician guests and performers. But last year there were so many musicians on that panel that there was barely enough time to go around and ask the most basic questions. My aim is to put together a more educational panel that serves to make others interested in making music, give some tips to amateur music makers, and give a behind-the-scenes look at how music is made. The trick is going to be figuring out how to do that in a way that is efficient, interesting, and entertaining.

I like your booths idea, but I'm having a hard enough time finding any experienced help, let alone enough help to fill a bunch of booths.

Injustrial wrote:I remember at BUCK, when Glaze did a panel on production in FL.

Can you point me to a video of that panel perhaps?
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby Injustrial » 03 Feb 2014 08:22

CitricAcid wrote:
Injustrial wrote:I remember at BUCK, when Glaze did a panel on production in FL.

Can you point me to a video of that panel perhaps?


Sorry, there's no footage of it, as I have been able to find
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Re: Running a music panel

Postby Stuntddude » 03 Feb 2014 21:22

I think a panel where musicians just demonstrate their typical music making process would be much more helpful and interesting. Anyone who wants to actually figure out how to start making music, from the start, will probably just look up tutorials on the internet (or ask some "where should a newbie get started" type question at the panel, which would be a good question to have but shouldn't be the whole panel in my opinion). As you said, part of the purpose is to generate interest, and watching musicians in their "native environment" is much more likely to do that.

Source: I have never run a panel or attended a proper convention in my life. Feel free to disregard everything I say.
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