Respect Her Crank!: Producing Sounds of Blackness
From WondaGurl to Ebonie Smith, Black women have produced award-winning pop hits. Yet they are not always household names like some of their counterparts. In Respect Her Crank!: Producing Sounds of Blackness, this changes. Award-winning producer J’Nae White facilitates multiple workshops designed to teach the art of music production, as inspired by Black women producers.
Register for a workshop, or several, today. No prior experience is needed.
Produce Bangers Like WondaGurl
Tuesday, February 2 | 4:00–5:30 pm (tailored for educators, open to all)
Thursday, February 4 | 4:30–5:30 pm (for teens)
This workshop will show you basic production fundamentals in a free Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). You will arrange melodies and drum patterns, use synthesizers and samplers, and ultimately create your own unique beat using FL Studio and BandLab. You’ll walk away with the fundamentals in music production and resources to continue exploring music production on your own.
The Art of Sampling: Sylvia Robinson Produced a New Wave
Tuesday, March 2 | 4:00–5:30 pm (tailored for educators, open to all)
Thursday, March 4 | 4:00–5:30 pm (for teens)
This workshop is all about music sampling, a technique used primarily in producing hip-hop music. You will learn how to identify music samples in contemporary songs and reconstruct a sample for a beat of your own while using FL Studio, Sampulator, and Sample Stitch. The best part is that your MIDI is the keyboard.
Elevate Your Production, Mixing Like Ebonie Smith
Tuesday, April 6 | 4:00–5:30 pm (tailored for educators, open to all)
Thursday, April 8 | 4:00–5:30 pm (for teens)
Mixing is the key to taking your beats to the next level. In this workshop, we will get to the nitty gritty of mixing. Using critical listening, Soundation and Sampulator, participants will make their own beats and practice mixing strategies.
Theorizing Beats Like Nova Wav
Tuesday, May 4 | 4:00–5:30 pm (tailored for educators, open to all)
Thursday, May 6 | 4:00–5:30 pm (for teens)
Did you know that there is theory behind some of your favorite songs? This workshop introduces you to music theory for producers. Inspired by the award-winning record producers Nova Wav, you will learn standard beat composition from intro to outro on FL Studio, BandLab, and Incredibox and flourish into a dope music producer.
More than A Loop: From Start to Finish Like Missy Elliot
Tuesday, June 1 | 4:00–5:30 pm (tailored for educators, open to all)
Thursday, June 3 | 4:00–5:30 pm (for teens)
This final workshop is a comprehensive exploration of the tools, techniques, and workflow required to produce RnB and hip-hop music. Inspired by the famous Missy Elliot, you will have the opportunity to learn advanced skills and apply them using FL Studio, Soundation, and Sampulator.
This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative.
