Directed by T. Foley
We regret to say that this workshop has been canceled..
Let’s talk about short music. Really, unbelievably short music. And weird, ear-catching noises. Forget the thirty-minute concerto, the three minute pop tune, or the thirty-second jingle; the new frontier of music composition is less than three seconds — and the market for custom telephone ringtones is now a $10-billion-per-year industry, growing at 20% per year. In this workshop, you’ll learn what you’ll need to become a rock star of this important new sound format.
Learn to create and distribute ringtones! No programming skills are needed for this workshop—just your positive energy, a little imagination and a willingness to Google when necessary as we produce unconventional tones in this laid-back, Sunday afternoon session.
Bring your harmonica, moo-cow toy, rattle, or other favorite noise-maker to this hands-on workshop where we’ll discuss and test modes and approaches for making and distributing homemade ringtones with old and new media technologies. We’ll consider conceptual and practical approaches for making tones and shorter message alert signals, and will employ simple tactics for making and sending tones to phones that are MMS (multimedia messaging service) capable. We’ll also talk about tips and tricks for optimizing your sounds for reproduction through tiny cellphone speakers, and strategies for viral propagation of your sounds.
The workshop will include:
• an overview to making ringtones on, and sending tones back to, your cell phone;
• a ringtone-making jam session where we use an external mic and WAV/MP3 recorder
to capture a selection of higher fidelity audio files;
• a post-production overview of editing the higher-fidelity tones in Audacity;
• a simple guerilla approach to distributing your tones via email; and
• an introduction to an old-school method for distributing your home grown tones with business cards.
Your Skill Level
Any skill level is great! Musicians and sound-tweakers are especially encouraged. This workshop is all-ages.
What To Bring
Bring your cell phone! Because cell phones, their menus and capabilities vary, it’s a good idea to have your phone’s manual handy for this workshop.
