MEIS in Germany Part 4: RBB, Ableton, Native Instruments

As previewed from our time at AES, we were honored to join Thomas Görne and his students at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (known as HAW, Hochsule für Angewandte Wissenshaften Hamburg).

The students were able to see the lab being designed for the upcoming Klingt Gut! symposium, in which metal scaffolding will hold over a dozen speakers meant to play back immersive sound. In the meantime, students experimented with music composition for film. Here, Karl Gunselman plays his microKorg along to a video. In the studio, two students from HAW run the console.

Karl Gunselman composing music to picture

HAW students run the board for the scoring session

Thomas Görne also delivered an informative lecture on film sound for both groups of students.

Next, we visited Native Instruments, whose "Maschine" is the device of choice for student Cameron Sargent. We got an overview of how sample packs are made, which involve a lot of research into music styles.

Native Instruments talk on building sample libraries

The trip to Radio Brandenburg Berlin (RBB) was very moving. Nadia Hassan-Garschagan led us through pictures on exhibit in the halls, dating from the invention, through the "dark times" of Nazi propaganda, and to more contemporary productions including studios fully for equipped radio dramas (complete with working toilets and an anechoic, "outdoor"studio to simulate the feeing of being outside).

Nadia Hassan-Garschagen leads a talk at RBB

We were lucky that the Berliner Philharmoniker was rehearsing - Nikolas Löwe was kind enough to raise the faders and talk to us about their approach to orchestral miking.

Historical studios of RBB with Nikolaus Löwe

A peek at the Berliner Philharmoniker in rehearsal

Later that day, the amazing Jesse Abayomi treated us to an introduction to Ableton and their Push interface, which is also popular among students. The demonstration was followed by hands-on work on Push devices in the lab,

Jesse Abayomi of Ableton leads a demo on the Push

Finally, Berlin-based DJ Mad Zach joined the group to explain how he incorporates Ableton tools into his live performances.

Mad Zach shows how he creates beats

The trip to Ableton might have marked the end of the course, but as these courses go there is always a surprise! Native Instruments invited the students to a hands-on workshop, so for those who could attend, the learning continued even after the farewell dinner!

Our farewell dinner at Austern Bank

I interviewed many of the students about their experience on the trip, which you can watch here:

Germany Reflections from Leslie Gaston CU Denver on Vimeo.

As you can see, we spent two very amazing weeks becoming familiar with the music industry in Germany, and expanding our world view beyond the USA. But don't take my word for it - make sure to watch the video and hear it in the students' own words.

For earlier posts, click here.

-Leslie Gaston-Bird
Associate Professor of Recording Arts
University of Colorado Denver