Music Theory in a Nutshell by Lillian Zachariah

Music Theory is important for any musician. Firstly, the ability to communicate ideas between musicians becomes simpler to do with one common language of notation. All basic elements of music- Melody, Rhythm and Harmony can be understood and implemented using notation. At the end of the day, all the decisions we make during a jam involve Time signature, Key signature, tempo, intervals, chord changes based on a scale or Re-harmonizing a melody.

Secondly, a vast knowledge of music theory broadens and sharpens your skills as a composer. Even an electronic musician will thrive from a working knowledge of music theory to conduct loops, set delay effects, work with MIDI and collaborate with a huge group of musicians all over the world!

We will realize that after studying the theory of music, we enter into a huge world of permutations and combinations of notes, rests, chords, beats, sub-beats and amazingly enough, all of them sound really cool and remind us of songs we have heard before, innovations or an entirely new musical creation.

Syllabus
We will cover Music Theory in a Thorough, Logical, Practical and Enjoyable way with easy to understand explanations and exercises to push you as musicians during and long after the course. The course involves extensive Ear Training exercises and also demonstrations of Sibelius, the leading music composition and notation software. This course will be applicable for a beginner, an advanced musicians playing any instrument.

Floyd's Guitar Clinic by Floyd Fernandes

• Tone production and use of basic equipment to get a good sound at all times.
• Fundamentals of vibrato and essential technique which are critical to playing decent electric guitar.
• Focus on time keeping and rhythm chops to comp behind a vocalist and other instruments.
• Analysis of scale types and fretboard navigation to internalize the instrument.
• Playing over static vamps and approaching playing over changes.
• Advanced concepts of playing over changes and improvisation including understanding the concept of playing 'out'.
• Personally supervised approach over the material discussed along with playing over backing tracks.
• Discussion on the roots of music and appreciation of all its forms to really imbibe the vibe of what you play.
• A jam session applying what has been taught will conclude the clinic.

All You Need Is Music by Srijayanth Sridhar

This talk takes you through music as seen through several eyes and heard through several ears and answers several important questions such as "Is music truly universal or should I not be listening to that Cambodian rap CD I bought last week?" We will try and explore music over history and geography and understand why it is indeed exciting to live in the times that we do. Is rock really dead? Is hip hop the new rock? What is cutting edge? What isn't? Can Britney Spears sing? Really?

The R & B Coalition - A workshop understanding the chemistry between and bass player and a drummer

The relationship between drums and bass is a unique one that defines the “inner pulse” of a song. While a typical rhythm section would consist of bass, drums, guitar, piano/keys and percussion, it is the bass and drums that give music its oomph and dictates the groove over which the other instruments weave musical patterns. The relationship between the bass and drums should be one that brings the song together as the lack of sync between the two will undermine the clarity and the presence of the musical piece. When the bassist and drummer connect “lock in,” they will be in possession of any groove imaginable and can explore limitless possibilities where one complements the other to construct the song and provide a structure for the rest of the music ensemble. Watch Rajeev of Thermal and Quarter along with Prakash of Karma 6 as they discuss how the drum and bass come together to create grooves, which get your body rocking!

• The chemistry between a drummer and a bass player
• How to lock and compliment each other
• Jamming and Improvising on popular rhythms like Latin, Funk, Swing and Rock n Roll
• Working with different time signatures and polyrhythms

Digital Music School: A workshop on music production with Pro Tools 8 - Tony Das

Music production is that process that dictates what a musical piece sounds like. Even the best of equipment and musicians will fail to impress unless the right principles of production are applied to get that cutting edge sound. In today's world, a CD quality production can actually be produced at home without a big investment and that too at your own pace. Prepare yourself to be a great producer!!!

• Setup and run home recording studios from home
• Demonstration of a digital recording
• Composing and Editing tools
• Working with loops and elastic audio
• Midi production
• Virtual instruments and programming

Beat Roots: Get back to fundamentals with Ryan Colaco of Kryptos.

Any successful drummer, be it Dennis Chambers, Virgil Donati, Billy Cobham, Danny Carey or any of the many virtuosos would attribute their awe inspiring drumming technique and surgical precision to a clear and comprehensive understanding of drum rudiments. Join Ryan Colaco as he talks about how bullet paced rolls, head banging grooves are resting on top of basics and shares with you, some exercises which will help you realize your true potential as a drummer.

• The whys & hows about drumming
• Breathing + posture
• Various drumming terminology
• Various stick-grips techniques
• Basic exercises, rudiments & warm-ups
• Various foot-work techniques
• Basic exercises, rudiments & warm-ups
• Drumming using the metronome
• Various beats & approach to beats
• Various rolls & approach to rolls
• Drum tuning
• A little talk on song writing specifically related to the drums
• Power practice sessions

Vox with Lillian Zachariah

In many ways, the human voice is possibly the most remarkable instrument of all. Aside from the fact that everyone has one, the individual voice is quintessentially unique, differing from any other in myriad subtle ways. As the most immediate form of expression available to us, the voice is able to express emotions of pain, sadness, joy or anger with a sensitivity and intuitiveness that is arguably unmatched by any other external instrument. Enhance your singing career by learning proper vocal techniques to maximize your potential and gain technical and expressive command of your voice with Lillian Zachariah, an eminent choir director and pipe organist who has trained students for Broadway theater.

• How to warm up your voice
• Proper posture, breathing, tone and diction
• Maintaining vocal health
• Improving stamina, range, and sound
• Singing in Harmony

A Hard Day's Night with Gaurav Vaz

Music as a career in India. The topic on everyone's mind. Can it be done? is it worth it throwing away your "traditional career" to take up music as a career? Is it worth pursuing? This workshop will aim to demystify some of the myths that abound and give you a realistic perspective on how to take music up as a career in India.

Some of the topics that will be discussed

• Aritst Management
• PR / Marketing
• Sound Engineering
• Publishing
• Record Labels
• Sponsorships

Musicality and Improvisation by Floyd Fernandes

• Fundamentals in hearing melodies and ideas before you play them.i.e. creatively expressing yourself over chords or harmony.
• The technique of switching your analytical mind off to create a melody.
• Concepts in improvisation over static and dynamic changes.
• The use of intervals to create interesting patterns and the application of these patterns to embellish your music.
• Singing your lines before you execute them to establish a close connectivity with your chosen instrument.
• The application of the concepts to generate solos with your own unique flavor.
• An interactive session to cement a listening and practice schedule for the future.

The Contemporary Etudes with Jason Zachariah

This workshop will focus on giving a player a jumpstart into contemporary styles of keyboard playing- Blues, Latin, Funk, Country, Folk, Reggae and Metal. An insight into all the technical and compositional benefits will be covered with a stress on the importance of timing, practice routines and developing self-confidence. Most of the workshop is open to exploration. Areas covered:

• Contemporary keyboard licks and riffs
• Achieving rhythmic and harmonic independence with your ears, fingers and hands
• The devices required for a modern keyboardist to express everything possible
• Piecing it together in a song
• How to interact with the drums, bass, vocals and guitars during a jam
• Achieve ultimate control of rhythm, melody and harmony with a stepwise approach
• How to listen correctly
• The performing keyboardist- Tools to help you raise your level as a player

“The Bassics” with Leslie Charles

• The concept of bass and the role of a bassist.
• Prerequisite music theory and its applications.
• Basic picking techniques, positions, motion economy.
• How to build grooves.
• Providing a good backing for a band.
• Constructing melodic bass lines.
• Playing harmonics on the bass.
• Slapping techniques.
• Improvisation and introduction to soloing.
• Developing versatility to play various styles like pop, rock, blues, jazz, reggae, funk, latin, etc..

Rhythmic Improvisation with Muthu Kumar

Muthu has been playing table from the age of 5, learning under the legends, Ustad AllaRakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain. He has played on more than 500 recording sessions with musicians from genres as varied as Indian Classical, Hip-hop, Bollywood, Gospel, World, Jazz etc. and conducted Indian rhythm workshops and rhythm improvisation workshops for Colorado University's outreach program and Crossroad of Culture Festival in Warsaw Poland.

His workshop at Mechanics will cover:

• Insight into the complex patterns and structures of Indian rhythm
• Application of Indian rhythmic concepts in different genres and in music creation
• Independence and coordination exercises
• Polyrhythms and odd-cycles