TEACHING: GARAGE BAND UNIVERSITY

Garage Band…the mere phrase sets a young person’s heart (or any person young at heart!) atwitter with images of rebellious Rock lyrics weaving through power chords and thundering drums, where creativity and raw energy mix to sometimes create sounds never heard before, and the only deaf ears are those that hear, “You can’t make it in Rock Music!” The Garage Band is the great American icon of untapped, unfocussed musical talent before eventually finding fame or obscurity. It is only natural that, in the 21st century,

GARAGE BAND U. (University) steps in to promote and focus that unbridled enthusiasm and musical aggressiveness through the nurture and guidance of mature musicians that, yes, also started in garages but through perseverance, hard work, serious musical introspection, and a little luck, have had the opportunity to live their musical dreams on countless stages around the world and are now dedicated to helping others accomplish their musical dreams.

GARAGE BAND U. is not a school modeled on a movie comedy based on a tough-love philosophy of poser musical instruction (often by inexperienced teachers), but rather is a network of pro musician performing teachers that band together to create a network greater than the sum of their parts in order to provide realistic musical educational opportunities for students. Teachers guide student bands to their musical objectives, but the students must formulate and agree upon their objectives, style, and repertoire on their own just like in a “real” band! Teachers can help with technical issues, groove, and musical theory and practice as needed, but the quality of the resulting performance is still due to the passion of the students! Additionally, with Garage Band U., students work not with one qualified teacher, but often with several others to provide various musical perspectives and experiences.

Although Garage Band U. will always offer Rock performance opportunities, watch out for other genres to be offered soon:

  • GARAGE BAND U. — Jazz
  • GARAGE BAND U. — Latin

Each 6-week session ensures enough time to work up and rehearse a small set of songs. Sessions will alternate between recording performances on the last day or by providing a small live concert opportunity.
The beginnings of the GARAGE BAND U. network of teachers includes: