By Marianna Nash

Here at The Foxgrove (FG), our students come from all walks of life. Get to know Sarie, Tom and Mike, three of our esteemed Electronic Music Production graduates, over these three days.

Sarie Bott (SB)
IT Manager for top art gallery by day. Karaoke champ by night.

Tom Losinski (TL)
Digital designer/animator looking to add a new creative outlet to his repertoire.

Mike Mytnick (MM)
Digital producer working in video production and social media. Swedish pop fan. Colorblind.

-

FG: Do you guys get self-conscious playing your remix for the class?

SB: Sometimes I feel like, if I have an idea, and I’m trying to take it somewhere near the idea, but I’m not anywhere near the idea — then I’m like, oh God. Here we go.

MM: Yeah, ’cause you make it something personal, and then automatically you’re protective of it. You’re afraid to let it go out into the world, like a child.

FG: Wow, so you guys take it very seriously.

MM: SUPER seriously. It’s a super serious activity.

SB: Well, I think it’s because we’re creative people, and that’s just the nature of when you make something.

FG: Do you think you’ll ever return to these tracks to work on them again?

MM: I might. I’d love to remix the song I was playing with tonight. The song I picked has a very strange time signature. It has two tempo changes. I thought I could do it because I liked it, and I was familiar with it, but it’s a lot harder to do that than to pick something with the same rhythm and one tempo.

FG: Do you think you’ll take more risks in your work now?

MM: Yeah, I think so.

FG: What would you tell someone who was considering this class, if they were feeling intimidated?

SB: Definitely take the intro class and see how you feel.

TL: I think it’s a really good idea to take the intro class. And if you have fun, just take the rest.

FG: Do you think music might become something more serious for you than a hobby?

SB: I’d like to pursue it as a “serious hobby.”

MM: I hope so. I have to decide what I would want my voice to be. Not my singing voice, my artistic voice.

SB: Are you gonna sing on your tracks?

MM: Maybe. Probably not.

FG: You guys could collaborate.

SB: I think we should all go out for a karaoke night.

FG: How do you get past your inhibitions when you’re trying new things?

TL: Just suck it up.

SB: Yeah.

TL: Especially when you lay out money for something. It’s like, go to class. Enjoy it.

SB: I’m never really afraid to try things, but I get nervous about showing the work at the end. Especially if I feel like it’s not ready.

TL: This is completely different, but last weekend, my friend and I went to a shooting range. It was the first time I had ever touched a gun. I was never more nervous or scared in my entire life. This is nothing like that.

SB: No physical danger.

TL: No physical danger. I just think that once you say “I’m gonna do this,” you should do it.

FG: Why? What made you want to try it in the first place?

TL: I was just always curious.

-

The last track in this installment we share is from Tom. Here's why this is his favorite track from his Electronic Music Production, Level 2 course.

“This was my 3rd class song and we just learned how to really use midi controls to make our own beats. It was the first time I could actually create a song with some sort of melody even though I have no knowledge of writing music or notes. It also allowed me to play around with sounds and create a spacey direction I wanted to go in.”

Tom continued to create music after the course. Here are a couple stunning videos created by him with custom tracks, putting the skills he learned from our music production classes to great use.

At The Foxgrove, we welcome all beginners with no experience. All you need to bring is an open mind and the love of music. We'll take care of the rest. Check out all our classes here.