v

4B - Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Students only need to take a few courses before given access to the recording studios.

V BEATS
From Page 1B
in large part by students.
"It was a really great experi-
ence for *me because I started
that project as a student then I
transitioned to staff," Daftuar
said. "It was a really good per-
spective on how the different
roles played together and what
it takes to build studios from
scratch."
The Duderstadt houses two
different electronic music stu-
dios. The first, known as EMS
A, is generally used for smaller
projects such as composition
and mixing to avideo. To accom-
modate these projects, there's a
single 46-inch television cen-
trally placed above tw com-
puter monitors so students can
see what they're doing. While it
is the smallest studio the Dud-
erstadt offers, it's capable of
handling big projects. Like the
other studios in Duderstadt, its
equipment merely has a differ-
ent focus.
"You can do everything else
(in EMS A)," Daftuar said. "You
can certainly do all that other
stuff in here - audio, record
bands, classical, mixing. But
each room has a slightly stron-
ger focus with the way the room
is laid out."
The other studio, EMS B, has
more space, a larger and more
complex console, and two moni-
tors instead of one. It's also the
first studio in the world to house
an 8.0 sound system. Basically,
EMS B is an expansion of EMS
A, but it has, according to Daf-
tuar, "a stronger focus on com-
position as well as sound editing
and mixing." It's also connected
to EMS A, so users can easily use
both rooms' strengths as need-
ed.
"You can use multiple rooms
at the same time," Daftuar said.
"You're able to really branch out.
If your project involves doing
things audio and video in differ-
ent rooms, you can connect the
rooms together."
The rooms were designed
with a lot of flexibility, allowing
users to ferry projects between
rooms and eliminating con-
cerns about space limitation and
bleed-in. With the inclusion of
the newly renovated Audio Stu-
dio, which is composed of five
separate rooms - the control
room, main tracking room, two
isolation booths and an amp
room - space hardly seems to be
a problem.
"We offer basically every-
thing you need to do high-qual-
ity work," Daftuar said. "We
provide you with a whole array
of microphones, cables, adap-
tors, turnarounds, headphones,
pup filters, extension cords -
everything you need to do a
recording."
Learning the art of audio
Recording in one of those stu-
dios - surrounded by controls,
knobs and cords - can be daunt-
ing for someone who knows
nothing about its technicalities
or music in general. Luckily, the
Duderstadt offers a few courses
to students.

Before a student sets foot in
a studio, they must go through
a training process. They begin
with DMC 101, a course which
grants access to the multimedia
workrooms and the V-room. Stu-
dents can continue to DMC 201,
which permits students to use
EMS A, then DMC 202, which
certifies them for EMS B, and
finally, DMC 301, which is for
the Audio Studio.

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rding to Peter Raymond, Records, offers an outlet through
year senior in the School which they can gain exposure.
&D and the College of While the label has only used
ering who teaches DMC students as interns and primar-
201, the best part about ily serves and records faculty
sues is that they're simple members, it also holds an annual
ck - the longest one will musical competition called New
cupy three evenings. Music on the Block. Every year,
ey're just meant to give students are invited to send in
e background that you three original compositions to
use the room comfort- Block M Records. Currently the
couple of them have label's legal support is provided
at the end, but it's not by Ron Torrella, who himself is a
d to be a tricky test," well-qualified pianist.
nd said. "We want to emphasize that U
means that no prior of M has a lot of talented musi-
nce is needed. By offer- cians out there. Not all of them
hands-on approach, the are in the School of Music," Tor-
are meant to make stu- rella said. "We have quite a few
eel at ease in the studio coming from the business col-
ve them the knowledge lege and some coming from LSA.
ry to at least do the So it's an opportunity for stu-
And when you're finished dents at the University to show
e classes, all you have to their musical stuff."
ook a time slot and the After student compositions
yours. are submitted to New Music on
ve been to other colleges, the Block, they're put onto a CD
rade schools that have and sent out to producers across
recording programs, and the country who rate their work.
n't have the same flex- When all the compositions'
for their people," Ray- scores have been tallied, the
aid. "Here, the studios top four scores are declared the
ilable 24/7, as long as the winners and their composers are
tadt is open. They have awarded $50. Perhaps the better
trust in the users here. prize is that the winners' com-
nderstand that it's some- positions are compressed onto
hat the students really an album distributed through
oing and really want to iTunes.
." But the label is young and
inately for all those not has encountered a few problems
ig in music, there is no along the way. As such, it's being
ling as a prerequisite for reorganized into a more stable
urse. In fact, the major- program.
s students are non-music "The problem we were run-
s. ning into was that students
let's say you do record a couldn't devote the amount
'hat then? of time necessary, and they
couldn't get things done in a
Drop the beat timely fashion a lot of times,"
Torrella said. "So, production
n Associate Professor of got held because students had
d Contemporary Impro- finals or a paper due or whatev-
i, Michael Gould has er. Classwork always takes pre-
s of experience and can cedence over label work."
to the possibilities the "The idea is to sort of step
ity can offer. back and reorganize and look at
offer you great faculty, how things operated in the past
r you great resources," and try to improve how we did
explained. "Hopefully, things. It's all moving forward.
lave some kind of cre- I don't think Block M is going
)ark to put those things away anytime soon," he added.
r. So really, it's up to the Yet, despite these hard eco-
s to find these opportu- nomic times and the natural
but they're here. People cynicism that can affect any
iting for you to create student potentially pursuing a
career in the arts, Gould believes
the students who are no amount of tuition debt should
here today, if you can intimidate anyone from record-

UARTS. 250
From Page 3B.
electric catapults (based on
designs by Leonardo da Vinci).
Optional meditation sessions
are held on Mondays, and Rush
gives a lecture to the entire class
every Wednesday. Lectures
cover influential creative think-
ers from history, such as Meister
Eckhart, a German philosopher,
and Lao Tzu, the father of Tao-
ism.
As Rush makes the rounds
from one classroom to the next
and greets students from each
separate cohort, he describes
the class with a combination of
idealism and serious fortitude.
He unabashedly states that the
class's airy is nothing less than
social transformation. By bring-
ing people together from dis-
tinct parts of the University and
studying a curriculum as diverse
and broad as creativity itself,
Rush believes this type of course
can foster an acceptance that
can have a profound impact on
the world at large.
"This is when the Gaza Strip
gets solved," he said. "This is
when the Berlin Wall goes down,
is when people can cut through
'the walls of differentiation and
pull people together. Now, you
can have 100,000 classes on
diversity training that try to do
exactly the same process, but the
fact is we're actually doing it, but
we never even talk about it."
Outside of a room in the base-
ment of Bursley Residence Hall
- which functions as the medi-
tation room, lecture hall and
movement classroom - Rush
watches the movement class
currently in session. He marvels
at the way students who have
never danced before they start-
ed the course allow themselves
.to take chances, to fall down,
to risk failure and to help each
other out.
"We talk about (failure) a lot
in this class," Rush said. "Noth-
ing turns out the way you think
it's going to turn out ... things
surprise you. And the thing is to
delight in what's happening in

0

ALLISOt
Students learn about architects Frank Gehry and Antonio Gaudi.

the process and not get all mad
at it, and go 'oh, you bad thing
that I'm creating.'"
He added: "Fear is always the
enemy of creativity."
A crowd of students begins to
gather for the lecture, and Rush
speaks with them as one would
to a friend, as equals. Despite the
class's large size, students and
teachers get to know one anoth-
er on a personal basis, which
Rush maintains is an important
draw for students.
"All the professors are going*
to learn your name. They're
going to know what you're
about, what your final prompt is,
so it's a kind of ecosystem where
you're valued," he said. "And,
look, that's where you want to
hang, right? You want to hang
with people that know who you
are and what you're about."
The students and Rush file
into the makeshift lecture hail
where tables, couches, pool
tables and floor space are all
used as spots for note-taking.
The scene could easily be mis-
taken for dorm residents relax-
ing in the student lounge, except
that at the front of the room,
Rush begins to lecture on Buck-
minster Fuller and the invention
of the geodesic dome. _
Tingshen Chen, a sophomore
in the School of Engineering,
hangs back to speak about his
thoughts on "Creative Process."
For Chen, the class is more a

journey of self-discovery than
it is a way to literally create
things.
"Other departments teach
you how you can think outside
the box and how you can be cre-
ative," he said. "But this (class) is
more about being a human and
being yourself. It's like living life
to the fullest can help you come
to these great thoughts."
Chen takes a seat in the class
next to his peers. Amy Chavasse,
an associate professor of Dance
and the instructor for the move-
ment section, exits the class-
room upon finishingteachingfor
the day. She too places emphasis
on the value of interdisciplinary
classes. Yet she acknowledges
that there will always be tension
between those who value the
pure technique and those who
desire to understand a broad
spectrum of ideas.
But the opportunity to share
her area of expertise in a forum
devoted to pushing boundaries
of what is possible, emotionally
and physically, outweighs any
tension that might arise.
"In this class I just had, there
were a couple of Ph.D. engineer-
ing people in there, and they're
like flying all over, flinging them-
selves all over the room, just
being totally uninhibited .. it's
really amazing," said Cavasse.
"(This class) is an opportunity
to be playful in the most serious
wav thatnlav can he"

0

pLLIROu UpSd d/nUs t
Stephen tush helped found the UARTS 250 class and currently coordinates the course.

dream it up, you can do it here
at Michigan," Gould added. "We
have so many resources avail-
able to students to create great
art. And that's the bottom line."
For students who wish to pur-
sue their interest in music, the
University's record label, Block M

ing.
"I say go for it," Gould said. "I
want everyone to be successful.
Is everybody going to be suc-
cessful? No way. That's reality.
But we're trying to set them up
as best we can to be a successful
person and artist."

FRIENDS
From Page 3B
It was an episode from the 5th
season, the one in which Rachel
buys an obscenely expensive and
ugly cat, Phoebe breaks up with
Gary, and Ross and Joey invent a
new game ... called catch.
"Friends" certainly wasn't
without its flaws, and even some
of the most diehard fans are
quick to admit its slumps: par-
ticularly, its final season, when
the show felt more like a slightly
funny soap opera than a slightly
soapy sitcom. And nowadays,
when a show premieres, set in a
big city and featuring a group of
beautiful hipster pals who are all
single, penniless yet somehow
still able to afford spacious, high-
ceilinged apartments, we roll
our eyes. "Oh, it's just another
'Friends' wannabe."
"Friends" became the standard
for the friends-in-the-big-city sit-
com, not because they did it first
("Seinfeld" beat it by about four
years), but because the show did it
best. And the six main reasons it

succeeded were its six main char-
acters. The writers didn't simply
rely on established sitcom gags;
most of the jokes and setups were
character-based and character-
specific, employing truly deft
comedy writing that played to the
quirks of each character.
And the cast members, though
equally talented, each had their
own strengths that allowed them
to play off of each other and form
a charismatic, polished ensemble:
Jennifer Aniston played Rachel
with a charming softness; David
Schwimmer made Ross a lovable,
heavy-hearted dork; Courteney
Cox brought moments of sincer-
ity and severity to Monica; Mat-
thew Perry never failed to nail his
delivery of Chandler's sardoni-
cisms (honestly, could Chandler
be any more hilarious?); Matt
LeBlanc similarly brought show-
stealing delivery to dim-witted
Joey's exchanges; Lisa Kudrow
managed to make Phoebe more
than just a caricature despite her
over-the-top eccentricities.
But the characters weren't
the only reason "Friends" has
achieved legendary status

amongst TV critics and viewers
alike, "Friends" was inherently
a '90s show, with its lip-liner-
adorned ladies, bright colors and
denim,butoutside of the outdated
pop-culture references and taboo
fashion choices, the show and its
themes -- sex, love, careers and, of
course, friendship - are timeless.
There's a reason why our
generation still laughs hysteri-
callyat the gang's shenanigans,
whether it's when Ross likens
choosing between sex and dino-
saurs to "Sophie's Choice" or
anytime Phoebe picks up her
guitar (everyone knows "Smelly
Cat," but let's not forget classics
like "Dumb, Drunken Bitch" and
"Goats are Parading"). "Friends"
is a snapshot of a generation, but
it transcends its time. Just like
I haven't forgotten the night of
the admittedly underwhelm-
ing series finale, when my mom,
grandma and I gathered in our
family room to tune in with
over 50 million other viewers,
"Friends" has left its mark on
television and will likely not be
forgotten.
-KAYLA UPADHYAYA

0

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ALLIciNaK
Block M Records hosts an annual competition for student musiciarns.

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