WorkshopLive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| URL | http://www.workshoplive.com/ |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Online Music Lessons |
| Owner | WorkshopLive |
| Created by | WorkshopLive |
WorkshopLive is an online music education company based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA. The brain-child of its CEO, David Smolover, WorkshopLive launched its web site in December of 2005 with five-hundred guitar lessons in various genres. As of December 2006, the company has over 2000 lessons in production (1500 published) which include electric bass, and keyboard in ability levels ranging from absolute beginner to advanced.
Contents |
[edit] History
Since the summer of 2006, WorkshopLive has constituted one of the largest known repositories of musical knowledge on the Internet. It is the first commercial website in the history of the Internet to utilize the full spectrum of streamed video, audio, and computer animation for the purpose of teaching music. Many believe that the turn of the millennium marks a dramatic transition of mainstream media, in which the boundary between television and the Internet is rapidly becoming blurred. WorkshopLive has positioned itself at the crest of this wave of change and is being propelled forward by enthusiastic responses throughout the entertainment industry. Simultaneously, rising costs of education have been forcing students and their parents to explore other options, such as home schooling. Thus the education community is gradually beginning to feed the increase of WorkshopLive's momentum as well.
[edit] Concept
As of December 2006, WorkshopLive's lessons are taught by 40 teachers in a variety of styles including rock, jazz, blues, classical, acoustic, absolute beginner, slide guitar, and fingerstyle. The lessons are presented in an interactive framework that displays graphic content in real time with high resolution Flash or QuickTime video formats. One of the most prominent innovations of the presentation is the use of animated graphics to give the student a visual simulation of the instrument being played. The animation shows, for example, which fingers are being used, where they are to be placed, the notes produced, and can be slowed down or sped up at the student's discretion without changing the pitch of the audio (notably not MIDI, but .wav files). The guitar's neck can be reversed for left-handed players.
The fact that WorkshopLive has begun to obtain permission to teach an increasing number of popular songs has proved a major breakthrough for the company. Apparently, the idea that one can not only download one's favorite tunes at sites such as iTunes, but can actually learn to play them is catching on, not only in the United States but in the U.K., Australia, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico and many other countries throughout the world.
[edit] Development
WorkshopLive has its roots in the National Guitar Workshop and DayJams, two music education camps in the United States. As broadband Internet became more accessible, the ability to put music lessons online became possible. Other educational institutions, such as The Berklee School of Music [1] in Boston, MA, are exploring distance learning for music education. Streaming video and animation technology have become accessable to Internet users worldwide with the acceptance of QuickTime and Macromedia Flash. As broadband transfer speeds increase, the quality and number of educational resources online is only expected to increase.
WorkshopLive has recently incorporated their program into two test school districts in an effort to augment music programs that have been cut due to budget restrictions. Their program is also being tested by the Salvation Army [2] in an effort to bring music education to those that may not be able to afford the cost of private lessons.
[edit] Teachers
WorkshopLive features seasoned performers, songwriters, producers, and award winning authors in its current roster. Students may review teacher profiles, listen to independent recordings, watch teacher interviews, and browse through teacher lesson catalogs. Many music topics are covered by more than one teacher, presenting the student with the opportunity to choose among perspectives.
| Teacher | Genre/Style | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Lou Manzi | Absolute Beginner/Acoustic | Guitar |
| Susan Mazer | Absolute Beginner/Acoustic | Guitar |
| Jeff Bihlman | Rock/Blues | Guitar |
| Scott A Smith | Blues | Guitar |
| Reggie Chavez | Blues | Guitar |
| Alan Bennett | Blues | Guitar |
| Dennis McCumber | Blues | Guitar |
| Jonathan Barker | Blues | Guitar |
| Matt Smith | Blues | Guitar |
| Alex Nolan | Rock | Guitar |
| Glenn Riley | Rock | Guitar |
| Tim Quick | Rock | Guitar |
| Geoff Hartwell | Rock | Guitar |
| Paul Howard | Rock | Guitar |
| Jeff Peretz | Rock | Guitar |
| Tobias Hurwitz | Rock | Guitar |
| Dave Martone | Rock | Guitar |
| Ken Steiger | Rock | Guitar |
| Ralph Agresta | Rock | Guitar |
| Joel Gregoire | Rock | Guitar |
| Jared Meeker | Rock | Guitar |
| Amanda Monaco | Jazz | Guitar |
| Tom Dempsey | Jazz | Guitar |
| Jody Fisher | Jazz | Guitar |
| Mark Dziuba | Jazz | Guitar |
| Pat Johnson | Acoustic | Guitar |
| Tomas Cataldo | Acoustic | Guitar |
| Larry Marciano | Acoustic | Guitar |
| Alfredo Grado | Absolute Beginner | Bass |
| Dave Overthrow | Rock | Bass |
| Tracy Walton | Rock | Bass |
| Sharon Ray | Rock | Bass |
| Chris Kuffner | Absolute Beginner/Rock | Bass |
| Matt Scharfglass | Rock | Bass |
| Martha Masters | Seminar | Guitar |
| Harry Jacobson | Seminar | Guitar |
| Greg Horne | Acoustic | Guitar |
| Amy Rosser | Absolute Beginner | Keyboard/Piano |
| Cathy Schane-Lydon | Absolute Beginner/Rock | Keyboard/Piano |
| Noah Baerman | Jazz | Keyboard/Piano |
| Leo Marchildon | Adult Refresher | Keyboard/Piano |
| Joe Rose | Toolbox | Keyboard/Piano |
| David Pearl | Toolbox | Keyboard/Piano |
| Ian Campbell | Folk Songs | Guitar |
| Bess Rogers | Folk Songs | Guitar |
