Imagine using one piece of software to compose any genre of music? Then imagine using this piece of software to teach Music Technology with synthesis, sound waves and the production of audio from EQ to compression, 10 years ago. Reason made by Propellerheads (now Reason Studios) is what I have used in the classroom since I studied Music at the University of New South Wales Australia. It was there that I wrote this unit of work on Reason 2.5 and also, thanks to composer Damian Barbeler who introduced me to the program when I started my Composer in Residence journey.
“Imagine using a piece of professional MIDI/Audio software to teach Music Technology in 2011! Reason can do so much more in 2020 from opening inside of Logic, sychronising with Ableton Live and even creating transferable projects from an iPad!”
Project Based Learning with Reason
The following links are for my publication of Project Based Creations in Reason Software. It includes a complete tutorial manual for starting out in Reason that works almost a decade later. It includes a technological remix of Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor, Pink Floyd’s 7/4 hit Money and my own take on the 4-chord wonder:
PBL YouTube Playlist
PDF Workbook
Project Files (Dial One)
Project Files (Dial Two)
Best of all, my work helped support the musical talents of my students as they had their original songs produced by the incredible artist Olivia Broadfield! Each student recorded simple stems with piano/guitar and sent them to Olivia, who we connected with online. It was a collaboration that we needed, as Olivia became our tutor in music production.
Cobwebs by Milly
Wobbleboard by Lily
You can start listening to my students’ original compositions with Soundcloud. Below are the original ‘stem’ versions as well as Olivia’s produced versions. We learned so much from her process and willingness to work with us. It gets me thinking, what will be the next steps forward for Reason and other Digital Audio Workstations (DAWS)?
Top Image: Staff, PSW. “Reason Studios Releases New Reason 11.” ProSoundWeb, September 25, 2019. https://www.prosoundweb.com/reason-studios-releases-new-reason-11/.
