Applications for Rock Workshop Spring 25′ are now open!
In Rock Workshop we place musicians into bands based on genre, age, and experience. Any rock style is accepted including metal, punk, indie, classic, and blues; any age from 9-99; and any level of experience from beginner to advanced shredders.* Bands will work with a coach to write three songs, record them, and a play a gig.
*Participants must be able to play through at least one song to be eligible. See “Auditions” below for more info.
“An absolutely fantastic experience for all of us. We hope to enroll in another workshop soon. Really appreciate all of the efforts the staff of the foundry put forth to make it all work and the education and instruction are superior. Keep up the good work!”
“It provided me with chance to work with a professional instructor, who is well trained, record in a professional recording studio, and have a real gig at the HIGH NOON SALOON!!! ”
“My daughter’s personality totally emerged through this year’s experience. What had been a timid, quiet girl became a vocal leader, confident performer and out-there personality by the end of the program. Fabulous to see the showman emerge!”
“Chris Vincent was awesome! He was funny and great to work with. We had fun, but also he kept us in line and stayed professional when we needed to be. Everyone at the Foundry was very professional and welcoming.”
“You guys did a really good job with the organization and communication, and the music turned out great!”
“I loved everything!!!!!”
Madison Music Foundry began the Rock Workshop program in the fall of 2008. Since then we have had over 400 musicians participate in 150 bands.
Many parents have commented on their child’s increase in confidence and renewed interest in music as a result of their participation. Students have remarked on how Rock Workshop provides them with a very different experience than they get from school and often find that they can express themselves more creatively through this program.
Adult participants have commented on the excitement they felt at finally getting on stage (or in some cases–back on stage) after wanting to for all these years. A number of groups have even continued on after the completion of the program.
FALL AND SPRING SESSIONS
APPLICATION
The first step in Rock Workshop is completing an application. There is a $25 application fee which will count towards tuition.*
See “Application” below for the link to the form.
AUDITION
After we receive all the applications, we will contact you to schedule a time for your placement audition. We place students into bands based primarily on ability, age, and musical interest. However, sometimes need (i.e. for a particular instrument) and availability affect placement as well.
See more about auditions below.
TUITION
Tuition for the fall and spring sessions is $400 and is due in full at the time of placement* and includes:
- An instructor for all rehearsals and recording sessions
- All the gear needed for the rehearsals, recording and the gig
- The recording studio rental including the recording engineer
- A CD of your band’s recording
- Posting your band’s music on our Bandcamp page
- Playing one of your band’s songs on 98.7 FM WVMO
- Rental of the High Noon Saloon including a live sound engineer
- We do offer financial assistance. You can apply via the enrollment form.
*If we are unable to place a student in a band, then the full tuition and application fee will be refunded. However, the fee cannot be refunded if the student withdraws after the enrollment form is submitted.
REHEARSALS
Once students are placed into a band, we will contact you about scheduling a regular rehearsal (see dates for upcoming sessions). The group will meet weekly over the course of nine weeks. Seven of those weeks are two-hour rehearsals (the other two weeks are recording sessions–see below). Bands are expected to learn three songs and these tend to be all originals. Madison Music Foundry provides all the amps, drums, keyboards, microphones and speakers needed for rehearsals. Students only need to bring their guitars, drumsticks, etc.
View the Rock Workshop syllabus.
RECORDING
Weeks four and eight will be spent recording at Blast House Studios. These two sessions will be three hours long. All the bands’ songs are placed on a CD which is handed out at the gig.* The tracks will also be posted on our Bandcamp page. The final rehearsal will be focused on preparing for the live show.
*Summer session participants get the final CD at the end of the following Fall session.
THE GIG
The Rock Workshop showcase usually takes place at the High Noon Saloon, a world-class music venue that regularly hosts touring national acts along with local talent. All the bands perform in one show and get 20 minutes to setup, play and takedown. Like rehearsals, Madison Music Foundry provides all the “backline” for the show (amps, drums, keyboards) while the High Noon Saloon provides their in-house PA system along with a sound engineer to run it.
Dates for the next Rock Workshop session are listed below.
Applications open until January 8th, 2025.
Spring workshop will take place February 20th, until May 4th 2025.
Rehearsals will take place weekly at Madison Music Foundry with 2 recording sessions at Blasthouse.
Showcase show is May 4th at High Noon Saloon.
SUMMER SESSION
Summer session is different in a few ways from the fall/spring sessions. It’s two weeks long and takes place at our award winning recording studio Blast House Studios located just four blocks from Madison Music Foundry at 1117 Jonathan Dr. Each session is with two recording engineers–one who takes the lead coaching and the other who records. Rehearsals are two hours and take place each weekday Monday-Friday (the final rehearsal on the last Friday will be at Madison Music Foundry). The exact times are established once the groups are formed.
Tuition for the Summer Blast House Session is $500.
2025 Spring Session
APPLICATION DEADLINE
January 8th, 2025
AUDITIONS:
Sunday January 12th, 12-5pm
Sunday, January 19th, 12-5pm
At Madison Music Foundry
BANDS ANNOUNCED
Fabruary 6th at the latest***
SCHEDULE
February 20th – May 4th
*Rehearsals are weekly and are two hours long. The two recording sessions are three hours long and take place the weekends of March 14-16 and April 11-13. Dates and times offered for the session can be found here.
GIG
Sunday, May 4th at the High Noon Saloon, 11am-4pm
APPLICATION
The first step in Rock Workshop is completing an application. There is a $25 application fee which will count towards tuition.
DEADLINE
January 8th, 2025
We call them “placement auditions” because the main point is to learn about your musical talents and interests in order to place you in an appropriate band. In order for us to get the best understanding of your abilities, we’ve come up with the following criteria:
1. PLAY TWO COMPLETE SONGS THAT REPRESENT CONTRASTING STYLES.
- Guitarists/Keyboardists: something with rhythm playing and something with lead playing
- Bassists: a fast and a slow song, or contrasting styles such as a punk rock tune and a blues tune (or whatever styles you like)
- Drummers: contrasting styles such as a metal tune and a blues tune (or whatever styles you like)
- Vocalists: songs that show your vocal range and styles
- Instrumentalists/Vocalists: If you signed up on an instrument, but also sing, I’d like to hear you sing and play a little–it’s okay if it’s just part of a song.
2. TECHNICAL STUFF
It’s okay if you don’t know all of the things we ask for in the technical category. However, the more you know, the better player you’ll be, so you may want to ask your instructor about them.
- Guitarists/Keyboardists: Chords (I’ll name them, you play them. They could be power, open, or bar chords), scales (major, minor, pentatonic)
- Bassists: Note finding (I’ll name them, you play them), chords (outline them), scales (major, minor, pentatonic)
- Drummers: Different types of beats (i.e. rock, 6/8 ballad, shuffle), counting exercise (play for 8 bars and play a fill on the 8th bar and repeat entire pattern 3-4 times)
- Vocalists: Major scale (could be solfege)
3. PLAY ALONG
Everyone will do some sort of play along with the auditioner(s). We’ll either
- tell you the chords (guitarists and bassists),
- play a style on bass (drummers), or
- play a simple chord progression on guitar or piano (singers)
and will ask you to play or sing along. This is meant to get a feel for how you learn new material–something you’ll be doing a lot of in Rock Workshop.
Most importantly, have fun! We know anything with the word “audition” sounds nerve wracking but Rock Workshop is a different kind of organization. Just come down and show us what you know, and we’ll take it from there. The more relaxed you are, the better sense we’ll get of what the right band for you is.
QUESTIONS?
rockworkshop@madisonmusicfoundry.com
At the end of every session we send send out a questionnaire to get feedback from students and parents about what they liked and how to improve. Here are some things they said:
“[An] absolutely fantastic experience for all of us. We hope to enroll in another workshop soon. Really appreciate all of the efforts the staff of the foundry put forth to make it all work and the education and instruction are superior. Keep up the good work!”
–Parent of a Rock Workshop student
“It provided me with chance to work with a professional instructor, who is well trained, record in a professional recording studio, and have a real gig at the HIGH NOON SALOON!!! ”
–Youth Student of Rock Workshop
“My daughter’s personality totally emerged through this year’s experience. What had been a timid, quiet girl became a vocal leader, confident performer and out-there personality by the end of the program. Fabulous to see the showman emerge!”
–Parent of a Rock Workshop student
“Chris Vincent was awesome! He was funny and great to work with. We had fun, but also he kept us in line and stayed professional when we needed to be. Everyone at the Foundry was very professional and welcoming.”
–Youth Student of Rock Workshop
“You guys did a really good job with the organization and communication, and the music turned out great!”
–Parent of a Rock Workshop student
“I loved everything!!!!!”
–Youth Student of Rock Workshop
ROCK WORKSHOP IN THE NEWS
Click here for articles about Rock Workshop, Madison Music Foundry, and Blast House Studios.
Past Recordings
Genres
METAL, PUNK, INDIE, CLASSIC, BLUES (AND MORE!)
Age
9-99
Experience
THREE CHORD ROCK, THE NEXT LEVEL, SHREDDERS
ROCK WORKSHOP GALLERY
