Rock Workshop – Madison Music Foundry

The deadline has passed. However, we have the following openings. Spots will be filled on a first come, first eligible basis.

6th grade
Bass – Rock
Saturdays, 3pm

8th grade
Guitar – Rock/Alternative
Saturdays, 3pm (some Sundays)

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.

APPLY NOW

“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

“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

“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

“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

“You guys did a really good job with the organization and communication, and the music turned out great!”

Parent

“I loved everything!!!!!”

Youth Student

History

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.

How it works

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 “Apply” for the link to the form.

AUDITION
After we receive all the applications, we will contact you regarding scheduling an in-person audition or submitting a video 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 “Auditions” for more info.

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
Posting your band’s music on our Bandcamp page
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. The tracks will be posted on our Bandcamp page. The final rehearsal will be focused on preparing for the live show.

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.

Important dates

Apply

Auditions

Auditions will be in person or by video. We will send you details on how to submit it after we receive your application.

The main point of auditions 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, we’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.

After you submit your application we’ll send you a list of these optional technical items to include in your audition video.

Guitarists/Keyboardists: Chords (Could be power, open, or bar chords), scales (major, minor, pentatonic)
Bassists: Note finding, 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. 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

Testimonials

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

“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

Past Recordings

Genres

Age

Experience

ROCK WORKSHOP GALLERY

Madison Music Foundry

Blast House Studios

Hours of Operation

Past Recordings

Genres

Age

Experience

ROCK WORKSHOP GALLERY

Madison Music Foundry

Blast House Studios

Hours of Operation

Student Portal