The 79th Midwest Clinic, December 17 – 19, 2025
Wednesday – Friday, McCormick Place West, Chicago, IL
Attendee Registration opens August 1, 2025
This four-hour program provides an introduction to music production and how to set up a sound system for live performance, what quality audio is, and the value of mixing the audio for the best results. The final session is a hands-on experience led by professionals in the music industry.
This Pre-conference event will take place at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL on Tuesday, December 16 from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM CT.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is for music educators at all levels, from small classroom instruction to music production programs or touring music ensembles. The benefits of knowing what comprises quality audio, how to maximize the quality of the sound systems you use, and how to utilize music production in your music program are universal for all music educators. The hands-on opportunity provides the experience to learn about audio and how to use music/audio technology in your classrooms.
Attendees will be able to add registration for this event at the end of their Midwest Clinic Conference Registration. Due to limited seating, only Professional and College Student registrants are eligible to attend. Conference registration opens August 1st.
Registration Fees:
- Directors $100
- College Students $50
Tentative Schedule
1:00 – 2:00 PM: SESSION 1 – DECONSTRUCTING STEELY DAN: RECORDING FUNDAMENTALS FOR YOUR STUDENTS
Presented by Mike Lawson
A compelling examination of Roger Nichols’ revolutionary recording techniques, using original Steely Dan multitracks from Gaucho, Aja, and Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly. Mike Lawson (TI:ME’s executive director, who compiled Nichol’s posthumous work, The Roger Nichols Recording Method) demonstrates the meticulous work behind these legendary albums, unpacking engineering principles and sonic benchmarks that shaped their sound. This session provides educators and students with takeaway techniques and mindsets to pursue musical and sonic excellence, bridging iconic professional standards with classroom-ready concepts.
2:00 – 3:00 PM: SESSION 2 – LIVE SOUND & RECORDING: MORE THAN JUST PLUGS AND FADERS
Presented by Mark Lochstampfor
Music educators are often asked to operate the live sound equipment and record school events, but frequently lack the necessary training to do so. After all, they are music educators, not audio engineers. This session will demonstrate how to set a sound system in a performance space, with demonstrations of gain-staging, “pinking” the room, how to use compression, what the difference is between reverb and delay, what a gate is, etc. The session will also include explanations and audio examples of the recording sample rates and bit depth.
3:00 – 4:00 PM: SESSION 3 – BEATMAKING 101: USING MUSIC PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES IN LIVE PERFORMANCE
Presented by Will Kuhn
Don’t know your boom baps from your beep boops? This is the session for you. An Ableton Certified Trainer will lead you through the world of beatmaking using the latest hardware and software for live performance. Attendees will get to jam on drum machines, synths, and laptops as we explore how music production techniques can enhance live performances in all kinds of settings, from the club to the stage and even the concert hall.