Why You Should Hire a Musician

via The Undercover Recruiter by Anne Fitzgibbon


… What are they? Click here to find out!

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Q&A with the Parents of a Young Superstar Producer

Teenage Beats by DJ HEATHBARZ

4:30pm – 5:00pm | Atrium

Thirteen-year-old DJ HEATHBARZ spins an opening set. Heath has been developing his skills at Mmmmaven, a Cambridge-based music education organization and event producer.

For years, our music technology lab has proudly assisted many young minds and young producers in and around greater Boston.

Occasionally, some break out into the larger world. For example, here’s GalaxZ and Rubix via Neighbor Media.

DJ HEARTHBARZ (!!) is just the latest, playing Peabody Essex Museum this Sunday as a part of their Little Voices, Big Ideas event.

We were able to speak with the parental units of DJ Hearthbarz about his time inside our lab and what it meant to him….

In your opinion as parents, how important is music in Heath’s education?
Music, like all arts, is fundamental. There is a lot of research of the connection of music with math and other disciplines, and we feel that music augments Heath’s overall persona, even beyond education.

It makes him a fuller, more interesting person 🙂

Does music technology have a place in STEAM and how so?

We were struck by how fantastic the incorporation of “A” in STEAM brought deeper meaning by integrating arts with technology, and music technology is a tangible example.

Thank YOU @Kenji7955! 🙂 “Thank you #mmmmaven for a wonderful digital music program that has been immensely stimulating for my younger daughter! Also gave me several days to enjoy #boston, which I hadn’t done in many years.”

Did or does Heath also have traditional music lessons? How did or do they combine with music technology lessons?

Heath took piano lessons from age 5-8 and guitar at age 12. While he has always had a natural “ear” for music and has always enjoyed it, he didn’t “love” either instrument and getting him to practice was a chore.

In contrast, his attraction to music technology was magnetic and we love to see him finally marrying some of what we recognized as some raw ability into some focused efforts.

#BBGBoston is back this Fall at @MMMMAVEN! Classes start September 24th at 4pm. 🌸 If you are or know anyone interested in learning music production and beat making skills, go to our website or email polina@mmmmaven.com

Is there one particular thing he latched onto or enjoyed the most?

Since setting foot in Mmmmaven, he was finally able to realize his true interest and the enthusiasm was instant. We were thrilled he found something creative that he truly enjoys and are fully supportive with this as his form of expression.

Do you have any advice for parents out there who might be looking for music lessons or other creative outlets for their child?

Exposure, exposure, exposure! While at first we started Heath on more traditional paths, put him in musical theater camps, taken him to multiple shows

It wasn’t until music technology crossed his path that he is finally able to embrace what he loves.

We knew he was interested in “DJing” and found the Mmmmaven camp hoping to ignite the spark, and we are thrilled that it did!

Have a young one who wants to dive into #DigitalMusic? Schedule your free tour:


Alummmmni: Xandor

What is an example of what you were able to learn from Jason and our lab? How did it apply to “Craving for Your Love”?
First I want to say that Jason is an excellent teacher! Back when I was attending your program, he was one of the substitute teachers, and I am very lucky that he was able to teach our class a few times. I’ve learned a lot from him since then.

At the time I had no idea how to use Ableton or what I was doing. In the beginning, it was all trial and error, and I had to be patient because it was not easy to put my ideas into actual music.

I think an example of what I’ve learned at your lab and the most important was “song arrangement” also understanding everything that Ableton offers you was essential. Eventually, I was able to put my ideas into music and applied all this knowledge into my debut single “Craving for Your Love.”

Who is the singer? Any advice on how to find good vocals?

The singer is Catherine Joy Parke and she actually worked with my brother’s band in one of his songs. I had the original idea which was “Crave for Love,” and at the time I was going through a breakup and I wanted to put together a song that spoke to my feelings. It was a challenge at first because it’s an entirely different genre and different key. I had to work around it. At the end of the production I was amazed by the outcome it was pretty good!

I guess my advice to any producer is if you find a good vocal that works with your initial idea then go ahead and try it out you never know what the outcome will be. I’m currently working on my EP, and I’m in the process of collaborating with a fantastic singer which I’m very excited about!

Also if you want to hear my brother’s song you can find it here you can listen to how different it is:

Working on this song taught me that there is no limit to your creativity because music has no boundaries:

Was there a moment that made you want to throw yourself into production?

I grew up in a household full of musicians, my dad a saxophone player, my mom loved singing, and I have two older brothers, and they both studied music, one plays the guitar and the other the drums.

Me on the other hand, growing up I really liked electronic music and always wanted to know how to make it, but I really didn’t know how and never really did it. I remember going to a Jauz show here in Boston. He was playing at Ascend Nightclub at the time.

I will never forget the feeling when I first heard him I was stunned at every song he played it was very different to what I’ve listened to at the time and I loved it. I remember thinking to myself: “Wow I want to make music like this.” After the show I went home and Googled “how to make electronic music,” and the rest is history.

Any advice on someone looking to work with our courses?
Best advice is to be patient and be willing to learn as much as you can, it takes time to get to the point where you finish a song, and it sounds just like you wanted too, it’s a process and trust me it won’t happen overnight.

Mmmmaven will give you the tools, but it all boils down to how much work and passion you put into this.

Set up your free tour here:
