Past Synapse Workshop
Ethan Hein x Synapse
Live online workshop, June 14 - August 9, 2025.
Overview
We have all had that experience of having a tune stuck in our heads, and we just cannot get rid of it. Have you wondered how these tunes get so catchy? The vocal cord is the only instrument we are all born with, and we naturally vocalize tunes, either out loud or just in our head, making songs one of the most direct and popular musical forms.
But a catchy tune has so much more to it than being just a tune. The secret lies in the craft of songwriting: the form, the choice of instruments, the rhythmic pattern, and much more.
Throughout the workshop, students wrote and presented four original songs over eight weeks, using standard song forms: twelve-bar blues, 32-bar AABA, verse-chorus, and loop-based groove. For each form, students listened to and discussed examples from different styles and eras, then wrote a song using that form and presented it for discussion and critique.
The purpose of these critiques was not to assess whether songs were good or bad, but to take a growth mindset: given the songwriter's aesthetic goals, what steps could move the song closer to those goals?
Students Built
Dates and Format
Tuition
Teaching Artist
Ethan Hein has a PhD in music education from New York University. He teaches music education, technology, theory and songwriting at NYU and The New School. As a founding member of the NYU Music Experience Design Lab, Ethan has taken a leadership role in the development of online tools for music learning and expression, most notably the Groove Pizza.
Together with Will Kuhn, he is the co-author of Electronic Music School: a Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity, published in 2021 by Oxford University Press. He also writes a column for MusicRadar. Click here to learn more about Ethan.
Synapse
Synapse is the workshop series run by Synthase, an online school for music creators. The series is organized and curated by Susie Ling. Synthase was founded by Nate May.
The class was designed with college students and adults in mind. However, any creative people older than 13 were welcome, as long as they were aware that the class was not specifically designed for middle school students and adult scenes might appear in music examples shown in the workshop. Beginners were welcome!
Participants who needed to withdraw from the workshop received a full refund up until June 7, 2025, the last day of registration. Refunds were not available after registration closed.
Students could join a waiting list. If a spot opened later, the Synapse team would email them, and they had up until the first day of class to decide whether to participate.
Registration was open from December 21, 2024 through June 7, 2025 at 11:59pm PT, or until all spots were filled.
For this summer workshop, students were accepted as long as registration was open. Synthase reserved the right to close registration early if needed.
Yes, as long as students let Synthase know which piece they wanted to use.
No. Students could simply let Synthase know.
Yes. All classes were live on Zoom.
Classes were held on Saturdays from 3-6pm Eastern. There was no class on Fourth of July weekend.
Students could watch the recording of the events whenever they had a moment and reach out to the Synapse support team with questions.
Absolutely. Just email synapse@synthase.cc.
Explore current and upcoming Synthase workshops, or contact us if you are curious about future songwriting opportunities.
