Program hits high notes for students

01/10/2012

Written by Valeri Spiwak

Modulation. Chord progression. Pro Tools. Mixer board. Audio interface. These are the technical terms regularly used by Arcadia High School students in the ongoing phases of composing, producing and performing music.

(Read All About It: CMAS students put their lessons to practical use, learning from and working with professional musician Nis Lofgren. In the February edition of the Arcadia News).

The four-year Contemporary Music and Sound program at Arcadia High School teaches students about the current technology and tools used to professionally record and produce music.

Richard Maxwell, CMAS program creator and facilitator, said students have the ability to record, edit and mix high-quality music with industry-level computer software known as Pro Tools.

“Because so much is production oriented, the goal for us is to provide everything that is essential,” Maxwell said.

The focus of the program is to supply aspiring student musicians with the basic music knowledge and technique to help them prepare for careers in the music industry, Maxwell said.

Seventeen-year-old AHS student Avery Witting is in his third year in the program and regularly uses this Digital Audio Workstation, Pro Tools, for his music construction.

“Pro Tools is an audio interface that allows you to record whatever your mind can create,” Witting said. “The program allows you to do whatever you want.”

Maxwell said the thing that sets Pro Tools apart from other audio software is that it is completely open.

“It does not limit you in any way with regard to any musical elements ever,” Maxwell said. “Basically, if you can hear it, you can do it in Pro Tools.”

Witting said that Pro Tools provides students the option to integrate external sound effects to their songs.

“You can decide whether you want a song that is acoustic in voice or you can decide to add an entire orchestra in the background,” Witting said.

Maxwell said the software gives artists true control over their creative design.

“Artistic freedom is really key,” Maxwell said. “It’s not so much that Pro Tools makes complicated music-production easier. It makes complicated music-production possible at a professional quality.”

Maxwell said that the Contemporary Music and Sound classroom contains multiple recording and editing rooms, each installed with the identical Pro Tools software. The modern instruments and production software are purchased with the help of federal funding, he said.

Fifteen-year-old AHS student Chloe Tang, who has been involved in the music and sounds program since January, said students not only learn about this state-of-the-art recording and production software, but also how to properly use it.

“The Pro Tools program gives you the opportunity to record and mix music to create a song that is better than just a raw recording,” Tang said.

Maxwell said that as the young musicians progress through the program, they are given more freedom to operate these tools in their music production process.

“In CMAS II, one of the things we focus on is the fundamentals of the recording process, tracking, mic selection, etc.,” Maxwell said. “We don't really get into post-production till CMAS III because the skills covered in CMAS II take a good bit of time to master and they are essential before moving on to the skills covered in CMAS III.”

With the knowledge gained from the program’s courses, CMAS and Technical Theater students use these technological skills to design football halftime shows and school concerts, Maxwell said.

“The students are not only able to create their own music, but also design an entire show without the help of any outside production companies,” he said.