ARTS
The goal
of the Artist In Residence opportunity for Spring 2015 was to experience the path a song travels from “nonexistence” to “completed product.” Studying this process not only gave our students unique educational experiences, but it helped them understand the development their favorite music goes through before they ever hear it on the radio.
songs. The artists used a number of techniques to help students develop their creative process. On one day, students might randomly pair up in groups, and another day they would trade current material between groups for unexpected inspiration. After three months of work, the class decided on seven songs they felt ready to record.
Students in the Rock Band class began in February working once a week with our visiting songwriters, Rachel Thibodeau and Jason Sever, to craft original
Part two of the process was recording all seven songs. In early May, we booked a complete recording session at Blackbird Studios using profession-
al musicians to create the sounds the students envisioned for their songs. In contrast to having our students record their own music, the real songwriter uses Nashville session musicians, and seeing this process was another unique educational opportunity for the young musicians. During the recording session, our students sat in the tracking room with headphones next to the session players, learning, engaging and becoming inspired by the passion and dedication they have for their craft. Students
were able to see how a session player adjusted musical options based on the producers’ requests to play “louder”, “more open”, “ like a punk band”, “darker” and “keeping it real old school.” With every request, our musicians learned the history, practice and time it takes to hone the craft of creating music on the spot. As these students assumed the role of producers, directing the session players toward the perfect track, our Song Production students were gaining handson experience in the technical side of the recording
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