Audio Class Changed My Life by Howard

Audio Class Changed My Life by Howard - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

I began playing the drums when I was eight years old. That alone changed the course of my life and was when I fell in love with music. I’ve spent the last ten years perfecting my craft and pushing myself to become better. This has all led me to some amazing opportunities, like having the chance to play with hundreds of talented musicians and bands, traveling the country performing in front of thousands of people, and just getting to do what I love. Performing had always been my drive, and I thought that’s all I had to offer and all that music had to offer for me.
Then, sophomore year I signed up for Audio Productions, a class in the media department of my high school. I went in thinking that it would be an “easy A” class that I would blow off. As I began to work through assignments, it became evident to me that I was absolutely right. All I had to do was go through the motions of the class and be done. The first week of second semester, and the instructor pulled me and a few friends aside during class. He explained that he had heard us jam a little bit after completing a project, and we all seemed really passionate about music. He noticed that the assignments were obviously below our skill level. He made us an offer. He was going to teach us how to record and produce an album if we wrote the songs. This was the chance of a lifetime! Free studio time and learning how to do it all? Of course we said yes!
As time went on, we learned more about the art of recording. I was finally grasping what I was learning. Then the school year ended and it was over. There’s no way that I was letting this opportunity go, even if my friends did. I signed up for the class again junior year, but this time I wasn’t getting a credit; it was just for the love of music. I had another friend in the class this time around, and right from the start we knew that something special would come out of it. We got right to work. I told my instructor how passionate my friend also was about music. He made us the same offer. Write the songs, and he would guide us through the process. We came in before and after school almost everyday to write and record our songs. Our instructor even put in extra time to work with us. He believed in us, and I am so thankful for that. As the year progressed, I finally grasped a full understanding of audio production. The course became more than busy work; it transformed into a practical experience that I would want to use for the rest of my life. My friend and I used what we learned to write, record, produce, and release a song titled “Whose I am”, all from the studio at school. That experience changed the way that I view music. I now understand how many hours it takes of working and reworking tracks and instruments to get a final product that sounds great.
Because of our success in learning the full process of producing a song, our instructor was able to create an advanced placement course for students that want to take their education of audio to the next level. Now other students have the chance to do what we were able to do. This experience changed my life, and I am now applying for audio schools around the country. Producing music is what I want to continue doing, and none of this would be possible without the Audio Productions class, and the dedication that my instructor has to the program.