Recording Studio by Marina

Recording Studio by Marina - February 2022 Scholarship Essay

In my senior year, I actually had the opportunity to create my own elective class. It all started with my personal project. All sophomores are required to make a personal project, which is an open-ended opportunity to try something new. As a musician, I wanted to explore something music-related. For my project, I used digital audio tools to write and record an original piece of music. By sheer coincidence, the teacher who was grading my project was in the same room my band teacher. He overheard my music and reached out to me. Our school has a new and advanced recording studio, but few people in the building understood the system. He offered to teach me how to use our school’s recording studio.
Cut to senior year, when I learned that I had I had a hole in my upcoming schedule. My counselor gave me a list of all the classes I could choose, but I was not satisfied with my options. I remembered the email that my band teacher had sent me a year prior. I reached out to him, asking if I could spend a class period learning the recording studio. My teacher had a free period at the same time I did, so a new class was created.
In the first week of the recording studio class, I brainstormed with my teacher about what this class would look like. My band teacher told me about the kids who had previously learned how to use the recording studio. They made some cash by renting studio time after school at an affordable price for students. I wanted to get to a point where I could run the studio to that level. I also wanted to produce my own music. In the second week of school, two more kids joined the class, and we got the idea to record each other’s all-state wind ensemble auditions.
In the first few lessons, we learned how to set up microphones. We spent a whole class practicing wrapping microphone cables. Next, we got into the computer side of things. We experimented with effects like EQ, reverb, and pitch correction. When the effects were on full blast, the music sounded comical. However, more subtle adjustments created a professional, clean sound.
Our class was lucky because we had a student teacher who assisted our music production efforts. He has a degree in digital music production, so he was our expert in the class material. He was able to go in-depth with us about theory and tools that I never would have thought to ask about.
While we were learning music production, we helped out in band events. We recorded other student’s all-state auditions. We also helped with microphone and stage setup before three concerts.
The class has finished now, and I could continue the music recording business that past students have run. This class encouraged me to continue working on my original music. Now I have the tools and a plan to produce the music myself.