Anyone who has walked through H hallway during school hours knows how it sounds. Little bits of music stream from every direction. The chimes from the band room, the drone of strings from the orchestra room, and, occasionally, the wail of an electric guitar. Often, that sound comes from the music and sound production class. The class, which is run by teacher Ray Masterson, is not a traditional music classroom.
“It is a bit rare, but there are classes like this around,” Masterson said. “I took over from a previous teacher who founded the class, and we’ve kind of expanded it.”
The class teaches similar concepts to a traditional broadcasting class; however, instead of running a radio station, he uses the lens of music production to teach similar skills. Since taking over the class, Masterson has added live performances to the course, similar to other fine arts at FHS.
“I love when a student goes from being afraid to touch a guitar or a microphone to two years later at the end of their time in my class when they’re belting out a song on stage at one of our concerts,” Masterson said, “I love to see that growth and to see people kind of grow into who they’re going to be.”
The class presents an opportunity for students to explore their interest in sound design. The classroom provides practice rooms with computers and recording software, and even a full studio for students to record instruments live.
“I’ve been interested in music since seventh or eighth grade and then I started actually making music in freshman year,” said Junior Bowen Dilks-Hicks. “So, it’s relatively new. This is my first year [in the class], but I’ve been doing the club for three years now.”
The Music and Sound Recording Club offers extra time for any student interested in production, even if they don’t participate in the class. The club meets every red day from 3:00-4:30.
The class does not focus on just music production; it also focuses on sound across many different mediums, such as sound in television and movies, with various assignments allowing students to explore different areas.
“If you even like music in the slightest, I think this is a pretty good class to be in,” said senior John Smallwood. “Just because of the energy around you and creative liberties you can have.”
