Beats to Business: Music Production Class at Elizabethtown High School

“Kids who didn’t want to be a flute or an oboe or a tuba player, now they have a creative outlet,” says Steven Barraclough, teacher of the Electronic Music Production class at Elizabethtown High School.

Until recently, high school students who were interested in music could choose from traditional activities like band, chorus or orchestra. But at Elizabethtown, students can now explore music production and recording through Barraclough’s class. From creating computer-based electronic music to collaborating with other departments in the school to produce a final CD, Barraclough’s Electronic Music Production Class takes students on an exploration of how the music they listen to goes from an idea to a product that sells.

“The creative writing class does the lyrics. Our art students do the cover art for the CD. The tech-ed students actually put all the information together and develop the program liners and the inserts for the cd, and our business department markets it,” says Barraclough.

“[This is] what I think education should be about. Producing something at the end that’s tangible that kids can say, ‘Here’s an example of the work that I have done in class.’”

The students held a CD release party at the school on May 21st and sold the CDs for $5, the proceeds of which benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

To learn more about the CD and how to get a copy, visithttp://www.etownschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=7118&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=16955&PageID=5801