H2O Digital Music Studio 

H2O Digital Arts was created to give students an opportunity to explore career options in music production, songwriting, recording, and video-making. It is a non-traditional music class with an emphasis on collaboration to create a finished product that can be shared with an audience. Students will work with an artist mentor, who will teach core skills needed to create loops of melodies and rhythms which will serve as the foundation for a song that the students will write, record, and perform together as a team. The program has five phases, with each phase building on the previous as they journey through the creative sequence of how to turn ideas into a tangle product that others can experience and enjoy.

Phase 1 - Beat Making

Students will learn core music skills and light theory as the foundation of how to create beats and melodies. Students will become familiar with the language of music technology, using a piano keyboard and drum machine sequencers along with computer software which produces the sounds triggered by the controllers. Students will experiment with sounds and learn to layer them in complimentary ways through following patterns and improvisation. Students will work together to create a catalog of compositions, one of which they will choose to create a song together.

Phase 2 – Songwriting

During the songwriting phase, students will be tasked with developing a theme, with the instructor guiding them through brainstorming ideas, incorporating key words and phrases that will become lyrics to verses they will write together. Students will elect to take on lead and support roles in this process, learning, practicing and memorizing parts that will sing or recite on the song. The instructor will help them with developing their delivery, fine tuning their singing, recitation, tone, volume, and other vocal elements to prepare them for the recording phase

Phase 3 – Vocal Recording

With the songwriting and rehearsals complete, the program shifts toward vocal recording, where the students will perform in front of their peers in the pop-up studio. Students will take active roles in recording lead parts and supporting parts, like adlibs and the chorus onto their musical composition, with the instructor guiding the recording session process. Students will receive feedback on their performances in the studio to help them optimize their delivery, emotion, and timing. Once the song has been successfully recorded, students will be tasked with memorizing their parts in preparation for the music video making phase of the program.

Phase 4 – Video Shoot

Having successfully completed the audio recording of their song, the project shifts to the video production phase, where students will be tasked with performing their song on camera to create a music video. Students will develop ideas of how and where they would like to film, staging scenes and role playing, using the physical and natural environment, and even the use of green screen technology for some production elements. The instructor will direct and provide feedback during the process, where students will develop their physical presence on camera, overcoming shyness, recovering quickly from errors, and becoming fearless in the spotlight. Once all the performance scenes are captured, the project will go into off-site post-production, where the video will be edited and prepared for presentation day.

Phase 5 – Project Debut / Celebration

On the final day of class, the students will have a celebration where their music video project will debut and be published. Students will be able to invite friends and family to their watch party, where they can share the skills they developed and what challenges they overcame working as team to create their project. The students will have their work published on the H2O Digital Arts YouTube channel and other related social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram so that they can share their work with the world and get views, likes, and shares!