Music technology majors, or those considering the major, have a great opportunity to produce music is a professional setting. Typically as a third year student, music technology majors will make their journey to The Recording Workshop. Located in Chillicothe, Ohio, The Recording Workshop resides at the foot of a hill along the beautiful Scioto River.
Whether the student is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Music determines when they leave. As a Bachelor of Arts, students typically leave their third year fall semester. On the other hand, students pursuing a Bachelor of Music usually leave the spring semester of their third year. Although this program is a requirement for music technology majors, the program is open to anyone. Since being founded in 1977, students from more than seventy different countries have enrolled in the program.
As a semester-long program, the workshop provides students with a focused learning environment. The most important aspect of the program, as well as the department, is hands on learning.
As department head Chad Loughrige said, “We have a philosophy in the music tech program overall that hands-on curriculum is, without a doubt, is the most beneficial way for our students to learn.”
The curriculum at the workshops consists of two lectures a day and about two to three classes a day. Each lecture differs just as each class does, allowing students the opportunity to learn a vast amount of information as well as learning the material hands on.
At the workshop, curriculum is a major focus. Students receive twelve credit hours, and upon completion they also receive certificates and an internship. During the semester, students spend half of the time and the workshop then they go straight into an internship for the second half. This allows for students to get hands-on experience in the field with professionals, not just instructors.
Although only seventeen students from Capital are at the workshop this semester, the only group activity where everyone is involved is the lectures. Classes at the workshop consist of six students, and each student takes a proficiency test and is grouped according to how they performed on the test. Classes include group mixing sessions, spotting TV commercials, and spotting movie clips.
Throughout the seven week course students are allowed the option of either commuting, living on campus, or living in a cabin at the program. If students choose to stay in a cabin, cabins house four people, which are located at the top of the mountain. Despite the number of classes and lectures, all homework is done in class so students receive an ample amount of down-time.
Due to the secluded environment, students have many options when it comes to outdoor activities. Located about a mile away from the workshop is ATV trails where students can bring out their gear and hike or ride on the trails. The hills provide for a good camping ground for students. One cabin orchestrated their own fire pit next to their cabin with an excellent view of the surrounding area.
Although the students are away from Capital’s classes for a semester, the transition from internships to classes usually has a positive effect. Capital has recognized that transitions may be difficult, so rather than continuing classes from the semester before students leave, Capital continues to build on what students learned at the workshop.
At the end of the day, students gain a monumental amount of experience and knowledge. Currently at the workshop, third year student Gage Cottle commented saying that, “[The workshop] is immensely beneficial to me and the rest of the students enrolled. From ample hands-on experience to extensive real life preparation, we will learn a lot about how to thrive in the industry by the time graduation rolls around.”
