Have you heard the melodic sounds of vocals, instruments and bass coming from the second floor of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication? These loud noises are actually students enrolled in the Introduction to Music Recording course who are receiving hands-on training in music recording.
Instructors Glenn Hutchinson, JR and Mike “Mix” Morgan, teach students every Monday, Wednesday and Friday about the many areas of the music industry. Lessons range from the creative production side to the business side. The eight-week course teaches the fundamentals of audio production, vocal recording and operation of industry standard equipment.
“I highly appreciate the opportunity to pursue a career that I am very passionate about and I am truly blessed to be living and breathing music,” Morgan said. “The dean of journalism and faculty members have been very cooperative in the process of implementing a program for students to further their musical ambition.”
He said during the course students are required to participate in the recording process by writing lyrics, producing instrumentals, performing and working on the mix board.
Morgan said a typical class session consists of the entire class working as a team to fully produce radio quality tracks for the instructors to approve. These songs are used to display the many talents of each individual and to offer students training in a professional music business setting. All genres of music are recognized in the course and each student contributes something to each track.
“I am pleased to have received a diverse experience in the recording process,” said Germaine “Mouce” Brooks, 25, a senior business administration student from Jacksonville and local rap artist. “Although working as a team was difficult at times, we were still able to continue to progress and find ways to compromise.”
Music industry personnel have visited the class to provide students the opportunity to learn more about what it takes to enter the business. Keith Kennedy, pool director of TJ’s DJ’s Music Conference, was among the many music executives to speak with the students.
“Keith is definitely a major figure in the music industry and students were very attentive during the Q&A session with him,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said FAMU’s Upward Bound program played a key role in launching this new Introduction To Music Recording course and was originally designed as an evening activity for Upward Bound students interested in entertainment.
The advanced students from the summer Upward Bound program were offered a position as an instructor for the fall semester. Hutchinson and Morgan excelled at a fast pace and also had previous experience in the music business.
“I was very humble when the director of Upward Bound presented the idea for me to teach many aspiring entertainers the fundamentals of music recording,” Hutchinson said.
Morgan said he is confident that the course will influence a degree program aimed at students interested in the music industry.