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 Each day at Carolina Studios, members are greeted upon entry to the studios and reminded of the safety and conduct guidelines. After they have registered, the first participants head over to a digital workstation. If there are more children signed up that day than available workstations, then they are encouraged to write lyrics, use the other recreation facilities available, and wait until the first round of sessions is over.
For the next two hours, the children are assisted at their request. At various times in the process, they are given tutorials on computer operation, navigating the web, and using digital media arts software. To the right is a young girl using one of our workstations to create music.  In Carolina Studios, members are given a brief tutorial on the program with which they will create songs to burn on a CD. There are three software programs offered: Qbase Logic, Creative labs Fruity Loops, and Apple’s Garageband, with a primary focus on the Logic software. After they demonstrate that they have an understanding of the software, students enter Level 1 of our five level program. Each level marks a milestone in the student's understanding of the program material. The intended result is to produce a compact disc which would be a culmination of the beats they created and the lyrics and other things they added using the high-quality microphone in the studio's isolation booth. Members always have the opportunity to come back another day and add more vocals, add instruments, replace old vocal tracks, or just start fresh with a new song.
This rewarding experience provides the participants with an on-the-spot result of their work, provides instant gratification, increases their self esteem, and motivates them to repeat this process and share the results with family, friends and the larger community. Because of the complexity of the music production software used in the program, children automatically learn basic and intermediate computer skills, which can be applied to their educational interests as well as their careers in the future. Above is one of our workstations during a vocal recording session. In this photo, the computer is running Garageband so that the students can record and overdub vocal tracks until they get them right. This workstation, in addition to the capabilities of the other workstations, can record live from a custom-made soundproof booth, and plays the recorded tracks through studio speakers for the students to put together the finishing touches on their songs. Check out www.myspace.com/carolinastudiosmusic to hear some of the great songs created by children using our innovative program. Right now, at all of the locations combined, the number of children served is a maximum of approximately 60 daily. Each time we add a new facility at a new location, we can increase this number by about 15-30 students a day.
LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS:
LEVEL 1:
At the primary level we want the students to be able to turn on computer, locate, open, and save their current project. The students will be introduced to the basics of music, rhythm, melody and harmony. The arrangement of songs in popular music will also be a core topic. Our instructors work side by side with these students until they feel the student has grasped the concept of tempo and melody. Since these students are new to the studio setting we also will emphasize studio maintenance in order to form good habits in their new setting. The final criteria for leaving this level apart from passing the quiz will be the ability to play to a click track. This single process is repeated throughout the entire recording process and once learned the student can become much more self-dependent.
LEVEL 2:
Level Two students will become increasingly independent by learning general MIDI editing skills and the ability to add further instrumentation to their music. The skills of cutting, copying, pasting, and looping are a focus of this level. This is also the time lyrics are introduced and things like themes and rhyme schemes are explained in detail. Additional Privileges: Level Two Students are allowed to work without an instructor occasionally as long as they can explain what they’re working on. Burned CD’s must be approved by an instructor.
LEVEL 3:
At the third level we are trying to phase out the student’s need of the instructor. They’re hopefully getting better and using the loops and editing their recording takes. The instructors should be concentrating on teaching and reinforcing MIDI-editing skills, such as changing the length, pitch, and placement of notes. Audio Recording is introduced. Additional Privileges: Level 3 Students are allowed to work with other students who are Level 3 or higher without an instructor’s constant supervision.
LEVEL 4:
Students will be encouraged to learn at least a few different chords to use in their compositions. The concept of mixing is discussed in great detail. The instructors will introduce these students to the plug-ins. Additional Privileges: Level 4 Students are allowed to burn their own CD’s during their creation process. LEVEL 5:
At this point the student is fluent with logic. They’ve demonstrated their ability to start and complete full songs. Now with the help of an instructor, they’ll be shown how to sample audio to make new instruments and remix’s. Emphasis should first be put on original instruments (i.e. singing in the booth and then sampling the students voice). The students will be taught the concept of intellectual property in simple terms. Anytime a student uses someone else’s work they’ll be expected to credit the original artist in their song title. This should not become the sole activity of the student, but it is a great tool to have. Additional Privileges: Students can bring in CD’s to sample beats to be approved by the instructor.
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AT CAROLINA STUDIOS 
