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Va. Beach students become virtual virtuosos

  • June 26, 2011 at 6:24 pm

The 18-year-old senior with long blond-brown hair and tattoo-covered arms comes to high school 20 minutes early each day – for fun.

Tylor Charoenpojana is composing music in Fred Montgomery’s music classroom in Renaissance Academy before their 7:25 a.m. class. he uses music engineering software, and he wants to expand his 96-second composition to six or seven minutes and add several instruments to the string, synthesizer and rain sounds on the track. He’s been working on the piece for three weeks.

Charoenpojana is one of 13 students enrolled in Garage Band in the Classroom, for teens at the Beach’s alternative academy. the class has been packed since first offered two years ago, and a sequel, Garage Band II, is being added to the curriculum.

"Kids involved in school music programs have higher graduation rates than those that do not. It’s really simple," said John Brewington, fine arts coordinator for Virginia Beach schools. "Kids that can identify with something they really like at school will gravitate to and want to continue doing that. This motivates them in other classes as well."

Garage Band in the Classroom is the only class of its kind in the school division, Brewington said. Students use software to compose virtual instrumental tracks and repeating loops of music.

Schools typically offer orchestra, band and choir classes. This program relies less on group involvement than traditional classes, which have fared poorly at the city’s alternative schools, Brewington said.

"even if some of the kids are not contributing at the same level or what have you, everybody gets a chance," Brewington said. "We’re trying to get out of the ensemble mentality."

Montgomery starts each morning with a presentation and lesson guidelines, then lets the students work on their own while he gives advice. for a music class, the room is eerily silent. A row of students facing computers lines the walls. Like pilots in airplane cockpits, each wears huge earphones. the "control panel" is a short keyboard students use to create drumbeats and other sounds by punching buttons or manipulating a mouse.

"In here we have assignments and everything which we have to complete, but we can be opinionated," Charoenpojana said. "we can tweak it to a style which fits our interests, instead of ‘Must play Mozart, must play Beethoven, Bach or Pachelbel.’ "

Like many students in the class, Charoenpojana’s arm is embellished with tattoos: on his underarm, scrolling curlicues which, he says, stand for faith, hope and love; on his forearm, a gun – part of the logo of his favorite band, Bullet for My Valentine.

After graduating in a few weeks, he plans to move in with a buddy to work on his heavy metal riffs while playing his way through college in a Marine Corps band.

This class is the last half-credit Denzel Garrett, 20, needs to graduate. he also sports a tattooed arm, adorned with a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote – "To be great is to be misunderstood" – and a treble clef. he wants to be a music producer. he credits the class with introducing him to music software and new sounds he’ll use in future productions.

Kevin Ortiz, 18, started at Renaissance Academy after Christmas. This is his first music class.

"I don’t really get bored in here. There’s a lot of sounds," he said. "I actually enjoy it. I expected it to really drag. I like the vibe in the classroom. It’s comfortable – a comfortable environment."

For Charoenpojana, the class is about creativity. One-third of the tunes on his iPod are pieces he created in the past five years.

He’s proud of his music. "I’ve actually had people ask, ‘What band is this, where can I find it, can I buy it?’ And I say, ‘It’s mine.’ "

Ruth Moon, (757) 222-5130, ruth.moon@pilotonline.com

Va. Beach students become virtual virtuosos

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