HHS bands to produce own CD
When artists complete a project, they have something concrete to show for their work — a painting, a sculpture, a drawing.
Not so for musicians. Once their concert or performance is over, so is the music.
But that's all about to change for members of the Hillsboro High School bands.
During the first week of December, musicians in both the jazz band and the regular band will record their very own CD.
"There's a lot of musical talent here," said Gregg Walker, band director at HHS.
The recording will be done with equipment owned by Rod Jost and Vaughn Jost, local musicians who also play with the HHS jazz band. Rod plays the bass, and Vaughn plays the guitar.
The jazz band will record at Rod's house, since it's a smaller group with usually nine players. But the main band will probably record in the HHS band room, Walker said.
The CD will feature Christmas music from both groups, including some traditional songs and some original arrangements.
Although this is HHS's first CD, this isn't Walker's first venture into the realm of compact disc recording. Before he came to Hillsboro three years ago, Walker directed the band program at Inman. There, his musical groups produced two CDs a year for two years.
Walker's students in Inman were thrilled to create their own CDs, he said. But his students at Hillsboro hadn't considered the prospect before.
"It was something they hadn't really thought about," Walker said.
But in a week, they will — and the CD should be ready for listening by the second week of December, Walker said. Still to be tackled are the designs for the surface of the CD and the jewel case.
Right now, some of the definite numbers for the CD are "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Jingle Bell Rock," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "Let it Snow." These will be performed by the jazz band.
Other potential titles for both jazz and regular bands include "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Greensleeves," and "Mary Did You Know."
But recording a CD isn't as easy as it sounds. There's a whole realm for Walker to face before he can record a song — and that's the world of copyright laws.
Paying royalties and copyright fees can get a little tricky, but if Walker or a student makes their own arrangement of the song, that cancels the royalty fees, he said. To cover the rest of the titles, Walker will figure in eight cents for each CD.
Band members will, of course, want the CD, but anybody can purchase a copy.
"I do want the community to support it," Walker said.
He hasn't decided on a price for the disc yet, but the money will go toward covering recording and production expenses.
The whole CD-making experience should also be a learning experience for the students in many ways.
One aspect some student musicians don't think about is how they sound on a recording. When the pressure is on to make that piece sound amazing on the CD, students will be motivated to practice harder, Walker said.
Also, working with various aspects of digital musical equipment can open up students' minds to a whole new way to create and alter music. There's no limit to what you can do with a computer and a keyboard.
"(The students) are very creative, but they don't have an outlet like that," Walker said.
But most of all, this recording will give the seniors something to remember their band days by, he said.
Members of the HHS jazz band are: Caleb Dirks and Shane Ball, alto sax; Ryan Fields, baritone sax; Sammy Espada and Angie Classen, trumpet; Ben Walker, drum set. Charles Coyle of Canton-Galva High School also joins the band with his tenor sax, as well as Rod Jost on the bass and Vaughn Jost on the guitar.
