Professional Audio Tools Strike a Chord with Youth
Tags: Gear, Music, Education, Youth, Audio

June Birnie and Zaydi Ong unpack audio equipment at foundry10

The digital audio team at foundry10 wanted to learn more about how access to high quality audio equipment would impact the creative process and perceptions of youth in a high school digital audio class.

Foundry10 audio team Chelsi Gorzelsky and Zaydi Ong met with educators Jake and June at Nova High School, a small, public, alternative high school in Seattle, WA to discuss the audio tools they thought would bring the most value to their students. Using this educator feedback, foundry10 conducted research, read reviews, and consulted audio professionals to find the best audio tool options within our budget.

In partnership with Nova, we decided that controllers, headphones and microphones, would create the most direct value for students. Here are the tools we chose and why.

Controllers

Jake and June expressed interest in the keyboard-style controllers because they lend themselves better to teaching western music theory and demonstrating how the piano roll in Ableton is set up.

We’d previously offered Push devices (a pad-style MIDI controller) at Nova, but they weren’t well received. Students found them confusing or clunky, and weren’t interested in using them.

Jake and June are also more accustomed to using keyboard-style controllers, and said that would make teaching with them more intuitive than with a pads-only style controller.

We purchased three different brands of MIDI controllers: The M-Audio Axiom was chosen based on Jake’s recommendation, and the Alesis V25s and Novation Launchkey controllers were chosen based on Chelsi’s experience teaching with them.

We tried to keep the price of each controller low in order to buy as many as possible for the class, but still provide a quality, durable piece of hardware. Each controller has a keyboard with different options for drum pads, pots, and faders.

Jake and June discussed ways to incorporate the controllers into their existing curriculum. They were excited to have these useful tools to help teach basic music theory, composition, and sound design.

Alesis V25 Keyboard Controllers

Cost: $89.99/ea

Quantity: 4

M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32 Keyboard Controllers

Cost: $119.00

Quantity: 4

Novation Launchkey 49 Keyboard Controllers

Cost: $169.00

Quantity: 2

Headphones

Foundry10 purchased twenty pairs of Behringer HPS3000 Studio Headphones; twelve to go to the classroom, and eight to be stored at the office.

We chose the Behringer’s because of the low cost, knowing from past years at NOVA that the headphones get lost or broken pretty frequently. The next step up in quality would be something like the Audio-Technica ATH-M30x at $70, the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro at $80, or Chelsi’s personal favorites, the Sony MDR-7506 which comes in at $100. Those three are generally considered the best bang for your buck. Higher end headphones run around $200–500.

Behringer HPS3000 Studio Headphones

Cost: $18.99/ea

Quantity: 20

Microphones

Finally, we made the decision to add USB microphones to the inventory. When visiting the NOVA program this fall, we noticed students going into another classroom or to the hallway to record audio straight onto their laptops.

Nova does not currently have a recording room, so the USB microphones offer an upgrade compared to the built-in laptop microphones, while still having the flexibility to be used in hallways and alternate classrooms.

These microphones were chosen for their reputation as hearty USB mics. We felt it was important to include both dynamic and condenser microphones so that the instructors will have the appropriate tools to demonstrate microphone techniques, pickup patterns, and acoustics.

Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphones

Cost: $89.00

Quantity: 2

Blue Yeti Studio USB Condenser Microphones

Cost: $149.99

Quantity: 2

How will audio tools impact the future of music at Nova High School?

Students in the audio program at Nova High School produced beautiful and complex music without these tools. We are interested to see how their creative process and their perception of digital audio will be affected by the addition of these tools. Will the MIDI controllers facilitate composition and a greater understanding of music theory and sound design? Will the students develop an interest in performance? Will access to these professional tools spark an interest in audio careers after school? Stay tuned.

To learn about Digital Audio Programming at foundry10, visit our website.