Welcome to the final showcase of music production projects! Unlike our traditional ensembles, music production doesn't culminate in a live performance. Instead, it's best shared digitally.

Each half-term will feature a specific theme, delving into new aspects of music production while reinforcing previously learned skills.

About the modules

Students continued to develop their music production skills through the ‘Arranging & Remixing’ module, before putting everything they had learned into practice with their Final Project.

This term also marked an exciting transition from iPads to Mac computers, providing students with the challenge of working with more advanced computer software and introducing them to the use of audio interfaces.

In Arranging & Remixing, students explored MIDI information, track organisation, instrument choices, tempo settings, and the creative process of imagining familiar songs in completely different genres. Each student chose an existing song and downloaded its MIDI stems — digital files containing the individual musical parts of a song, such as drums, bass, or melody — before importing them into GarageBand. They then transformed their chosen track by swapping instruments, changing tempos, removing and adding sections, and using loops and Smart Instruments to create new drum patterns and musical ideas.

In the Final Project, students had the opportunity to bring together everything they had learned throughout the year to compose and produce their own complete song. Working on Mac computers, they learned how to organise and colour-code their projects into clear sections before combining loops, Smart Instruments, and their own recorded MIDI performances. MIDI keyboards and MIDI guitars allowed students to add further creative and melodic ideas, while some students took their productions a step further by connecting microphones through audio interfaces to record their own vocals. Skills developed throughout the year, including automation, panning, mixing, EQ, effects, balancing, and song arrangement, all came into play as students refined their final productions. To complete the project, students also designed their own album artwork, creating a visual identity to accompany their finished musical creations.

Scroll down to listen and appreciate the fantastic work of our young musicians!