MUSIC MAKE LAB 

A Course Proposal 

Grades 8-12 

Rebecca Kenaga 

   
Course Description​: This course, held in the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg, will 

focus on using technology of many to explore different compositional concepts in music. 

Students will receive introductory lessons on and create projects demonstrating their 

learning of: 

● Music video production using sound recording technology and video editing 

software 

● Collaborative compositional software using traditional notation or otherwise 

● Basic principles of physics and sound and how to alter and produce them in time 

● Exploration of different materials and their corresponding tone qualities and 

pitches and how to manipulate them 

Examples of projects assigned as part of this course include: 

● Using sounds recorded themselves uploaded into Garageband and reorganized and 

looped to create a song developing an understanding of manipulating live sounds 

and using simple recording devices to create beautiful music with purposeful 

expression 

● Creating a piece of music in a group of peers using collaborative software like Flat, 

Ableton Link, Soundtrap, or even Garageband using traditional or nontraditional 

instruments of their choosing, developing understandings of tone, tempo, style, and 

form 

● Creating a “music machine” or machines that, when played and manipulated, create 

a song to be recorded and edited using video and sound production software 
Rationale/Need for the course​: Harrisonburg is a community of varying music interests, 

expressed in the vast and colorful musical culture in the area. It is a rural community of 

about 11,000 students. Roughly 95% are white, close to 10% have IEPs, and near 5% are 

learning English as a second language. The favorite musicians of the area include but are 

definitely not limited to The Wood Brothers, The Judy Chops, The Walking Roots Band, 

Oiki, and Kai Wachi, and the bluegrass, jazz, and the underground rap scene are all very 

well supported. The community is extremely supportive of public musicking experiences. 

Events like JMUke, public concerts, and soundbaths have been well-received. This course 

would provide the opportunity for students who consider themselves both musicians and 

non-musicians to come together and create music on a very equal playing field. Many of 

the resources required can be found around the house, at the Boys and Girls Club, or in 

public libraries. Barbara Freedman in her book ​Teaching Music Through Composition: A 

Curriculum Using Technology​ describes how technology can simplify the compositional 

process while prioritizing musical understanding. Through the projects in this class, 

students would develop knowledge of tone quality, song form, sound production, physics 

of sound, and both sound and video editing software while creating collaborative works of 

music that can be shared. V. J. Manzo in his essay “Computer Aided Composition with 

High School Non-Music Students” determined that students who had not participated in 

music in high school were more likely to continue musicianship after creating music with 

technology, an idea also supported by Felder. 

 
Expected impact on students:  

● Students will be able to use technology they have access to in order to replicate 

these projects and continue developing their ability to express themselves through 

music.  

● Students will compose pieces that are relevant to their own style of music.  

● Students will develop working knowledges of different software. 

● Students will work in groups to develop musical content, broadening their 

communication and problem-solving skills. 

● Students will explore the principle that music can be made with whatever materials 

are accessible, encouraging forward and creative thinking, supporting the idea that 

music creation is not limited to the amount of money one has access to and that 

music can be everywhere.  

● Students will develop knowledge on basic principles of physics and how simple 

machines work . 

Expected Community Impact:  

● If this course is successful, it will inspire more community music technology 

programs in the area. 

● Public performance of the works produced would challenge the traditional 

definition of a musician.  

● Students would teach what they have learned to their peers, encouraging more 

collaborative music making.  

 ● Areas of the community would be highlighted in sound and visual recordings, 

encouraging the community to see the area through a different lens.  

● Students could use the multimedia skills they develop to express viewpoints and 

initiate change for their community in more effective ways.  

Course Outline:​ This course is an 8-week summer camp designed for the Boys and Girls 

Club of Harrisonburg. It is built upon principles of project-based learning. Each project will 

last two weeks, each with a preparatory class to review usage of hardware and software, 

find groups if desired, and discuss project goals and student ideas.  

● Create a song using and editing sounds around you. 

○ In groups or by themselves, students will go on walks about the area and 

record snippets of sound they find interesting or meaningful, developing 

knowledge of recording hardware. Then, they will upload their sounds into 

Garageband and edit and manipulate them to create a song representative 

of their music style.  

○ Students will have the opportunity to play these for the class followed by 

group reflection.  

● Creating a piece of music with collaborative software like Flat, Ableton Link, 

Soundtrap, or even Garageband.  

○ Working in groups, students can use traditional or nontraditional 

instruments of their choosing to create a piece of music together, 

developing understandings of tone, tempo, style, and form. 

 ○ Students will continue developing knowledge of video and audio editing by 

recording their final project.  

○ Students will have the opportunity to play these for the class followed by 

group reflection.  

● Students will create a persuasive music video expressing one or more of the 

principles outlined in the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth grant, which 

supports Boys and Girls Club participants in making healthier decisions. 

○ They will create their own music for this: it can be their own or a cover.  

○ They can work in groups or by themselves.  

○ Students will have the opportunity to play these for the class followed by 

group reflection.  

● Final Project: OK Go!  

○ This project will be preceded by an introductory lesson to physics and 

simple machines. 

○ One of the days will be dedicated to gathering supplies. 

○ Access to a makerspace is helpful, but not required.  

○ Students will have the opportunity to play these for the class followed by 

group reflection.  

 
 OK Go! 

 
Context Statement:​ ​This will be the final project for the course. It will utilize the compositional, 
mechanical, technological, and collaboration skills they have been building on for the entirety of 
the course through previous lessons and activities. At this point in the course, students will have 
already composed a piece of music in a style of their choosing with their peers, used video and 
audio recording technology and editing software, and received basic lessons on simple machines 
and their interactions with physics. 
 

Stage 1 - Desired Results 

 
I can create a Rube-Goldberg-esque/OK-Go-inspired machine that expresses my personal 
musical interests and record and edit a music video documenting my creation.  
 

Standards:   Goals:  
HG.2  I can create music using different resources around me. (S) 
HG.4   
HG.5  I can improvise and create music with non-instruments around me. (S, T) 
HG.8   
HG.9  I can use different materials to create music forming a sound that 
HG.11  demonstrates my knowledge of rhythm, form, and timbre. (S,K) 
 
I can demonstrate proper performance etiquette while watching my peers; 
performances. “Proper performance etiquette” is determined ahead of time 
as part of class norms. (S,T) 
 
I can use the knowledges I have developed of music to reflect professionally 
and give appropriate feedback to my peers’ music videos. (K, T) 
 
I can incorporate aspects of my personal musicianship and the style 
associated with it to create a song that is meaningful to me. (K) 
 
 
 
 
Generative (Essential) Questions:  
● How can I create music with the resources (material and people) around me? 
● How does working in a group affect the creative process? 
● How can I use technology to enhance my musicianship? 

Stage 2 - Evidence 
 
Create a system of simple machines that works in time by itself or with manipulation that is 
documented and edited with audio and video production software and played for the class for 
reflection.  

Essential questions: 
● Does it produce music? 
● Can the students involved articulate their personal participation and how it helped develop 
the final project? 
● Is there a video with audio demonstrating the project that can be played for the class? 
● Are simple machines used in the music video? 
 

Proposed Budget 

Item Name   Use   Cost  Quantity  Overall Cost 

(linked to  (How will this be used by students/teacher?)  (per 
provider)  unit) 

https://www. Students will record sounds around  $104.99  10  $1049.90 

amazon.com/ them/possibly themselves and upload to 
Zoom-ZH1-P GarageBand (provided on Boys and Girls Club 
ortable-Digita Macs) 
l-Recorder/dp
/B003QKBV
YK/ref=sr_1_
4?keywords=
zoom+record
er&qid=1556
888021&s=g
ateway&sr=8
-4 
Zoom 
Recorder 
https://www. Students will use this to create simple  $79  3  $237 
amazon.com/ machines 
BLACK-DEC
KER-LDX120
PK-Cordless-
Battery/dp/B
00C625KVE/
ref=sr_1_7?cri
d=2ARZHG4
FKGAAN&ke
ywords=basic
+tool+kit&qid
=155688814
2&s=gateway
&sprefix=basi
c+tool%2Cap
s%2C126&sr
=8-7 
Basic Toolkit 

Supplies for  Up to the discretion of facilitator and student  NA  NA  $313 
student 
simple 
machines 

https://www. Used for recording videos  89.99  10  899.90 

amazon.com/
Camcorder-A
ctinow-Micro
phone-Rotata
ble-Batteries/
dp/B07QGV
G9VD/ref=sr
_1_9?keywor
ds=video+rec
order&qid=1
556888260&
s=gateway&s
r=8-9 
Video 
Camcorder 
with 
microphone 

Total Cost  $2500 

 

Works Cited 

Felder, Brandon (2015). ​Non-traditional music class offerings: Integration of music

technology​. (Masters Thesis) University of Maryland. 
Freedman, B. (2013). ​Teaching music through composition: A curriculum using technology.​   
Oxford University Press. 
Manzo, V.J. (2010). Computer-aided composition with high school non-music students.