Summertime, and the Music Is . . . Eclectic
“Hey Jude” and “Edelweiss” may make for an eclectic musical mix on a CD. But it’s one that fairly reflects the varied tastes and talents of the Middle School musicians who learned guitar with teacher Becky Stevens (C’80) during exploratory classes last spring.
Some of the students had never picked up a guitar before, a few had studied it at home, and a couple are the proud owners of electric guitars. Stevens, who has enjoyed playing guitar and singing since high school, also enjoys the challenge of getting students from such varied levels to a point where they can, at the end of their eight-week elective class, perform and record a CD of songs. “The ready availability of chord charts and tabs [tablature] online makes it easier to find music suited to a range of abilities,” Stevens says. In both her beginning and advanced guitar classes, she is flexible about allowing students to gravitate towards the style of music they prefer, when possible.
Sixth-grader Will, who also plays trumpet and studies piano, says, “The guitar is my favorite. It’s really, really fun, and I can take it so many places, like camp . . .” In fact, he has enjoyed the class so much, he’s saving up to buy an electric guitar. (Mom, dad—are you reading this?)
Will and his practice buddies, Carson and Grace, agree that the very best part of the class is getting to record their music in a professional studio—which is pretty much right across the street from the School in the basement of the Stevenses' home. Becky and her husband, Peter (US’76, C’79, and currently chief administrative officer of The Principia) have played and sung together since their college days. Subsequently, Peter deepened his interest and expertise in sound engineering, collecting equipment over a period of nearly 20 years and building up what is today Freedlight Sonics, a professional-grade recording studio.
“Getting to sing and play in a real studio was actually on my bucket list,” confides eighth grader Grace, in all seriousness. “It was so-o cool to be in there!” she sighs. The boys in her class seem a little more impressed by all the hardware on display, and when they crowd into the sound engineer’s room at Freedlight, it’s a challenge to keep them from touching and twirling every switch and knob! Nevertheless, after a few sessions and takes, and with Peter’s deft touch, the class produces a three-song CD to take home to their families for some easy summer listenin’.