Hurtwood House School

From the Beatle-mania of the 1960s through Glam Rock in the 1970s, Wham in the 1980s to Oasis and the Spice Girls in the 1990s, Britain has been the trend-setter in this particular industry and continues to be so.

Music Technology is a relatively new A-Level subject, a product of the advances made in technology and of the desire by musicians to use the latest and most up-to-date equipment to create the beats, mixes, compositions and arrangements that exist in modern music.
This is an exciting development which brings together the traditional musical skills of performance and composition with the important scientific hardware of the future. Mini discs, digital audio tape, midi sync and multi effects units with phased delay are just some of the devices used alongside conventional musical instruments and equipment.

At Hurtwood House the shift in musical emphasis towards the technological was recognised some years ago which is why we built and equipped our recording studios for those wanting to produce and compose using hi-tech equipment as well as traditional instruments. We have stayed true to our commitment of being one of the best-equipped departments in the country and now have four purpose-built digital recording studios including two Pro Tools systems. Students work in the same environment as top recording artists, creating, then translating ideas into a finished and marketable form.

As befits a modern, technological subject, the equipment levels and facilities available to students are state-of-the-art. Our A2 studios have a large, acoustically-treated, live room and two independent control rooms each with a Pro Tools system running on Mac with Control 24 mixing surfaces. The whole complex has been acoustically designed by Acoustic Architecture, one of the finest acoustic design companies in the country, and is fully sound-proofed with floating floors, suspended ceilings and magnetically-sealed acoustic doors. The two AS studios are again purpose-built and fully soundproofed and are each equipped with a 16-track, digital Multitrack as well as a host of outboard equipment. 
 
In addition to the four recording studios there is a dedicated MIDI/Audio Suite with 12 PC-based Audio Workstations running Cubase SX software. The facilities in this suite enable students to work individually on compositions, arrangements and recording projects. The MIDI Suite is also the main teaching room and has an interactive whiteboard and comprehensive sound system so that work can be demonstrated to the whole class during lessons and tutorials. The room runs on its own dedicated network that includes comprehensive audio and video resources.  
 
All of these facilities are reserved for the sole use of Music Technology students and with the studios open in the evenings and weekends, there is plenty of studio time available for coursework and personal projects throughout the year. 
 

Of course, all of this technology needs a constant flow of musicians producing high quality performances and students from the whole school community are encouraged to get involved in the musical life of the school. As such, Hurtwood has a dedicated team of instrument and voice teachers offering their experience in one-to-one lessons to ensure that everyone reaches their musical potential.  Lessons take place in the five, dedicated, practice rooms that are nestled in the woods that surround the campus.  

Studying Music Technology at Hurtwood will mean being part of one of the best-equipped and highest achieving departments in the country, but this is only part of the story. As well as studying the A-Level course, you will have numerous opportunities to test your skills in various extra-curricular projects. As a musician you will have the opportunity to perform in the various shows and concerts, often alongside professional musicians straight from the West End. Music Technology students form the Sound Crew for all of the school shows, meaning that you will be involved in every aspect of live production from Sound Design through to Fitting Up, Backstage and operating Front of House sound. If you are serious about a career in the music or theatre industries then this kind of experience is invaluable.
 
The Hurtwood Album is another chance to showcase the talent, both musical and technical, in the school and this exciting and dynamic project is produced by the Music Technology students. The highest standards are expected and you can hear some of the results by going to the Music Gallery. 

Students will be examined under the following areas
a) Sequencing, Recording and Producing
Throughout the A-Level course, students will have the opportunity to use music technology including digital multi-track recorders and sequencers to produce high quality pieces. These will utilise the latest techniques and equipment and will involve different musical styles from classical to modern pop and dance music. This part of the course gives an insight into the practical skills that are now so important to success in the music world today.
b) Composition and Arrangement
Composition and Arrangement form an integral part of the specification with students being encouraged to develop their own writing skills. Students will use technology as well as more traditional methods to create four pieces of music in a number of styles. These include pop, dance and jazz, as well as the writing of scores for film and television.
c) Listening and Analysing
Students will be expected to listen to and analyse music from a technical, stylistic and musical standpoint. The assessments will take the form of listening assignments where students will be asked to identify the various musical features contained in a piece of music as well as highlighting the recording and production techniques used. The recording skills learned during the two years are tested in a practical mixing and production exam using audio and sequencing software.

In order to equip them for the musical aspects of the course, students should be capable of achieving the Associated Board of Music Grade 5 Musical Theory examination in Year 1.

Music Technology will appeal to students who are interested in getting to grips with the technology that drives today’s music industry. This can be from the point of view of a musician, composer or producer/engineer. There are music theory elements to the course and students will need to have a reasonable level of score-reading and notation under their belt. Commitment is paramount as much of the experiential learning occurs outside of normal lesson time.  Students must be willing to work in their own time at evenings and weekends, take pride in the presentation of their work and have a high degree of critical judgment. In order to equip them for the musical aspects of the course, students should ideally have a rudimentary knowledge of music theory equivalent to Grade 3/4 and should be able to read a score.  

It is expected that students taking Music Technology will be looking to continue with an Arts, Creative or Technological course after A-Levels and there are a large number of universities which offer courses that would enable the student to continue his or her studies at degree level. It is a subject that would combine well for the creative student with Theatre Studies, Media Studies, Art or English; for those who are interested in the business side with Economics or Business Studies or Accounts; and on the technical and scientific side with Maths or Physics.
 

‘Future Music’ magazine
‘Sound on Sound’ magazine
‘Computer Music’ magazine
Listen to all types of pop music

It’s hard to believe, but it has been six and a half years since I started my first term at Hurtwood. Doing the maths, that’s over a quarter of my life so far! (I only just thought of that right now). Even back then, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. I had always loved working both with music, and in the theatre, so it didn’t take much of a push to persuade me that being a Live Sound Engineer was a brilliant idea. I remember clearly, on one of my first days at Hurtwood, walking wide-eyed into the drama department and asking Miles, the Musical Director, if I could ‘do the sound’ for the school musical that year. I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for, and it wasn’t until the very last minute when one of the second years pulled out, that it was confirmed that I could do it.

It was on that show, Copacabana, that I met Jon Clarence, one of many industry practitioners who come in to work on these bigger shows. Jon had been running sound departments in the West End for years, and quickly assumed the role of my mentor. That summer he set me up on work experience, working on shows across the West End - We Will Rock You, Tonight’s The Night and The Lion King to name a few. It was that opportunity that confirmed for me that this was what I wanted to do. More importantly, it also got my foot in the door to quite a tight-knit community of professionals. People I now work with on a day-to-day basis.

To cut a long story short, it was that opportunity I took at Hurtwood that has set me up for the career I now have. Having graduated from LIPA I went straight out to work on large scale touring shows. My first major tour was ‘The Producers’, where, as Number Two Sound, I found myself mixing the likes of Peter Kay and Joe Pasquale to thousands of people. Last year I spent nine months on an international tour of Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands. As the sole sound engineer touring the show, I found myself mixing to packed houses in Australia’s world famous Sydney Opera House, before moving the show around Australia, Europe and the UK. To be paid to travel to these amazing cities and work in these incredibly prestigious venues is a dream come true. I have been lucky enough to work on a diverse variety of shows, from Blue Man Group in the West End, to the tour of a comedy called Spyski for the Lyric in Hammersmith. As we speak I am preparing to open a brand new musical called Been So Long at the Young Vic, and it will be a privilege to be working alongside Tony and Olivier award winning Sound Designer Paul Arditti.

This is hopefully just the beginning of a long and exciting career. It has all been possible because Hurtwood gave me the opportunity to learn new skills and work alongside some of the best in the business. Taking that opportunity has set me on this path, and it is something I am very grateful for. The last few years have been a huge adventure, and long may it continue!