Now more than ever, the picture of education is extending to include instruments like guitars, sequencers and djembes. Consider the following:

Students in Brooklyn middle schools and high schools are receiving a high-tech education in drum machines, MIDI, digital recording and more, thanks to a private company called Basement Recordings.

Brooklyn-based Basement Recordings also appreciates the need for music education in underprivileged urban communities. The company's objective is to introduce new developments in digital technology to various groups, said Gus Hinkson, general manager. Past audiences have included business organizations, educators, even homeless children. But an important part of the company's mission involves presentations at career days for local junior high and high schools.

For a typical demonstration, Basement Recordings will bring in computers, synthesizers and drum machines to explain the creative process behind the music students enjoy. " Some of them have no idea how it's produced," Hinkson said. " One time we brought a drum machine to a school and asked the students what they thought it was. One of them said, `an answering machine.'"

The purpose of these presentations is to generate excitement about engineering and show how music and sound are related to sciences, he said. The impact is immediate. "When they see the computer being used as a tool to produce music, you definitely see them light up. It's like, `Ah, I never knew a computer could do that?’” Students who want to learn more can sign up for one of the company's free Saturday morning classes, which usually run for five weeks. There is never a shortage of eager young minds for those classes. Since its inception in 1989, more than 5,000 people have participated in Basement Recordings' classes, Hinkson said.

Unfortunately, the company's future hinges not on student interest but manufacturer support. "It is a continuing challenge for us to get more manufacturers involved, to show them how this gets young people ready for technology and how it represents an investment in their future." Several companies like Kurzweil and Yamaha already support the program, but others are only looking for immediate returns, Hinkson said. "Although that is possible with our program, we believe you need to look at both immediate and long-term returns." (For more information on Basement Recordings, call 718-485-7120.)

MUSIC INC. April 1995

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