Thomas Jefferson students to get a lesson in musical sound

Thomas Jefferson High School students will be recording beats in a professional sound studio built by their peers within the next year.

It will be a place where students can learn the ins and outs of the sound industry, from microphone placement to instrument isolation and how to bring it all together. Students — and even the community — will have the chance to record their tunes on professional-grade equipment, while learning all about the technology that goes into making the music.

“My vision is for kids to come in and foster the creative process with sound,” said Kirk Salopek, a lifelong musician who has played professionally for more than a decade and serves as TJ’s art department coordinator.

When plans for the new $95 million TJ were underway, Salopek — who sees music as a way to create — pitched the idea for a sound studio with music technology classes to be added to the school. He’s always looking for ways to provide students with new career options when they leave high school.

For him, music is what fosters his creative process.

“I’m really into watching something come from nothing,” Salopek said. “Music for me is the vehicle I’ve operated in where I feel like I get the most satisfaction. I feel like I get more instant gratification.”

While he’s admittedly not a music teacher, Salopek has the knowledge and skills from working in professional sound studios for many years that he wants to teach to TJ students.

“I’m certain that the kids can get an experience here that they won’t be able to get anywhere else in this building,” he said. “This is going to be a unique experience.”

District leaders have supported the program and a sound studio was built in the new school right near the main entrance.

However, the room isn’t soundproof.

So, they’re getting creative and adding an isolation room inside the sound studio.

Salopek teamed up with technology education teacher Ken Gruntz and TJ senior Lydia Shaw, who plans to go into a career in architecture or design, to design the room.

They looked at pre-designed isolation rooms, but the cost was at least $60,000.

They found a way to do it — while teaching students — for much less.

Shaw spent two to three months researching ways to soundproof the room. She worked with Gruntz to price out everything from floor to ceiling, while learning new skills.

School board members this month approved the purchase of supplies for the 14-foot by 12-foot isolation room at a cost not to exceed $19,000.

Over the next several months, Gruntz is planning for students in his technology classes to work during personalized learning time on the construction of the isolation room that will sit in the center of the sound studio.

“Anytime a student gets the opportunity to participate in a project like this, they are able to apply what they have learned,” he said. “It’s the perfect test without pencils or multiple choice. Projects like this give students valuable real-world experience. The students work together, show leadership skills and complete a project where failure is not acceptable because it will be used for years to come.”

The hope is for the isolation room to be completed with more than a month left in the school year, so Salopek can try it out with students before the end of the year.

Already, even without the isolation room, Salopek is helping students record music in the sound studio.

In the 2020-21 school year, he will debut the creative studio media class.

He has many ideas for what students will learn in the class.

They’ll learn about the software Pro Tools, which is used in studios across the country. They’ll learn about sound effects in movies.

And they don’t necessarily have to be into music to take the class.

Salopek wants students to think twice when they hear a song come on the radio. Instead of just humming along, he wants them to know all of the parts that went into making that song happen.

He also envisions having students record holiday concerts at TJ so parents can have a professional level recording of their child’s performance. The class also will make jingles and themes for TJ TV and help students and administrators with podcasts.

“There’s a lot of incredible real-world opportunities,” Salopek said.

He even plans to bring in “rock stars” to talk with students and teach them the behind the scenes of the industry.

At a school that is often known for its athletics, Shaw said she hopes programs like this will help TJ stand-out for its musical talents as well. It will be a place for students who loves the arts to showcase their skills on a new level.

“This is going to be something new for TJ and it’s going to be pretty nice,” she said. “I think there’s going to be more and more student interest in it.”