Sound Sense: Crafting Sonic Masterpieces

All grades Project 5 weeks

Sound Sense: Crafting Sonic Masterpieces

Octavio G

Effective Communication

Content Expertise

Collaboration

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Academic Mindset

+ 1 more

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Purpose

Dive into the world of professional audio recording, production, and mixing by collaborating with community partners like High Tech High Chula Vista and local studios. Transform your passion into a high-quality EP, documenting your journey through creative problem-solving and self-directed learning. Showcase your achievement by performing your music live, receiving feedback, and refining your craft. Share your final product online for a wider audience to enjoy, reflecting on your growth, collaboration, and the opportunity to communicate through music.

Learning goals

Develop your communication skills by documenting your audio production and mixing journey, allowing you to present and reflect on your progress. Enhance your content expertise in music fundamentals and the technical aspects of high-quality audio recording by engaging with community partners like recording studios. Strengthen collaboration by co-designing and performing music with peers, using critique and feedback to revise the product. Foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills by exploring various innovative approaches to produce an EP, addressing the essential question with authenticity. Cultivate self-directed learning and academic mindset by continuously reflecting on your passions and interests through music creation and exhibition.

Competencies

Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.
Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.

Products

Throughout the learning experience, create detailed documentation of your journey in audio recording, production, and mixing—this could include journal entries or a video blog. Collaboratively design and produce an original high-quality EP, applying all learned techniques in professional recording settings. Perform and exhibit your music, both live and in online releases, showcasing your growth and creative insights. Regularly engage with constructive feedback from peers and community partners to refine your work and ensure it reaches its highest potential. Publish the final audio creation online, allowing your peers and broader audience to enjoy and evaluate your effort and craftsmanship.

Launch

Kick off the project with a live performance where you showcase an original song created by your group. This launch activity involves collaborating with local community partners like recording studios to introduce the basics of audio production and mixing. Use this opportunity to connect with peers and explore the elements that make up a high-quality EP. After the performance, facilitate a discussion to reflect on the musical intricacies you aim to develop further throughout the project.

Exhibition

Design a live performance featuring your music alongside peers like Jose and David, showcasing your completed EP. Ensure to share the journey and insights about your creative process and musical decisions through engaging narratives during the performance. Host an exhibition event that allows community partners and studio professionals to witness and provide feedback on your work, giving you the chance to reflect and discuss the growth of your passions and interests in music production.

Rubric

Competency Progression Rubric Competency-first rubric

Category	Learning Goal	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4
Deeper Learning Competencies	Effective Communication	I can share my work and ideas with others by talking about my music and how I made it I use words and examples that show what I learned from my project and how I felt while doing it I listen carefully to my peers and community partners and ask them questions to understand their feedback.	I can share my thoughts and feelings about our music project using words, images, or videos When I talk about our project, I use clear examples from our work to explain what we did and why we made certain choices, helping others understand our musical journey better.	I can effectively share my journey in creating and performing music by clearly explaining the techniques I used in my audio production and reflecting on the feedback I received from my peers and community partners I actively listen during discussions and incorporate constructive criticism to improve my work.	I can confidently present and explain my music production journey, showcasing my ability to connect with the audience by sharing clear, personal insights about my creative choices and technical processes I actively listen to and incorporate feedback from peers and community partners to refine my performance, ensuring my final presentation communicates my growth and learning effectively.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Content Expertise	I am able to identify key elements and techniques in audio recording, production, and mixing by explaining how these contribute to a high-quality EP I can describe the processes involved in creating an original song and share my understanding of music fundamentals while collaborating with recording studios.	I can describe and explain basic audio production techniques and demonstrate how I’ve applied these techniques to create a part of our original song I can ask peers for feedback on my music production choices and adjust my approach to improve the quality of our EP.	I can create and present an original song as part of my group's EP, applying the audio production and mixing techniques I've learned I connect with community partners like recording studios to understand professional practices and showcase my skills through live and online performances, using the feedback to enhance my work.	I can expertly apply advanced music production techniques by creating an original EP that demonstrates my understanding and innovative use of audio recording, mixing, and production elements I collaborate with community partners, continuously refine my work based on feedback, and clearly communicate my creative insights and musical decisions during live performances and exhibitions.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Collaboration	I can work effectively with my peers by contributing my ideas, listening to others during group meetings, and taking turns when making decisions about our music project I can help resolve any disagreements by talking through different options and finding solutions that everyone agrees on, so we can create the best EP together.	I can work with my peers to plan and perform our original song, actively sharing ideas and making decisions together to ensure our group is ready for the live performance I listen to feedback from community partners and use it to improve our project, making our music better with everyone's contributions.	I can effectively work with my peers to co-design and perform original music for our EP, actively listening to their ideas and contributing my own I take on leadership roles when needed, help resolve any conflicts that arise, and ensure everyone feels included and heard in the creative process.	I can effectively work with my peers to co-design and produce an original song for our EP I take an active role in shared decision-making, listen to and incorporate feedback from my classmates and community partners, and take on leadership roles during our group sessions Through collaboration, I ensure our project reflects everyone's strengths and ideas, and I help resolve any conflicts in a respectful and constructive way.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Critical Thinking & Problem Solving	I explore and apply different methods to create a professional-grade EP, considering the feedback I receive from community partners and using innovative strategies to solve challenges in audio production.	I can explore different methods to create my EP, testing new ideas and techniques with my group's help I can ask important questions and try different ways to solve problems we face in making our music.	I can develop and apply various creative and technical approaches to successfully produce and refine an original song for our EP, effectively solving problems as they arise and demonstrating my understanding of audio production and mixing.	I can think critically about my music and solve creative challenges by exploring different techniques to improve the sound quality of my EP I collaborate with peers to brainstorm solutions, make thoughtful musical decisions, and communicate my ideas clearly during our live performance My ability to reflect on feedback helps me refine my work and achieve the best results.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Academic Mindset	I can reflect on my music production journey by keeping a detailed journal that shows my progress and learning over time I feel proud of the choices I've made and can explain how these decisions are helping me grow as a musician and learner.	I can reflect on my interests in music and audio production, using feedback to improve my work and confidently share my progress with others.	I can confidently share my music while reflecting on my creative journey, showing how I've grown and contributed my unique ideas to the project.	I confidently express my musical passions and interests, creatively sharing my journey in audio production and mixing through engaging narratives during performances I actively reflect on feedback from peers and community partners to enhance my work, demonstrating growth and a strong sense of belonging in the music production community.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Self Directed Learning	I can independently set goals for my music project and regularly check my progress, adapting my approach based on feedback from my peers and teachers I take initiative to solve challenges that arise during the audio production process, using my creativity to explore new solutions.	I can plan and adjust my music creation process by using feedback from my teachers and peers, reflecting on what I learned, and deciding on my next steps to make my EP even better.	I can use feedback from my teacher, peers, and community partners to make meaningful improvements to my music project, and I routinely check my progress to ensure my final EP showcases my best work.	I can effectively monitor my own learning progress by regularly reflecting on my creative journey and using feedback from peers and community partners I take initiative to enhance my skills in music production and mixing, applying new techniques and ideas to elevate my final EP I confidently share my music through live performances and online platforms, showing growth and understanding in audio recording.

Learning Journey

Empathize

You will visit recording studios, including High Tech High Chula Vista, to interview professionals and gather insights on high-quality audio production, using these interactions to inform your creative direction and identify the needs of your audience.

Days 1 - 3

Meet the Studio Pros

Launch 60m

Record User Research Findings

Deliverable 75m

Define

You will synthesize insights from your initial research and studio experiences to craft a clear problem statement that guides the creation of your high-quality EP, setting a strong foundation for your music project.

Days 4 - 6

No activities have been added to this phase yet.

Ideate

You will brainstorm a wide array of creative ideas for your EP, collaborating with peers and community partners, making use of feedback to generate innovative concepts that address how to produce a high-quality audio experience.

Days 7 - 10

No activities have been added to this phase yet.

Prototype

You will construct and refine a testable prototype of your song, integrating studio production techniques and peer feedback to elevate the quality before showcasing it in a live exhibition with community partners.

Days 11 - 15

No activities have been added to this phase yet.

Test/Present

You will present your finalized EP to stakeholders through a live performance and an online exhibition, while engaging the audience to validate your work through feedback and reflection, ensuring your project resonates with real-world communities.

Days 16 - 20

No activities have been added to this phase yet.

Plan

Empathize Days 1–3

Day 1

Meet the Studio Pros

Launch 60m

Day 2

Record User Research Findings

Deliverable 75m

Day 3

Define Days 4–6

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Ideate Days 7–10

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Prototype Days 11–15

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Test/Present Days 16–20

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

April 2026

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

6 Day 1

Empathize

Meet the Studio Pros

7 Day 2

Record User Research Findings

8 Day 3

9 Day 4

Define

13 Day 5

14 Day 6

15 Day 7

Ideate

16 Day 8

20 Day 9

21 Day 10

22 Day 11

Prototype

23 Day 12

27 Day 13

28 Day 14

29 Day 15

30 Day 16

Test/Present

May 2026

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

4 Day 17

5 Day 18

6 Day 19

7 Day 20

Sound Sense: Crafting Sonic Masterpieces

Purpose

Learning goals

Competencies

Products

Launch

Exhibition

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

April 2026

May 2026