A Career in Music
With Composer, Cale Pellick
The Experience
Who with a love of music hasn’t dreamt of becoming a superstar? If you have a real passion for music, can you create a viable career without having a #1 hit on the top 40 charts, or touring the world with an entourage?
Benjamin Franklin Experience introduces students to successful composer, Cale Pellick, who writes music for television. His work can be heard on major networks including MTV, TNT, CBS, VH1, A&E, E! News—and while watching the NFL or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Cale flies from his home in New Orleans to Greenville to share his expertise with BFE students, guiding them through the creation of compelling, original songs.
A Crash Course in Musical Composition
In the morning, students walk through scenic downtown to Rainer’s Cafe & Bar—a sophisticated, intimate jazz club. Students pile into club chairs and face the stage with a grand piano, and drum set. With perpetual friendliness, Cale shares examples of his work, talks briefly about the process of licensing music, and prepares students with a crash course in selecting a style, tempo, and structure to the song students are about to create.
Students collectively decide the direction of the song. In this eclectic, inspirational space, they begin work on lyrics and melody, dividing the song structure into individual and group parts. Then, they head out for a working lunch to continue to refine their lyrics.
To the Recording Studio!!!
After lunch, students head to Greenville’s multi-million dollar recording studio boasting state-of-the-art equipment, and a sound booth designed by one the world’s preeminent acoustical consultants. The studio caters to all musicians—from those cutting a demo to well-known clients such as Darius Rucker and NPR.
Students are excited to enter the environment in which commercials, movies, nationally distributed albums, local demos, and thousands of other projects have been recorded and produced. The work of recording, arranging and digitally editing their musical piece begins!
Pianists, flutists, singers, rappers shine as they enter the studio to record. Some students realize lifelong dreams of recording their performances. Cale’s expertise in engineering and production allows him to make quick work of the tracks, creating arrangements according to the direction of the “producers”—the students who are do not perform or record but profoundly shape the song nonetheless.
At the end of each class, Cale digitally edits the pieces, mastering them into commercial quality songs. Students leave with a flash drive of the music they have created, co-composed, and edited—and they are immeasurably proud of their amazing and inspirational work!
