In JCCC's newly renovated digital music lab, students can compose a song, record it, save it as an MP3 and post it on Facebook, all on the same day. Or they can collect their fellow musicians, record a piece in the sound booth using microphones, mix it, edit it and produce a CD.

As music technology has advanced, equipment costs have gone down, allowing students in JCCC's digital audio lab to use the same digital audio software and hardware that professionals use in studios worldwide. Digital synthesizers are loaded right into computer hard drives, and music is digital from start to finish.

"Students can take a ProTools session they make in this lab and interface with almost any professional studio in the world," said Mike Moreland, associate professor, instrumental music.

The digital audio lab, housed in room 364 of the Office and Classroom Building on campus, is home to four music technology classes that focus on digital technology and creativity, as well as open-lab times seven days a week. Each student has a workstation for mixing, manipulating and editing musical information. Nearby is a sound booth and a mobile digital audio recording station, which can be used to record from the booth or moved to record student concerts anywhere on campus.

MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) classes, which started in 1995 with Moreland teaching part time, have developed from elementary MIDI sequencing and the basics of songwriting to more advanced classes - Digital Audio Techniques I and II. In addition to Moreland, who became full time in 2000, there are two part-time MIDI music instructors - Dr. Victor Olvera and Tom Ransom. All three members of the faculty have professional experience in performance, composition and recording.

"These classes are a combination of music and technology," Moreland said. "This is not just about technology. Our students learn basic music theory like rhythm, form, melody and chords."

Digital Audio Techniques I covers writing lyrics, microphone types and techniques and how to conduct a recording session. Digital Audio Techniques II teaches topics of copyright issues and mastering techniques, and students compile a portfolio of their work.

Stylistically, students are encouraged to work on any style of music that they want - rock, hip-hop, blues, country, experimental.

Moreland has students who have gone on to earn composition degrees at prestigious universities like Berklee College of Music, Boston; perform professionally; or establish professional home studios.

"MIDI has only been around 25 years, and the type of digital audio interfaces that we use have only existed for about four to five years," Moreland said. "There's been a revolution with digital music - that's for sure. People are producing music in an entirely new way."

For more information about the program, contact Moreland at 913-469-8500, ext. 4251, mmorelan@jcc.edu.