For far too long the mindset in most places, not just West Virginia, was that if you wanted to make it in music you had to go to Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, or Miami. The tools to be successful were not available in most places outside of those spots. Thankfully the landscape of the music scene is continually evolving and it has become more accessible than at any point in history. But one thing that has become abundantly clear in the day and age of DIY is that just because you have the tools doesn’t mean you know how to use them. Enter the WVU Music Business and Industry Program.
Recently, we at Born & Bred had the opportunity to go behind the scenes in an immersive experience with some of the students in the program to see what they are doing and how it can propel them into their future. The program with more than ninety-five students is a hands on learning experience, where the youth are in a studio and working with instructors to better understand the world of the music industry.
“The goal of the program is to provide students the proper knowledge, techniques, regulations, and skills so they can be successful in working in a very talented industry. We want them to be able to go further with their talents but also to be able to work successfully in the music industry and have a career doing the things that they love.”- Assistant Professor of Music Industry, Joshua Swiger.
Swiger invited us to cover the program, but that idea quickly turned into something more. Swiger suggested we work with the students on a recording project. He challenged us to write a song with just the basic chords and lyrics and present it to the students in a session where they would learn and then interpret the song with their instruments to create a cohesive track. This was more challenging than expected even for an experienced songwriter. The typical method in which songs come from this authors brain is collaborative in the band Last Year’s Model. It’s rare that I sit down and come up with a song all by myself. I typically bring the beginning of an idea and the band helps me put flesh to bones.
Leading up to the recording session I wrote parts of four songs that I didn’t like. Nothing was connecting with me. The day of the scheduled session I was standing in line at a store with my hand in my pocket with my keys in hand when a line just hit me. “Jangling my keys in this old 65” and from there the rest of the song just came out quickly. An hour later I was in Morgantown at the recording studio teaching six young musicians a song, that I just wrote, as we prepared to lay down the tracks. Swiger walked them through the idea and we ran through the song multiple times and made edits as needed. Students offered suggestions for parts and we hit record. From the time we stepped into- the studio and finished was about two hours in total. If you’ve never recorded a song, that is a very quick and impressive turnaround. The professionalism and talent of these students along with their mentor was on full display. We left the studio with a workable demo that will be turned into a fully fleshed out recording at a later date.
From our perspective at Born & Bred this program is vital to the future of turning West Virginia into a place that is known for producing top quality talent and becoming our own cohesive music scene, where young people don’t feel the need to leave the state to hone their craft. For the longest time it seemed that most wanting to learn these things would head to Florida to attend Full Sail or a similar school, and now it’s right here in their backyard. With the influx of studios, major festivals, and venues popping up across the state, the proof is evident that you can have a great start right here in the mountains of West Virginia.
We spoke to current student and Born & Born Bred Best Rap Artist Nominee of 2023, Trevor Cooke about what the program means to him.
“I think it’s amazing to get to study something I care so deeply about. Music has been with me my entire life and getting to do this has been amazing. A program like this that empowers and moves me to my goals is something I never dreamed of but having it here is amazing. Having access to people that are professionals and have the experience to guide me is invaluable. Once I graduate I will be able to include having an internship at a studio that will help me advance my career. That is worth everything to me.”
On working with these students day in and day out, Swiger said “Working with young talented minds and watching them inspires me as much as I inspire them is the true passion. If I can help them be more successful in music and in life that is the true gift of education.” And we couldn’t agree more.
Click here and find out more about applying to the WVU School of Music.
