This past winter, senior Jaylynn Crespo wrote an original song for the orchestra to play at the spring concert on April 25.  This photo essay documents her songwriting process and arrangement before she presented it to her music teacher, Eric Schaberg, for approval prior to the concert.

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Senior Jaylynn Crespo signs into a school computer

to begin arranging her original music for the spring orchestra concert.

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Crespo launches Logic Pro, a desktop music program

that is used to create and arrange music,

 to examine the progress made on her song.

Today she needs to focus on the cello and provide scratch vocals.

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Crespo prepares to record a cello part on the keyboard.

By using the keyboard, she can play the exact notes of her song

  without having to play an actual cello.

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As Crespo plays each note on the keyboard,

she hears the cello music through her headphones.

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Crespo grabs a microphone to record

scratch vocals for her song.

Scratch vocals are vocal recordings that are not used in

the final product but rather to help

the various instruments stay in sync and in time.

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Crespo prepares herself to sing.

Before she belts out her song,

she reminds herself to stay in time and on key.

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Crespo seeks approval from junior

Benjamin Herring about her song.

“That was actually sick,” Herring says.

“I loved the strings; they worked perfectly.”

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Crespo travels to meet with music teacher Eric Schaberg

with hopes of getting her song approved.

Schaberg, one of many accomplished music teachers at RHS,

is overseeing Crespo’s completion of her song.

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Schaberg reviews and comments on Crespo’s song,

adding that she has done a great job and should hear it live.

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Crespo watches joyfully as Schaberg conducts

students to play her song.

Crespo’s songwriting abilities have been validated,

and she can continue to perfect her craft.

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