Day 1: Welcome to Music Technology
Monday, August 3rd, 2026
Welcome!
Today we will cover classroom basics like how to log in to your accounts, how to handle safety drills, and an overview of the class.
Read All the Instructions Daily
You will always start with the objectives and the warmup. After you finish the warmup activity, read the whole work session. Some days you will be able to start the work session on your own. Other days you will need to wait for Mr. Willingham.
Do this every day.
Warmup: Logging In
Find the seat Mr. Willingham assigns you, then log in to the Mac at that station using your school username and password.
Once you are logged in, read this whole page from top to bottom before you touch anything else. You are looking for three things:
- What you are turning in today.
- Where the syllabus is.
- What you need to bring to class every day.
Work Session: Syllabus and Class Procedures
Open the syllabus and follow along while Mr. Willingham walks through it.
What You Will Do This Year
You will record and edit a podcast, design original sound effects, build beats using MIDI, learn to read music, write an original melody, remix a classical piece into a modern style, and add sound to an animated film.
Grades
| Category | Weight | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Formative | 60% | Learning checks, warmups, minor projects — taken frequently. |
| Summative | 40% | Projects and quizzes — taken near the end of each unit. |
Late work is assessed a one-time 20% penalty. Missing work is entered as a zero until you turn it in, and the grade is updated once you do.
What to Bring Every Day
- Your agenda
- A pencil or pen
If You Are Absent
It is your responsibility to ask Mr. Willingham about make-up work when you get back. Check CTLS while you are out so you know what you missed. After three days out in a row, make-up work can be requested from the front office.
Procedures
Mr. Willingham will go over the rest of the classroom procedures:
- Safety drill procedures — fire, tornado, and lockdown
- Substitute teacher procedures
- Hall and bathroom passes
- Care of the equipment — computers, headphones, and microphones
- Assigned seats
Class Expectations
- Listen to and follow instructions.
- Respect and support your peers and the adults in the room.
- Work to the best of your ability.
Work Session: About Me
Open the About Me activity in CTLS and complete it. This is how Mr. Willingham learns a bit about you — what you listen to, what you have played or made before, and what you want to get out of this class.
Answer every question. There are no wrong answers, but “idk” is not an answer.
Work Session: Setting Up Soundtrap
Soundtrap is the primary app for this class. It runs in the browser, so your projects follow you to any computer you sit at.
Go to soundtrap.com and click Log in. Your username is your student email and your password is your lunch number.
Example
- Username:
sara.simons@students.cobbk12.org - Password:
12345678
Once you are in, click Enter Studio, start a blank project, and press play so you know the sound is working. Then check your headphone volume before you turn it up.
Key Vocabulary
- DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
- The software you use to record, edit, and arrange music on a computer. Soundtrap is a DAW.
- Project
- One song or recording you are working on inside Soundtrap. Everything you make this year lives inside a project.
- Track
- A single layer inside a project — one instrument, one loop, or one recording.
Closing: Logging Off
Before the bell, follow the log-off procedure. You will do this at the end of every class period:
- Save your Soundtrap project.
- Close your browser tabs.
- Log off the Mac — do not just close the lid.
- Put your headphones back where you found them.
Tomorrow you start your first real project: a scavenger hunt through Soundtrap’s loop library.