For over a decade, LBCC’s music program has not offered commercial courses that teach students the business and technical side of the music industry. This year, they’ve decided to bring it back.
Since the commercial music program was cut in 2012, the music department has focused on teaching performing arts, which consists mainly of vocal and instrumental lessons.
Patrick Sheng, director of Instrumental Jazz Studies at LBCC, has officially kick-started the commercial music program that will be returning in the spring of 2023.
“It seems a little ridiculous that in the 21st century we don’t offer these kinds of classes,” Sheng said. “Musicians need to have technical skills to really make it. All of the professional musicians I know record their own music, so I thought this should be something that I teach my students.”
The program will offer courses in live sound techniques, music recording techniques, music business, and even songwriting. Students will be able to take a combination of these courses to receive a certificate of achievement in commercial music.
Sheng and the program’s advisory board decided to classify it under “CTE,” or Career Technical Education instead of an academic program to gain more funding for the courses.
Since CTE focuses on hands-on equipment learning, the school allocates a good amount of money for course materials. This is beneficial for the commercial music program because technology and software change yearly in the music world.
Sheng had been wanting to bring back the commercial arts program since he was hired in 2014, but the resurgence of this program is also in part because LBCC has placed greater importance on CTE programs in recent years.
“It was an interesting choice to cut the program in the first place because it was one of the higher-performing programs in terms of enrollment,” Sheng said. “But the atmosphere at the college ten years ago was cutting vocational programs and focusing on academics and transfers. Since the administration has changed since then, it’s now the opposite. We’re big on vocational stuff right now.”
Sheng and the advisory board have decided that commercial arts at LBCC will not be made a transferable major. The only transferable major in the music program at the moment is musicianship and performing arts.
Students who are interested in taking commercial music classes do not have to play an instrument to complete the certificate of achievement.
“Students should know that these classes are beginner friendly, they can take them with no knowledge at all,” part-time professor Louie Teran said, who will be teaching the music recording techniques class next year.
Teran got his start as a mastering engineer through LBCC’s commercial music program before it was cut. He has since worked on soundtrack projects for “The Dark Knight,” “The Lego Movie,” and “Glee.”
“I want my students to look at someone like me, who took these classes at a community college just like they are doing,” Teran said. “I want them to know that they can make it in the industry just like I did by starting off here.”
So far, the commercial music program only has part-time faculty teaching the courses. Most of the professors are still working in the industry, and are only teaching part-time.
Sheng and the advisory board have just put together a proposal for a full-time position in the program, but they don’t believe it will be filled in the near future.
“I estimate there will be 40 positions requested, and there are other departments that have priority hiring,” Sheng said. “I’m not optimistic that the position will be filled in any time soon, but I have to try to at least submit a request.”