Perfect World Music Academy
A Partnership with
District 60 & Goal Academy
high schools
Perfect World Music Academy started our partnership with Goal Academy High School in August of 2017. We are having a fun time seeing kids progress in their skills through our own curriculum in music, songwriting, production and technology courses. These courses will soon be published and available for use in your class room around the world.
Carl Lucero has created a certified program that is fun, and has a unique way of hands on learning that students love. We connect and collaborate with a rapidly growing network of musicians who are passionate about what they do. Students learn from educated, organized instructors that support our students every step of the way from private lessons to class room settings. We turn students with a passion for music into skilled and educated musicians that leave our program ready to step into professional careers.
these are the 4 classes covered throughout this course…
BAND CAMP
Nothing like the rock band video game - this is where kids come for fun. Learning to play instruments, building confidence while developing your musical skills, not to mention making friends in the process. Whether you are a musician or just love music, we are simply looking for students that have a passion and want to learn more.
AUDIO ENGINEERING
Perfect World’s easy to follow, in-depth study of technology and techniques of contemporary multi-track music recording. Lectures and labs focus on modern recording techniques, the analog and digital audio hardware/software installed in a recording studio, and real-time experience in a professional studio environment. Laboratory required. Perfect World offers AVID Certified Courses in ProTools 101 & 110.
PRODUCTION
Utilizing a hands on approach, we focus on how commercial music is made from the conception to a completed track. Our students work with live musicians and in professional recording studio labs. Laboratory required.
SONG WRITING
Do you like to write? Are you a poet? Do you find yourself writing songs in your spare time? This course will help you develop skills to create original songs based on groove, melody, lyric, harmony and structure. Students are expected to play guitar or piano as well as sing.
about perfect world…
Carl is the owner of Perfect World Company. He is a Grammy Award winning Recording engineer who is well known as a producer, songwriter and artist who has over 25 years of experience in the music industry.
2023 Perfect World Music Academy / GOAL High School Original Songs
NEWS
GOAL High School: where teachers are mentors
By Tracy Harmon DEC 6, 2018
From jamming with a Grammy-award-winning musician to sewing with an accomplished seamstress, classes at the GOAL High School are anything but typical.
GOAL stands for Guided Online Academic Learning which may evoke the image of a student sitting at home in front of a computer without any human interaction. But that is far from the case.
“It is not all online - it is a truly blended school,” said Alan Van Norman, principal for the GOAL High School at 279 S. Purcell Blvd. in Pueblo West. “Kids say that the thing they like the best is the one on one learning time with their teachers.”
Teachers are not just educators, they are also mentors, he explained. Van Norman oversees the Pueblo West, Pueblo Mall, Canon City, La Junta and Lamar programs so he sees the impact the school has in Southern Colorado.
“The landscape of education has really changed. Today there are lots of alternative education opportunities,” Van Norman said.
With GOAL 90 percent of students usually have at least two at-risk factors.
“But what sets us apart in Pueblo West and Canon City is that we don’t have that many at-risk students. We have a larger portion of students who want more flexibility than a brick and mortar school can give - they are parents, they have parents at home, they have jobs or they want less social drama.
“A lot of students come here saying they have had a problem with bullying,” he explained. “Pueblo West has a pretty good spectrum of kids from all walks of life.”
GOAL launched in 2014 in Pueblo West and today has about 120 students in grades nine through 12. The school has a safe and secure location, Van Norman said, plus it caters to the students as individuals.
“We work with students individual needs and set goals for growth. We have all the programs you would expect to find from special education, to gifted and talented, to musical education and career enrichment electives. Some students get intervention to build their reading and math skills for those who are below level,” Van Norman said.
GOAL even partners with Swallows Charter Academy to offer students access to athletic programs. Swallows, “small, inclusive, family-friendly environment” is ideal for GOAL students who want to participate in sports like volleyball or baseball, he said.
A core group of 10 visiting professors, three para-professionals, a licensed counselor and Assistant Principal Jaime Bergstrom make up the staff who walk with students on their educational journey.
Among the popular classes are Carl and Melinda Lucero’s music enrichment program taught at their Perfect World studio in downtown Pueblo. Lucero, a grammy-award-winning musician, teaches recording, engineering, production, songwriting, musical theory, how to play instruments and singing.
His goal is to help students get gainful employment in the music industry. Each class culminates with a live concert.
“I see the students growing socially and emotionally through relating to each other in a way they did not know they could do. That is saying a lot as this has become a quiet social-media-influenced world for teens,” Van Norman said.
Ladoris Burton’s sewing class is another popular one for students and even more boys than girls are giving it a try, Van Norman said. “We also have a very strong early college program and our students participate in college-level courses through CSU-Pueblo and PCC. Our goal is to have every student graduate with some college credit whether it is vocational or can be applied to a four-year degree.
“That gives them a real leg up and about 60 of our graduates have also graduated with an associates degree when they get their high school diploma,” Van Norman said.
A Pueblo Community College construction technology program will be the next cutting-edge program to open up for GOAL students starting in January.
The GOAL high school is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but most of the foot traffic occurs between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Van Norman said GOAL is not for everyone.
“Our students are self-driven and hold themselves accountable,” he said.
To find out more about GOAL log onto www.goalac.org or call 1-877-776-4625.
“The education choice is one of the most difficult thing a parent does. We would love for them to walk in, get a visitors pass and see what we are about,” Van Norman said.
The 'goal' is the sound of music
BY JON POMPIA THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN JAN 24, 2018
GOAL Academy High School students with their sights on the top 10, or at least a stage and microphone, are getting a leg, and an ear, up in the music biz.
Through an innovative partnership between GOAL and Perfect World Music Academy, 40 young men and women now have the enviable opportunity of learning the art of music-making and audio recording from the ground up.
Carl and Melinda Lucero, who returned to Pueblo to establish a state-of-the-art recording facility, teamed up with GOAL Academy so that musical doors previously closed to students, for economic or other reasons, could be swung wide open.
"We wanted a music training facility in our hometown to reach youth who wouldn't have access to music education," said Carl Lucero.
"We are committed to instilling a set of skills that will make students more valuable in the workforce and potentially pursue a career in the music business."
The Luceros' program is divided into four sectors:
Band Camp, in which students learn to play instruments and develop musical skills, even if they have no previous experience. Working, professional musicians serve as instructors.
Audio engineering and lab, an easy-to-follow but comprehensive look into the technology and techniques used for contemporary multitrack recording.
Music production and lab, a hands-on opportunity to learn how commercial music is made.
Song writing, to help develop the skills to create original songs based on groove, melody, lyric, harmony and structure.
"After just three weeks, the response has been overwhelming," Carl Lucero said. "Both students and parents we've seen around town have told us they love it.
"The kids want to be here all the time, and so do the staff. It's just a really creative environment."
Tuesday, inside the Perfect World studio, about 25 students from the blended learning academy's various campuses were hard at work on the two things that can help make or break a band.
The right name and a perfect sense of timing.
"Nah, '10 O'Clock Combo' isn't any good," came a voice from a huddle of engaged bandmates.
"And '10 O'Clock Buffet' won't make the cut, either. That's getting rejected."
In the end, VPSR, the initials of the players' first names, was selected.
Across the room, the discussions were much more colorful.
"So, we're all wearing blue today," offered one student. "So how about 'Blue Friday?' "
In the third circle, "Purple Blue Doritos" fell by the wayside as "Violet Melody" rose to the top.
Ear-catching band names in place, the students turned their attention to a much-more important facet of music-making.
A keen sense of timing and rhythm.
With a metronome keeping time, and Carl Lucero and his team of pro musicians offering direction and encouragement, a rotating bloc of bassists, guitarists, keyboardists, drummers, vocalists and even a violinist and trumpet player tackled the opening stanza of Coldplay's simple but elegant "Magic."
"Listen to the click track," Carl Lucero told the performers. "Guitarists: hit the D chord strong before going back to E. Vocalists, closer to the mics. ..."
The initial takes were, admittedly, a little rough, due in large part to tentativeness on the part of fledgling players.
But as the rehearsals progressed, so did the proficiency level, with the final go-around sounding remarkably solid and in-time.
"Three weeks ago, most of these kids had never even held an instrument," Carl Lucero said. "So you can see the progress they're making."
On both keyboards and at the microphone, Alyza Zapien was one of the key figures making music magic inside the studio.
"I'm not sure I'll pursue a career in music, but I'm very grateful GOAL has given us some kind of music program," the senior said. "I know when I left East (High School), I really was craving a music outlet.
"So I'm really happy to be here."
And that goes for the man leading the way and nodding his head in time to the beat.
"Our job is create a spark and allow them to find their fire and passion for music in a fun and safe environment," said Carl Lucero.
"And the kids are really starting to get a grasp on music and the global aspect of the industry. They're getting the full background here."