Ames High students meander through the halls during passing period, lazily bumping into each other, aimless and complacent, with momentary interactions that make their behavior resemble that of an ideal gas . Many of them remain umbilically connected to their music players between, and during, classes. Perhaps if they elected not to limit their sensory input, they could better navigate their environments, but to them, having their music at all times outweighs any possible dangers to themselves or others. As teenagers gravitate to specific groups, form cliques, and attempt to find their place in the world, one thing that allows them to truly express themselves is the music they listen to. Music provides the individuality that young people seek. Undoubtedly, Ames High is rife with musical talent and appreciation. And for some, this infatuation has extended to creating their own music. Senior Danny Schmidt has dropped three hit singles in the last two months via his Youtube channel, PapaDan95 , the most popular of which is entitled Gifts and Gadgets , with 118 views and two likes. His music is self-described as “ Neo psychedelic post rock jazz fusion progressive rap.” “I just call it the Danny Experience,” Schmidt said. Schmidt arranges his music from pre-made clips in Garageband, a standard application on Apple computers, giving special priority to clips that are highly identifiable for their Garageband origins. Then he records vocal tracks over the music of himself talking, burping, and moaning, then sporadically places them throughout the song. “I think that my music is too progressive for many people’s ears. They don’t understand or get me, and they think that it’s too revolutionary,” Schmidt said. Schmidt’s songs have yet to receive critical acclaim, being mostly limited to a small but positive response from friends and family. “It’s unique,” said freshman Kub Stevens , who apparently also makes music. “But I’m confused about what he’s trying to do with it.” Senior Davis Rice, however, has found more lucrative success from his original music endeavors. “O ne guy in Brazil payed $2 for one of my albums on Bandcamp , so I’d say I’m pretty famous. I mean, he’s the only guy who’s bought my album,” said Rice. Rice’s music can be listened to for free online at bandcamp.com, or downloaded in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire for the low, low price of one dollar and eleven cents American, or about eleven pesos. “ I use Garageband for normal stuff, and occasionally Mario Paint Composer because it’s adorable. I usually just plonk some notes down and rearrange them until they sound nice and then add more biz that also sounds nice. Also, I really like banjos and 8-bit music,” said Rice. As Rice put it, “It’s super fun to make music, so definitely do if you want to. Listen to stuff a lot and steal from people at first. It’s like a tutorial.” “If you want to make music like mine than you can just do it, because it’s the easiest thing in the world,” said Schmidt. “It’s a fun way to make things at school.”