The Songwriting final projects have been posted. You have
the opportunity to vote for your favorite project(s). It takes about 15
minutes to listen to all of them. The poll closes on Friday, May 31 at 8:30
am. The winner will be announced during presentations later that day.
The songs and videos may not play properly if you try to view this page
on your mobile phone. Unfortunately, this seems to be a bug to which we
have no current solution. Also, if you encounter any problems voting,
please let me know so that I can try to address them before the end of
next week.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Get Up
The Distance
Relax
A&R
Final Gambit
Just Be Strong
Friday, May 17, 2013
Final Project Half Way Review
This week has been long and probably the week that I personally worked the hardest. We have finally been working on our own song. Recording in the studio was a new experience. It was weird hearing how we sound, on guitar specifically, and how we really aren't as good as we initially thought we were. My partner and I have been trying to assemble a more acoustic oriented song. The hardest part is writing meaningful lyrics, because now-a-days music is always about the same stuff - money, drugs, and well anything that gives the body pleasure or makes you feel good. The lyrics I have at the moment are still in the making because I want them to be meaningful.
Get On Up
Working on my final project has been fun. We are basically done but we just need to add the lyrics. We had fun making it, but we didn't know how to start at first. We wanted it to be something everyone wants to hear, that would catch their attention but we ended up making it motivational and it still was successful. The hardest part was making the beat. It took us about two days to find some lyrics but it took most of the week to do the beat. Our week as songwriters was hectic but we accomplished our goal with audio, loops, and midi tracks and people loved it.
Final Project
This week has proved difficult for me to come up with a beat. We liked the idea of something unique but cool that people could listen to. Our goal was to lift people up and inspire them that they could do anything no matter what. In our final project we added a few spoken lines that fit the mood of the song. For an example, the very last line is "Just be strong". Hopefully people get the message that Marcus and I tried to show in our song.
Final Project
What I experienced this week was putting a whole song together with lyrics. I believe this is the hardest thing we've done so far. My partner and I didn't know where to start. As we progressed each day we learned that we needed to add more instruments to make the sequence sound fuller. Our goal was to make a three minute song that sounded good.
Final Project: Advanced Audio Recording
This particular project has been very demanding on my mind. To succeed you really have to know how to plan your audio tracks and place them in the correct spot. For example, Brian and I were shooting for something strong and loud that would transition to something soft and emotional. Brian then recorded a short poem that he wrote in a studio and we added echos to make it sound like your conscious is speaking to you. Inspiration for this project came from listening to Ramin Dwardji's score for Iron Man and Hans Zimmer's score for Pirates of the Carribbean.
Final Project
For the past week, we have been working on our final project. Each group must create their own music. For this week the groups went into the studio to record live vocals or instruments. I was the only person to work alone. While I was still able to pull it off, the most difficult part of the project was getting the right combination of instruments. I just couldn't think of the right mood. I had decided to use a set of orchestra strings, shakers, and tambourine. I created many of the loops myself. There are still a few things that still needs to be fixed, but I am on track. I'm looking forward to the last few weeks of Spring Phase.
Recording In The Studio
This week was my first time recording in a studio and I found it appealing. Certain parts of the recording process opened my eyes. For example, when you record you can change the pitch or even the way it sounds. I recorded myself playing tenor saxophone and it sounded good, but when I put it in Garage Band I found new ways to enhance certain tones. It helps to have an ear for music. You also need an idea of how you want it to sound. You can't just go in and start dragging loops and call it a song.
Final Project
For our final project, my partner and I made a song with a jazzy feel. It came out to be an instrumental jazz piece. The completion process took approximately four days. For this song, we had to draw in and play in the different tracks using both midi and audio. This made timing harder because the primary way to fix a bad take is to re-record. Editing an audio track to fix timing can be difficult and time consuming.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Training for the Trail
Alfifie and Eli have created a nice soundtrack for a video that shows what it is like to train for SBP's annual hike on the Appalachian Trail. The video footage was shot entirely on students' cell phones. Try to spot which camera cuts are aligned with changes in the music and which are not.
Superman Sound Editing
Basketball Video Take 2
Basketball Video Take 1
Trail Video with Multiple Cuts
For our Trail video we recorded the freshman as they tried to complete challenging tasks as a team. Everyone in class took videos with their phones and then we took some of the best ones and put them together. Later on we added music that fit each scenario and task the freshman did. This was called scoring for multiple cuts.
Creating An Overall Mood
For this week of Songwriting, Sequencing, and Soundtracks, we were working on setting up the perfect mood for a video. This week we were editing a clip of the students playing basketball on the Lower Field. When we were done filming we had to add background music to the video. My approach with this video was to have a calm and peaceful setting, mainly using acoustic guitars with a set of shakers. For the second video, we were taking random shots of the freshmen preparing for the Trail. For this video, my approach was to have a type of flashback mood set with a ballad piano and a bit of southern rock piano. Dr. Fletcher said that I had the right approach for the Trail and a bit on the basketball shoot. I am looking forward with the next series of projects in the near future.
Week Two Summary
In this week I learned how to create a soundtrack for a short film of Superman. This was my first time learning how to create a soundtrack for a film. We also created a video without cuts of a basketball game that used music in the background. We also recored the freshmen outside training for the trail and added music behind the video. My favorite thing we did this week was creating sound effects for the Superman film.
Hard Hits Versus Soft Hits
When making hard and soft hits for a video or a movie you have to know the difference between them. You have to determine what fits best with the mood. A Hard hit is when an event in the video track strongly corresponds to an event in the musical sound track. For an example when the robot in our Superman video knocks a cop aside we used a hard thumping sound. A soft hit on the other hand is when the timing is less direct but still has some relation. For example, in our basketball video the intensity of the music increased roughly about the same time that someone started to drive to the basket. These are the differences between hard and soft hits.
Sound Editing for Superman
This week we tried to create sounds for a Superman video with other sounds from Garage Band. It was certainly a challenge to find sounds to match each clip. When Superman was flying, it was difficult looking for a loop that sounds like a flying or swoosh effect. We eventually used the sound a race car driving by. Another challenge was to trying to perfectly time the sound effect with the action that was taking place in the clip. An example was trying to make the sound of a gun shooting and pace it so it would sound like it was real. Timing was very important and me and my partner spent most of our time on this project trying to time the sound effects appropriately.
Movie Week
In class this week we were working with movies. What we did with them was to create moods, edit sounds, and use existing audio. We used all of these techniques while working on films about The Trail, Superman, and basketball movies. My favorite project was the basketball movie. My partner Eli and I were working on the sounds for the movie and during the scene where I made a basket, we slowed the tempo and the mood down. That was my favorite part.
Man of Steel: Sound Effects Editing
I had a great time making the sound effects for an old Superman cartoon. My partner, Brian, and I really dug deep in our minds to try to see what sounds go where. For example, the sound we used for bullets was a tennis ball being served repeatedly. We used boxes being packed to provide sound effects for the scene when Clark Kent rips off his clothes and becomes Superman. Timing was everything here. We probably spent 35 minutes trying to get every sound effect right on cue. We didn't get all of them but the product was still surprisingly good.
Scoring for Action
For this project, we recorded video of ourselves playing basketball. Our task was to create a soundtrack enhance the video. This was a fun project and the class enjoyed my project. Matching the timing of the music with the video was a great challenge. By changing the tempo of the sequence, I was able to score and match up the sound with the changing action.
Friday, May 3, 2013
A Second Example of ABA form
Project 3: Creating our own loop
For project 3 we had a chance to go out and make our own loop. I thought to myself this will be very exciting for me and my partner because we have been wanting to try this out for ourselves. When we put in the beats from the piano and played it back we knew it was a club type vibe. We also played it to the class and their feedback involved dancing, so we knew for sure it that was good.
Song writing project 4
I have been working on how to create beats and combine them with other elements in a song. It takes some time to create something to which people would actually listen. Songwriters these days use many different means for expressing themselves. You need to add layers such as bass, harmony, and percussion because otherwise the song would sound flat and incomplete.
Perfect Timing
For project 2b, my partner and I drew in the notes to make precise timing. We did this in order to see where specific notes are placed and how it looks when they are in place on the grid. Playing in the notes can sometimes result in an inaccurate experience but also has a human feel. Drawing in the notes makes accurate timing but can sometimes sound mechanical. Which technique you should use depends on the situation.
Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones
For the 2013 Spring Phase term, the students of Songwriting, sequencing, and soundtracks were given a copy of "Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones". It tells about how difficult his early childhood was when his mother left him due to mental illness. It also speaks of how difficult it was with Elvera, his stepmother and how she
neglected and humiliated Quincy. It tells of how he ran with other gangs and stole from anywhere for survival. He was homeless, and music was his only escape. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.
Christian & Agustin's Project 4
Welcome!!!
Thank you for visiting our new blog buzztracks. Students who post to this site are participating in a class called Songwriting, Sequencing, and Soundtracks at St. Benedict's Prep School in Newark, NJ. During Spring Phase (roughly the month of May), SBP students study one subject for five hours a day. For this class, students are using music technology including Apple's Garage Band software to create loop-based sequences that will either become stand-alone songs or background music for video. They are also studying the life of performer/composer/producer Quincy Jones and how he has influenced American music for more than five decades.
We hope our students' posts will document this month long process for posterity. Please check in regularly because we will also be posting our student's compositions and examples of work in the class on a weekly basis.
We hope our students' posts will document this month long process for posterity. Please check in regularly because we will also be posting our student's compositions and examples of work in the class on a weekly basis.
Frankenstein Beats
This past week we've learned several different techniques to help us master GarageBand. One of the techniques that is very useful for me is the "Frankenstein" method. Its name is a great way to express the nature of the technique, because as Frankenstein was created from several different beings the loop is created from several different loops. The technique allows you to take a piece of one loop and combine it with another loop to create your own new and unique beat.
Learning about Quincy Jones
This past week I have been learning about the prodigiously talented and amazingly protean Quincy Jones. I have not yet finished reading his autobiography, but what I learned so far is that he is was very determined as a child to learn about music. He would do anything for knowledge. I see myself in Quincy, because I feel the same way about soccer.
Project 4: Creating Form
Project 4 was a very fun process to go through. Our task was to make a song that had an "A" section and a "B" section. At first, my partner and I had no idea what we were going to do. We sat at the computer for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what type of music we were going to make. Then it hit me, I got the idea of making music that would accompany the ending credits of a movie. So we took an electric guitar, bass, a synth piano, and congas to create the final project.
Frankenstein Beats
Working in class only for a week has been fun and somewhat challenging. Our second project, which was informally called Frankenstein. I learned how to take beats from other loops and put them together to form my own. This class is not how I thought it was going to be. It is more complicated and looks like it will get even harder these next few weeks. I think I am ready.
Project 3: Using the keyboard to create your own beat
Project 2B Perfect Timing
In the Project 2B, our job was to make a beat by drawing in notes and aligning them to the grid. Once we finished our beat we were satisfied. It was pretty cool making our own beat and choosing what we wanted to do, like extending it longer or cutting the beat in half. My first time making beats on the Mac was cool. In the future I hope to get better at it.
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