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.