For my final project, I have planned to release a three track EP of instrumental rock pieces, focussed primarily on the guitar. Each track is aimed to be around three to four minutes long and each part will be played by me. I then plan to release this on streaming platforms for anyone to view, and finally make my own mark in the music industry and discover my own style.
This is the video of my initial thoughts:
And my final proposal presentation videos:
I feel as though I presented my idea confidently, and made my overall aim very clear. However there were a few important points that I missed out without realising; Such as how much help I will be enlisting from other sources, and what progress I have currently made towards the final goal.
Here is the feedback I was given and my response:
-Am I taking on too much work for the given timescale?
– I realise that I have a lot of work to do with my overall plan, however I failed to mention that I have already made a good amount of progress on two tracks, I already have a good idea of an album cover, and that I am already in the process of advertising my EP on social media. Research will not take up a large portion of my time as I have already gained a large amount of knowledge on recording and composing over my time studying at college, and I can always continue my research outside of college. Another big point I missed regarding time constraints is who I am going to be collaborating with on this project and when. I plan to use graphic design students to help finalise my artwork, and I will most likely need to get help recoding tracks from other students who will be basing their projects around studio recording work. As for some of the other tasks such as a dated log of progress and composing, I will be able to do much of this work outside of college hours meaning that I will be able to get straight into the studio and record my tracks swiftly. Despite the passing on of extra work and extra hours put in, the timescale is still exceptionally short for the idea that I have, therefore I will most likely have to simplify my end goal or drop certain optional tasks.
-Forcing styles together (Funk and Metal)
– When I suggested that I was thinking about adding some funk elements into my music, I intended to mean some of the more articulate rhythms and bass-lines rather than just a straight funk section in the music. I really like the way that bands such as the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ manage to use such articulate bass-lines and rhythms and would like to give this a try in my own music. A better example to use for my style would be the bass-lines used by the band ‘Black Sabbath’ as was mentioned in my feedback, so I will include this in my research when I am looking for inspiration.
– In addition to this point, I feel as though it would be much more beneficial for me to focus on a set style, and one that I enjoy playing and listening to myself. Therefore I will write mainly in a fast thrash metal style, rhythmically similar to early Metallica albums such as ‘Ride the Lightning.’
-Physical release
-I suggested the option of a physical copy as more of an idea than anything else. I think it would be interesting to look into how artists get CD’s and Vinyls made, and I think the possibility of having a one off physical copy of my EP would be a really good way to present my final product. If I was to do this, I would get a single CD and a single vinyl pressed as I have no intent on selling these for now as I am only aiming to begin to make a name for myself as an upcoming artist in the music world.
-Involving external studios
A point that I felt was going to be the hardest and most time consuming is the idea of involving an external studio to get my EP mixed and mastered professionally. On paper I feel as though this was a good idea and would have further increased the quality of my final product, however due to the limited timescale for our projects and the likelihood that this would cost to be done externally I have decided to cancel this idea out. By the time my tracks are finished to a mixable standard there will likely be too little time to wait for the tracks to be finalised externally. Should this be the case I will have my tracks mixed in college.
-External performance (Official EP Launch day)
Leading on from my last point, I can now confirm that I will be performing my EP live as this is another good way to collaborate with music industry professionals by playing at an external venue. Not only this but after thinking this idea through I feel that it is a really good way to present my final product and promote it as live performance is my strongest skill in music. This will be me performing along with backing tracks that I will make in addition to the finished tracks.
-Is recording one of my strengths?
While performing is my strongest skill in music, I also feel confident in a recording studio. I will definitely be capable of recording three of my own compositions using some of my own equipment. I want to be using the recording room myself as I will be able to make any tweaks to the sound that I want to produce and get a set up that I am happy with. This will also make arranging my pieces easier and will help me write additional parts.
-Overview
Overall I am really please with the feedback I have been given. I think that my actual spoken presentation could have been vastly improved upon, however the whole reason for presenting my idea in this manner was for myself and my peers to address issues regarding my plan, and for me to come away to evaluate and refine my idea afterwards.
The Feedback I have received has really helped me to re-evaluate my goal and my target for the end of this project is now much clearer:
-I will be recording a thee track long debut EP in a thrash metal style.
-These tracks will be between three to five minuets in length, and will be purely instrumental.
-I will record live audio for guitar parts and bass parts myself.
-I will not be playing in live drum parts as this will be massively time consuming and I am not an overly skilled drummer, especially in my chosen style.
-I will be advertising my EP primarily via social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
-I will pass my finished tracks onto one of my peers to me mixed as this is one of my weaker points, and I think someone else’s perspective on my EP will be a good thing to have.
-Once the EP is completely finished, I will make my tracks into backing tracks and then perform these live to and audience at an external venue.
My set goal for the end of this project is to have a finished three track EP of my own original compositions, available to be listened to online for free by anyone. I will promote it on social media to let people know that it’s out there, and will perform it live as its ‘official’ launch.
My strengths and skills:
Here is a mind map of my strengths and skills that I had made when thinking about my proposal, and I had used this when deciding and planning how my project was going to work:
Proposal form & Weekly plan link: