Hi! My name is Leoni Conway, and for my final project I decided to create a song. I have put together the skills I have obtained within project 2 and project 3 to compose and produce the piece myself. I wanted to do this for my final project as I have a lot of ideas musically, but I have never really put these ideas together to compose a full song ready for a release. I have always struggled with coming up with ideas for lyrics, so I wanted to use this project as an opportunity to learn how to do this.
Over the past few months, I have spent a lot of time working with different chord progressions and melodies. I have also been taking inspiration from songs/artists I regularly listen to within both the instrumentation and structure of my song. My main goal for this project was to create something I (and of course others) would enjoy listening to. I am extremely proud of the outcome and I hope you enjoy looking at/listening to the process and the end result!
How does my final project relate to the music industry?
The main skills I will be using in my final project are songwriting and recording skills. There are so many job roles within different sections of the music industry which include both of these. For example, a lot of big musicians and artists will work with someone when writing songs for a single or album release. As seen throughout my project, Shawn Mendes is one of my biggest inspirations, and while he is branded as a singer-songwriter, he does have help from other people to write his music (such as Scott Harris and Teddy Geiger). Therefore, there are not only roles for people to write entire songs/albums themselves for artists, but there are also roles to aid an artist’s own songwriting skills.
For songwriters, there are also smaller jobs which are in high demand. For example, advertisement jingles. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a lot of businesses struggle, and many turned to adverisements on social media to keep them afloat. With the online usage being so huge, it can often be difficult for businesses to stand out. This is where musicians and songwriters can come in. I’m sure there have been many times where you can’t get an advert’s song out of your head, because they can be quite catchy. The credit for this ultimately comes down to musicians. If a business is able to find a musician who can create a catchy jingle/song for their adverisements, it can often lead to an increase in sales and engagement. We saw a lot more of this during the pandemic, as businesses were desperate for interaction and sales. Therefore, these types of jobs are definitely in high demand.
As for recording, there are jobs for recording engineers and producers within both studio settings and live sound. For these types of jobs you will need to know how to correctly use a mixing board and have some basic knowledge of acoustics and instruments. You should also know how to manage your time efficiently. In the recording industry, many jobs require you to work under a freelance contract. Therefore, knowing the best way to use your equipment and manage your time is key to getting clients.