Evaluation
Before we get ahead of ourselves with the final project and dive right into the sea of work ahead, I must present my ideas in a presentation, including details on topics such as the project overview, what I’m researching, what my plan is for the timeframe we have, and much more.
I believe I carried myself well and went into great depth in the topics I covered. I was clear for the most part, the slide looked well constructed, and I covered a wide breadth over the course of the presentation. I am rather pleased with how it came out, especially since I had minimal time to put this all together.
One thing asked of me was, “Have you looked at the theory behind synthpop?” and to put it bluntly, no. However, that is something I certainly will have a look at if I want some authentic synthpop elements in my composition. In addition to this I was asked about how I’ll handle the very rigid timing of synthpop, in that songs of that era were beginning to use digital software and features such as quantisation enabled artists to create compositions with the timings of the instruments being bang on. Like I’ve said, I’m not simply aiming to create a synthpop track, I’m looking to take influences from it, which is very fortunate for me. Reproducing a piece live with the most impeccable timing is a bridge too far, instead, I’ll be reintroducing the human element – sure, some things won’t be exactly on time, but as long as they’re not noticeably offbeat, I’d say that’s mission accomplished.
One thing I was also asked to consider was how what is essentially a performance piece would translate to streaming services with only audio. Whilst I don’t expect the track to be just as good without the visuals and the performance, I aim to create something which can survive as a standalone, something which doesn’t necessarily need a performance to carry it but is made a much more engaging experience live.
Last point I’ll mention is the visuals of the performance itself. I can’t just be on stage behind a desk, switching between looking at a computer and picking up an instrument, repeating those two actions – it doesn’t make for an engaging and interesting performance. Instead, I’ll need to liven things up, if I have the green light for projections to go ahead then I will liaise with Paul and we can throw some ideas at the wall, see what sticks, and move forward with the option(s) that will enhance my performance the most. If projections aren’t on the cards then I will have the standard lighting setup like everybody else. However, I will have to spend more time ensuring I connect with the audience before I perform; watching some stranger get up on stage won’t make you excited, but if that stranger can introduce themselves, make you laugh/smile, get you a little more excited, you will feel involved and more prepared to buy into what may otherwise be an underwhelming performance. However I do intend on doing this with or without the projections, I am good enough at working the audience and will play to my strengths here.
Presentation Slides
Recently, I have enjoyed listening to music that makes heavy use of synths and bass and I feel like that recent enjoyment could spur me on to create something I would listen to myself.
As an aspiring musician, I always want to challenge myself and improve. Playing every instrument in a piece such as this is a massive challenge for me, made only more difficult by my intention of reproducing the entire composition live using the Looper tool in Ableton – a tool I’ve not even used yet.
I can loosely break this down into three things: songwriting/composition, technical ability, performance. I have minimal songwriting and composition experience; really dedicating time to creating a piece will push me and I’ll learn plenty from it. I aim to improve my technical ability with every instrument over the course of this project, as opposed to spending most of my time focusing on a single discipline, I’ll be floating around from instrument to instrument, improving myself as a multi-instrumentalist.
The progress in technical ability also includes Ableton, learning even more about this DAW will help massively, and if my time using the Looper tool yields good results, it could be the start of a nice little niche that I could carve out for myself.
Lastly, I love performing, but I know I’m nowhere near a strong performer. I am good on stage but not great, and all prior performances have been with others – this will be my first solo performance, a huge challenge for me, but one I want to surpass. To recap, I simply aim to progress myself as a musician.
As I am making a composition with the intention of recreating it live in Ableton, I can simply record each instrument into Ableton, removing the need for any recording time in the studio. Of course, however, I will need the essentials: a Mac, a room to practice/rehearse, all my needed instruments (keyboard, bass guitar, potentially both an acoustic and an electric guitar, and an Ableton Push to program my drums), and all the leads and cables that come along with this kit.
In regards to collaboration, I plan on working with Lewis as he has a keen understanding of Ableton and can assist me as I get to grips using the software as a live performance tool. As well as liaising with Paul to figure out the themes and visuals that I look to have coincide with the performance, I may have a couple ideas but he’s the one who can really help bring those ideas to life.
My research will likely consist of articles and YouTube videos mostly, as I learn how to use Ableton for the desired purpose. As of right now I have only used it to compose music in the quote unquote “standard” way, not using looping and live instrumentation in the context of a performance.
I will also look to artists who have used similar methods to compose/perform in the way I plan on doing myself; looking at what techniques they use, what their creative process is like, and how they handle themselves when performing.
Finally, I will need inspiration. Like I mentioned earlier, I am mostly leaning towards synthpop for the sound I want to head towards, but cool things can happen when you cross genres, so casting a wide net and not focusing solely on synthpop should open me up to interesting mixes potentially.
As for the last point, I will talk more on this during the next slide.
Like I just mentioned, I aim to find out what streaming services are more artist-friendly. I firmly believe that the major streaming services aren’t fit for purpose for smaller artists, who are paid a pittance for their hard work. Because of this, I would look to release and promote my song on smaller platforms where artists are paid fairly; Bandcamp is the obvious choice, but promising co-operatives like Resonate and Ampled are exciting possibilities, and ones which I will need to research more in the near future.
Frankly I’m not about to do something unheard of. However, this type of performance is still rather rare and when it comes to the showcase, most likely I will be looking out into an audience with quite a few people who haven’t seen this before, with any luck I can be the one to introduce them to this style, hopefully they enjoy it and maybe look for more of the same elsewhere – which would make me very happy, personally.
To ensure I stay on top of my progress and understand my place within the project, I will commit myself to a schedule of reflections and evaluations. After each day of work I will reflect on the progress and get it noted down, these reflections will inspire my weekly evaluations where I will give more of an overview of the past week’s advancements and figure out what worked for me and where I can improve for the future.
Here I have a rather loose idea of what I intend on doing week-to-week and it is subject to change, however I feel that this is a solid overview of my project. I research heavily in the start, complete my composition well in advance, and I’ve blocked out enough time for myself to work on the release and the performance. These aren’t things I want to rush at the end of the project as it will diminish the quality of my work.
