Week One
15/03/2022
- Managed to find a very helpful video which gave me a good start in discovering how to use Ableton to loop.
- Didn’t find time to fiddle in Ableton due to technical issues.
16/03/2022
- Made good progress with the research, another great video.
18/03/2022
- Took reference shots for my single cover.
- Completed weekly evaluation.
Starting my final project formally felt great, I’m happy to have made it this far and to finally be able to get going with a project of my own creation. The research this week has gone well, I found two excellent videos which gave me a great base to work from in regards to Ableton. I documented this research well. When it came to composition however – even with the help of Lucy – I struggled with technical difficulties. I couldn’t get sound through the audio interface with two separate basses, and when Lucy did manage to get me sound, the delay between playing the bass and hearing it through my headphones was too great for me to experiment confidently; in future I will go to Lucy sooner to ask for help, rather than blindly twisting dials and checking cables. I will also look to Ableton’s settings and ask for help in troubleshooting, to see if much can be done about this latency issue. With my single cover, I managed to take a few good reference shots to show my idea, which I will expand on in future sessions.
Week Two
22/03/2022
- Began research on artist friendly digital streaming platforms (DSPs).
- Made good progress in creating the song, laying down a couple bass riffs and drum patterns.
23/03/2022
- Completed most of my research into DSPs.
25/03/2022
- Uploaded a bass exercise video and explained why it helps me.
Moving into the second week I feel that I dropped the ball somewhat. I didn’t manage to keep up with my reflections/evaluations and I didn’t document everything as well as I could’ve, leading me to now catch up on old work which reduces the time I have available to make further progress. To combat this, I think I may have to give myself set times to work when I’m at home, as well as ensuring I allocate enough time at the end of sessions to document my progress and write down any reflections I have.
On a more positive note, I found the research into artist-friendly DSPs fascinating and that produced good work, even if I was a little side tracked looking at the numbers a bit too often. I put together the foundations of what I believe will become my track; the drums are simple but effective, the bass riffs have a solid groove to them, and I have ideas for further expansion of the track which I am yet to commit to recording. I still need to do much, much more to document this however as, so far, I have nothing on my DS.
Week Three
29/03/2022
- Caught up on last week’s reflections and evaluation.
- Uploaded and evaluated graphics ideas and references.
30/03/2022
- Reworked the bassline for the second half of my song.
01/04/2022
- Worked on my projections, creating several videos with different ideas.
- Looked at a potential guitar riff for the first section.
Musically, a bit of a slow week, only managing to make progress on two aspects of the track, however slow progress trumps no progress! I am a little disappointed in the lack of headway being made when I consider how much I aimed to do (especially with one week before the half-term break), next week I will have to spend much more time thinking creatively and making the most of my time with the equipment within college. I will then use the break to complete a lot of my written work, as this is something I have fallen far behind on, particularly in documenting the creative process.
The highlight for this week was certainly graphics as I had a very productive session with Paul. In this session we focused on projections as I still haven’t had the chance to shoot my single cover. With my ideas and his technical knowhow we worked well together and managed to pump out several really promising ideas which we will explore further and hopefully use in my performance. I also figured out a guitar riff which I’ve had in my head for a while but wasn’t quite able to realise; this was a relief for me.
Week Four
05/04/2022
- Caught up on the reflections/evaluations of the past week.
- Worked further on the compositional aspect of my song.
06/04/2022
- Wrote lyrics for the song.
08/04/2022
- Made progress with the projection ideas.
- Completed instrumental demo of my track.
Evaluations
At this halfway stage, I am content with where I am at. I have made good progress and I believe I am heading in the direction of a positive conclusion and a successful end product, however I am keenly aware that I am far off the pace when it comes to written work. This is an area that needs improvement and, as we get closer to the performance, I will pick up the pace and find more time to document past work.
This past week, though, I had a few things I aimed to achieve and I managed to achieve some of those things. I am pleased that I completed the instrumental demo of my song; I will still tinker with exact settings and filters and MIDI instruments but the core of the music is down and I have given myself a foundation to rehearse from during the Easter break. I can now practice each individual part to ensure I am as confident as I can be in the leadup to the performance.
What hasn’t worked out thus far is the photoshoot for my album art. I talked more in depth about this on the “Single Cover Art” page but that is the major material component that has lacked from my project so far, I am receiving updates from Paul as he can liaise with the technician but, as I haven’t had access to said technician, the photoshoot has been put on hold. As mentioned every week, seemingly, I am behind on my written work – I will be using the time off to catch up on this to allow myself room to breathe when I return and head into the final stretch of the project.
Easter Half-Term
- Caught up on Week Four’s reflections and evaluations.
- Updated “Single Cover Art” page.
- Completed DSP research.
- Reflected on and evaluated projection ideas.
- Rehearsed individual parts in sequence.
As I had plenty of time free I decided to catch up on plenty of work! I made a good level of progress and I am reasonably happy with how this break turned out, especially when I review the actual work that I completed. The quality of the work is at a good standard in my eyes, and it felt really good to put some of that long, forgotten work behind me.
What did disappoint me however was how I prioritised things – I ended up putting certain things off. I had a couple large tasks and a few smaller tasks and it was those larger tasks which appeared daunting to me and so I found myself prioritising the smaller tasks as I am someone who appreciates that sense of completion and I looked for it as soon as I could to give myself more motivation to tackle those larger tasks. This isn’t quite the way it worked out as I did just put off the big tasks. I understand that this isn’t an efficient way to progress or motivate myself so, after looking back, I recognise I must change that and I do hope that I will.
Whilst I did manage to get some rehearsals down, I would say that I didn’t do enough nor did I rehearse at a high enough quality, although this isn’t something that is playing on my mind too much; I still have plenty of rehearsal time and if I’m at home I’m unable to use Ableton and the various pieces of equipment required for my performance. This is something that will change as I have more time to practice with the necessary equipment within college.
Week Five
26/04/2022
- Reflected on the project so far, creating a list of missed things to be completed.
- Began work on these points.
- Caught up with parts of my “Lyrics” page.
27/04/2022
- Brought my “Lyrics” page up to date.
29/04/2022
- Continued work on projections with Paul.
- Began catch up on work on my “Composition” page.
In terms of progression this was a slow week. I shifted my focus towards past work that I missed out on previously and caught up with some of it. This was because I wasn’t as good as I thought I was at staying up to date with things, I had been juggling a lot and lost track of everything I had completed already, forgetting to upload certain things. I also didn’t complete as much work as I hoped to, which is a let down. In future, I should take more time at home to ease the pressure on myself to work in college, as well as giving myself set targets to ensure I am on task and I understand what I need to do.
On a more positive note, I am happy to have brought some things back and get them on my DS, this will help me aim for a higher grade and eases some pressure on myself. I know I’m making steady progress and, if I keep up at this rate, I should be all caught up in good time, allowing me to focus on the rehearsals and preparation for the realisation of my project. I also think the work is of good quality.
Week Six
03/05/2022
- Completed Week Five’s evaluations.
- Began formal rehearsals with all equipment.
04/05/2022
- Completed further work on lyrics.
06/05/2022
- Finalised projection graphics for my performance.
- Rehearsed further.
Possibly one of the most productive weeks I’ve had thus far; I completed writing the lyrics for my song, came to a decision regarding the release, sorted out the projections, and began formal rehearsals for my performance. I am certainly pleased with this and I look forward to carrying on this momentum as we head into the final stretch.
I still need to do further work at home when it comes to updating pages and catching up on old work to ensure I am not rushing myself at the very end, scrambling for evidence from two months ago. In regards to rehearsals, I will also try and use a more private room to let myself work away from distractions and to practice the vocal side of my performance.
Week Seven
10/05/2022
- Set up equipment solo for the first time.
- Rehearsed heavily.
11/05/2022
- Rehearsed much more.
- Wrote up “External Collaboration” page.
13/05/2022
- Resolved a minor issue with the projection video.
- Rehearsed plenty.
This week consisted of a good level of rehearsing, and not a great deal of anything else. While it is certainly a positive thing that I practiced so heavily, especially with the performance so soon, it is unfortunate that I didn’t manage to achieve much else. I focused so much on rehearsing that I left myself with little time for the written work, and that is a trend that will continue until after the performance. Once the performance is history, I can then focus on the written work with much less distraction.
With regards to the performance, I believe I am getting to grips with the technology I’m using and the sections that I’ll be playing into Ableton. I am happy with this as I find the rehearsals to be very successful thus far, not necessarily in terms of how good the performances are, but because I am learning all the time. I am still nowhere near a level that I am content with which is a worry, the showcase is next week so I am having some anxiety over that, but I am hopeful that consistent practice should yield good results for me.
Week Eight
16/05/2022
- Set up at venue, and completed two mock performances.
17/05/2022
- Completed last week’s evaluation.
- Attempted to rehearse.
18/05/2022
- Completed final rehearsal.
- Performed at final showcase.
20/05/2022
- Began final evaluations and catch up work.
A very, very stressful week – one I am grateful to see the other side of. I was pleased to get the mock rehearsals in the bag as they gave me plenty to think about in preparation of the actual show, and it is always beneficial to gain experience within the venue. I performed to a decent standard with a lot of pressure on top of me, which is positive. I also became more comfortable in setting up the station I’ll find myself at for the show, with the extensive amount of equipment I use.
On Tuesday I had a bit of a nightmare when trying to rehearse, and I have covered this on my “Rehearsal Log” page but to summarise, my problem-solving was nearly absent and I am disappointed to have lost out on crucial rehearsal time only the day before the final showcase.
I am also disappointed in how the showcase turned out. Again, complete thoughts are on a separate page but it is a tale of two stories. On one hand, I think I did well to persevere despite the technical difficulties, whilst also giving an assured performance. On the other hand, the technical difficulties took away a crucial part of the performance which rattled me, and I am terribly disappointed that my project didn’t fulfil its potential like I had hoped. Plenty to learn from in case I try something similar in the future.
Week Nine
23/05/2022
- Made progress on “Composition” page.
- Identified areas I need to improve/expand on, and tasks that need completing.
24/05/2022
- Wrote notes to prepare for my final evaluation video.
- Completed most referencing.
25/05/2022
- Added “Summary” page to the “Graphics” tab.
26/05/2022
- Recorded and uploaded videos for “Showcase Evaluation” and “Final Evaluation”.
- Made progress in the “Rehearsal Log” and “Composition” pages.
27/05/2022
- Completed “Composition”, “Context”, “Rehearsal Log”, and “Album Research” pages.
As we entered the final week of the project, I wasn’t very confident that I’d be able to complete my work in time so I asked Nic for an extension. Thankfully, this wasn’t necessary! I managed to get my head down and really push through the written work, which has been tough for me this year, for this reason I am proud of what I achieved here. I believe the work was a little rushed at times but still remains good quality.
I am less than impressed, however, with the way I left myself with such a huge quantity of tasks to complete at the end. I need to be attacking the written work early so I give myself time in the later stages to focus on the realisation of my project and allow myself the chance to look over my work for mistakes.