For my level 3 initial assessment I have chose to make a electronic composition at home using Ableton Live 11 lite.
Evaluation –
For my initial assessment for level 3 I thought I would make a beat because I really want to focus more on producing this year, so I made a beat. There are two versions, one with drums and one without them. I did this because while writing this song I used a drum sample that was in a preset pack within Ableton live 11 lite. I had this drum sample on the song before anything and I now find it a bit obnoxious. i prefer this song without the drums.
I originally wrote this song on a guitar using 4 chords, the chords i used were:
C / G / Am / Fmaj7
I then used a capo to transpose the chord progression up half a semi-tone to put it into a different key:
Db / Ab / Bb / GbMaj7
This makes it sound more lively and brighter, which is kind of the direction I wanted this song to go.
For me, this piece of music I created was successful because I experimented with new instruments on Ableton and made a more rhythmic piece of music that I had ever written. Another reason it was successful was because all the notes I used were all sharps of other notes, the chords, the bass-line and the melody were all made up of sharp notes. I also sampled a drum track on which i regulated the pitch up half a semitone to make it into a sharp.
This track also had some flaws that kinda tainted the song a little, for example the drum beat did not compliment the track and after a while it got pretty obnoxious to listen to and that’s why there is a version of that song without drums. Another unsuccessful part of that song is that the bass and brass are above everything else and makes the other instruments hard to hear and sound a little out of the picture.
I can improve this track by mixing and mastering it properly to place the instruments in the right areas and make it sound more lively and random instead of blocked up and layered on top of each-other. Another way I can improve this song is by creating a new drum track that compliments the rest of the instruments and makes the song bearable to listen to and wont get annoying over time, and also ages well with time so it always sounds original and not very similar to most songs made around this time.
At some point in the near future I would like to make this song into an acoustic song with a few fellow band mates because I am not currently satisfied with the electronic composition I have created for my initial assessment. I have conferred with a fellow drummer that could help me come up with a relaxed drum line for this song.
SMART Targets:
Target 1 – practical skill – writing melodies on guitar.
Specific; – I wish to improve my skills on writing melodies on guitar over chord progressions using scales and patterns on the fretboard.
Measurable; – I will know i have improved on this particular skill when my melodies start sounding harmonic with the chords, so that they complement each other. And i can also ask my peers to have a listen and give me some feedback and constructive criticism.
Achievable; – This skill is within my musical competency as a musician so it will be achievable after I put in time and effort.
Relevant; – This is an important skill to me that I hope I can achieve because it will help me make a better producer.
Time-based; – I want to achieve this target by the start of the final project (project 5) because i want to utilise this skill in the project to make excellent pieces of music to submit as my final project.
Target 2 – written work skills – Evaluation skills.
Specific; – I need to work on my self reflection skills. More specifically on critiquing myself more and evaluating on what I’ve done wrong even in situations where it sounded like no mistakes were made.
Measurable; – I will know I am achieving this target when i see that I’m coming up with more reflective ideas and doing it in more detail on my digital space page.
Achievable; – This is achievable because it doesn’t require much skill to criticise myself on my work evaluations to show my progress and development.
Relevant; – This is relevant because I need to develop this skill more because i get marked for it.
Time-based; – I would like to have achieved this target my the end of project 4 so that in my final project i can get a higher grade for my evaluation skills.
Target 3, practical skills – chords.
Specific; – learning extended chords that i can use to differentiate the sound of my songwriting.
Measurable; – This skill is measurable by me and others around me that will hear the change of tone and how rich it sounds.
Achievable; – This is achievable because I have improved on open, barre and power chords and I strongly believe that I can achieve my target on learning more extended chords.
Relevant; – This is relevant to me because i want to constantly improve on my guitar skills and evolve as a musician and this skill is a valuable asset to have for my future.
Time-based; – I would like to achieve this target before our final project because i would like to incorporate these skills and chords in my songwriting skills to make a better musical composition for my final grade.