Recording Session #4

Yesterday I recorded more guitar tracks on songs Conman and Train Away. I also recorded hand percussion and bass on those tunes. It became clear during this session that my album would not be done by June 1st. Between Jp's an my schedule, we will probably have all the tracks recorded for all the songs, but the final mix will not be ready. Despite my original wishes to have it finished before the school year ended, I am ok with it not being complete because I have already learned so much about Ableton, writing pop music, recording music and without a doubt, the value of the dollar!

I've updated my sound cloud with some of the recordings from this past session. Checkem' out!

This Week's Review

As this week concludes, I am writing to reflect on my proposed agenda:

-buy Ableton (completed)
-complete the 24 journals requirement that was due this week (eh, still getting there)
-update bibliography (completed)
-set up performance dates (completed)
-record bass (postponed to next week due to bass player's schedule)


I am about to go to my next recording session and there I think I'll complete percussion, guitar and hopefully some vocals. I'm happy with the progress I've made this week. I think I've become more excited about journaling and its importance. I also got out of Red Flag class, which I'm going to miss :( , but this also means I have more time to work on my project outside of school.


For hands-on work, I've been practicing guitar and coming up with riffs to record on my songs. Tomorrow I have to bring something from my project for sharing.  I'm going to bring my guitar and perform a song...don't know which yet! Probably my song called Dust Over Water, a song I wrote in memory of my Grandmother who passed away last summer.


I'll be posting later to talk about my recording session...see yah!

Field Day Concert?

Today I had my mentor meeting with Mr. Mellander. I was discussing with him the fact that I've been choosing dates to have my album release concert at the Carriage House. I told him I was looking into Friday, June 12th and we realized that was the last day of classes for IHS, the day of Field Day. Then the idea came up that I have my album release concert at Field Day! This could either be on a field or in the Activities building. It would be a free and great way to attract a crowd and provide entertainment. I'd rather do this than spend $400 dollars renting out a space, plus it would be an awesome way to promote WISE in front of all the students. It would be a mixed audience of teachers and students, which would also be super dooper! I'll post updates on the planning process of this...

Meanwhile, downloading Ableton will have to wait till next week because my computer at my house conveniently isn't working/is broken in several different ways. Next week, I believe Cornell is having a Mac sale and my family and I will most likely go purchase a new computer and I will start my home studio experience.

Still catching up with journals...stay tuned.

Comfort Zone

Today was all about recognizing our comfort zone and getting out of it! We listened to an NPR interview with Brian Grazerdo, an accomplished producer and film maker. However, despite the fact that he has everything need met, he still lacks a certain excitement that allows him to grow as a person. Grazerdo pushes himself to do things out of his comfort zone as a means to feel alive. A quote from his essay, "If you're not growing, you're dying."

This makes a lot of sense to me. I believe in the idea that while life is in our hands, why not take advantage of it?! I want to continue growing and I think my music reflects this in a way.

Speaking of music, Ms. Lord shared my song Yesterday with the class today. I certainly felt uncomfortable. I don't know why. I love sharing my music with people, but usually when I do it is through email or dropbox. Actually having an audience to listen with was a little weird because everyone including me was listening to me. I wasn't performing, I was listening to me performing...which was weird! Afterwards, however, my classmates were supportive and I awkwardly said "thank you" and "it's fun to do!" I even got emotional comments that provoked tears. This made me most happy. The most powerful music is music that makes you cry because tears and a feeling of sadness of whatever it is that makes you cry is so often covered up by our 'default joy' as I call it. In other words, tears are evoked by a much powerful feeling than our everyday character. So when someone cries in response to my songs, it means a lot.

This weeks agenda/goals:

-buy Ableton
-complete the 24 journals requirement that was due this week
-update bibliography
-set up performance dates
-record bass

Catching Up

It has been a while since my last entry. This week I'll be posting entries from the past two weeks. However, this post will be in relation to last week's class and reflecting on our 'project practicing' and motivation. The practicing for my project includes writing music, learning how to use Ableton and journaling. The area where I need to 'practice' more is in journaling. In relation, the area I need to put more motivation into is also my journal. In class, we read a New York Times article called Need Motivation? Declare a Deadline, by Phyllis Korkki. It was suggested in the article to motivate yourself to meet deadlines by posting a deadline on a social media site like Facebook or Twitter. That way everyone knows what you're up to and will be expecting something from you by that deadline. I have neither of those social websites so I'll be posting a weekly agenda/goal to motivate myself to blog and meet deadlines. I'll be posting again later tonight with this agenda.

RF #4

I've been slow this week. I'm in a stage where the majority of the time I spend on my project is recording in the studio. These hours are spent during the weekend, but my recording engineer is currently out of town on family business. However, I have a mentor meeting tomorrow and since the beginning of the week I've been working on orchestrations for my songs meaning writing horn lines, organ riffs, bass lines. Research-wise, I'm working on finding possible venues for an album release concert.
a. I'll have time this weekend to finish my funding proposal.
b. I'll have time to work on the interim narrative this weekend as well and also next week.
c. I'll discuss the self-rating in my mentor meeting next week.

IC Journal: Gleaning From the Past

Música Del Corazón (Music of the Heart) Project Material by Cam Suave My teacher, Ms. Lord, lent me a past student's (Cam Suave) project to look at and learn from. His project was to record a rap album with a friend of all original material.

Here is what I thought of his project:

 What they did well:
-thorough and timely journaling
-a clear transformation in learning and musical ideas throughout project
-organized and completed weekly plans
 
What I'll borrow from this project:
-Reaching out to Mr. Fe Nunn for feedback and any help he offers towards my project