Dust Over Water

Today I performed, for my class, a song of mine called Dust Over Water. It wasn't my best performance, but still a powerful one for me. It's a song in memory of my Grandmother who passed away last summer and my mother who passed away when I was 5. Dust over water refers to the spreading of ashes over the ocean. Before I started playing, the class was rowdy and cheering on my performance to be. I hate, but love at the same time, being pressured into performing. I told the class the meaning behind the song and performed it. I was struggling to get through the song. I don't know why, maybe it was an off day, however, I finished it and opened my eyes to the class, which was dead silent and just staring at me. I didn't know what that meant. There wasn't a sudden rush to applause or a "wow" from the audience. Instead, just medium faces staring at me or down into their palms. I'm going to interpret this experience as a good one and assume my classmates were in a state of musical trance, which caused them to immediately reflect to themselves at the sound of silence when the song finished. It reminded me of when I did spread those ashes many years ago. Everyone silent, patient and breathing in their calmest state.

Preparing For a Very Near End

My presentation is in exactly two weeks! I had a mentor meeting today and I discussed thoroughly with Mr. Mellander about my presentation. It was good to get more of his insight given his past experiences with WISE students.  He told me the most important thing to keep in mind for my presentation was reflecting on my self exploration through this project. As I continue to form a more specific and detailed outline of my presentation, I'll reflect more on this...

So, my materials are due next week since they must be submitted a week in advance to my presentation. YIKES! This week I really need to buckle down on my journaling and try to pump out a lot of meaningful and useful entries. On a similar note, my field day performance is also coming up and I found out that the bass player (my brother) will be out of town from now until June 8th, which is 4 days before field day. This means rehearsing for this gig is going to be rushed, but without a doubt, still lots of fun.

Boom, Recording Drums

For the past few days, I've been messing around in my home studio with microphones and Ableton and figuring out how to record drums for my tracks. It turned out to be successful and I've decided to record all drums myself instead of hiring someone. Although I am not an incredibly skilled drummer, I can still get by with basic pop beats and comping. I posted a snippet of my song She's Gone Away on sound cloud and the drums on that are all me and only using two microphones!

Here is a picture of my makeshift mic placement for the kick drum. That's a Shure SM56 mic, which is primarily used as a vocal mic. I recorded snare and hi-hat with a Shure SM57 mic, which is standard for snare and hi-hat, but not both at the same time! However, the result sound wasn't that bad.

Excuse the silly shirt! It was comfortable in the heat during that day!

Final Presentation Ideas

It's been a while since my last entry…I've been thinking about what my final presentation will look like and exactly what it is that I want to present. It has become clear to me through fellow students' ideas that I need to perform at least one of my songs live. I think I need to explain the inspiration of my songs and their tie to our WISE curriculum. Here's a list of possible ideas to include in my presentation:

-play pieces of at least two of my songs and explain their meaning through the 'Journey' unit (10 min)
-explain how I adapted to working with another great artist, recorded, and learned how to use Ableton
-explain the difficulty and nature of writing music to fit modern pop sounds
-discuss the difficulty of overcoming obstacles such as money, time commitments, scheduling and creativity

IC Journal Reviewing

Your journal = the LONE document for showing your learning & doing over time.   

• Can a reader “see” your 8hrs/wk?  
• What do you document well?  
• In what areas do you need improved communication in your journal?

I don't think I really map out my 8 hours per week well enough. I say what I've done and what I plan to do, but I never really give exact times and such. I document in class journals well and also reflect on my music well. I also give updates on the recording sessions and complain about expenses that come with that. I think I can improve showing the progression of my work throughout each week, which would improve with more consistent journaling and explaining each of the 8 hours or more that I've done.

Out of da Rut

A list reflecting on my journal so far...

Things I hate in relation to my project:

-Money, much more than I originally anticipated spending

-The fact that I can only work when my creative impulses are present, pushing songs when it doesn't feel natural gets tiring and frustrating 

-Journaling, although I recognize the value of it, it's still a pain inthe butt to get it done 3 times a week

-Working around other peoples' schedules. My project is dependent on a couple people who I have to constantly be scheduling with to meet and record

Things I've learned about myself in working on my project:

-I like working alone and at my own pace

-I 

Home Studio

  

This week my parents bought me a laptop and I downloaded Ableton on it. This is a picture of my home set up where I'll be working by myself to better understand Ableton and hopefully record various tracks for my album. 

IC: Happiness Revisited

Responses to questions regarding a reading we had in class titled Happiness Revisited by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

1. When do you feel most happy?

I feel happiest when I'm alone or with someone I can easily talk and relate to. Being social is fun, but being calm and alone is what makes me comfortable and in a state of happiness. 

2. Reaction/Response to article?

Like the Beatles said, "Money can't buy you love" I agree with the the authors idea that happiness is not an object or fortune, but something built in our core waiting for us to understand and develop. 

He says, "People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy." 

I react to this in thinking of the passing of my mom, a loss I've been able to control within me and accept. This memory has led me to understand sadness, which in turn, I think, allowed me to know when I wasn't feeling sad and recognize when I smile and feel happy. 

3. I think I fall around A1 on the flow chart, but over the course of my project I've moved closer to A4 where I've become more anxious to get things done and not fall behind while devoping more skill sets and facing bigger challenges.

4. How can you achieve flow?

I think achieving flow happens when I realize that I'm not in the  'flow' and from there, changing my mind set to see things from afar and reflect on my progress. Deep breathes...