EVALUATION & REFLECTION
Logs:
Week 0; proposal week - 16/03/20
I used this week to assess some material i've been coming up with for this project and also did my proposal which is on the Planning page of this website
COMPOSITION#1
~Adventure Theme (with conflict)~
For the beginning of my heroic theme i used my research in the romantic style of music to help me write something that progresses and is very light to start with. It then progresses to become more bold and has an all major ascending chord pattern. The melody on top usines strong 5th invertals to i've a heroic and uplifting feel. It is inspired my mario galaxy with its rhythm and sections of tension or battle. these sections are often minor with sight key changes and moving in semitones with clashing notes such as using the 1st and 2nd of a chord together (instead of the usual 1 and 3).
Week 1 - 23/03/20
I stuck to my week 1 plan; I have completed my SWOT analysis, SMART target and beginning skills audit and uploaded them all up on to my website aswell as well as the general list of research that I planned to do. I also played around with different rhythms and sounds for the chords I put together in my hero/ adventure theme. I will be gathering the audio I recorded from thursday and cutting it up into sections, trying to show examples of each bit of progress and experimentation.
Week 2- 30/03/20
I stuck to my week 2 plan; I have updated my proposal and cited sources using the proper harvard format, done some of my critical listening tasks and have uploaded them onto my website and embedded the music clips. I thought about analysing the parts that I would like to use for inspiration as well as thinking about what is it, musically, that makes them a theme of adventure, exploration and heroism.
It’s the midpoint of the project: I've messed up some of the weekly plans because I got the dates for the Easter holidays mixed up with week 3 and 4 so some of the content doesn’t exactly apply. So far in the project I've been alright, sticking to plans quite strictly and writing small logs to keep track of my progress but as of week 4, my motivation has dropped significantly. It has come to my attention that it is no longer mandatory to stick with weekly updates which I am glad about as I am struggling to come up with definitive tasks for each day of next week. Working with limited resources has meant my project plan has been modified as I no longer have access to equipment, I was planning on using for the electronic composition (specifically Logic Pro X on college PC’s). To at least have something in its place, I will be using the trail run composition I did with the limited app and soundboard but probably converted just into another piano solo. I have tried searching for another program to use instead of Logic, but the free ones are very restricting, and I don’t have a midi keyboard to make it easier to use.
COMPOSITION#2
~=~
The composition is shorter than the other two. It begins with Ascending and descending triplets at the same time that clash in the middle with their 3rd mote and the pattern progressively becomes stranger and more disjunct. I slowly branch out the notes so the intervals increase and that leads into a second section where i use two notes next to each other on the piano together (much like the psycho theme) which then switches to an ascending and descending chromatic scale using all those notes together. This particular section is inspired by a Dragon Quest dungeon theme.
COMPOSITION#3
~Composing to an image ~
I used this picture as a guide for my composition. I studied the atmosphere and overall tone to decide the feel i would want for the piece to represent it. In the beginning i use spaced out and awkward 7th and 6th intervals which sets the tone for the atmosphere, its lack of other notes makes the clash somewhat pleasant and calm but still suggesting that something might happen. Looking at the photo again, i thought of the girl, continual and fast paced rhythmic footsteps of her running. she's not looking straight or wearing running attire suggesting this is not just midnight exercise but that there's someone/ something after her. A chase. I used a theme which was steady like the footsteps.; that when played it feels like its reaching out with the note intervals getting bigger, then coming back and repeating to try and mimic the feeling of something being just out of reach and ongoing. I added a second theme which is just the F minor scale descending and ascending along with the same rhythm on top. I use this theme underneath as it flows between the mid section of the piano. This theme then harmoises with another version of itself that come closer and further away from each other on the keys, representing with physical distance, how close or far away this "thing" chasing the girl is. There is a gradual increase in tempo as it crescendos into a horrible crash of notes, using dissonance to theme horror. everything is quiet and the same drone as in the beginning appears , no footsteps, no more chase, just an implied death.
iAs i had to change around my project to better fit the resources i had, i used a free composition app to try and trail what i would have done with Logic. it uses basic and unrealistic sounding sample instruments and has a fixed rhythm (the program snaps to strict note values) but should give an overall idea of what sort of thing i could have done. I used a lot of different instruments. i adapted the theme so that it could be realistically played with a woodwind instrument and used a synth for the static bass notes to maintain some form of realism . I tried to use my orchestral research to make something that could be pushed further with the right tools.
Note: The piece uses the same themes from composition 3 but has a different feel as he instrumentation is one for a more bold movie musical.
Here is that practice draft:
eValuations
To sum up the project: it started very well, i kept up with weekly logs and plans and put in lots of extra time and effort into my presentation. I would rarely sit back and have a brak and even almost worked the entirety of the easter holidays. I didn't pace myself and the work so i experienced burnout and a decline in motivation. I kept up with my recordings of sections and trying to show progression throughout my work but i was unable to upload all 23 audio files for evidence and had complications with other methods of sharing files. Overall i think my skills have declined and despite having all this time to practice i don't think i got any better with my instrument. I believe if the circumstances were different, if i was in the usual college environment, where i can easily get feedback from my peers or lecturers and have conversations regarding my work, then this project would have turned out much different. Also if i am to do this again, next time i would work on pacing myself with even amounts of work (little but often) to avoid the strain, early burn out, confidence drop and last minute panic.