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Project idea/pitch

I have spent the past month working on my tech project  where I am creating a song alongside Josephine Smith. With our project, we aim to explore digital music and song writing in education. Using vocal synthesis and a DAW, we wanted to investigate how we as teachers can offer opportunities in a way that is easily accessible to students and how we can engage students to be very confident in being as creative as they’d like.

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For our project, we will be each learning a software and using these FREE softwares to create a song 

 

SynthV (vocal) and Studio One 5 Prime (instrumental)

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Josephine will be in charge of the vocals and I will be in charge of the instrumentals

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Our song will be a sort of representation of what students can achieve with this opportunity. It allows for students to be creative. When looking into what the unit outline would be, students do not have to compose a full song, of course it depends on how much time we would spend on it in class.

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The song is inspired by the myth of Icarus. With our story our protagonist tries to fly but fails, someone comes and helps/supports them then succeeds. But basically the story mirrors how some students in the classroom are uncomfortable performing, singing in front of others, or insecure with their abilities. However with the help of these softwares and teacher guidance, students can be as creative as they’d like.

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On this page, I will write down the process of creating my project!

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Also! Please have a look at Josephine's blog! She goes into depth about vocal synthesis as well as her progress using the software SynthV and the compositional processes towards songwriting. 

Here's the link to her blog! 

 

https://josmithedu.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/synth-v-my-journey/

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Studio One 5 Prime

Studio one 5 prime is a great DAW that allows you to notate, record, master and edit your ideas. When I first began to use this software, I was so amazed – there was a lot of built in features that can be used as well as a very large range of instruments and effects. This is great for students as it allows them to be extremely creative in the sounds they produce. Pretty cool stuff. 

 

Further, the software would be a great introduction to real world music production as students can be in charge of all the composition making processes!! However, learning how to use the software was confusing at first because of how many features are offered, so I think in order to properly use the software it is vital the user has studied and experimented using the software. Fortunately, the makers of the software offer a lot of great and in-depth tutorials on how to use Studio one 5 Prime which were life savers!!! These tutorials are a must for new users as they definitely taught me most of what I know

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Here is the link to this software's website if you are interested :)

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https://www.presonus.com/products/Studio-One

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Progress Blog

As I am in charge of the instrumentals, I based my compositional processes on the melodies that Josephine (my partner who is in charge of the vocal elements, lyrics and melody). We worked through the lyrics, melody and chord progression writing section by section.

 

Looking at the melody, I sat by the piano and experimented with what chord progressions to use. This was an extremely effective approach towards the compositional elements - by working with something that I specialise in, the compositional process was a whole lot easier and quicker. It also allowed for a better ending result because I can actually hear the chords live. Once I was sure of the chords to use, I would then transfer the chord progression to the song file in Studio One 5 Prime. I basically approached writing chord progressions this way for the whole song.

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Once I came up with ideas, I always share them with my partner so that we both know and agree on the compositional choices made. As Josephine majors in composition, I value her opinion a lot because to be completely honest, I had no idea what I was doing most of the time. Her feedback was extremely helpful, thanks Josephine!!! 

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As we worked collaboratively, it was fundamental that we constantly updated each other with new material we have created. How did we do this? Through sending files (midi, pdf, mp3, screenshots, musical inspiration) to each other through social media in particular Discord. This was a lifesaver tool for us as it made the communication through out the whole song making process more efficient. 

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In week 4, we learnt how to export and import MIDI files from one to another DAW. As we shared ideas using Sibelius files, I exported these files as MIDI files then imported them into Studio One 5 Prime. This was very good as it saved us a lot of time.

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As explained in the week 13 blog post, I started experimenting with chord progressions for the first 12 bars. The next section we focused on was from bars 13-25. Again, I approached the chord progressions the same as before, I experimented on the piano and then transferred them onto the software. There were a few chords that I was a bit unsure about as they sounded a bit choppy. However, I was happy overall with what I came up with.

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Another thing I had to start to think about are the sounds to use. I have chosen a drum kit, different synths and a guitar. However, when experimenting with the guitar sound, it sounds too country, thus I experimented with new synth sounds. I wanted to only use synths for very unique sounding ideas scarcely throughout the song, however having used synths as the main accompaniment to the vocals, it suits the mood of the song so much better than what I expected.

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I struggled creating drum patterns as I have never touched a drum set before. So, I explored all the percussive instruments the software offered (there was so much) and experimented with how to create a beat by trying to replicate patterns that I often recognise when listening to music. After that, I tried to build a beat from the most basic structure (the bass drum), then added embellishments (like a high-hat syncopated patterns, toms, snare drum, cymbals) till I created a unique pattern. I was really happy with what I created for in the chorus.​​

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An issue that came up was audio clipping. This was as a result of making the bass guitar too loud. We wanted a more prominent  bass but not too harsh, so I raised the bass eq and increased its volume. The issue was solved by lowering the eq and volume, and used another instrumental track that sounded more prominent. Audio clipping should be discussed in the classroom when teaching about audio and sound rates in the volume of sounds.

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To create contrast in the song, we introduced an orchestral section. Strings, flute, french horn, tuba and trumpet were used to create this section. Then, vocal harmonies are played on top of the orchestra. The harmonies are based on the prechorus. The sounds are a nice break from the constant fast and forward motion of the other parts of the song. Within the orchestral section, we included encouraging messages by people who inspired us. We went around and messaged a lot of people asking for them to record a short audio clip of encouraging words  like "you can do it" as this fits really well with the story. I really like how James Humberstone's (my teacher)  message stands out because of his microphone. I also like the ordering - three people said “you can do it” so putting them back to back was nice to emphasise the message. I intentionally ended this section with James Humberstone's“be brave.” This has a direct connection to our story and by adding strong reverb, it lingers in the air for a bit. Thanks to everyone who took part in our project! We really appreciate your help! :)

 

Returning back to the final chorus from this orchestral section was a challenge because it had to sound natural and well connected. Josephine suggested to have a bass lick, so I tried to make one that was influenced by already existing material - the walking line motifs hidden throughout the accompaniment.

 

The final ending bars were also a challenge because I did not know what to do with the accompanying harmonies – I knew the ending was going to decrease in texture, dynamics and energy  so I started by getting rid of notes per chord. Finally, another issue was that the countermelody ended rather abruptly, so I extended the countermelody into supporting harmonies that will blend with the rest of the instrumental.

 

Lastly, the intro… I took influence of pre-existing material later in the song. The break in-between the first chorus and second verse. The material is based from the original chord progressions of the first few bars (the chord progressions I created in week 13). I also used the original rhythm :D I thought using this would be nice because it creates an exciting introduction rather than going straight into the "Failure" first verse. Further, it is characteristic of Vocaloid music to include their countermelody in the introduction. Hence, I put the first half of the countermelody in the introduction too.

 

 

So, we finally finished  all the parts. One last thing to be aware of, the balance between tracks. As mentioned before, we wanted the bass to be more prominent. Another part that we had to be very articulate about balance was the orchestral part - we needed to have all the harmonic parts to be quieter than the messages, but still heard. The messages had to be clear. In general, we made sure that the instrumental tracks were well balanced - the higher and lower sounds were all equal and in a way that did not overpower the vocal.

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Making a song was so challenging and time consuming, but the end result is so worth it. I had so much fun learning about composing. I am very thankful for Josephine's help and advice throughout the whole project making!

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Cover art and Music video!

As discussed in my week 11 post, we thought through different ways of having a visual element in our presentation as a way to engage our listeners even more. The idea of having a music video and cover art came about. At the time I was concerned that we would not have enough time to do it. Lol, I was wrong! We have a cover art and a music video all created by Josephine Smith, my talented partner! Yeee

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She created three different arts, each depicting the three different stages in our protagonist’s journey. The protagonist is inspired by SOLARIA, the vocal bank used in our project.

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The first piece is of the protagonist in their earliest stages - Self conscious, defeated and does not believe in themselves

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solaria3.png

The second piece shows an "angel" who has come to help the protagonist believe in theirself

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The third and last piece is of the protagonist finally able to believe in their abilities. They have developed wings that allow them to fly and be creative

solaria.png

These three pieces allude to the opportunities that the software we used in our project could give to our students - A lot of students do not feel comfortable singing, creating or expressing themselves due to self consciousness. Yet, the innovative softwares (SynthV and Studio One 5 Prime) has come to help such students to believe in themselves and create what every they wish

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Secondly, there was a discussion of having a music video. Josephine created a music video using these three pieces and in relation to the lyrics, they changed with the progression in the story

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Here are the music videos for our song titled "Wax and Feathers"! We created two versions - the first one uses the paid version of Synth V (the vocal synthesis software used for the vocals) and the second (lite version) is the free version. So, there is a difference in the quality of the voice.

Paid version of our song
 

Free (lite) version of our song
 

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