Week Five: Progress... kind of3/21/2021 This week I had some extra time on my hands so I took advantage of it. I started recording guitar parts for a couple different sounds and putting them together. This is ALWAYS my first step before I start singing over them and adding the other details. I haven't put any vocals on any of the tracks, but I did end up getting a couple of instrumental bits and pieces ready! I feel a lot better about my progress, but It's still not quite where I should be right now. Song TitlesI've formulated a list of song names based off the songs I have fully written and half-produced.
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Week Four: I have no time3/14/2021 The only thing I have learned during this project is that making music during quarantine and making music during school are two very different things. I have NO time. I'm at a point where I'm not sure if I'll be able to get anything done for this project and it's making me go a little crazy. I have songs in progress, but that's about it. The Main IssuesSome of the main problems I've been running into are...
I know I'll find some way to produce something good out of this project. I'll do anything I physically can in order to produce something at the end of the day. However, I'm scared I won't be proud of it. If I'm not proud of it, I'll continue working on it after the 12 weeks come to a close. It's disappointing because I really want it to be my best work, but with everything I have going on in my school and personal life, it's just not probable.
The process of writing lyrics is one of my favorite things. Lyrics have always came naturally to me, so when I put them altogether and get into a flow, it's the best feeling ever. I ended up spending this week pouring my heart into writing lyrics. I ended up getting three good drafts of songs which I will be spending the next couple weeks producing and polishing. It was really nice to focus on something other than my original one song per week goal and instead make it where I was genuinely enjoying the process. Hopefully, that feeling sticks. Songwriting ProgressThe first song I worked really hard on today, was something I came up with on a whim. I was just messing around with chords, and got into a groove, so I ended up recording myself improvising some lyrics. I ended up writing a lot about my mental state over the past few months, which has definitely been a rollercoaster through Covid-19. I haven't named it, but I'm really proud of it. That's saying a lot, considering I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing music. Setbacks and ProblemsTime is really difficult for me right now. Taking time to just sit down and be creative isn't something I have the ability to do every day. Plus, I've had a lot of personal roadblocks that have prevented me from being any normal form of productive. As a result, I haven't gotten as much done as I'd like. I'm keeping my hopes up though, as well as my goal. Sometimes, all you can do is hope in order to get some done. Either way, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my chin up.
Week Two: Making music is hard...2/28/2021 This week, my goal was to completely finish a song. Unfortunately, making music is a lot more difficult than I anticipated on a PC. I ended up switching back to Reaper after many, many videos, which made it that much harder. So far, I've gotten about one minute and twenty seconds of audio put together. That doesn't include editing and refining anything, so I'm only 1/3 of the way done, especially considering that's not even the full song. Changing My GoalWithout a doubt, I'm still planning on making an album. The problem is I'm not sure if one song per week is possible. So, instead of my ten songs goal, I'm going to have the goal of getting as many songs as I possibly can made over the twelve week span. As long as it's at least five or so, I'll be content with calling that an album. I would prefer getting to ten, but it seems unlikely in addition to school and other responsibilities I have on my plate. Changing my goal bothers me a lot, especially so early. However, this project is made to be flexible, which I'm allowing myself to take advantage of. What I've Learned So FarAfter just a couple weeks of this project, I've gained so much respect for songwriters and musicians. The people who are at home making music from their own personal studios and are constantly putting out new work are mind-blowing. As a songwriter and musician, I've always been able to kind of make music, but thinking about doing that on a regular basis and as a career is crazy to me. I've learned so much about editing music, the way audio differs depending on your location, the striving to make the perfect sounding audio, etc. It's so difficult, yet I love every part of it. I personally, after some long consideration, have learned that I could not handle music as as career. I've always been passionate about it, but it takes a lot to throw yourself into music trusting that you'll be successful. I hope to always have it as a hobby and a passion, but there's so much more to it than what people give it credit for.
Week One: Making a plan2/18/2021 This week my primary focus has been planning out how I'm going to make my songs. I used to use old apple ear buds and Garage Band from my phone, but It's time for me to make more professional sounding music. I ended up getting a really good microphone last Christmas, so that should significantly improve my audio. But, obviously you can't plug up a mic like that to a phone. Finding The Perfect SoftwareFinding the perfect software for a PC was difficult. First of all, I had the money to pay for a good software, but that wasn't something I wanted to do. Second of all, I've only used one in my entire history of making music. I tried downloading Reaper, but even through watching tutorials online, I couldn't figure it out. Just opening the software itself was overwhelming, so I immediately ruled that out. After a while, I tried watching videos on the best software's for music-making that were free. I stumbled across Audacity, which is what I'm going to start trying to use. This could definitely change later on. I plan on letting myself be flexible through this process. Songwriting PrepThe last thing I had to do this week, was get an idea of what I plan on writing. Fortunately, I planned ahead before the project and began creating snippets of songs. I have some chord progressions lined up, as well as some chunks of lyrics I really like. To make my songs, I will utilize some of those as I see fit. One issue that's likely to appear is writers block. As a songwriter, I'm someone who get's random ideas in the middle of the night or just comes up with songs on a whim. It will be super challenging stepping out of that comfort zone with having to be on a writing schedule for twelve weeks. Hopefully, I can not only get it done, but also be proud of my finished product.
AUTHORA musician hoping to put their story into music, one song at a time. Archives |