Looking back on the process of creating my capstone, I am happy to say that I really put my all into this project. The process was very involved, but it lead to the creation of the most ambitious project I have taken on yet. I many hours during the semester and a half it took to complete this project working hard on my arrangements and making sure they were the best that I could make them. There were so many hours that I spent listening to the reference songs over and over again, transcribing parts from the original and adding harmonies and countermelodies to make the arrangement sound more full and create a sound that I wanted.

Having said that, I believe that the part of this project that makes me the most proud is simply the fact that I was able to push myself to do something like this and was able to create a product that I can say I put my everything into. I am proud I created something that is beautiful and something that I am able to contribute to the arts after everything that the arts have done for me.

If I were to do a similar project in the future, there are some things that I would like to experiment with and change, one of which being the song choices. In the planning stages, I was thinking of doing an R&B/funk focused capstone, featuring reimagined arrangements of songs from artists like Brandy and Chaka Khan. I decided to do Latin songs since I felt those fit the jazz band instrumentation better, but it would have been interesting to see the results if I had chosen a much different genre.

There are various ways that my life experiences are reflected in this project, from the songs I chose to arrange, to the way that I chose to arrange them. Starting with the meaning of the songs that I chose, they represent how my taste in music has evolved over my high school career. I have explored many genres of music and experimented to find what kind of music I llike. There are so many beautiful songs out there and I love listening to everything and trying to find them. I have listened to many genres of music, spanning from R&B to Neosoul, Latin to Reggaeton, and almost everything in between.

The most recent of these genres that I have fallen in love is the “Latin” genre, which has such a wide variety of styles and moods to subgenres to. From the '90s Tejano and salsa genres with artists such as Selena (which I featured in my capstone project) and Marc Anthony, to newer, more experimental Latin artists, such as Bad Bunny, Nathy Peluso, and Rosalía. This variety is what I wanted to showcase in my capstone with the songs that I chose.

This capstone acts as a snapshot of what I enjoyed in music at the time of planning this project (and still enjoy) as well as what I have learned in music transcription and arrangement from taking many music classes. Everything I learned in my high school years was able to manifest in this project and I feel that it represents all of those things quite well.

The fine arts have been such an integral part of my high school years that I could not imagine it without them. I have spent so many hours in rehearsals and I have learned so many lessons and skills from them that those times are irreplaceable in my life. In band, for example, I learned countless skills that can be applied to my life moving forward. In marching band, I learned the importance of being punctual and how being present and on time is the first step to being successful. I also learned how to work with my section, obtaining invaluable lessons and leadership skills. In the percussion ensemble, I learned the importance of learning your own music and holding your own weight since almost every part in percussion is a solo part. You must be confident in your abilities since there is no one else to cover you. However, orchestra taught me different lessons from percussion and band, such as how to play with an ensemble, when I need to play out, or give room for another section to have the attention.

Taking all of these music classes over the years taught me a lot about music and musical notation. I learned how most rhythm section and percussion pieces were written from percussion class, which helped me notate and write out the rhythm section parts of my arrangements more effectively. I was able to listen to the songs I was transcribing and pick out certain melodies and transcribe them relatively quickly thanks to the great ear training I learned from band and orchestra. All of these skills helped me complete my project to the best of my ability and made it possible for me to be able to do any of this at all.

The arts have changed my life in so many ways and I would not be the same person that I am today without them. They have given me so many skills and opportunities that have helped me become a better person. I have learned so many things about life and things about myself through the arts and I would not trade those experiences for anything.

In general, music has had such a profound impact on my life that I can truly not imagine living without it. I can connect with music in a way that I can not with other people and I can always depend on it and fall back on it for comfort. Music can make me feel so many emotions and so many moods, making it so easy to connect to and find artists that I love with similar creative expressions as me.

After high school, I plan to go to college for a bachelors in biology. I will be focusing less on music than I have been during high school, but music will never completely leave my life. One of the ways that music will continue to influence my life after high school is through my consumption of it. I will forever continue to explore new music and new releases in the future and will try to find new artists to expand my music tastes as well.

Another way that I will continue to include music in my life after high school is by creating new music. I would like to try my hand in producing music and covering songs using their samples and such. My aim for this is not really to become a professional producer, but just be able to have fun and produce music that I like to listen to. I may also try to learn new instruments such as bass guitar or drum set. I will likely never stop loving music, so there will always be ways that I will incorporate music into my life moving forward.

There are many things that I would wish to tell a person that is entering into their freshman year about the arts, especially those who are not currently in any arts classes. I would start by telling them to pick something and try it out. They will always be able to leave or not continue with it next year if they don’t end up enjoying it, but they will live with regret if they never give the arts a chance. I would also tell them that the arts are a very fun part of high school and they present many opportunities for making new friends. Students that are in fine arts programs together are usually really close friends and they make sure that everyone is included and no one feels left out. Another thing that I would say is that doing an extracurricular activity only enhances your high school experience. It is very fun to be a part of your school's events and contribute to the spirit and pride of your school.

Being in the fine arts programs also generally help you stay on track in your classes and improve your time management skills. You are generally more focused and are a more productive student since you know that there may not be time to do an assignment at home because you have practice after school or something else that prevents you from procrastinating. This also ties into the time management skills, forcing you to avoid procrastinating and plan out when you need to do your work. Overall, the fine arts programs are an amazing experience and are always worth giving a try since you will never know how they can better your life until you join.