Embedded Files
Week 1
This week, my main objective was to get all of my initial research complete so I could move onto the writing process (see the start of the research portfolio page). This included looking into several different songs from the different styles I am wanting to write in along with learning all the different production they use to make the song sound like the genre it is supposed to be. I will then use this research to improve the way I produce my songs.
I have managed to get all of this research finished now so I am ready to move onto writing the first song. The only problem I faced this week was the time restraint, as I had a lot of research to do within one week along with the fact that I have a job. However, I was able to schedule my time well so that I was able to complete it on time.
Week 2
This week my main goal was to come up with at least one idea for a song. I am doing this with my classmate Freya. We sat down with a piano and started to play around with different chords and melodies to try and spark some inspiration. We eventually came up with some catchy piano ballad chords that you can here in the attached audio.
The main problem we ran into was the fact that we didn't have a suitable space or any more instruments than just a piano. This limited our ability to come up with any more ideas as we couldn't build on them without instruments. We fixed this by making sure we booked a suitable room for next week.
In terms of research, once we had come up with the chords, we looked into other features that were common in piano ballad songs, such as ambient sounds like sirens or birds. We also looked into the best ways to try and fit them into a song without them being too obviously there.
audio 1.mp3Here you can here us coming up with ideas on the piano
audio 2.mp3This is a development on the last audio
Week 3
This week we had a proper space to start coming up with some more ideas for a song. As you can hear in the audio to the right, we tried out different instruments and sounds as well as different chords and styles. We did decide to drop the idea we had last week as we were struggling to find any inspiration with it.
The only issue we had this week is that we had nothing to record what we had written to, other than our phones. This means we will need to book a room that has that capability or do the recording outside of college.
audio 5.mp3This is an idea we came up with for an indie rock song
audio 3.mp3Here is an idea for a acoustic pop song
audio 4.mp3This is a development on the acoustic pop song idea
Week 4
This week I focused all my attention on creating an EPK along with some social media accounts. I have made a website, updated my YouTube channel and made a new Instagram account to go along with my EPK. I have also created a joint YouTube channel with my classmate so that we can upload our song to that single account rather than several different accounts. All of my development for my EPK can be found in the Marketing Materials tab.
In order to create my own EPK, I needed to know what other EPKs looked like and what they included. I also needed to see what my website should include. Therefore, I did quite a bit of research on this, comparing different websites and EPKs from different artists the I like and have included all the research along with my EPK.
The only problem I ran into this week was the lack of time due to other commitments, such as work. However, with proper scheduling and planning, I managed to get everything I needed to get done, done and I will continue to develop the writing of music next week.
Week 5
This week we came up with more ideas for a song. This one is more of a piano ballad again and we are starting to get some inspiration as well. In these audio recordings, we were in a room that only has a piano, however, we were able to secure a room where we could record later on in the week. We have started brainstorming and have now got the start of a song.
In the screenshot below, you can see our logic project and I have also attached the audio of it below. We have taken inspiration from the research that we did and have put in some atmospheric sirens and also added some vinyl crackle for texture. In the audio below, you can also hear the different ideas we have had for the song at the end. We were recording off of an electric piano and I didn't think it sounded too good by itself. So I did some research on how to make a piano sound better and I applied some reverb and an EQ curve to all the piano in the song.
Project 5 - FMP take 1.mp3This is the first part of the song that we made and corresponds to the Logic screenshot above
audio 6.mp3This is an idea for a piano ballad and is the one that we have continued to develop
audio 7.mp3A variation of the previous audios idea
audio 8.mp3Yet another variation of the same idea
This is the variation that we have settled on
This is the reverb effect that I have put onto the piano
This is the EQ that I put over the piano
Week 6
This week, we have carried on working on the song we started last week. We have now come up with a solid pre-chorus and added more instruments into it, which include a bass synth and a violin. We will continue to develop this song as have also got some ideas for a big instrumental section at the end of the song. The audio file to the right is an audio recording of when we came up with the idea for the pre-chorus and the audio below is the bounce of the project that we did at the end of the week.
Project 5 - FMP take 2.mp3This is the audio to correspond with the Logic screenshot
Here is the development from last week in Logic
Prechorus take 1.mp3Here is the first idea we came up with for the pre-chorus
audio 9.mp3This is a more refined version of the pre-chorus that is now in time with the track
Week 7
This week, we continued to make progress on our song. We have added a lot since last week and we now have the full structure of the song completely set out. I have also added and acoustic guitar to the pre-chorus. We have also added the start of the big instrumental section that we started last week along with a chorus. We wanted the chorus to be fairly simple after having built up in the pre-chorus, however, we thought is sounded a bit bare so we added a flute that holds really long drone notes to try and add a bit more texture. All the piano is now recorded so we just need to keep adding more instruments. We have also added a synth to the big instrumental section for more texture.
We didn't run into any major issues this week and we will add more instruments to the big instrumental part next week.
This is the first and updated layout of the song
A lot of development this week
Project 5 - FMP take 3.mp3This is the audio to correspond with the Logic screenshot above
Week 8
This week I was out of college ill after my Covid vaccine. However, this did not stop me working on the song at home. I added a lot more instruments to the end of the song to make it into the big instrumental section that we wanted. I added some drums, bass guitar and an arpeggiating synth. I also added more random sounds, such as a whoosh and some crickets and frogs at the very end of the song, once again taking inspiration from the research we did at the of this project. I also added a synth in the background of the second verse to try and keep different from the first one and so it's not too repetitive. There is also a synth in the background of the second half of the second chorus which just helps to build the song up before all the instruments come in. I also had to research how to make a backwards symbol effect in Logic as I didn't know how to do this before hand.
After I added all of these instruments, I started to mix and master the song by adding different effects to the instruments and I added a lot of automation to different tracks as well. For example. the synth in the big instrumental section is automated to go left and right.
For mastering, I did a bit of research on how to master a song by watching this video. From this video I learned what mastering is and what kind of effects you need and in what quantities. So, I added a compressor to bring up the volume of the track in general and to also even out the difference in volume between the louder and quieter bits. I also added a very slight EQ curve just to make the song pop a little bit more. I then exported the song using Wave audio rather than MP3 as this is higher quality and will help make the song sound its best no matter what you're listening on.
Project 5 - FMP take 4.mp3This audio corresponds with the Logic screenshots
I have added a lot more instruments this week
This screenshot show the automation I have added to the instruments
This shows the other bits of automation
The compression I applied during the master
The EQ I applied during the master
This is the final video we have made for our song. We have uploaded it to YouTube.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse