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Over the past week I have been focusing on the demo song for my formative assignment, I have composed the guitar and top line for an original song. I have been researching new chord shapes and by using these and experimenting how they sound further up/down the fretboard managed to put together a guitar part entirely unique to my previously written songs.

I have completed a lyric sheet which is subject to change as I go through the recording process, and a rough video of myself playing the second verse and chorus (press to open) to ensure I don't forget the phrasing/rhythm in between now and when I have access to a DAW to record the song.

For my formative work I have decided to work independently, to gain new skills and instrument sounds using MIDI and live recorded bass. I have some previous knowledge of bass due to carrying over of notes from a guitar fretboard so I feel that this is accomplishable.

A key skillset that I am likely to gain during my formative assessment include mixing and mastering, a skill that will coincide with my plans to continue as an independent artist of a "DIY" nature. This skill will enable me to make my music as original as possible and to keep creative control over my sound. My main challenge with this will be self-critique, something i'm aware of from past experiences of self producing. My aim is to be resilient and to seek peer feedback before scrapping any of my ideas/work.

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My initial idea for this formative project is to use an original song to record a single demo track, I feel an original composition would best showcase my abilities as when i'm working on original music the workflow tends to be more inspired therefore a lot more time and effort goes into it. This also enables me to craft a song that shows versatility in my vocal techniques.

My aim is to have an original song written for this project in about a week, the date of my next entry. I will then spend the following week tying off any loose ends and getting the song ready to record. For this project I need access to Logic or an alternative DAW which my trial has ran out for, so this week I am also looking into regaining access to logic.

The week commencing the 3rd of October I will be looking at beginning to record the guitar and vocal top line of the song and exploring plugins and other sounds to go alongside the song.

Once the song is recorded I will need to do some research into mixing as this is something I have a very basic understanding of, I have already researched some plug ins and i'm currently interested in 'Slate's variety, this is something I need to research further.

I feel my main challenge will be installing new plugins and other softwares and making them all coordinate on my computer, my plan if this happens is to ask from advice from a peer knowledgeable in production and technology.

This unit will hopefully enable me to seek out collaboration with peers. My main skill set is Vocals, Guitar and Keys, so if I feel the track needs drums/bass I may have to outsource these, alternatively I could learn how to record these in myself to reduce the risk of potential problems of collaboration such as deadlines and difference in recording styles or quality.

The Skillsets i'm hoping to have developed by completion of this track is the ability to mix and produce a song independently and to feel confident enough to share this self made track amongst peers or a wider audience.

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Over the past week I have completed a document containing and clarifying my methods of working, timetabling and a SWOT analysis to recognise my strengths and weaknesses for this project. I am hoping that recognising my weaknesses has helped me plan out, to use more of my time in my weaker areas and use my strength areas to complete other work effectively to make up for the length used in weaker areas.

Throughout the week I have attended all of the lectures available to me and gained new songwriting knowledge as well as new methods of timekeeping whilst at university, I will be applying these methods to the rest of my formative work and throughout my summative. Something that was mentioned was mood boards, I have since completed one for my song and feel it will aid me in refining the genre/feel of the song when mixing and choosing tones.

I have been waiting to receive a DAW to start recording however this hasn't arrived yet, in the meantime i have ordered a shock mount for my condenser mic, a pop filter and a reflection filter which have all arrived now. I have gained access to garage band at home and I am going to record the guitar and vocals on Monday 10th, this is a similar process to logic. This then means I can export the stems into logic when i receive it or alternatively explore mixing options on garage band by watching youtube videos and other online research.

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I have commenced recording using garageband in this last week due to no logic access, a problem I faced was not being able to play the guitar in myself, to overcome this I asked my best friend / function guitarist to play the chord progression for me. I think that this worked to my benefit as I could focus on the production and levels, I had some issues with the input peaking in the parts of the song where the chords are higher up the frets and played more harshly so I asked Amy if she could play the quieter parts with more volume and the louder parts with slightly less, and turned down the gain on the input.

I began editing the guitar part but can't find the right effects and plugins on Garageband to replicate the sound i would usually get from logic, I watched a youtube video to learn how to export stems from logic and have done this to try and edit the guitar using other free trial software such as protools and soundtrap.

I am finding not having to logic a huge challenge and very frustrating as I can't seem to do what I know how to do on logic, on other platforms. I'm hoping this project will enable me to use my skills more widely on alternate platforms.

Using vocals warm ups before performing rough takes of the track has been useful to prepare my voice and this is something I will use before recording the final vocal take. I have used recent gigs as an opportunity to experiment with new techniques that I may be able to replicate within my recording of the original song.

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To produce and mix a demo track independently of a song.

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To maintain a steady workflow and to track my progress throughout the formative and summative assignments.

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To continuously work on and develop my vocal technique to perform the vocals to the highest standard on my demo track.

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Youtube.com. 2020. How to Export Stems (Individual Tracks) in GarageBand macOS 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcZELJ0c294> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

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Porter, C., 2020. 10 Minute Daily Vocal Workout! Vocal Exercise. [online] Youtube. Available at: <https://youtu.be/1XHXezdnL0A> [Accessed 1 October 2022].

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As well as putting my to-do's in my phone calendar this week I have done a more in depth write up for myself to reflect upon as i go through the week, I'm hoping this will encourage me to take some rest when scheduled and help me focus on the task at hand/not get distracted by other tasks. This will enable me to achieve my Smart target of continuous but steady workflow.

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Croad, J., 2022. 6 Breathing Exercises for Singers (Best Ways to Breathe) - Music Grotto. [online] Music Grotto. Available at: <https://www.musicgrotto.com/breathing-exercises-for-singers/> [Accessed 14 October 2022].

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In this attachment is a brief insight to my recording process, challenges and successes.

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Siemon, A., 2022. How To Mix Vocals In Garageband – Producer Society. [online] Producersociety.com. Available at: <https://producersociety.com/mix-vocals-garageband/> [Accessed 16 October 2022].

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Apple Support. 2022. macOS app user guides: GarageBand for MacUser Guide. [online] Available at: <https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/garageband/welcome/mac> [Accessed 16 October 2022].

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Demo track with harmonies too low - this will be rectified for hand in.

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Please find my final demo for hand in on the link above.

I have used google drive as an alternative method to Canvas Studio, as I am confident with sharing files on google drive. This will avoid any potential technology issues as mentioned within my SWOT analysis.

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Reflecting upon my formative work, I am happy with the feedback I’ve received. I had used a DAW I was unfamiliar with, so I felt unconfident as to wether the audio would have been high quality enough to display my vocals well but my feedback felt very positive. Referencing was something that was mentioned within my feedback and since reading this I have attended a lecture on referencing as well as doing independent research, I feel a lot more confident with this and that I now have the ability to apply the referencing with in text citations within my summative work.

I have followed my schedule and feel that this is an approach that is working and will continue to work up until the summative hand in date. I am completing weekly tasks when my calendar notifies me too and I have been doing a research and practise with mixing on logic which I now have access too which will enable me to finish my mix within my schedule. I do need to re record the vocals for the track as I feel I could get the levels better when using logic but this is something I was prepared to do and have accounted for within my schedule.

The only issue with meeting my schedule is going to be 28th-9th when I have a commitment to attend an inquest. I plan to complete my song prior to this and complete the weekly to do’s as normal those weeks, using evenings during the case to complete my reflective work.

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As part of this weeks researching to inform my creative output for this module, I decided to get hands on and shadowed a mixing session at the recording studio I work at. I found observing someone else using their ear and the use of different plugins to give a greater dynamic and add interest to a vocal line really useful. I learnt how to remove breaths from a vocal take without it clipping, as previously I would chop breathes and this would take an extensive period of time to cut them exactly without getting any clip noises, but upon discovery of the 'fade' tool whilst shadowing which can assist in the breathe cutting process I should now be able do complete this task more time efficiently. This is something that will aid me hugely within my personal music projects as well as my summative assignment with time management and overall finish of my self produced songs.

Monitor usage within this session made a difference to the mixing process, this is a piece of equipment I don't have but will be looking to invest in.

I used my research this week as an opportunity to practise and develop my use of Harvard Referencing and to ensure I was applying it correctly within my in text citations and referencing list, using 1-1 time with a lecturer to ensure I had done this correctly after completion was reassuring and I now feel confident that I can use referencing to the standards required within my work.

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This week I have spent time practising, I have practised vocal runs, DAW recording and vocal mixing on cover songs as evidenced in attached video. Whilst recording, I used a range of vocal techniques that I hadn't in my formative assignment, such as belt and I reached higher notes in my range, this is something I would like to apply to my song for my summative.

Another reason I decided to use this method for development was that I can apply and use this content to aid and continue growing my social media following. I recorded the video separately on my Iphone using the cinematic filming for high quality and then paired the audio and video together using Imovie.

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Reflecting upon my feedback and demo track, I had recorded the song at a slower tempo than I had originally written it. I changed tempo from 75bpm, to 100bpm as it gives the song a different feel, and the topline, in my opinion sits better at the faster tempo. However, considering previous releases (example: https://songwhip.com/sydneydejorey/lights-on )
I have reached the decision that this song does not fit my current target audience or display my vocal technique to its best, therefore I am going to change my song. This has not affected my recording timeline as I had planned to re record the whole project for summative in logic, as the demo was recorded on Garageband. I need to re-complete things such as lyric sheet, mood board and release content. I have compensated for this by setting aside social time I had scheduled.

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Something suggested within my feedback was to strengthen my vocal agility to practise melismas, I have done this by using faster scales when warming up, also by applying more of them in songs when practising as seen in the video attached.

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The new track 'Gaslighter', studio version is almost complete. I have recorded and done a mix on the vocals that I am happy with. I will go back and tweak the levels and make any final adjustments once I have listened to it on multiple speaker forms.

The studio version is a collaborative piece using a backing track I have purchased from 'Dizzla D Music' (D, Dizzla. 2022) All vocals were written, recorded, mixed and edited by myself independently on my home set-up (evidence attached).

This week I plan to film the live version of the song, I will write a guitar part that is different to the instrumental used on the track, for the filmed version.

Using the mood board that I created last week I aim to complete some artwork for the song and update my release strategy to become relevant to this song. Once I have completed the final mix and adjusted volume levels of the studio version, filmed the live version and completed any outstanding written work, I will be using the time leading up to hand-in to work on my written reflection of the project and researching release methods.

References:

Beats, D.D. (2022) Dizzla D Music Website, Music. Available at: https://www.dizzladmusic.com/ (Accessed: November 19, 2022).

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In this document I discuss the track details such as BPM, Key, influences, what creative/artistic doors are opening for me and what I have learnt about my own sound throughout this process.

References used are included on page 3 of the PDF.

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Evidence 1 : Logic Screeenshots - Post Mix for studio version

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Evidence 1 : Logic Screeenshots - Post Mix for studio version

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Live Alternate Version - Final Submission

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Live Alternate Version - Final Submission

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ALTERNATE VERSION (click to play)

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Attached contains a behind the scenes snippet from filming alternate version. Audio and video from phone.

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Unedited one take audio tracking for live unedited acoustic version.

Audio and Video recorded separately but simultaneously, as evidenced in video above.

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This week I have handed in my formative assignment and have started taking steps to further develop my skillset into my summative work. I have created a risk assessment of the potential dangers of recording at home from a health and safety aspect but additionally I have included things that could hinder my learning process, to ensure I am aware of them and how to resolve them.
Basic home recording is something I often do to map out and assist with songwriting, thus far no accidents have happened but throughout this process I have continually been aware of potential risks in such an electrical environment.

I have practised my vocal mixing on garage band to continue trying to transfer my logic skillset to this new DAW, using other songs, this gives me something to compare it too and how it "should" sound. This learning activity is something I thoroughly enjoyed and will be using in my own artist development. The new skill will enable me to continue self producing higher quality audio for cover song videos for social media whilst using the alternate DAW.

Transferring skillsets onto alternate software has been a positive self reflection for me as I now recognise I can be quite 'one track minded', when I learn things in a specific way, I struggle with the idea of applying it differently. Transferring skills is something I would like to explore in other areas of my portfolio career to develop my skillset holistically.