From there, I wrote a rhythm guitar part to support the lead guitars.

My guitar writing skills are improving in terms of rhythm, melodic content and playing ability. I would say that what's limiting me is interesting sound design. I rely mostly on my guitar and basic Ableton instrument packs, so making one sound a week from scratch would get me on track with building my original sound.

The kick rhythm is inspired by jersey club beats which fit well with the acapella.

The arrangement of the track is improving and I feel like its not boring to listen to. I definitely prefer when a lot of elements are erraticall chaning and then switch over something more calming. It makes my music sound more dynamic and therefore more emotional. This is because emotions are never static or purely one quality. This can be emulated in my music by constantly experimenting with my arrangement. I like changing up my arrangements because I think many people (especially in EDM) stick to arrangement formulas so I like breaking out of that routine. I usually do this by making instrument sections and then tastefully placing them somewhere within my initial arrangement structure. If I feel that something would work better in a different part of the song, I would relocate it. this also jogs my creative brain and keeps things new!

I would like to try use the Ableton Live mode to create arrangements next week, because you're not limited to a linear arrangement style on Ableton's main arrangement page. This may lead to some new discoveries and less of a chance of entering a writer's block.

I like my idea with the metal guitars in the hook. It isn't something I've really done before in this way so it brings a new perspective to what kind of music I like making.

The mix in the track isn't ideal currently, which I will be fixing later down the line in my project. This is because nothing good has ever happened from heavily mixing as I create the arrangement, as my final mix is dependent on the final arrangement. If I add new instruments or elements it will lead my current mix astray and leave a bigger mess for me to clean up.

For next week, I will keep on progressing with the arrangement and create new ideas. Preferably I would be done with 40% of my track by the end of next week. This would be the intro, verse, hook and verse 2.

Red -> Text

Green -> Document

My new practice routine should involve stage performance with the Ableton Push controller and my Launchkey so I can be prepared for the final performance. In addition I’ll undergo ear training and vocal exercises again, as well as more guitar practice. 

My practice content and structure are still very relevant to  the current areas I need to improve, so I only have to add more exercises to the routine I already have.

The routine is still motivating enough, in which I need to focus more on discipline rather than motivation.

I will be creating and evidencing a Practice Routine 2.0 for myself. This week will be a trial run and I will document my process.

I lengthened my song by copy-pasting my guitar tracks and running the acapella over it, adding and releasing tension through SFX and FX automation. I wanted the listener to take a break in Verse 2, since the first hook is pretty demanding on the ears. I kept this in mind and made a more minimal beat using wood-hit percussion, a clean 808 Subbass with portamento and the clean-tone double-track guitar melodies. I've found that pitching the subbass notes high up make an interesting melody that make the verse sound more engaging, so I will continue to use this discovery in the rest of the track.

I think I accomplished the more minimal feeling well as I physically felt calmer when listening back to the section in context with the track.

Next week I will continue to progress through the arrangement of my track, in which the break and build will be next.

The original track “Mental Anguish” has an arrangement of:

Intro - Verse 1 - Hook - Verse 2 - Hook 2 - Hook 3 

My remix track of “Mental Anguish” has an arrangement of:

Into - Verse 1 - Hook - Verse 2 - Breakdown - Build - Break - Hook - Hook 2 - Outro

The break consists of repeating a section of the acapella, as the acapella is less than 3 minutes long so I had to innovate with what I had. I mixed the repeated acapella with a call-and-response extract I took from the acapella. This portrays both ericdoa and Glaive talking one after the other which makes the section more dynamic and continues to engage the listener.

The build consists of many different pads swelling in size and energy through exciter and reverb automation. I reintroduced the hook drums to foreshadow the next section and tie all the elements together. This is a new strength of mine where I feel like even though many elements are constantly changing, I can manage to tie them together by using suggestive audio and energy-building to keep the listener on track. This gives me a better balance between an interesting arrangement and a song that one would enjoy listening to.

The break inbetween the build and the second hook was an accidental idea after leaving some MIDI ideas open in the arrangement page. It features twinkly synth melodies surrounding full-sounding double-tracked acoustic guitars and the drums taken from the 1st hook. I then bounced this section into audio and processed it with heavy subtractive EQ and one of Ableton's experimental Audio effect racks; Tapestry of Gems. This is one of my favourite effect racks as it makes sounds bitcrushed and delayed in different octaves. I wanted to make a break section that had a telephone filter-equivalent, so putting my own spin on that using bitcrush makes the track more authentic to the Hyperpop genre. I slowly automated the Wet/dry on most audio effects on the Chain so that energy built up quickly and the full frequency spectrum is introduced again.

I wanted to follow the idea from the break to make the track more cohesive, so the first part features a revamped 808 subbass line, hook drums, bitcrushed synths that partially follow the bassline melody, and the double-tracked acoustic guitars that served as the baseline for Horn-synth chords.

I think that the second hook sounds really engaging mostly due to the large number of musical elements that have good cohesion, because I realise that the more instruments you have, you have to make compromises to other elements such as melody or harmony to keep the track from being overcomplicated. I did this by making the synth melodies similar to the 808 bassline to really homogenise the main harmonic idea.

Next week I will finish the 2nd part of the hook and Outro. Some improvements I can make is the mix quality of the track, as I have reached a substantial progress to start making changes to the mix.

I wanted to bring a different feel into the second part of the hook to make it more interesting to listen to. I did this by recording some Metal guitars in a different chord progression, which keeping most of the other elements the same in the second part of the hook. The way the guitars fill in the stereo field differently to the acoustic guitars in the first part of the hook is interesting, which solidifies a different feel in the 2nd part. I think that this is due to my use of 2 different reverb plugins which can drastically change the room of an instrument. The outro was simple to create as I used some unused musical ideas along with carrying some Hook 2 ideas over to make a smoother transition as well as thinning the texture and gradually fading the instruments out.

However, improvements still have to be made in terms of mixing and mastering. This will be done over the weekend to ensure better audio quality compared to what I have right now.

Strengths:

I am quick at creating new ideas, and once the idea is interesting I am more confident in being able to finish it. I have improved my idea to think from different perspectives once I hit a writers block, which usually created unexpected turns in my music and makes them more interesting. 

Weaknesses:

My improvisation on guitar is weakening, because I am complacent with the limited number of notes that I use on the fretboard currently. I find myself wanting to create an interesting melody yet I keep on falling back to the same stuff on the guitar. I’m not sure how to tackle this but I guess I’ll improve my overall ability to write a balance of catchy but complex melodies on the piano roll, which I hope will help with my improvisation on guitar.

Opportunities:

There’s a tech job at Revenge that I really want to take, as I want to get out on the field and learn new skills, because that process never fails to change my perspective on things.

I want to get back into daily vocal exercises using online material.

Threats:

My mental health is slowly recovering but new things always happen in my life every week and threatens my mental stability every time. As a result I have become stronger and more adaptable but I don’t know how much more I can take. At some point I am going to have to resolve my current personal problems or else it will keep building up and affect my functional life badly again. This is paired with my current sleep schedule which I need to fix.

1. I used to have a problem where every track I made would have to be as sonically perfect as possible, which would cost me months of precious time. This slowed my progression in writing interesting tracks because a tracks would be produced very slowly. In addition to this I did too much mixing in the writing process which often messed up the sound of the song.

1. Don’t focus too much on mixing during the writing process. To focus on writing, try using your gut instinct because the first idea that you come up with is usually the best, of course not all the time. When using references for mixing or mastering, try not to copy the sound of the reference too much as the mix of the song is dependent on the writing and instruments used. If needed, give yourself a deadline or total time limit on the track in order to work within limits and accept that once the time is up that you have done your best.

2. I currently believe in quantity over quality during the beginner and advanced stage of a producer. This is because one has to get used to consistently finishing and releasing tracks because no visual artist would ever release unfinished art. This has been one of my biggest priorities in music (if not the biggest) due to how much time and effort has been wasted, along with how much farther I could have been if I had been consistent with releasing tracks. I think that the action of actually releasing or finishing a track in advantageous in the mental game because you can’t accurately judge unfinished artwork, but you can when it’s finished. This will make it actually effective to look back on your tracks and remember what techniques felt amazing to use and what problems were faced and how you’ve implemented contingencies for them. However I think that once one has established one’s own sound and has a commercial sonic quality to their music, more time can be spent on each track because at that point you are more used to envisioning a song in your head and understanding it’s message. That way when you spend longer time on a track you aren’t losing the original purpose of the song along the way. Furthermore you will have built up a longer list of favourite techniques, flows and rhythms that you can experiment more with that may take time but can create something interesting but also clear and concise for the listener.

3. Currently the way I’m implementing quality over quantity is not worrying about the mix so much as the writing, arrangement and sample selection of the song. I have also learned to relax more during the writing process and let the brain create new things and go along with it. Listening to hundreds of other genres can reset and inspire you once you come back to your track and definitely improves the chances of a breakthrough in your track, which will be audibly noticeable. Not being too content or comfortable in your track is key 

(No date) Booking agent salary in England - indeed. Available at: https://uk.indeed.com/career/booking-agent/salaries/England (Accessed: 26 February 2024). 

Götting, M.C. (2023) Most famous music artists in the UK 2023, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1234778/famous-music-artists-united-kingdom/ (Accessed: 26 February 2024). 

Qualitative data:

Staff, B. (2019) 20 questions with illenium: The producer discusses his success, Sadboi Status & New Album ‘ascend’, Billboard. Available at: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/illenium-interview-20-questions-ascend-8527452/amp/

(Accessed: 26 February 2024). 

Ways, C. (2023) Inside lost village ’23: The UK’s Strangest Woodland Festival, HUNGER TV. Available at: https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/inside-lost-village-23-the-uks-strangest-woodland-festival/#:~:text=A%20truly%20singular%20festival%20experience,to%20indulge%20your%20hedonistic%20side. (Accessed: 26 February 2024). 

Using the research I did on career profiles, I will present a budget on income, outgoings and profit vs losses, as well as provide context and justify my financial forecast. I will describe how my budget may evolve of over time due to changes in circumstances in my career.

Financial forecast: 

Income per month: £200 a week - £800 a month (part time job) 

If long term investing - possible outcome ranges from £200 - £1000 within 2 months.

Outgoings: Rent + Utility bill + Cost of living = 555 + 85 + 160 = £800

Investing into music = 

Music software updates (Ableton 12 Live Suite = £199)

New plugins (Most range from £50 - £200)

Instruments (Can range from £15 - £600)

Midi hardware (Can range from £25 - £300)

Mixers 

Vocal lessons (Prices will vary between the medium of £10/hr)

Music project budget such as music videos, live releases, live performances (£30 - £1000)

1. Accountability

2. Act as if the deadline is today

3. Change your environment 

4. Make a vision board 

5. Surround yourself with people who think the way they want to think

6. Be kind to yourself

7. Find/ Remember your why

8. Challenge yourself (Learn new skills, set new goals)

9. Celebrate and track your successes

10. Taking breaks

11. Eat that frog

I am a warrior procrastinator, therefore the techniques I have shown above will be useful in trying to avoid as much procrastination as possible.

• Vocal parallel processing

• Inter-instrumental sidechaining

• Synth Design

• Sample-to-synth design

• Mixing in the context of the Metal genre

Key: B# major

Dreamy and calming atmosphere

Realtime faders, SFX, multitracking guitars and FX automation on synths

Moderate dynamic range

Moderate texture range

Arrangement:

Intro, Verse 1, Build, Verse 2, Build, Chorus, Outro

everynoise.com. (n.d.). Every Noise at Once. [online] Available at: https://everynoise.com.

‌

Since this was my first time mixing quadruple-tracked distorted guitars, my next attempt will be more streamlined as I will know what to do.